It is the focal point of the home, where family meals are prepared, coffee is brewed, and milk is spilled. It’s where families and friends gravitate to during gatherings and where we sneak for a midnight snack. It’s what sells a home: the kitchen.
It was always a dream of mine to have a luxury kitchen. I imagined a wall oven, granite countertops, a fancy fridge, and new shiny hardwood floors. I envisioned myself smiling ear-to-ear while preparing gourmet meals for my family and friends, a place where cooking every meal would be a joy and not a chore. But I forgot one minor detail, one wrench in the dream: kids; energetic, hungry, messy, loud, whiny kids. I didn’t realize just how much our daily routines would suddenly become pure chaos. How the stench of the hundredth microwave meal would make me gag. How the sight of three-inch layers of dust on everything would drive me absolutely mad.
If you are going to remodel your home, especially the kitchen, do yourself a favor and avoid the holidays. At first I thought, “Fantastic I don’t have to cook a Turkey or a Ham or see my Mother-In-law!” I wouldn’t have to run around for the perfect centerpieces, or scrub crayon marks off the floor or search for the perfect holiday hand towels (for decoration ONLY of course). Then the holidays came, and my daughter asked me to bake her turkey-faced cupcakes for her school party, and I could not. My husband wanted a hot turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving, but I had no left overs. My children wanted to stay home on Christmas to play with their toys, we could not, we were off to my mother-in-law’s house for dinner (avoiding her was wishful thinking I suppose).
It was always a dream of mine to have a luxury kitchen. I imagined a wall oven, granite countertops, a fancy fridge, and new shiny hardwood floors. I envisioned myself smiling ear-to-ear while preparing gourmet meals for my family and friends, a place where cooking every meal would be a joy and not a chore. But I forgot one minor detail, one wrench in the dream: kids; energetic, hungry, messy, loud, whiny kids. I didn’t realize just how much our daily routines would suddenly become pure chaos. How the stench of the hundredth microwave meal would make me gag. How the sight of three-inch layers of dust on everything would drive me absolutely mad.
If you are going to remodel your home, especially the kitchen, do yourself a favor and avoid the holidays. At first I thought, “Fantastic I don’t have to cook a Turkey or a Ham or see my Mother-In-law!” I wouldn’t have to run around for the perfect centerpieces, or scrub crayon marks off the floor or search for the perfect holiday hand towels (for decoration ONLY of course). Then the holidays came, and my daughter asked me to bake her turkey-faced cupcakes for her school party, and I could not. My husband wanted a hot turkey sandwich the day after Thanksgiving, but I had no left overs. My children wanted to stay home on Christmas to play with their toys, we could not, we were off to my mother-in-law’s house for dinner (avoiding her was wishful thinking I suppose).
When people decide to remodel their kitchen, I often wonder if they ever consider the fact that they still need to eat. There will still be a family to feed every night, school lunches to pack, bowls of cereal to fill. You have to do this with no dishwasher, no trash compactor, no garage disposal, and no oven. A husband and wife can get by, but when you add two small children you may as well add an army. They are always hungry.
My make shift kitchen was set-up in my lower level family room; I had some kitchen necessities, a toaster, a fridge, a Keurig and a microwave. However, by week three everyone was sick of microwave mash and deli meats. Ordering out for a family of four is not exactly healthy or cheap. If I die tomorrow and go to hell, there would be an endless stench of microwave chicken nuggets and ketchup. My advice, a nightly trip to Costco for the free food samples - let’s face it, kitchen remodels are expensive, trust me, take all the free you can get!
I decided to save the hardest truth for last, the thing that no one wants to talk about, those little green monsters of envy and jealousy. They will be there lurking, in the minds of friends, family, even strangers. You don’t want to think others won’t be happy for you; the reality is however, there will be people that rather see you in a 1970’s peach-tiled kitchen. This will take away from the excitement of the whole process. As the home owner, it will make you hesitant to tell others about your new granite countertops or recess lights, even though you are always anxious to share your remodel journey.
I am a Scientist; I collect data and test things. But I suppose this kitchen remodel tested me and my sanity (the jury is still out in that since I am still going through the remodel process). As I type this, my multi-tasking mind is wondering what I will make for dinner tonight. I can tell you this: it won’t be nuggets.
My make shift kitchen was set-up in my lower level family room; I had some kitchen necessities, a toaster, a fridge, a Keurig and a microwave. However, by week three everyone was sick of microwave mash and deli meats. Ordering out for a family of four is not exactly healthy or cheap. If I die tomorrow and go to hell, there would be an endless stench of microwave chicken nuggets and ketchup. My advice, a nightly trip to Costco for the free food samples - let’s face it, kitchen remodels are expensive, trust me, take all the free you can get!
I decided to save the hardest truth for last, the thing that no one wants to talk about, those little green monsters of envy and jealousy. They will be there lurking, in the minds of friends, family, even strangers. You don’t want to think others won’t be happy for you; the reality is however, there will be people that rather see you in a 1970’s peach-tiled kitchen. This will take away from the excitement of the whole process. As the home owner, it will make you hesitant to tell others about your new granite countertops or recess lights, even though you are always anxious to share your remodel journey.
I am a Scientist; I collect data and test things. But I suppose this kitchen remodel tested me and my sanity (the jury is still out in that since I am still going through the remodel process). As I type this, my multi-tasking mind is wondering what I will make for dinner tonight. I can tell you this: it won’t be nuggets.
Header photo by T. Guzzio.
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Katie Burt is a middle school science teacher in Revere, Massachusetts, with a Master’s in Education and an Educational Specialist degree in Administration. She currently lives in Danvers, Massachusetts with her husband and two children. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family.
ADD YOUR VOICE:
ABOUT COMMENTS:
At Prodigal's Chair, thoughtful, honest interaction with our readers is important to our site's success. That's why we use Disqus as our comment / moderation system. Yes, you will need to login to leave a comment - with either your existing Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ account - or you can create your own free Disqus account. We do this for a couple of reasons: 1) to discourage trolling, and 2) to discourage spamming. Please note that Disqus will never post anything to your social network accounts unless you authorize it to do so. Finally, if you prefer you can always email comments directly to us by clicking here.