I'm sure that the thought of undertaking a kitchen renovation has given pause to many. After all, the kitchen is known for its potential to be one of the most expensive areas of the home to update. Add to that the inconvenience & time required and even the most stout-hearted homeowner must become trepidatious.
I knew that careful planning was in order. To start with, I needed a clear understanding of the benefits that we already enjoyed as well as the problems that we expected this renovation to solve. In other words, I needed to identify
The Good, The Bad,
And The Ugly!
Now I've had years of experience analyzing & architecting computer systems but experience reviewing a kitchen, not so much. Let's face it, developing a critical eye can take years and though I was capable of doing the research I was unwilling to pay for the mistakes I knew I would make along the way. So I took a practical approach and consulted with experts.
Tanya Collins (
Tanya Collins Design) and Richard Heller (Richard Heller Renovations) helped me navigate the renovation perils and revealed wonderful options that I never would have discovered on my own. I could write a whole article on the benefits of including experts on your renovation team (and probably will at some point) but right now I'll return to the task at hand, analyzing the state of the old kitchen against my family's current requirements.
Here's what we came up with.
