Want to remodel? plan plan plan!

It's no surprise that remodeling a kitchen is a huge undertaking, even if you are not doing the work yourself. And it's all the more important if you are not doing the work yourself to plan plan plan.

Beginning was easy for me... I had a general vision of what I wanted, but a lot of it was hypothetical. I knew I wanted to partially open up the wall between the dining room and the kitchen if I could - (see there's a hypothetical). I also knew I wanted the kitchen to still look traditional to match the house, which was built in the 50s. I also knew I liked the look of raised panels as opposed to flat cabinets. I also like glazed cabinets, which tend to cost more, but I like that it gives them more depth.
It seems like I already had a lot planned, but those are only a few of the details you need to figure out for kitchen planning.


I received solicited and unsolicited advice about what what I should do with the kitchen. I liked listening to people's ideas. I'm the type of person who will listen to a lot of options and quickly weigh pros and cons in order to make my decision. I also know when I've made my final decision and am very careful to be clear about when I'm still in the "decision making process" and when I've made my final decision. Word of advice - If you don't want unsolicited advice, just politely let your friends know that it's something you would like to do yourself. However, I encourage you to use your resources... I asked certain people pointed questions (i.e. about brands of appliances that they have) and that's extremely useful to limit choices. But remember, the final decision is yours.

Anyway, I had the "privilege" of my kitchen already being partially demolished, so it was more simple to uncover obstacles. For instance, since I didn't have any cabinets it was fairly simple to use my crowbar, hammer, and studfinder with electricity alert (safety first) to find out what was behind the kitchen wall. Low and behold, the exact spot that I would like to open up the wall had duct work and plumbing. There were 33 inches of space near the exterior wall and about 24 inches near the doorway that didn't have ducts or plumbing. Tricky.

I used that information to go to Home Depot to come up with a kitchen design that would maximize storage space, but allow for natural light to come in from the dining room. Here are what my plans became (note - they're slightly different than the final product b/c I figured out an option that would be cheaper and would create more space)

These are only a couple of the views of the Home Depot design. I recommend doing this part of the process with Home Depot, Lowes, or some cabinet-maker either with your contractor or even before finding a contractor... just don't leave it up to your contractor to do alone. This way you can pick the cabinets you like and start to match appliances, tile, counter tops, paint, etc. 

So do a lot of measurements  and plan (1) design, (2) color scheme, and (3) appliances - type and size.

If you are unsure about plumbing, electrical, or gas be sure to discuss with a contractor before buying any items.