Emailed September 18, 2007


Dear Sue,

Congratulations on your new home! My first thought is that you may want to consider living in the house first for a while before redoing the kitchen. There are dozens of standards of good kitchen design – but they may not all apply to you – or you may need special or unique placement so that the kitchen works best for your needs. You can only really know this if you are living in the space first – so that you see what must change and to encourage you to think about the ideal layout in the space you have. If you are not doing a wholesale home renovation – you are probably limited in some way. Because it’s very expensive to move gas and plumbing lines, your kitchen is probably going to stay where it is. My suggestion is to stay in the house long enough to eat a month’s worth of meals with your family. Whether this means a lot of take-out or preparing three squares a day, so be it. You’ll see how the current flow and organization of the space impact you. If you entertain a lot – it might be helpful for you to entertain a small group in your current space, so you can see how it works. If your kitchen is a disaster perhaps this is the last thing on your mind – but the way we use kitchens changes depending on who we are cooking for, and obviously, who is in the house. In bedrooms – looks mean a lot – in kitchens, beauty only gets us so far. If the flow for preparing, serving and storing food and service items doesn’t work, this is stressful and annoying every time you want buy, eat or prepare food – even if you’re in a beautiful setting.

If all you want to do is reface the kitchen, meaning if you want everything to stay where it is and roughly the same size, functionally, but you want to change the colors and textures and most likely appliances, that is another story. That is an easier project to take on altogether that probably doesn’t warrant that you live there first, nor that you be present while the work is being done. There is a risk in this approach as well because you may not know that it needs more than a facelift until after you’ve lived and cooked and entertained in it…

I’ve said enough about that – it’s very hard to live in a house that is under construction, however that is something I would think about as well. A large undertaking like a kitchen renovation will likely reveal problems or unforeseen challenges, which will require input on your part throughout the process. Usually a renovation is not a straight course but a winding way that develops as you make changes and bring to fruition a certain vision. This is balancing act with your design/er and your contractor – I always advise for clients to be present and involved, or relegate this to someone you trust with the design. Perhaps someone can act as your proxy, who understands what you are looking for and what you want, to act on your behalf while you are away, making decisions or contacting you if and when problems arise.

The kitchen is arguably the most important room in the house! (and that’s not just because I’m a foodie…) Renovating a kitchen could have significant impact on your home’s value, and it’s usually the center of the home, for lots of purposes other than eating. Lastly, a kitchen renovation is not so easily undone and it needs to wear well – so the time you take in preparing and planning for the best design for your life will pay off in many ways.

Good luck!