{"id":944,"date":"2023-12-25T09:10:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T15:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.813cbr.net\/?p=379"},"modified":"2023-12-25T09:10:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T15:10:25","slug":"6-of-the-most-important-tips-ive-learned-from-renovating-3-kitchens-in-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/2023\/12\/25\/6-of-the-most-important-tips-ive-learned-from-renovating-3-kitchens-in-5-years\/","title":{"rendered":"6 of the Most Important Tips I\u2019ve Learned from Renovating 3 Kitchens in 5 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"DanaBY\u00a0Dana McMahan<\/a> a freelance writer who is a chronic adventurer, serial learner, and whiskey enthusiast based in Louisville, Kentucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Updated\u00a0Jan 18, 2021<\/em> on https:\/\/www.thekitchn.com\/tips-serial-kitchen-renovator-23115816<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Installing<\/a>
Credit: AMR Image | Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Renovating a kitchen is kind of like getting a tattoo. It can be painful while it\u2019s happening, but the end result is so worth it that you forget the bad parts. I\u2019ve done three total-tear-out kitchen renovations in the last five years (plus three more non-gut-job remodels in the last six), with another one currently underway<\/a> in a sagging Victorian I\u2019ve been fixing up<\/a> with a friend. We had to sit tight for a few weeks after demolition day<\/a> while we lined up financing, so that gave me some time to think about what I\u2019ve learned in those renovations that I can put to work on this one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more content like this followHOW TO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, a quick look at the from-scratch operations. First was the attic kitchen<\/a> in my Airbnb where I turned the former hoarder\u2019s space into a vintage-vibed, cute and cozy space<\/a> for travelers. Then I did a dramatic do-over<\/a> of the kitchen in my own home<\/a>, transforming a cramped space in Crayola colors to a glam, black-walled space<\/a> I\u2019ve been happy to cook in for the last two years. And in 2020 I flipped my first house<\/a>, swapping a dated and dirty kitchen for a clean, bright space<\/a> that helped me get an immediate full asking price offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What hard-won wisdom am I taking to my newest project? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. You can<\/em> do it on a budget (with some work and some compromises).<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kitchen renos are notoriously expensive. And it can be so very easy to decimate any sort of budget. Ooooh, pretty tiles! Oh, fancy appliances! And wait, look at that yummy countertop! It adds up so (so) fast. But I had a very limited budget on the Airbnb and the flip house, and a smaller than average (and strict!) budget on my own kitchen<\/a>, and I managed to stick to budget every time. It takes effort \u2014 price comparisons, shopping deals online and off \u2014 but that effort pays off when you score amazing bargains. And for every splurge there has to be a counterbalance (thrift and vintage go a long way on that front). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CHfkM8PlRnD\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&v=8&wp=330&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apartmenttherapy.com&rp=%2Fbest-tips-renovating-kitchen-frequent-renovator-37182254#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A13906912.799999952%7D<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Skip the gimmicks.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Is the brass faucet in my home kitchen gorgeous? Yes<\/a>. Would I do the touch-sensor option again? Never ever<\/a>. It sounded good \u2014 never have to touch raw poultry and then your faucet again. But guess what? When the batteries die, you can\u2019t turn on your faucet. Guess when that happens? The absolute worst times (think: sink full of dirty dishes). It\u2019s also confusing to guests and just generally an annoyance. Before I ever buy tech for the sake of tech again, I\u2019ll spend some time thinking about just how useful it actually is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You need a statement piece.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every kitchen needs a star. In my home it was the Ferrari red Bertazzoni range<\/a> I was lucky enough to find at a steep discount. For the Airbnb it was also a stove, but a vintage 1940s Florence that took four people to carry up the stairs. Both these pieces add serious punch to the kitchens. I was missing that in the flip kitchen, and while it turned out well, if I could do it over, I\u2019d definitely have something with some sizzle. For my current project my friend and I are eyeing an amazing quartzite counter<\/a> for the island that will make an immediate impression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Always (always) scope out reviews on big-ticket items.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I loved, loved, loved the black stainless look for appliances, but didn\u2019t do my homework. (Why? Maybe I didn\u2019t want to give myself a reason to not<\/em> make the purchase when I found it for half price online.) And I really wish I had. It scratches if you so much as look at it wrong, and I\u2019m not the only one to regret this purchase<\/a>. If I\u2019d spent some time reading about black stainless, I would have gone a different route that would have saved some grief!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Don\u2019t cheap out on the flooring.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so hard, because you can\u2019t splurge on everything. But I made the mistake of shaving costs with a few-cents-per-square-foot vinyl tile when we redid the Airbnb kitchen. And real (!) fast (!) we saw why it was so cheap<\/a>. Several years later I\u2019m still living with it and still regretting it. Kitchen floors take a beating, and cheap material is definitely one of those penny-wise-pound-foolish purchases. Sure, we saved money in the short term, but the floor is in need of replacing now \u2014 and it\u2019s going to be a lot more annoying to redo now versus if we had just done it right during the full-blown renovation. If I could go back in time I\u2019d have figured out a way to get a more durable flooring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. There\u2019s no such thing as being too clear and specific with instructions.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We were incredibly fortunate to find original hardwood flooring under the tile of our home\u2019s kitchen on demo day, so when the universe gifted us that, we opted to refinish the floor instead of re-tile it. Some areas needed patching, though, so the floor refinishing crew said they could pull pieces from the area where the island would go. I outlined the island with painter\u2019s tape on the floor to help with the layout planning, but didn\u2019t think to tell them that included the countertop. They cut it ALL out<\/a>, leaving a gaping hole several feet wide and the length of the island. The patch job is less than ideal, and I could have prevented the issue by specifying exactly how much floor they would have access to. Lesson learned: Go overboard with details in any project scope or instructions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: 6 Things I\u2019ve Learned from Completing 3 Kitchen Renovations in 5 Years<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY\u00a0Dana McMahan a freelance writer who is a chronic adventurer, serial learner, and whiskey enthusiast based in Louisville, Kentucky. Updated\u00a0Jan 18, 2021 on https:\/\/www.thekitchn.com\/tips-serial-kitchen-renovator-23115816 Renovating a kitchen is kind of like getting a tattoo. It can be painful while it\u2019s happening, but the end result is so worth it that you forget the bad parts. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6,10,12],"tags":[46,61,71,75],"class_list":["post-944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investments","category-maintenance","category-project","category-remodel","tag-energy-efficient","tag-indoor","tag-life-hacks","tag-maintenance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/home.naanad.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}