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We are super excited to once again participate in the One Room Challenge. The event was initiated by Linda Weinstein in 2011, and it is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. We are joining a group of talented and enthusiastic designers and bloggers sharing their one-room makeover with a kitchen renovation.
We have been dreaming of renovating our old and sad kitchen for 6 years. It is definitely one of the biggest and most expensive projects for many, us included. It is a huge project to take on, and we are both excited and scared at the same time, as we hope to be able to complete it in 8 weeks! Can I add a shocked emoji here?
So, since we decided to join the challenge one week into its start, here is our update number 1 but technically the Week 2 of the Challenge.
And it all starts with the vision and planning 🙂
Planning Kitchen Renovations
I am sure I am not the only one who begins a renos project with a deep dive into Pinterest for some inspiration. Even if you have an idea or know for sure what you want to do, I highly recommend browsing it for some more inspiration and ideas. If you want to see what I have been saving there, click here 🙂
Luckily my husband and I share a similar taste in interior design, and we both knew we wanted a modern kitchen with clean lines and maximum functionality for what we can afford. We know that our style is not for everyone, and it is fine.
Choosing between Ikea and a local cabinet-maker
So, after I had a bunch of ideas saved both on Pinterest and in my head 🙂 and many discussions on who to make the kitchen with, going back and forth between Ikea and a couple of local cabinet-making companies, we decided to go with a local company.
We did make a couple of trips to the Ikea store, and we loved some of their kitchen designs. But, unfortunately, they would not come to our place to take measurements, and my husband didn’t want to risk making any mistakes by taking the measurements on our own. Another reason was the shortage of their supply. They said it might take 4 to 6 months for them to get the cabinets we liked, and I didn’t have the patience to wait for that long again.
And one more reason, Ikea cabinets are very standardized size-wise. They offer a number of cabinets width and depths, and while they do have some great options, they did not work well in our case.
So, with that, we got a quote from a local company, and yes, it was more expensive than what the Ikea kitchen would cost, but they are promising to have our kitchen installed in 6 to 7 weeks (fingers crossed!), and they also offer more customization in terms of the cabinets sizes.
Supporting a local business feels good too 🙂
So, here is our plan so far.
We are going with flat cabinets in very light matte grey and black stainless steel appliances. We used to have them in our previous house, and we loved them. They are simple yet stylish and easy to clean.
We have just replaced the light pendants above the island a few months ago, so we are keeping those. We will be replacing the old ceramic tile floors and making the island a little bigger.
Here is what our kitchen looks like now. It is old and has been falling apart. Please pardon the mess. And yes, it is old, but it will be all beautiful soon!
And here is the kitchen moodboard so far.
I can’t wait to see it all done!
How to choose Kitchen appliances
Most likely, we will be sharing another post about the appliances and how to chose them, as there is so much involved. For now, we will just share a couple of thoughts. We currently have a Samsung fridge and a dishwasher and are very unhappy with both. To be honest, I told myself to never go with Samsung appliances ever again.
Aaannd…
Yet, we decided to get the Samsung fridge, range and microwave. We did consider LG, as we wanted a black stainless look, and LG offers that too. But Samsung won design-wise. I really like the clean look of the four-door fridge.
Another option was to do an integrated panel-ready refrigerator. But it would be almost twice as expensive, so we didn’t go with that option. As you are planning your kitchen renovation, make sure you have some contingency fund in case something goes sideways or the option you like is not available, and you have to choose soemthing else.
We also were going back and forth between the built-in wall oven and a cooktop vs a built-in range. But I didn’t quite like the look of the Samsung wall oven. Also, the range had an air-fry option, so we went with that.
I actually created a slides deck in Google Sheets to show my husband what different packages could look like. If your partner needs a bit of help in choosing designs, just create one yourself to help them visualize your ideas. I also added links to each of the products and went to the appliances stores with that document. The salespersons loved it and said they wish all of their customers were organized like that 🙂
We are in Canada, so the prices there are in Canadian Dollars, and what they were like when I was creating the slides.
Anyway, this is it for today. Planning a kitchen renovation can be a long process. Because it can be a costly project as well, it is better to take time and think and plan as much as possible. I’ll be sharing more updates and ideas on my Instagram as well. You will make my day if you follow me there!
We have 7 weeks to make this reno happen. We will be posting each week or once in two weeks with an update, and a couple of DIY projects. I’ll be happy to see you back! 🙂
If you have gone through the kitchen renos, please share your tips in the comments below. I’ll appreciate your advice and thoughts!
If you want to check out our last One Room Challenge master bedroom renovation, you can do it here 🙂 I was back in 2017, and it was our first big DIY project, so please be kind when you see how imperfect it was back then.
Hugs!
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