Inside: Get been-there recommendation on how one can survive a serious kitchen renovation–and feed your loved ones throughout a kitchen rework.
Practically 20 years in the past, we fell in love with a small, 100-year-old home on a reasonably, tree-lined avenue.
Principally, we fell in love with the bones of the home.
The kitchen, not as a lot.
The counters had been blue, the range was black, the fridge was off-white. It was useful however outdated. Clear however cramped.
We purchased the home figuring we’d have the kitchen reworked. As a result of how arduous may that be?
Yeah, proper!
The corporate we employed took the kitchen all the way down to the studs, pushed the ceiling up, leveled the flooring, dismantled an outdated coal chimney, opened up a wall, and located sufficient costly surprises alongside the way in which to depart our authentic finances within the mud.
Did I point out I used to be additionally pregnant, sick with nausea and vomiting, and had a toddler?
In fact it was nicely price it. Right this moment I look again on the “earlier than” pictures and really feel grateful for our greater, extra fashionable house.
Nevertheless it wasn’t simple. And one of many hardest elements was holding everybody fed and not using a working kitchen.
So I made a decision to stroll down reminiscence lane with our personal kitchen makeover in case you’ve acquired a rework in your future and need assistance surviving the method.
I additionally reached out to my Actual Mother Vitamin Fb group for his or her finest recommendation and acquired so many nice suggestions, I needed to share them right here too.
Plus, I’m sharing before-and-after pictures of our renovation and the little “kitchen glow-up” we not too long ago did.
6 Ideas for Surviving a Kitchen Rework
1. Make a Momentary Kitchen
Our contractor moved our outdated fridge into the lounge, the place we arrange a short lived kitchen house with a small desk, microwave, and toaster oven.
A folding desk or card desk is useful for this. And earlier than you pack the whole lot away, put aside some objects that may make it easier to in your makeshift kitchen, equivalent to:
- Espresso maker
- Reducing board
- Pots/pans
- Strainer
- Can opener
- Spatula and different cooking utensils/instruments
- Spices & cooking spray
Right here’s some reader recommendation:
“Discovering a devoted spot to have zones for various issues helped us. Cooking space, prep space, place for making lunches and so forth. fortunately now we have an enclosed facet porch that labored completely.”
“We moved fridge & microwave to our stroll out basement, purchased a scorching plate, toaster oven, and hubby constructed a kitchenette.”
“I had my makeshift kitchen arrange within the storage with the fridge, an induction scorching plate, toaster/convection oven and a microwave. Additionally had the crockpot and rice cooker helpful.”
“We sealed off our eating room and made it a makeshift kitchen. We had our fridge in there, a desk, on the spot pot, air fryer, and so forth all arrange so we may entry it. We used paper plates and cups, and so forth. we additionally bought a couple of massive, heavy responsibility plastic shelving models to make use of as momentary pantries. We packed the whole lot in plastic tubs that we thought we’d use (a reducing board, a couple of knives, and so forth) it was rough-but we made it!”
2. Hold your sink so long as doable
Everybody, together with me, agrees that coping with soiled dishes is the worst a part of a kitchen rework. So for those who can, grasp on to your kitchen sink so long as doable.
You may additionally have a sink you should use in a basement, rest room, storage, or laundry room. However “don’t do dishes within the bathtub,” one reader cautioned. “It would kill your again. I ended up in PT due to that.”
READER TIP: “I stocked my freezer with crock pot dinners earlier than the work began and used gradual cooker liners.”
3. Lean on small home equipment
Whereas your oven’s out of fee, smaller home equipment can save the day. Listed here are some to contemplate (ask a pal or neighbor to borrow for those who don’t have one):
- On the spot Pot
- Air fryer
- George Foreman grill
- Microwave
- Toaster oven
- Scorching plate/induction burner
- Electrical skillet
- Electrical griddle
- Camp range to cook dinner exterior
READER TIP: “Be further good to neighbors and associates within the months/weeks main as much as the renovation so you’ll be able to name in some favors & get invited to dinner.”
4. Time it proper
If doable, schedule your renovation for hotter months when you should use your grill and eat exterior.
Bonus: Summer season can also be when associates and neighbors will journey. One reader advised a swap the place you water their vegetation and fetch the mail in trade for utilizing their kitchen whereas they’re gone.
READER TIP: “Our Blackstone grill is savinnngg me proper now. It mainly does most of what you are able to do on a stovetop in a pan, it’s only a griddle: Stir fry model dishes, breakfast hash, and so forth. in addition to burgers and whatnot.”
5. Meal plan & assume E-A-S-Y
Having some sort of plan in place will help cut back stress (you’ll have sufficient of that already). Seize my free meal planning worksheet for those who’re a pen-and-paper individual.
Listed here are some reader strategies for lower-effort meals:
- Costco pre-made dinners
- Sandwiches
- Salad kits
- Dealer Joe’s frozen/microwavable meals
- Pre-prepped meal supply service
- Freezer meals you’ve made prematurely that you may microwave
- Pizza supply as soon as every week
Think about filling a plastic bin with shelf-stable objects you should use for easy meals and snacks equivalent to:
- Peanut butter
- Shelf-stable microwavable rice and pasta pouches
- Canned meals equivalent to canned beans, soup, veggies, and fruit
- Vitality bars
- Entire grain crackers
- On the spot oatmeal
- Applesauce and fruit cups
- Cereal and granola
Seize extra concepts, plus 10 simple meals you may make and not using a range, in my submit 45+ Wholesome Dorm Meals Concepts
READER TIP: “Don’t assume it’s important to cook dinner – chilly meals are effective, too. Deal with it as an journey.”
6. Let go of guilt
Give your self grace when you’re going via a rework. As an alternative of beating your self up over disposable plates and frozen dinners, channel that vitality into choosing out new home equipment and selecting between 500 kinds of drawer pulls. Right here’s what else Actual Mother readers needed to say:
“Don’t attempt to save the setting in 3 months (that means you should use paper plates for a couple of weeks to save lots of your sanity), and preserve your humorousness.”
“Paper plates, cups and plastic cutlery. Shake off no matter guilt you assume you must really feel and name it ‘self-care.’ Make a listing of carry-out/dine-in choices you’ve got needed to attempt to work that expense into the finances for those who can.”
“There have been MANY instances we simply had sandwiches and cereal for all 3 meals.”
“Hold it easy as a result of life is sophisticated when your entire kitchen is torn up.”
READER TIP: “You possibly can all the time get compostable paper plates and bowls for those who use a composting service.”
Our kitchen rework
Listed here are some before-and-after photographs of our kitchen house, which was renovated 16 years in the past. What they did:
- Eliminated an higher block of kitchen cupboards and a peninsula separating the kitchen and consuming space to make one massive room.
- Eliminated a part of an outdated coal chimney and turned it into one facet of an ornamental mantle over our range (the facet cupboards have cabinets for spices, and so forth.).
- Opened up a kitchen wall into the eating room.
- Eliminated a drop ceiling.
- Eliminated laminate flooring and wove the unique flooring from the eating room into matching hardwood within the kitchen.
- Put in new perimeter cupboards and black granite counters, plus a kitchen island with a soapstone countertop.
- Relocated the again door.
Our kitchen “glow-up”
Now that our kitchen is sufficiently old to drive, it felt like a very good time for a bit of refresh.
So we changed the backsplash and the pendant lights to offer the room a bit of increase with out spending an entire lot of cash.
