How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel with Babies
January 28, 2019
Hi everyone! For those who have been following our Forever Freckled journeys, you may have seen that I started a kitchen renovation in our home. As is typical with home renovation projects, what started as simply a kitchen renovation turned into house ceilings, base boards, laundry room, staircase, and living room renovations. It went from a 3-month estimated time for the project to an 8-month project. Needless to say, the renovation projects are finally complete, and we are beyond happy with how everything came out. So today on FF, I am going to do a final reveal but also give some of my tops tips on how to survive a kitchen remodel with babies. Let’s get started!
Top Tips to Survive a Kitchen Remodel with Young Kids
- Pick the right contractor – This tip might be the best advice I give you. Ask your friends and family for honest recommendations. Interview prospective contractors ahead of time. Ask if they work with families and the steps they take to ensure safety for the family, tidiness and cleanliness, being as least invasive and intrusive as possible, and being respectful. We were very lucky and happy with all the above listed things.
Our contractor, Artistico Construction, has a history of working with families and took extreme measures to make the process as least daunting and overwhelming as physically possible. They set up a tent with doors around the entire kitchen so the kids could not go in or out. They used a side door rather than the front door to get in and out of our home, so there was less traffic in our living area. Artistico went out of their way to make sure after the day’s work was complete everything was cleaned and safely put away. All these small steps made a big difference in making such a huge renovation project bearable and helping our family survive this kitchen remodel.
- Prepare a temporary kitchen – This setup was so important and crucial for surviving without a kitchen for 6 months.
We used a guest room and removed all the beds and furniture. If you have an extra guest room with a bathroom, that is ideal. We set up a whole dish cleaning station in the bathroom with drying racks and towels and a kitchen in the bedroom. We placed foldable rectangular tables all along the perimeter of the room and organized a coffee station, appliance station (microwave, toaster, slow cooker, and air fryer), had the refrigerator/freezer moved into the guest room, and created a makeshift food cupboard from an armoire.
When you start packing your kitchen into boxes, leave out the basics you need for preparing and cooking food (plates, bowls, cups, coffee mugs, silverware, measuring utensils, etc.). We created a station with paper plates and utensils – 99% of the time, we used them for easy cleanup. I am not going to say we didn’t order delivery a lot over those 6 months, but we did cook quite a bit as well. Having access to most of our normal kitchen amenities really helped us survive our kitchen remodel.
- Design and function – When I really sat down to design the kitchen, Houzz.com was my best friend. I have been using this website since we moved into our home, and it really has shaped the way our home looks.
When I designed the kitchen, I really thought about function and layout. Houzz.com allows you to set up an account and save images that you love. I have images saved for every project I have done in our home since we moved in. Pinterest and decor pad are also great websites for organizing your pictures and coming up with the look you want.
Again, this is where a great contractor comes in to help with function and layout. Our contractor was amazing at figuring out the best way to lay out the kitchen, so it was the most functional and easy to cook and hang out while still looking beautiful. My home was a bit asymmetrical so he based his design layout on maintaining symmetry while gaining the most amount of space for use.
The BIG REVEAL – My Favorite Parts of Our Kitchen Renovation Project
- Hidden coffee nook – By far this addition is my favorite! I do not like clutter or anything out on the countertops. We came up with a hidden door on the side of the pantry that is a push release. A drawer slides out with all the coffee appliances and supplies then you simply push the drawback after you are done. GENIUS.
- Hidden toaster and bread garage door cabinet – Again, I do not like clutter so this cabinet was a great way to hide these appliances behind beautiful cabinetry.
- Paper towel drawer – This idea is another favorite for function.
- Backsplash windows that look out to my garden – I was probably most excited about this feature. I love gardening and planting herbs and flowers. I found some awesome fence garden boxes and created a gorgeous garden of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. It is not only functional, but beautiful to look out to.
- Hidden cabinet door that leads to the food pantry and laundry room – This feature is one of the coolest aspects of the kitchen, and all credit must go to our genius contractor. He designed a plan where the cabinets appear to be the end of the kitchen but you simply push the cabinet and it really is a door that leads into the food pantry and laundry room. Design and function at its best!
Final Thoughts on How to Survive a Kitchen Remodel
I hope this blog is helpful for all those getting ready to tackle a home renovation project – you CAN survive a kitchen remodel mostly unscathed, even with kids underfoot! It is tough going through it, but for us, it has been completely worth every hassle and headache. The kids were young enough to not truly be affected by it or remember it, and most importantly, we are so proud of and happy with our home!
A huge thank you to Marco and Artitistico Construction. You turned our dream into a reality!
