Our Kitchen Renovation

I’m writing this from the fetal position. Our kitchen renovation that was to take three weeks is now going on week nine. Have mercy.

Renovation Rule #1: Whatever time allotment is given, double it.

When we set out on this adventure, everything looked pretty straightforward . . . open up some walls, close up a door, enlarge a window. Flooring is staying the same, plumbing isn’t moving much, nor is there much electrical work. Easy peasy, right? LIES. There was nothing easy. Day one always feels so productive with demo. But it’s the rebuild that seems to take FOREVER. This particular project was more complicated because of our decision to GC along with our main contractor. We coordinated a major window replacement, flooring, and paint. There were so many schedules and timelines. 

Renovation Rule #2: Whatever budget is established, add 20%.

All was moving along swimmingly until we got to The Great Floor Debacle of 2023. Did you hear the cries echoing across Greater Lafayette? We have the most lovely, beautifully worn (in an old barn wood sort of a way) Australian Cypress floors. I love them. They cover every inch of our first and second floors, including the stairs, with no transition strips. This makes me insanely happy. But, alas, when you remove walls, you end up with a 4-ish inch opening in the floor, and tongue & groove, ¾” wood can’t just be patched in here and there. To get it right, our entire living room floor would have had to have been removed and replaced. For budgetary reasons (and sanity, see rule #1), we nixed this option. Giant 4-foot ceramic tiles was our choice.

After a brief wait, the tiles arrived and it was go time. Except that our home wasn’t built normally, and halfway through our kitchen the floor joists go from 16” apart to 24” apart. Four-foot tiles are quite weighty, along with solid surface countertops, and the only way to achieve this look was to dismantle the basement and add more support. GIANT NOPE. Back to the drawing board.

Renovation Rule #3: Whatever materials are selected, have a plan B.

We ended up with a lovely 18” vinyl tile with vinyl grout. I didn’t even know vinyl grout was a thing, but it looks lovely and cleans up nicely, too.

One of the best things we did was to get rid of a single window overlooking our backyard and replace it with a giant 8-foot wide window that opens as much as 5 feet wide. It truly brings the outside in and makes our screened porch feel like a part of the rest of the house. We took out our eat-in kitchen to add more cabinetry and opened the wall into our dining room. We did a different color island, and that color (Naval by Sherwin Williams) can be found throughout other rooms in our home.

All in all, we’re thrilled with where things stand today, despite the fact that we’re still waiting to complete the backsplash, crown molding, and a few other tasks here and there. The weeks-overdue project will have a great ROI, both in money invested and time spent.

Who’s ready for a party?