We moved into our 1952 Medfield MA house just days before the Covid-19 lockdown in March and have been here ever since. Prior to moving in we had all rooms painted and floors refinished except for the kitchen, knowing we would do something with it, but not sure how much or how little.
We talked about tearing out a wall and building an island between the kitchen and living space. We planned to preserve the existing cabinets and replace appliances and countertops. After living here for a few weeks we decided we like the room separation and didn’t like the high quotes we were getting from responsibly masked contractors. We also noticed how icy cold the dishes were when we took them from the cabinets (no outside wall insulation) and how the countertops were pulling away from the walls. Preservation would not be an option.
Now we’re into July, and after many iterations we have a plan. We decided to work with a Home Depot kitchen designer named Lana and have appreciated her patience and guidance as we worked through the details, mostly by phone and email, with final touches in masks and hand sanitizer. Covid-19 rules.
We’re finishing up our first week which has been all about demolition. The masked men arrived early on Monday. Cabinets and countertops removed. Appliances moved to the living space. Discovered those cold cabinets had no insulation behind them. Electricians came in and installed recessed lighting and upgraded all the outlets. We can’t move forward until the town inspector approves the electrical work. He’ll come by tomorrow dutifully masked. Fingers crossed work will be approved.
We decided to insulate and install new wallboard before cabinets go in, so we are waiting for that to happen next week.
Staging for a Long Summer
We expect to have our kitchen unavailable for 4 to 6 weeks. Here’s how we set up:
refrigerator is in the living space, our only option, requiring planning trips ahead
the den leads out to the porch and deck and has become our dining area; all cookware and dishes, cups, etc. and dry foods are here along with easy access to vegetable and herb garden
porch equipment includes coffee maker and induction cooktop (see photo) and Britta pitcher
deck has a large grill and utensils for rotisserie, kebabs and plain old grilling
a double sink in the basement is where the dishes get washed
What’s for Dinner?
With Covid-19 still central to our lives, eating in continues to be the best option (though we happily accept invitations to eat on back porches of friends and family). Having this work done at this time of year is ideal. It opens up options for eating and cooking outside. It also means really fresh vegetables out of the garden.
One night we had kebabs with eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, red onion, pepper and shrimp. Another night we had grilled salmon and Caesar salad with fresh romaine. We had grilled chicken drumsticks, tomato with pesto and mozzarella and corn on the cob. All of these dinners are easy to prepare and easy to clean up. The induction cooktop worked fine for boiling the corn one day and scrambling eggs another. In the future I’ll use it for cooking classes.
Advice is Welcome
More than a few people say living with a full kitchen renovation going on can be filled with unexpected surprises and delays. If you’ve been through this and have advice on what to watch out for, I would really love to hear your story. Right now we’re pretty confident that things will go smoothly but if you’ve been through this, you may know the red flags we should be on the lookout for.