What we’ve got cookin’

I believe I’ve mentioned once or twice that out current kitchen is slightly outdated. While we could wait around hoping that pink and grey laminate countertops are coming back in style, we’ve decided to take the renovation route instead.
When we first looked into remodeling the kitchen, we did what seemed normal, we went to a big chain store, in our case “orange,” and met with a kitchen designer. We know it works well for some people, especially those who don’t want to have to be involved with the nitty gritty details but also don’t have the money, or time, to find and hire a local general contractor on their own. And others have found their kitchen planner services to be invaluable (the Young House Love couple swears by theirs).
But in our case, we left less than impressed. One of the main draws of the big store was the knowledge and expertise when it came to design but the kitchen designer didn’t have anything useful to say about our layout issues. She basically told me that I was screwed and should just let go of the idea of keeping a window that I really wanted (and in the end, do get to!) keep.  She also almost doubled the budget we went in with and I felt a lot of pressure to accept that. And the few design decisions I was pretty sure about, she rejected (I was told nobody does white cabinets and black countertops. Really? I don’t think she has spent any time on pinterest.)
So I did a little research and realized that it wasn’t our only option. In the end, we decided to go rogue and be our own general contractors.
The upside is that we will be getting a lot more bang for our buck, quality wise. Since we aren’t willing to go into debt for this kitchen but we still want it to be built to last, that one is a biggie. Another plus is that we will be in control of every aspect so I know we will be getting just what I want. We won’t be totally alone, we’re calling in contractors for several area (electrical, drywall, etc) and I’ve found a few internet buddies to help me along the journey but all the decisions and responsibility rest with us. And to be honest, we like it that way. The downside – its a lot more work. But I think we are up to the challenge, or I at least I hope we are.

The plan is for us to start the demolition process in a couple of weeks, which means we are really busy planning, ordering, putting together cabinets (in the basement) and trying to organize and prepare for many weeks/months of living a kitchen-less lifestyle. I’m nervous but excited!