How did it go?
When taking on a full kitchen renovation, prepare yourself to be catching up on life for a while even after the project is completed! Many have been asking for this update and I’m sorry we’ve slacked off in sharing the update. The wait is over! I hope you enjoy the pictures, we are definitely enjoying our new kitchen. If you haven’t seen the previous pics, see them here.
The renovation took 2.5 weeks to be *mostly* complete so that we could use our kitchen again; it probably took a month or so to get all the punch list items checked off. Living through a renovation could be a blog in itself. A few quick tips – send children away for as much time as you can. Sarah and the girls were gone for 10 of the worst days. Set up a mini kitchen in another part of your house so that you don’t overspend on eating out (and gain 15lbs). When Sarah was back she tried to keep us eating at home by buying bagged salad and microwavable meals, not the healthiest, but still cheaper than eating out every meal. Get ducts cleaned asap. Keep an eye on the project – this is YOUR home and no one is going to care about how well the work is done as much as you will.
What we did:
Porcelain hard scape tile floors – there are so many flooring options these days. Although there are durable hardwoods, we decided to go with tile because it felt like a more durable option for the kitchen area, it was cheaper and we liked the look. Everyone who comes over loves it.
New 42″ white wood cabinets with a soft close feature. So far they’ve been a great choice. They clean easily, look great, and have tons of storage. We created great storage space by putting lazy susans in all of the corner areas. Hardware from Amazon – we got all of this for $35, saving a few pennies from buying from a big box store.
Granite counters – we stayed classic with this choice. I’m a realtor – granite is what buyers want, so that’s what they’ll get when it’s time to sell this house. We created a peninsula and moved the sink = so much more counter space and the wider sink will appeal to buyers!
Pendant lights with Edison bulbs, recessed lighting and under cabinet lighting. Sarah won the battle with the Edison bulbs, but they are pretty cool.
Did we stay on budget? Not exactly, it’s probably one of the hardest things to do with a renovation. But we stayed within a range that worked for us. We made important decisions early on to not overspend on flooring and hardware, but to spend on cabinets. Costly items that you don’t think about – baseboards, electrical, extra labor are what pushed us over. While we may not get a 100% return on investment when we sell, we should get close to 70% and that’s not too shabby because we’re already enjoying it and will be able to do so for a little while.