Okay, so I have not posted in FOREVER but I am embarking on a new journey...just not one involving leaving my house. What is this journey, you say? Well, I am renovating my kitchen.
I have been planning - and Pinterest Boarding - my vision of my perfect Townhouse kitchen for a while now. I am hoping to keep up with a relatively steady blog series through the process and sharing with you my occasional readers with some, hopefully sage, advice as well as images, thoughts, and probably a few tears through the process - because renovations.
So, where am I in the process? Well, I spent some time investigating and interviewing contractors to select my partners in crime on this reno. I invited quite a few to come out, hear my vision, and walk the space before giving me bids as well as references. I could tell right away which ones were going to take me seriously and which ones I would probably never hear from...except for one.
The first appointment was my preferred contractor...on paper. Great images, great reviews and in person was very, well, personable. My initial budget number seemed to throw him off even after he spent an hour hearing my vision and walking and diagramming the space. He knew his stuff and I was even amenable to raising my budget somewhat should he come up with a plan that made sense. I fully expected to hear from him with a quote, even if the quote was far higher than I could afford. Or at least a thank you but no thank you.
What did I get? Ghost. Nada. Not one word even when I followed up with him.
Lesson 1: Keep your mind open and talk to twice as many contractors as you think you need to.
The contractor I ended up going with is a husband and wife team. They listened to my vision, worked with me on budget realities, and followed up with quotes, references, and frankly more information than I probably wanted but actually needed.
Once I had my partners in this journey, I needed to establish a couple of ground rules to this renovation. It was important for me to set and manage expectations with my team so they knew what was important to me and what was just a wish. Also, it was important for me to share all my visions. But the most important was to share my budget and hold them accountable.
Lesson 2: Set a budget and hold everyone - including yourself - accountable!
Nothing is more stressful than getting into a project and starting down the fun path of "visioning" your future amazing space only to find out everything you love is out of your price range. It is frankly demoralizing. I am not saying don't dream but you also have to keep reality in mind. This means have the big vision, all the bells and whistles, and proverbial bling in mind. BUT, you also have to know what is a deal breaker must have and what is just a nice to have.
For me, it was amazing countertops, full pantry cabinets, and a single basin, apron front sink. What I REALLY wanted were full pull out shelves in the pantry, the super fancy amazing custom cabinets, and the instant hot water thingy for the sink (you know, for those coffee days!)
What am I getting? Amazing soapstone countertops (from a slab I picked out myself!) with a soapstone inset behind the stove for a feature! Great quality cabinets that have some of the features I want (hello deep drawers for pots and pans! Baking pan/cutting board divider cabinet to the rescue! almost 8 Ft of wall to wall pantry cabinets - HELLO storage!) And ladies and gents, one AMAZING statement sink....gold.single.basin.apron-front.sink. Just let that sink in.
Not sharing images yet. I want to hold onto those for future posts and future lessons...because I know there will be more. After all, I am taking out a wall - I am praying to the construction deity that there are no surprises in the wall but there probably are. Plus, there are more decisions - TILE! - that I know I will have to balance my vision with my budget reality.
But, I am in this for the long haul and I know I will love what I end up with because I can only go up from my builder basic, golden oak (painted grey when I moved in) cabinets with faux green marble formica counters and a cheap sink.
So, some of you may decide to join me on this journey and I will do my best to post regular. probably not because, you know, life. I will absolutely promise to share the good, the bad, and the ugly through the process because I value that when I read up on someones renovation journey.
So, goodbye for now but keep a watch here and join me on this journey!
Shel
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