My Kitchen Renovation Journey: What I Learned as a Designer Renovating My Own Home

Finally, it's our turn. What has been spinning in my head finally became our reality. Being a client and a designer was an interesting position that allowed me to learn so much from both perspectives. From dreaming up the perfect design, going through construction, to scope creep of design and budget. Our kitchen and laundry room renovation is finally done and I have been really looking forward to sharing this journey.

Although I have designed hundreds of homes, kitchens, bathrooms, dining areas and laundry rooms, it's never as easy when you are standing too close to it and it's your own home. It was a great learning opportunity that I can now better guide my clients through their renovations with more than just professional construction knowledge and design knowledge but real life, answering questions and inspecting work before making dinner for my family in a makeshift kitchen space.

So, grab your favorite beverage (I won't judge if it's wine o'clock), and let's chat about what I discovered during this wild ride.

(Despite being my renovation story, we’re unable to share photos my finished design (yet). This post features some excellent examples of kitchens designed by GreyHunt Interiors, and the kitchen designers we worked with along the way!)

Lesson One: Fall Head Over Heels For Your Design

First things first: make sure you absolutely love your design. It needs to tick all your boxes for both function and style. Trust me, you'll be spending a lot of time in this kitchen, so it better work for you! Think about how you want to cook and use your kitchen. What countertop appliances do you have, do you want them hidden? Do you want a pop up mixer, appliance garage, utensil storage? These are all questions you want to ask yourself.

Lesson Two: Do Your Homework (Sorry, But It's Important!)

There is nothing worse than telling a sweet client that their $70K budget isn't going to be enough to cover the cost of the kitchen renovation for the size of kitchen that they have. So many people watch TV shows with $25K kitchen renos? Pure fantasy, my friends. In reality, an average kitchen renovation costs way more – we're talking $85K to $130K and that's just the starting point. For a designer kitchen you are really looking at the reality of $120K to $200K+ without appliances. So, do your homework and brace yourself for the real numbers.

Lesson Three: Assemble Your Dream Team

That said, getting an interior designer to look at your entire house is so important. Designers aim to make your home feel cohesive, flow, and fit your family. You don't want to have a traditional home and someone comes in and puts in a modern kitchen. You want to ensure it's the perfect Goldie Locks fit for you and your family. Once we nail down the look and feel of the space, it's time to team up with a kitchen designer who will dive deeper into the measurements, layout details, fillers, the latest technology-, and trends to make sure your design is the most design-forward it can be while fitting your aesthetic. Together, they'll create a space that's both gorgeous and works for real life.

Lesson Four: Check, Check, and Check Again

Before you sign off on anything, channel your inner detective. Make sure everything you need is included in the plans. And remember, there will always be extra costs popping up, so keep some wiggle room in your budget. I generally estimate between 10-20%.

Lesson Five: Timing Is Everything (No, Really)

Order all your products upfront. We're talking cabinets, appliances, faucets, hardware, lighting – the whole shebang. Having everything ready to go when your contractor starts will cost your contractor and you time and money, because time IS money!

Stay tuned for part two, where I'll share my top tips for surviving (and maybe even enjoying!) the renovation process.

If you want to dig in deeper and learn more about how we work, reach out to us by messaging us here and let’s chat!

[All Above Photos by NovaSoul Photography]

[Work by KBF Audi Contracting]

Client Kitchen | Before

Client Kitchen | After

Client Kitchen | After

[Work by Custom Design Tile Contracting]

[Work by The Kitchen Designer]

Finally, it's our turn. What has been spinning in my head finally became our reality. Being a client and a designer was an interesting position that allowed me to learn so much from both perspectives. From dreaming up the perfect design, going through construction, to scope creep of design and budget. Our kitchen and laundry room renovation is finally done and I have been really looking forward to sharing this journey. (Although we’re unable to share photos of the end result yet, this post features some excellent examples of kitchens designed by GreyHunt Interiors, and the kitchen designers we worked with along the way!)

Although I have designed hundreds of homes, kitchens, bathrooms, dining areas and laundry rooms, it's never as easy when you are standing too close to it and it's your own home. It was a great learning opportunity that I can now better guide my clients through their renovations with more than just professional construction knowledge and design knowledge but real life, answering questions and inspecting work before making dinner for my family in a makeshift kitchen space.

So, grab your favorite beverage (I won't judge if it's wine o'clock), and let's chat about what I discovered during this wild ride.