Walking through your unfinished kitchen in the middle of a remodel can be a big stress-inducer — like waiting around for your sister in law to finish The Undoing so you can argue about Hugh Grant. Or wondering if that chess orphan lady from the Queen’s Gambit is going to beat the Russians. Will your kitchen be done on time? Will they hurry up and finish the vaccines so we can have everybody over to see the new place? Knowing more about what you can expect can allay your fears and help you prepare for what’s to come.

Here’s what to expect when you begin your kitchen remodel:

INCONVENIENCE. Prepare for inconvenience. A kitchen remodeling project can turn your home and – on some days – your whole life upside down. A kitchen renovation will, of course, affect meal planning. But a little ingenuity and some culinary shortcuts can lessen the impact. Set up a temporary cooking quarters by moving the refrigerator, toaster oven, and microwave to another room. Arrange a dishwashing station in your laundry room. If the weather is warm, fire up the grill and dine alfresco. Support the COVID economy by ordering takeout from your favorite locally owned restaurant. By preparing for this ahead of time, you will save yourself a lot of frustration.

DUST. When remodeling a kitchen, it usually needs to be gutted first. This involves removing old cabinets, countertops, and appliances. As you would imagine this can quickly become messy. Even when using elaborate ZipWalls, a fine layer of dust can gather in parts of your home far away from construction. The dust is inevitable − but there are some things you can do to minimize it. Make sure that you cover all of your heavy furniture (the items that can’t be moved into another room) with plastic or a thick cloth. Turn off central air or heat when workers are sanding and stock up on extra air filters so that you can change them often. Also, make sure you frequently vacuum around the opening to the construction zone. This will help control the amount of dust you track through the rest of the house.

NOISE. It will be incessant. From screeching saws, to sanders and nail guns, you won’t be able to find much peace. We know that many of you are working from home during the pandemic – and maybe this noise is no worse than your teenagers bouncing a basketball off the walls. This problem is not insurmountable if you plan ahead. Our current clients have adjusted by using headphones, shutting the door to their office and holding Zoom calls before and after daily construction work. Just remember the noise is as temporary as Nicole Kidman’s affection for Hugh Grant, and soon you will have a beautiful new kitchen to show for it.

DECISIONS. Where should that outlet be? Where do you want the cabinet hardware mounted? Brushed-nickel or satin-nickel hardware? Count on hundreds of questions that you’ll need to answer as your project proceeds. Just know that your selection of a contractor is the first of many you will make and possibly the most important. Meet your Classic Cabinets & Design’s talented design team here.

THE UNEXPECTED. The one thing you can expect during a kitchen remodel is the unexpected. Be sure to leave room from the start in your budget and time frame for the unexpected. By doing so, unpredicted problems won’t be such a shock. Expect upcharges, and build them into your budget. Some change orders will be beyond your or your builder’s control, e.g. surprises discovered during demolition (such as bad wiring, bad plumbing or asbestos) or permitting requirements imposed by your municipality. And others you will initiate as new ideas come forth or you change your mind. (You will change your mind, most certainly more than once. When in doubt, try the Queen’s Gambit. It always seemed to work for the chess lady.)

DELAYS. Unanticipated delays can occur that are outside of the contractor’s control — back orders, weather delays, faulty existing construction. COVID-19 has caused quite a bit of headaches for our supply chain. Maintain a sense of humor and remember it’s best to laugh rather than upset yourself about things that are beyond your control. Just know that the process is not forever, and the changes you must undergo are sacrifices for a better home, great return on investment, and a more inviting, comfortable place to cook and entertain. Be patient. The contractors are not trying to make your life miserable. They are there to help you and make it better! In the end these inconveniences will pale in comparison to the years of joy you will experience when the job is done. HGTV offers up 30 luxurious and sophisticated kitchen remodel designs for your visual inspiration: https://www.hgtv.com/design/remodel/kitchen-remodel/

At Classic Cabinets & Design our highly skilled design consultants will work with you every step of the way to help you stay on budget with your kitchen remodel costs while creating the kitchen of your dreams. If you’ve read this far, and want to learn more about kitchen remodeling or who really knocked off Hugh Grant’s mistress, call us for a chat, we’re in Louisville, CO 80027, or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gPVjqU-73g&feature=youtu.be