The Finished Product: My New Kitchen

Kitchen is done! It took 10 weeks, which seemed long at times, but it was totally worth it. To make it all possible we relocated many things, had a make shift-kitchen, moved down to the basement and then moved in with my parents, and finally took a vacation.

Doing the remodel during the summer made it easier because we could utilize the outdoors — grilling, housing all sorts of things under the eaves and dining on our patio. We did try to stay away as much as we could. I’m sure that my contractor Jack would have preferred that we were gone more than we were, but we did the best we could. Now that we have our house back it feels sooooo good.

The advice I would give to anyone who is considering a kitchen remodel is to gather ideas from kitchen remodeling books, Pinterest, Houzz, etc. and keep files of what you like. Meet with three different contractors, one should be a kitchen designer. Have them provide you with plans and an estimate. Listen to your gut. You need to like who you hire and communicate well with them. They will be in your home for a long time, spending your money so be sure that you trust them. Check references! Once you have found your contractor, have them give you updates every other week so you can see how they are doing with the estimate vs. the actual. Don’t be afraid to tell them if you have concerns; you still have options while it’s under construction. Lastly, practice patience and know that all good things come to an end and this one has a huge prize at the end!

Here are some pictures of my prize!