We started to pour through magazines and books looking for ideas. This led to long "discussions" about what we liked, what we didn't like, what we had to have, what we would like to have, etc. We also began visiting showrooms in the local area, again looking for good ideas. And, oh by the way, who were we going to get to actually do the work?
This led us to a whole new area of "discussion" as we made a preliminary list of potential contractors. We both agreed that we did not want to organize or manage the project, we wanted the whole job done from start to finish. This eventually led us to our friendly neighborhood Home Expo which had conveniently just opened up down the street. We went over to the store and made an appointment to meet with one of their professional designers. We also made numerous trips to their design center to look at the kitchens they had on display for ideas.
We had a "getting to know you" meeting with our designer. She explained the project process in detail. They handled the design, ordering, delivery, contracting, construction, the works! All we had to do was decide what we wanted and pay, not a bad deal. After our talk, she took us on yet another tour of the design center where we pointed out things we liked and things we rather not have.
Then we decided to buy a condo (see previous index page for details). This put our kitchen renovation project back a year. I'm sure our designer thought she would never see us again, but she did!
Fast forward a year. The condo deal is done, Angela has a significant birthday on the horizon and John is sitting in the kitchen trying to think of an appropriately significant gift. Suddenly the light bulb blinks on, how about that new kitchen?! John proposes it to Angela, Angela is highly enthusiastic and the kitchen renovation project is back on!
So off we go on our latest exciting adventure... Click on the links below to follow this project from start to (hopefully) finish!
Demolition - The Kitchen Moves Out!
Construction - The Kitchen Moves In!
Let's rebuild the family room!
Cabinets, cabinets, everywhere!
We're really done --- except for the fireplace...