The Emotional Journey of a Kitchen Overhaul

Talk is cheap. A complete kitchen overhaul is not. But it’s worth every penny if you make sure it’s exactly what you want.

To overhaul our kitchen we decided to enlist the help of a professional kitchen designer for the overall layout of the room. Although we chose our own appliances, we bounced every idea off our designer and found her to be most knowledgeable. I had the overall “look” in mind all the way through as we went from a country theme to a contemporary/European look utilizing the simplicity of natural cherry, stainless steel, moody granite and warm color tones like deep red, browns and sage green.

The project took us close to 5 months to complete and we did much of the grunt work ourselves. It’s an emotional journey. Ripping out floors, walls, ceilings and cabinets is strangely cathartic. Suddenly, a few months have passed. Eating out of a microwave or toaster oven and doing dishes in a 3” deep powder room sink is beginning to take its toll. Having company, unless it’s a cookout, is out of the question. Take out food is getting old. You actually question the entire project – is it worth all of this time, effort and money?

At last, the cabinet installation rekindles the original excitement. The appliances add sparkle that makes you want to stay up night after night finishing every detail. When the sink is installed, you’ll think it’s the fountain of youth. Never has it been so fun to play in soapy water getting your favorite wine glasses squeaky clean. You’ll swear that you’ve never enjoyed cooking so much when you fire up your new stove. You’ll buy new pots and pans and accessories – even new dish towels seem like a necessity. I mean, they really should coordinate with the new look, don’t you think?

We held a large party at our house at the end of summer. We finished the last coat of paint an hour before the first guest arrived. The painted switch plates were screwed in by that first guest 20 minutes prior to kick off (that’s what you get for arriving early). The kitchen was, to our amazement, a done deal. And guess where everyone congregated during the party – even though there was a tent, food and a live band set up outside?

We hope you get some ideas for your own projects in this issue of NH Home. Best wishes for the new year.