Why the Kitchen Didn’t Make the Phase 1 Cut
If you’ve been following along with our renovations on social media, you probably know that Phase 1 includes the rooms we spend the most time in: the living room, playroom, Edie’s bedroom, and our bedroom. While that list makes up most of the main level of our house, there are some spaces we left off the list. The laundry room, our master bathroom, and Edie’s bathroom are all spaces that we spend minimal time in (comparatively) and that function just fine for us, so we’re leaving those alone for now.
“But, what about the kitchen? You spend lots of time in there; don’t you want to update it?” The answer to that is a big, fat, resounding YES. We spend lots of time in the kitchen and kiiiind of hate how it currently looks, but the kitchen is the one room that I firmly believe should n-e-v-e-r be included in Phase 1 renovations. Why? I’m glad you asked.
our junior contracting assistant through the first few months (also RIP to carefree rides in shopping carts) 😭
Take some time to live in the kitchen and really get to know it.
Just looking at a kitchen isn’t enough to tell whether or not it’s going to work for you the way a kitchen should. It takes living in kitchen, using it every day for months, to notice what works and what could work better. For example, in all of the time we spent in this house prior to actually moving in, we never noticed how few drawers there were in the kitchen. Or, how none of them are near the dishwasher. Because we moved our things into the kitchen before renovating it, we noticed the lack of drawer storage, and now we have the opportunity to address it.
It’s important to have a functioning kitchen when starting renovations.
Renovating a house is tough work. Add to that the stress of moving into a new place, work, parenting, chores, and all the other normal aspects of daily life, and you need to make sure there’s a way to keep yourself well-fed. Sure, eating out is usually an option, and a tempting one at that, but it starts to wear on your wallet and your stomach. Having a kitchen in which to cook good, energizing food (and where you can always find a clean glass) is crucial for getting through renovations without feeling overwhelmed.
Make sure you really love your design plans before you commit.
Kitchen designs go beyond just painting the walls and hanging a new light fixture — they include countertops, backsplashes, cabinet finishes, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and more. In other words, they’re pretty permanent, so really take your time and make sure you love the changes you have planned before you start. It’s not as easy as swapping out a rug or changing up the wall color if you decide your tastes have changed in a year or two.
When you renovate the kitchen, renovate only the kitchen.
In terms of renovation timelines, the kitchen is probably the most important room to get done in a timely manner. Most other rooms can be comfortably avoided when they’re under construction, but not having a working kitchen makes life difficult. To help it move along as quickly as possible, focus all your renovating attention on this one space.
There you have it! Korin’s Kitchen Reno Commandments. We’re 7 months into living here, and even though our kitchen is my least favorite room in our house visually, I’m so glad we waited to start making changes. We have a list of projects and changes to make that we never would have considered just a few months ago, and they’re going to make the coming years of using this kitchen so much more enjoyable.