Kitchen remodels are often the stuff horror movies are made of–contractors who screw things up, delay after delay, unexpected costs that leave your budget in the dust, not to mention the complete inconvenience of having to be without running water, a dishwasher, stove and more for an extended period of time and the steady stream of professionals coming in and out of the house.

If you’re reading this post hoping to hear the gory tale of our experience,  move along. I have nothing but good things to report.

I attribute the success of this remodel mainly to three factors:

1. Our designer, Amy Wuest, from KSI Kitchens and Bath. If it weren’t for Amy, I would still be standing in front of the wall of cabinet door designs trying to make the first decision! While everything you see in my kitchen was chosen and approved by Michael and me (oh, who am I kidding? It was me.),  Amy narrowed the field of choices and expertly led me to decisions at every turn. She always listened to what I thought and would offer her input when I asked, but would then say, “It’s your kitchen, you have to like it.”
2. Our contractor, Brian Smith (a.k.a. contractor extraordinaire) and his team. Prompt, courteous, efficient, neat and most importantly, good! You can design the most beautiful kitchen in the world but if the people building it don’t know what they’re doing, you’re sunk. By the way, work began on September 9 and was finished October 12–the exact date Brian estimated it would be done!
3. It was paid for by someone else! If it weren’t for Merillat, we wouldn’t have the kitchen at all. From the VP of marketing to the interns, everyone we’ve had contact with at Merillat has been amazing. In fact, when they found out we wanted to have a party to thank all of the people who helped us win, they offered to take that on as well. It’s not part of the prize we won, just something extra they’re doing for us (as if a $30,000 kitchen isn’t enough!).

Even at their best, kitchen remodels are chaotic, but once you get through that, the bliss of enjoying the beautiful new space is well worth it!

So here it is…the finished product…drum-roll, please…

We spent the days before emptying the cupboards and shifting the other rooms in the house around so we could set up a makeshift kitchen in the dining room. Of course, there was the obligatory trip to Costco for massive amounts of paper plates, bowls, plastic cups and utensils.

As the school bus pulled away with our three oldest children on board the morning of September 9, Brian Smith of Brian Smith Construction Company, LLC, and his crew pulled in to begin the demolition.

We didn’t see much of the demolition because of the plastic they put up to contain the dust, but fortunately for us, the cameras were rolling, so we got to see it after the fact. Demolition day did bring some surprises–two significant roof leaks were found when the ceiling was torn out and there was no insulation–none–in the exterior walls! They say it’s likely our entire house is that way. Brian and team fixed the roof and added insulation. They also found newspaper from 1974 stuffed in the gaps around the window, so it’s likely that is when the kitchen was last remodeled.

For me, the hardest decision was picking the paint color. I’m not very adventurous with paint, but thought I’d give it a try. Everything I thought I might like, it turned out I didn’t. The answer ended up coming from a very unlikely source–my friend Diane’s husband, Mike suggested I bring out the taupe in the back splash tile. I sort of dismissed it because I’ve never been a fan of taupe. But, when all else was failing, I took a look at taupe.

I found a Sherwin Williams color called “Mexican Sand” but still wasn’t sure. Our designer, Amy, had also picked up some paint samples and Mexican Sand was among them so that settled it. Turns out, I really like taupe!

Of course, there was some carry over effect and before he knew it, Michael was painting the dining room. You got it–taupe. This time, “Beach House.” He had a little help, too.

After the paint, came the flooring in both the kitchen and the dining room and then the cabinets. While we didn’t get to go to Kentucky to watch them being made, the photographers did so we were able to see a video our specific cabinets being built. We also taped a message to them that was played for them before they started work on our kitchen. The “check” said they’d be stunning and they are!

Once the cabinets were in, I got to work! I couldn’t even wait for the countertop before I started filling them up. My friend, Elizabeth came over and helped me which made it even more fun!

After we put everything away, it didn’t take long to see that some things would have to be moved. Sarah quickly found the cookie decorating sugar and sprinkles–and figured out how to open them! She thought it was a blast to stack them up and then shake sugar all over the floor! That stuff is now up very high.

The next step was the installation of the appliances and new countertop. By this time, we were so happy to have the dishwasher hooked up. Cutting your meat and eating with plastic utensils gets old quickly. It was so nice to be able to start dirtying dishes again!

The final touch was the backsplash. It might be my favorite detail, although I wasn’t sure about the mosaic tiles behind the sink at first.

So that was the chaos. Stay tuned for the bliss.