Last updated on May 13th, 2018
Our kitchen renovation project begins in just 48 hours. Am I excited? Yes! Am I filled with dread? You betcha. Just now, Muttka and Kittka are blissfully ignorant of the fact that their world will be turned upside down for the next few weeks. We’ll muddle through the noise and confusion somehow. Meantime, let me show you the new cabinets and appliances that arrived the other day!
The delivery crew from Lowe’s Home Improvement Center probably assumed the gargantuan kitchen gear would go in my garage until installation time.
Ha ha ha.
I don’t have a garage.
Here’s the “Lazy Susan” corner cabinet. It makes a dazzling presence in my entrance hall.
And here are just some of the new upper cabinets and shelves, loafing around in the dining room.
Still more cabinets — one of which will house a pair of wall ovens — are lingering in the north end of the music room. Who knew that corrugated brown would pair so nicely with red window hangings? You might like to copy this decoration scheme in your own home.
On another note, I have lots of work to do before the kitchen renovation begins. I’m making a batch of spice cookies today. And tomorrow, I’m signing copies of my cookbook and serving the aforementioned cookies at the Kinderhook Memorial Library (4PM; please stop by and say “hello” if you’re in the area).
And then…
And then…
I must remove the plates, silverware, glassware, sacks of flour and tins of whatnot from the cabinets that are going bye-bye. Where to temporarily store these items, I haven’t a clue.
May I borrow your garage?
xKevin, Mr. Fox, Avery the Muttka, Tiger the Kittka, and Camille the Other Kittka
Hungry for more? Get my email updates.
You may also like:
Trish Drake says
You don’t have a garage!!!!!!
What happens to your car in the winter?
Not used to snow in New Zealand. We’re still in autumn still eating out of the vegetable garden.
Can’t wait to see your finished kitchen.
Janis says
I can totally empathize. It was the same when our renovation was ongoing. One thing about our though, the old kitchen was ripped out to make way for the new floor. Then, the cabinets were delayed four weeks! No kitchen for four weeks. Sure was a happy day when the renovation was completed. And it was worth the wait. Yours will be worth the chaos too.
Jerry Miller says
Hi Kevin, Good luck with your remodel. I had new cabinets and counters installed in my old house. At the same time, I had an smaller counter top and a floor to ceiling cabinet added against a wall to a nook in the dining room. The thing I missed the most during the construction was my countertop. The contractor cut a piece of plywood to hold up my sink but I had no countertops. Every time I had to use a cutting board or set something down, while cooking, I had to use my dining room table. I think I was without countertops for 10 days. Fortunately, the project was well worth the inconvenience and the cost. I can’t wait until your project is finished and you show off the results!
badger gardener says
Best of luck! Can’t wait to see the results.
Susan McNally says
Hi, Kevin,
Best of luck with your soon to be reborn kitchen. We had ours (and a great deal of the rest of the first floor) redone five years ago. We stayed in the house and it was an adventure – kind of like camping inside, but so wonderful when it was done. Can’t wait to see the progress. Enjoy!
Franceen Elias-Stein says
Good luck with the renovation!! I hope you were told to try to close as many doors leading to rooms in your house as you can. If you have rooms you don’t regularly use, try to seal them with painter’s tape-you’d be amazed at the drywall dust that gets into every nook and cranny everywhere in the house.
I can’t wait to see your beautiful, new kitchen!
Grani Frani says
All the confusion, noise and temporary clutter will be so worth it when your kitchen is done! Best of luck. Thanks for the pic of Avery an Tiger. Sorry Camille couldn’t make it. Actually I must have my head stuck in the sand. Didn’t know you had cats!! Good for you.
Joan says
You are so clever Kevin, I am sure you cooked your heart out making many, many meals and freezing them for a quick reheat in the microwave. I am very eco friendly, but know that these are the times that call for paper plates, napkins and anything else made of paper. There are very cute paper products in specialty stores, so you wont feel deprived of elegance.
Patricia C says
Focus on how beautiful the end result will be and eat out or get take-out a lot. Best wishes. Can’t wait to see pics of the new kitchen!!
Kate says
Oh, Kevin, you must be so excited! I can’t wait to see the finishd product, as I’m sure can’t either. As for storage of kitchen equipment and foodstuffs, do you have anything you can put together temporarily for shelving on the floor of one of the big rooms? Perhaps materials leftover from any gardening projects? (I.e., cinder blocks and planks are an old tried and true solution.. not very attractive but it does the job)
When I had my ceilings done in the parlor I had to move all of that furniture (bookcases, coffee table, side tables, two wing chairs, steamer trunk, rocking chair, and 7 foot couch) into my dining room which was already quite full of my usual English cottage clutter. Did I mention it’s a c-o-t-t-a-g-e? And then a week later when they did the dining room and kitchen ceilings (on the SAME DAY) I had to move all the kitchen furniture and appliances AND all the dining room furniture into the parlor. My poor parlor looked like an episode of extreme hoarding.
Wishing you all the best with this wonderful project. Hoping the Muttka and the Kittkas will come through it okay! By the way, are they house cats? Make sure the worker-men don’t leave any doors open in their to-ing and fro-ing. ❤️
Arlene says
Keep smiling, the beautiful end result will truly be worth the inconvenience.
Maraya says
Ditto on the drywall dust, Kevin, and I hope you don’t have any asbestos to deal with. I’ve been through several major renovations, and the end result has been worth it. I’m sure yours will be, too, and I can’t wait to see it!
Thanks for the morning chuckles and the photos of Avery and Tiger.
kath parran moriarty says
If you are not careful, those boxes will multiply when you turn off the lights–like wire hangers in a remote closet. Good luck! Best to alert all the friends that you would appreciate a dinner invitation. Or lunch. Or breakfast.
Ardelle says
As a retired Interior Designer and Remodeling Contractor, I admire your courage to manage this on your own. It sounds like you have things under control (between the hyperventilating). Staying
organized and calm will make everything move along much smoother. Eat out, camp out with carryouts in your ‘sane’ part of the house, and most of all defend the other parts of the house. I am sure your workmen will seal all doorways, turn off HVAC units and seal all ductwork to avoid sending dust and odors throughout the house.
Seeing your progress and the soon to be completed kitchen is exciting. Think positive through it all. …and then you get to organize all your goodies into your new digs!
Toni says
Good luck muddling and have fun, really. Don’t forget to laugh when you can’t find……something.
Our muddling will be of a different kind (I think muddling is a good choice of words here). Our summer camp, which has cupboards sitting in boxes just like at your house, has been battered with filthy muddy water, inside and out for the last several days! A brand new camp (cottage or summer hangout), just built last fall and not finished on the inside yet but had all the new fixtures stored in it over the winter. Unprecedented floods – it seems like everyone no matter where we live has to be hit with something at some time or other. Not looking forward to dealing with “our turn”.
Hoping your updates will be a pick-me-up.
from: Beaten in New Brunswick, Canada, aka Toni
Dianne Winters says
I can sympathize…our dining room is full of the mother-in-law’s furniture after moving her. I can’t wait to see pictures of the new kitchen.
Cary Bradley says
Good luck, my friend. Any estimate on completion time? Updates as you are able. Looking forward to seeing in Hartford. Hugs to you all!
Martey Costello says
We just finished our reno, Lowes did a great job, and the contractor lives close by, so we were always in touch. We had to store our cabinets in the garage, so one of us had to park out in the snow, oh woe. I set up a temporary kitchen in our laundry room with a microwave, toaster oven, induction burner and coffee maker. Everything that I knew we wouldn’t be using went in big plastic bins in the living room. We put an extra cat box upstairs where the fraidy-cats hide. It was tough, but we got through. And the packing, storing and unpacking was a great opportunity to go through my gadgets and spices and streamline…
Christine Carpenter says
Perhaps you might consider getting a small “POD” delivered. They drop it, you pack all your stuff in it, and when the remodel is done all your beautiful belongings can be unpacked. Tha dah … extra room! And you stuff is out of harm’s way. Good lick w/ the remodel. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Linda says
Oh lucky you…all that cardboard from the boxed cabinets…makes wonderful weed block under mulch..kills grass and weeds without digging them up , especially for making new beds. Start thinking where you want a mulch paths or new flower bed. Good Luck on the kitchen and all the new flower beds.
Sharon A. Shade says
I feel your pain. I, myself, am in the middle of this process but this time I did not make all the major decisions (appliances, flooring, cabinets, color scheme) first. So things are being done in phases. As I sit here with my Sunday morning coffee, the last of the flooring is finally going down and appliances are all in place and hooked up. But cabinets and color scheme are still TBD. Yikes! Cats and dogs are just rolling with it and the contents of my cabinets are all over the living room and dining room, which is making me crazy.
I recommend setting up a temporary kitchen somewhere close by AND stocking up on your preferred spirits.
Linda says
Exciting that you’re getting a new kitchen! Please take some exceptional before & after pictures to share with us.
Maralee A Thompson says
Good luck with the renovation. Have you thought of a walk in pod. We used them when we renovated our school. All of our teaching supplies went in the walk in pod while the carpeting was laid down. It will be a beautiful kitchen!
carolyn says
The idea of a POD sounds like a great ida. SHort of that, storage contaiers for everything that will fit in them. ALso, follow the suggestion to tape close rooms not in use. Dust gets everywhere!!!! Weeks of clean up work ahead without adequate preparation.
Francoise says
Having just experienced a kitchen renovation I sympathize. My own Tiger cat was put in a bedroom with
food, litter pan and water and a “do not open” sign on the door (should any installer be looking
for a bathroom). My dog, believe it or not, was attached to me with leash! Given an open door
she would have taken off, away from all the noise and commotion. I would highly recommend a
crate (borrow from a friend if need be) for respites for both home owner and pet. In the end you’ll
love your new kitchen and the chaos will only be a dim memory. Come to think of it that sounds
vaguely familiar to what someone once told me about childbirth!
Lainey says
I got stuck at the ‘no garage’ comment…
so sorry.
Gloria says
I think the flour and glassware would look lovely on your pianos, one for each. I have been there, done that and won’t be copying your new decor lol. I just got the last of the Pyrex out from under the bed.
Kathy E says
Kevin,
We did a complete renovation of the kitchen last year…gutted it to studs. So, I feel your angst. We were reduce to cooking in the bathroom or on the grill for almost three months. However, now that is a distant memory and I can hardly remember the pain it was to cook in the old kitchen. Please post lots of pictures of the work in progress, and be prepared for all the little extras that will pop up (like wiring errors that need to be fixed). And most of all, be sure you have LOTS of wine.
Karen Thomas says
You are hilarious, Kevin! I tried this form of decor in my living room and hall recently. Mine didn’t look nearly as neat and pleasant as your does. A lot of mine did, however, make it out to the garage, which I am proud to own. There will be a rummage sale later this month. If you happen to be in Kingman, AZ, please stop by and say hello!
Joyce E Bradley says
Kevin, You certainly deserve a new kitchen for all the wonderful creations you’ve made there. What lovely Youtube presentations you will be able to make then.
I have to tell you that I was thinking about you a lot while finally out working in my garden digging up dandelions and other nasty growing things. Thinking about you for introducing me to the HORI HORI GARDEN KNIFE!! It is such a marvelous tool and makes this type of work so much easier…and dare I say FUN? Thanks again and have a safe and a least stressful remodel as possible.
Nancy says
Love your sense of humor!!! You’ll be needing it for this project, no doubt, but I do hope all goes smoothly. Many of us will be waiting to see what happens and the end results. Hoping you’re pleased!
anita says
Love the photo of Muttka and Kittka.
Now I need to go take a nap.
Sunni says
Sweetest pic of the pets. Adorable. Hope they can handle the noise and activity. Soon that will all be forgotten and they will have an “up-town” place for treats and snacks. Good luck with the project. If need be, you can always wail to us. We care.
Joy Windle says
When ur kitchen reno involved the old kitchen, the 1954 1-car garage (not large) and a corner of the library, we rented a POD to safely store all the stuff– sort like renting a tiny garage. I recommend it.
Julie says
I hope it all goes easily for you all! I can remember washing dishes ..when we used real ones…kneeling at the bathtub! We were campers so the Coleman stove was used. We also used an electric frypan a lot. Microwaves were not used when I endured two renovations. If you haven’t yet set up an area with your toaster oven, coffee pot, and a small refrigerator (college dorm size if you can’t stash yours somewhere) and a microwave..borrow or buy an inexpensive one. Add paper towels (they double as napkins), paper plates, bowls, and some utensils, including eating and basic cooking. Add a cutting board and a couple of knives, and you and yours should survive! Let the adventure begin!
Julia Owings says
Our contractors will back the get the pod and painter tape all doors shut or put up plastic at door ways you have to use. It’s the worst “dust” I’ve had to clean, think dry vac and sponge mop LOL.
No counter will be the biggest thing. Yes it will be worth it (as I keep telling myself for having the Amish house( no electric no plumbing no heat as they took the wood burner out as it was also their cookstove) we bought completely redone before we move in.
LynnAnn says
Creative visualization of the finished kitchen helps when you want to run away screaming that you can’t take it anymore. Which for me happened a few days after the demolition of our kitchen. It also helped to have a small refrigerator and coffee machine in the spare bedroom.
Best wishes to have all the pieces necessary to put the kitchen puzzle back together again …….when you need them most. Can’t wait to see the final product!
Sherry in Willow Grove says
What an adorable picture of the Muttka and one Kittka! Wish ours got along like that…How wonderful that you are remodeling – but I don’t envy you the noise, dust, and general commotion. Please take before, during, and after pictures! I think the POD is the way to go. We have a small (1000 sq ft) house with no garage and are wondering what to do with everything when the carpet man comes to install new carpet in our basement rec room. I am procrastinating because I don’t want to think about it…I can’t even begin to imaging a whole kitchen! Here is where frozen meals and the Instant Pot may come in handy 🙂
Addie in Florida says
We had our kitchen gutted (except for the floor) in October of 2015. A friend of ours said go away for a month and I’ll manage the project for you. We took our travel trailer up to Panacea, Fl. (oh, the irony!) and let him get on with it. I expected to come home to a beautiful, finished kitchen. Instead there were no countertops, the workers hadn’t put up anything against the dust going into other rooms (our house is open-plan) and in addition to that they used lot of my husband’s tools. I was so upset that I couldn’t face the cleanup so I had someone come in and do it for me. There were multiple other screw ups ; i.e. the induction stovetop had to be replaced because they cracked it. Long story short, it finally got sorted out and the kitchen now looks great. (And BTW, it wasn’t Lowe’s, it was the other guys.) I hope my tale of woe will make any little hiccups you may run into look like, well, just hiccups! lol! So looking forward to seeing the finished product
Janet Metzger says
Kevin,
all the best!
Claudia Travis says
I just love your sense of humor. Have fun with the remodel. I remember eons ago announcing to the family on Christmas Day that we would be tearing out the old dark cabinets and putting in the then popular honey oak. Before I knew it my bothers, and friend and husband were dismantling the old kitchen. I didn’t see my Christmas tree for two weeks! Yikes!! and by that time it was mostly needles on the floor. What a great help they were and the cabinets were great.
I hope the book signing went well. Being a cookie lover and known to seek out the bakeries no matter where I travel, the spice cookies looked delish!
Jo-Anne Collis says
Thinking of you and your pets today!!
Julie R says
Kevin, I laughed at the comments you made of pre-renovation woes. Your good sense of humor will help you to get through this messy time. Just think of end result, as I’m sure it will turn out beautiful. Can’t wait to see pictures of your new kitchen. Muttka and Kittka are adorable nappers = )