Sometime we are so hard and stressful to decorate a new kitchen, especially for people who nothing have the ability about interior design sense and related. I know, i’ve just done it. Here is ten tips, from someone with very recent experience, on how to minimise the stress of preparing for and living through a major Kitchen refurbishment.
Call in some favours
There is no doubt that your normal, every day functioning will be impossible during the re-fit. Don’t upset yourself trying to carry on as normal, just accept it. Call in some favours. If you have no cooker, accept the offer of a meal from friends or relatives. If you have no washing machine, accept the offer from your neighbours to do a couple of loads. If you need the kids out of the way whilst you do some tricky jobs, get the Grandparents prepared. There will be something every day that you can’t do as normal in the middle of the turmoil. Everybody understands and the time will soon come when you can return the favour, unless you are well in credit already!
Choosing Contractors wisely
In our case we needed the following contractors; Plumber, Plasterer,
Electrician, Window/Door fitter, Joiner, Kitchen fitter and Builder. Fortunately, we had friends and relatives who could
cover almost all of these tasks. However, whilst this allowed us to fit a kitchen cheaply, and made it easier to arrange, plan and discuss, it made the whole process longer. Many jobs were done as favours in spare time, and consequently we had to wait several days longer than necessary for fairly simple jobs to be done. Extreme patience was required whilst we lived with frustrating problems that a dedicated contractor working full time on our job alone would have sorted out much quicker. Conversely, we were able to ask people back two or three times to finish odd jobs, which would have been difficult with a contractor we hardly knew.
Go on holiday
Simple. If you don’t need to live with the mess and upheaval, and you can make arrangements for work to continue in your absence, book a short break, enjoy a good standard of living for a few days, and hopefully see real, tangible progress when you return.
Forget about keeping the house tidy
Whilst it is worth making preparations to protect carpets and furniture etc from plaster, paint and tile adhesive, it will drive you mad if you try to maintain the same standards of cleanliness you normally live with. It’s impossible. Every room in our house, plus the garden and
garage were affected in some way by the overspill. With various contractors coming and going and several jobs going on at the same time, you will never keep on top of everything. Have a quick tidy at the end of each day, but unfortunately you will just have to live with the mess until the main work has finished.
Keep essentials accessible
When storing away the contents of your previous kitchen that you are keeping, ensure you retain some essential cooking items. You need no more than the minimum amount of plates, bowls, cutlery, pans etc. Retain key food items you can’t live without, though just accept that you won’t be cooking like a Michelin Chef for a few weeks. When it comes to it, if you are keeping your
fridge and freezer make sure they are accessible in the garage because you will need them whilst you await new fitted units. It might not be ideal but easy cooking with a
microwave will become essential at this time.
Budget for miscellaneous Kitchen items
Whilst work is progressing there will be several small, unforeseen things that you will have to pick up at short notice. Light fittings, tile edgings, extra cupboard door handles because someone miscounted, a skip for an extra few days, the potential list is endless. But all these things need to be bought, so make sure your budget has maybe £150-£200 for miscellaneous costs.
Prepare for some hard work
Whilst the main work was done by contractors, we managed to do some jobs ourselves, sometimes to save money or time on the kitchen fitting, sometimes just because we wanted to get involved. This was painting or tiling or helping to screw door handles on. Basically things we couldn’t get badly wrong. On many days it is helpful just to be a labourer for whoever is there. But the key is to be prepared to pitch in and help.
Planning a Kitchen Re-fit
Make sure when it comes to fitting new kitchen units that you plan ahead to make your life easier. Is it more important to get the cooker back in first or the sink? This could delay installing new worktops. Don’t forget you shouldn’t fit your new sockets or ceiling lights before all the painting is done. You need to piece together what you need when, and consider what needs to be fitted first to allow you to do that.
Be Patient
The key to everything, and easier said than done. Whatever time period you plan for the job, add a month on to it. Inevitably there will be delays, even in the middle of the re-fit. Don’t expect to come home one day and find it all finished, it will take several days for all the finishing touches to be done. Be prepared for items to be delivered incorrectly, or even measurements previously taken to be wrong. It is also important to stick to what you want, don’t take short cuts because you just want the job done, you will regret it in the long term.
There will be times when you can see no end to the mess and you want to break down and cry. Just try to look ahead, and be thankful when real progress is being made, and envisage the day you can look at your new, completed kitchen with satisfaction, it will be worth it.
