Preparing for Your Kitchen Remodel
Preparing for Your Kitchen Remodel
The kitchen is the epicenter and most used room in the home for almost everyone who lives in St Charles, IL. Homeowners in St Charles, IL come to our showroom armed with months of research, having scoured kitchen design magazines, home improvement television shows, the Internet and friends and family who have recently renovated. They finally make the decision to move forward. It’s both an exciting time, but also a bit disconcerting. Remodeling your kitchen is not always easy, but it is definitely worth it. After homeowners in St Charles, IL make the decision to remodel, there are certain steps we advise that they take to make the renovation process less stressful, costly and time consuming.
Creating a dream kitchen in St Charles, IL provides a greatopportunity to curate what currently exists and that process will help definestorage needs for the future. The number one regret among homeowners in St Charles, IL after they have renovated their kitchen notinvesting enough in storage and organization. We recommend sorting your kitchengear into three categories:
1.Items you will need to store.
2.Items you will need to use during the renovation.
3.Items you want to recycle/donate/dispose of.
The recycle/donate/dispose of option is often most important. Homeowners in St Charles, IL should determine how many sets of dishes they actually need or want. Do you really want to keep dinner ware and serving dishes that are faded, cracked or chipped? How often to you use a saucer with your coffee cup? If never is the answer, do you really need to keep saucers? If you have serving pieces or fine china, real silver and large pots and pans that are used occasionally – think turkey roasting pans – then determine if you can store those items in other rooms in the house to make more room in your kitchen for the items that you use daily.
Mugs and food storage containers are additional items that most home owners in St Charles, IL have in abundance. Many mugs have sentimental value if they were acquired from trips, art shows, etc. Determine if they are needed or wanted in your new kitchen. Also determine how many storage containers you actually use and the right sizes.
Small appliances and cooking utensils are additional categories ripe for curation when planning a new dream kitchen. We encourage home owners in St Charles, IL to give away the small appliances and gadgets that they don’t use or whose functionality is covered by other appliances.
Looking toward the future and what your lifestyle is likely to bein the next three to five years and beyond can aid in the curation process. What items will you need? What items do you love and can’t part ways with and what new items will make your life that much easier and enjoyable?
After you have curated, the next step is to create a temporary kitchen in your garage, basement, utility room or other location to simplify cooking, eating and cleaning up at home during the renovation. You will minimize the expense of dining out and ordering takeout by creating a place to cook and store groceries. You may use a combination of the following to create a temporary kitchen:
- Grill
- Microwave
- Hot plate
- Camping stove
- Refrigerator (If you are replacing your existing refrigerator, the renovation provides a perfect opportunity to move the fridge to the basement, garage or other location that provides additional refrigeration space).
- Toaster oven
- Sendwich press
- Stick blender
- Pressure cooker and/or slow cooker
Depending on the scope, a kitchen renovation can take sever a lweeks to several months. Simply replacing what currently exists in the same footprint can take less time than expanding or reconfiguring space ,ventilation, plumbing, electrical and structural components and systems.
Planning For Life Without a Kitchen
- Coffee maker
- Electric skillet
- Folding or portable tables and chairs
- Temporary trash and recycling bins
Your grill, toaster oven, microwave or camping stove offer functionality comparable to an oven. A pressure cooker or slow cooker enable you to make one pot meals that can satisfy even the most finicky of palates.
Maintaining a positive attitude and a good sense of humor help.Remember that the inconveniences you experience during the renovation processare temporary and the reward of having a brand-new kitchen that serves as theepicenter of your home is long lasting and priceless.
If you would like additional guidance for curating your kitchen,effective storage solutions in your new dream kitchen and creating a temporarykitchen, please call our showroom at (630) 214-9775 or make an appointment tovisit us at 2422 West Main St #1A, St. Charles, IL 60175.
