Kitchen Renovation

Overall it took us a couple of months to complete all of the work.

Prior to actually starting the kitchen renovation demolition and construction we met with a kitchen designer. She first came out to our home and took measurements of the kitchen. We then sat down with her and explained what we were looking for in our new kitchen, and discussed our kitchen renovation budget.

Much of our initial discussion focused on kitchen cabinet construction types, sizes, and materials, as well as countertop surfaces. We also reviewed all of the latest kitchen cabinetry features, including pull-out drawers, Lazy Susan’s, and spice racks. After my wife and I came to a decision on the kitchen cabinet styles and materials, which took us about a week, we had a couple of additional meetings with the kitchen designer to review the kitchen renovation plans that she had crafted. One of the key items we had to wrestle with was how to create the most amount of cabinet space without the use of a kitchen island.

Our kitchen floor space was just simply too small to include one. In the end, we wound up selecting taller upper cabinets to gain the extra storage space. We also decided to go with granite countertops due to their natural beauty and durability.

The lead time on manufacturing the kitchen cabinets and granite kitchen countertops was 5 weeks, so in the mean time we checked out kitchen flooring options and lighting, as well as faucets and sinks. We wound up choosing laminate flooring due to its durability and warmth, compared to a wood floor or ceramic tile floor. It was also a bit less expensive than the other two flooring options. In regards to lighting we picked a couple of new ceiling mounted light fixtures that had brushed nickel surfaces. We installed one over the kitchen table area and one over the kitchen sink. For the kitchen sink we went with a double wide deep stainless steel sink.

When the kitchen cabinets finally arrived at our home, the kitchen renovation contractors came out and removed all of the old kitchen flooring, cabinets and countertops. The demolition was completed in just a couple of hours, and by the end of the day they had the new kitchen cabinets installed. They also installed a plywood countertop and a temporary faucet so that we could use the kitchen over the next couple of days as we awaited the arrival of the granite kitchen countertops.

During the couple of weekends that it took for us to wrap up the construction and painting, the new kitchen appliances arrived and were installed.

Again, from start to finish it took about 2 months to complete our kitchen remodel, and the total kitchen renovation costs approached nearly $20K. Although we spent a fair amount of money on renovating our kitchen, it’s been a few years since we completed it, and we are stilling complementing ourselves on making the investment. The kitchen not only looks great, but it is also more functional. As a result we spend more time in it cooking at home versus going out for dinner.