Instead of taking a vacation this year we are doing a full renovation of our kitchen – I am calling it our “Renocation”, like a staycation but not as restful. And I thought it would be fun to blog the experience! In addition to the kitchen, we are replacing most of the bottom floor carpet with engineered hardwood and having the family room, living room, hallway, and master bedroom painted. Monday, April 6th is T-Day — Tear-Out!
That means by tomorrow evening, the kitchen must be completely empty, including wall hangings and the contents of the refrigerator. Over the last two weeks, we have been boxing all unassential items and moving the boxes into the garage. I am losing my parking spot in the garage to the appliances that are due to arrive next Wednesday. Several people have asked why we are renovating an already nice kitchen. We like our kitchen, but the linoleum is separating and there is a spot we trip over everytime we walk by. In addition, the tile grout is disintegrating in several areas and the cabinet door hinges are pulling out. We decided since we have to replace the floor and the countertops, we might as well take the opportunity to create our dream kitchen. The only thing we are keeping is the refrigerator (since we purchaed it when we moved here 5 years ago).
Linoleum lifting!
Grout disintegrating.
We are using Eberle Remodeling to handle the renovation. He, in turn, works with several subcontractors to handle specifics like cabinet building, granite installation, etc. Kent Eberle is an award winning contractor who has been in the business for over 20 years. He is known to do a great job and stay on schedule. He also did my girlfriend’s kitchen several years ago and she has been very happy with his work.
Here are some ‘before’ pictures:
The sink and left corner of the kitchen.
The pantry, next to the refrigerator.
Cabinets over the microwave and range.
The island.
The schedule starts Monday, April 6th and we should be done by May 27th — that’s approximately 7 weeks with no kitchen. We do have another refrigerator in the garage, so that will help, as well as a full BBQ island in the backyard. Nonetheless, I think we will be eating out a lot! I’m hoping this blog will remind us to embrace the process, maintain our senses of humor and keep the stress in check — we’ll see!
Safari So Good 