Hi Guys! I’ve got another kitchen update for you. Last time I posted about it we were pretty sure of the design direction we were going in, but that was about it. Since then we’ve been pricing out materials, figuring out colors and combinations, and going to look at things in person. We’ve gotten quotes from Ikea and Lowes for our cabinets and counter tops and even took a trip to Ikea (which is 2 hours away from us). During that process we made slight tweaks to the last design I showed you. Nothing major, just little changes based on cabinet sizes and things like that. You can see we swapped the position of the tall pantry cabinet so we wouldn’t have so many changes in depth along the upper cabinets. We also mirrored the base cabinet and countertop layout around the stove.

Small Kitchen Renovation Layout

When we got to the step of pricing everything out I don’t think either of us really realized that meant we’d need to have all our materials picked out too. I had been focusing so much on the layout that I hadn’t even gotten that far and so I’ve been frantically searching Pinterest for Ikea kitchen remodels, cabinet colors, counter top materials, and finishes that I like. It’s been fun, but I do wish I had been a little more prepared. I think if I didn’t feel so hectic about it then it would be even more fun. But, that’s okay! I’m so ready to have a normal kitchen again that I’m totally fine with being a little frenzied getting there. Plus, I think this is just life. I mean, do you ever get to feel as prepared as you want to for a project to begin? To bask gloriously in the research and decision-making? Maybe not, and as a type A person who likes things to be wrapped up neatly and thoroughly completed, maybe this is life teaching me to embrace how messy things can be sometimes.

Small Kitchen Remodel on a Budget

We’re still getting quotes to help us decide who to go with for everything. I really like a lot of Ikea’s functionality and we’ve designed the whole thing in the Ikea Kitchen Planner Tool, but I’m not sure I love any of the cabinet face options. And we just decided this week that we may also look into Home Depot. But, it’s helped so much that Xan modeled that whole thing in Revit. We’ve been able to get really specific with costs because we knew the exact dimensions of almost everything. We’ve also toyed around with buying the appliances one at a time so we don’t have to spend so much money at once. So that’s a possibility. If go with that option, we’ll just keep our current appliances until we’re able to replace them. Because the new kitchen is still pretty small we’ll be using standard sized appliances so we don’t have to have them before the remodel starts (or finishes).

Small Kitchen Remodel Ideas

We’re hoping to start construction in the New Year. That will depend a bit on when we get all of our materials and when we can get our contractors out here for stuff. In an ideal world we would be done by the spring. But, we’re planning on doing as much of the work ourselves as we can so I’m not really sure what’s realistic. This is the first time either of us as done this (at home where we’re the ones doing the work anyway, of course Xan has done lot of things like this at work). So it’s a learning process for all of us!

Overall, I feel SO good about the layout. It’s a small space and we thought long and hard about it. I feel like we’re really utilizing what we’ve got and it’s going to make a huge improvement to the feel of the house. I’m also reminding myself that I know we’ll look back and wish we had done some things differently and that’s okay too. This is our first kitchen remodel and there’s no way we’ll be able to get it all perfect on the first try. And on the bright side, I’ll get to share all those lessons learned with you! Up next: materials. I’m hoping to get a design board and our material choices up in the next month or so!