Kitchen Renovations
I’m in the middle of my fifth kitchen renovation but since it is a complete gut job it really is more designing a kitchen from scratch which I’ve only done one other time*. As an Enneagram 3, I HATE wasting time and I feel like I have wasted a ton as I have figured out this kitchen. To save you time and money in the future, here are some things I have learned about kitchen remodels and kitchen gut jobs.
When we bought the 30 acres and old farmhouse over 4 years ago, the plan was to just do some minor updates to make it a cute and functional Airbnb that we could stay in sometimes when we wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of Watkinsville**. Five bathrooms, a second story, restored 12 foot ceilings, and a library wall later, we have moved beyond just restoring the original kitchen (before and after library wall below). To fit in with the rest of the renovated home, we were going to need to gut the kitchen and start from scratch.
Something I have learned about myself - I have a much easier time making decisions if I have limited options to work from. When we built the library wall, I had boxes of books that I had been collecting at the Friends of the Library book sale for years plus a few boxes of art and smalls that I had picked up on our travels or at Scott Antique Markets. In one day, I took what I had and put the wall together. I didn’t agonize over looking for the “perfect” knick knack to put in a spot. I happily made what I had work with a few things leftover. Before you tackle any project, ask yourself if you are similar. Do you need to have limited options in order to move forward with something? Or, do you thrive when you have almost infinite options?***
Here are some tips on how to get started and save some money on your kitchen design:
Look through pictures of completed kitchens to see what you like. I normally start with a Pinterest board and just put everything I like in it. Then I’ll look back and see what themes start to emerge such as certain colors or styles that repeat themselves. I also still love paper magazines and cut out photos that appeal to me.
Don’t try to exactly replicate a favorite online image or even your neighbors kitchen. It’s not just because variety is nice, but if you are fixated on recreating something from a photo or two, you will probably just be frustrated that you can’t.
Figure out what is most important to you. Budget? Time until done? Ease? Lack of disruption? Exact vision? For me with the farmhouse kitchen, getting it done quickish and enacting my vision were the most important elements. Of course budget is always important but I had more wiggle room in this project.
Know that you will have an overwhelming number of decisions to make. You will have to decide on cabinets, paint color, backsplash, counter tops, flooring, layout, appliances, hardware for cabinets, sink, sink hardware, range hood, trim, lighting, furniture (stools, table and chairs). All of those elements have countless options. I think the easiest thing to do is decide which of these is most important to you or you already know what you want and then plan around those choices. I knew I wanted to use furniture we already had instead of cabinets. I knew I wanted a French blue cabinet. I wanted an English country kitchen vibe. I knew I wanted shaker cabinets.
Cabinets are often the most expensive choice and most disruptive to change in the future. Here are two blogs that delve into what to consider when picking your cabinets: Six Things to Consider When Picking New Cabinets and Cabinet Sourcing Options for Kitchen Renovations.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help. I have a friend from church who is a designer and I have paid her by the hour to get her expertise. It’s probably the best money I’ve spent on the kitchen and the only reason some decisions have been made. If you can afford it, hire a designer to walk you through the whole process including doing all the sourcing of your selections. Some more budget friendly options - use the designer at the big box store for free. Or, if you have a good friend with great taste, ask if you can take them out to a meal and pick their brain. There are also some online options where you pay for limited design services.
If you start to feel stuck, consider WHY you think you have to have certain things in your kitchen. For some reason, I thought stainless steel appliances would look off in my English country kitchen. Maybe it was because when I searched English country kitchen all I saw were colored AGA stoves. For whatever reason, thinking I needed to have high-end colored appliances in this kitchen was a huge stumbling block for me. High-end appliances are stupid expensive. A panel ready fridge (the cabinet maker installs a custom front that looks like all your cabinet fronts so it can seamlessly blend into the other cabinets) starts at over $7000! The least expensive colored stove was almost $3000. I couldn’t spend half my budget on two appliances. When I mentioned this to my designer friend Katie, she didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t have more commercial looking stainless appliances instead. The relief! I did manage to find a panel ready dishwasher for less than many dishwashers but I’m going for a stainless steel stove and fridge. She drew out what the main wall will look like with the stainless stove. Do you have a decision that is keeping you from moving forward? Consider looking at other options instead of fixating on just one way to do something.
Picking paint colors is hard but so important. I may have found a solution though. Here’s my blog laying out some options.
If you will take the time to source the materials yourself, you can save an incredible amount of money even if you aren’t handy and are paying people to do the work. Amazon is my friend and my greatest frustration. There is no where I can go that gives me so many choices and lets me return things truly for free.**** I do try to shop my local shops and buy anything I can from them, but when it comes to light fixtures, curtains, and cabinet hardware, there really aren’t any good reasonably priced options with the variety I need. The downside is that their search engine is crap (intentionally I am sure) and you have to scroll through so much stuff that you have specifically excluded from your search. There are lots of evenings I sit in front of the TV half watching a show while I scroll through hundreds of light fixtures. I am now saving things I like in a folder on Amazon so I can start there when I do my next project.
You don’t have to like and keep every aspect of this kitchen forever. There are easier and less expensive things to change in the future that can completely change the feel and look of your kitchen. If you want to be a little trendy or step out of your comfort zone a bit, consider your backsplash, counter tops, cabinet hardware, lighting, and paint colors. If you don’t like your current kitchen and don’t have the budget or the time to make major changes, consider changing some of these things to make your kitchen a place you really enjoy.
A lot of these principles will apply no matter what kind of home project you are working on. I’ll be posting some of my kitchen updates on Instagram so please connect to follow along.
*two if you count the little kitchenette at our Meadow Cabin.
**No, that is not an oxymoron, but the reality of living on the road that leads to Wire Park.
***If this is you, please tell me how you do it!
****I know there is an environmental cost to every return and it is probably my biggest ethical struggle as I shop on Amazon.