It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we finished our kitchen renovation. I’ve been wanting to write about it for that long too, but it is never in photographic condition-because we live in it! The photo above is about as good as it gets. Except now you can see some of the greenery from the garden that we have finally planted. So we shall see if I manage to get it tidy and take a photo to showcase that before Christmas.

This was our first kitchen renovation, and I believe that if you have a brilliant builder, like we did, the hardest part is getting started. Honestly, I never liked our old kitchen. In fact, it isn’t an overstatement to say I hated it. It was dark, the pantry didn’t function. The bench top around the cooktop was minimal, and there was a whole wasted area where previous owners had whacked on an extra space to make a study.

As much as I love cooking, I never wanted to be in our kitchen. That’s a big problem when you have a little mouth to feed. The wasted area was just hard slate for Lara to hurt herself on. Plus the study put Mark and I in two separate rooms, and was always a mess since it was tucked away.

The Goal

The goals of our kitchen renovation were to get light in, have a functioning pantry and incorporate a study space. We successfully achieved all of those goals. In addition we managed to create a new family area, and a kitchen that Mark and I love cooking in, sometimes even together.

Our new space works so well. There have been mornings when I’ve been making a chicken stock and baking bread. Whilst Mark has been roasting coffee and we are getting breakfast ready and eating it. As the photo below shows, it isn’t a complete disaster zone, because we have so many different work spaces.

We did a fair chunk of the demolition ourselves. I vented my frustration on that slate floor by taking to it with my builder’s dynadrill one night when Mark was working late and Lara was sleeping. It was a bloody hard slug. Mostly clearing the tiles off the work site, but damn was it rewarding and therapeutic.

Only Mark and I knew at the time that I was in the early stages of pregnancy with Olivia. He wasn’t aware that I had a power tool and was attacking that god awful floor until he got home. Hilarious! This lady loves a power tool.

Speaking of my builders, I loved them, I can’t wait to do another project with Murray from Quantum Leap Constructions. He gave me all the tools and encouragement I needed to feel like I was part of the renovation and in control. Yet he was making sure everything was running smoothly because I had no experience.

My tips for a kitchen renovation

1. Live in the space for a while and identify what does and doesn’t work.
2. If you can, cook in other people’s kitchens and ask practiced renovators what they do and don’t recommend.
3. Don’t let your kitchen company tell you they can’t do something. If it wasn’t for Mark sourcing the hardware, and me being so adamant on getting my dream kitchen we wouldn’t have our sliding door pantry which is the best thing ever.
4. Negotiate the sh*t out of your kitchen company. Those guys will take anyone for a ride. I called the hardware supplier for our pantry doors and found out that the kitchen company put a $1000 mark up on the price. In hindsight I would go with a cabinet maker. The kitchen company didn’t provide the level of experience and customer service that we expected.
5. Love your builders. If you are onsite, make them a coffee every morning when they arrive and talk about the plan for the day whilst they enjoy their coffee. You couldn’t make your house your home without them.
6.  Draw, draw, and draw some more. Don’t be afraid to move windows, air conditioners or whatever else you need to make your dream space. It is easier to put in a new beam than you think.

The Things I Wish I Did

1. Installed an integrated fridge/freezer. Our appliance was relatively new so I didn’t want to dispose of it, but I’m constantly struggling to get kids toys out from under the fridge.
2. We just didn’t have the space to make a bench top cut out so that food scraps could go straight into our chicken bin. We saw this concept in one of Jamie Oliver’s kitchens. I am keeping the concept in mind for future kitchens.
3. Our biggest mistake was not doing the laundry renovation at the same time as the kitchen renovation. You live and learn from every experience, and every renovation probably has a whoopsie, its all part of the fun.

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