Tis’ the Season for a Holiday Ready Kitchen Design

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It’s July, which means all thoughts are on hot weather, pool parties, and vacation (with the occasional thought of the looming back to school shopping).  Unless you are the ultimate planner, you are probably not yet thinking about Fall and the coming holiday season.  It is 20 weeks until Thanksgiving, which is plenty of time to plan who will bring which side dish and get your party ware and guest room ready for the influx of family and friends.  Right?

Yes…until you remember last year’s Thanksgiving when your countertop workspace was not enough, and your storage let you down when you couldn’t find your holiday themed serving platters.  Remember how your small kitchen with no island seemed especially cramped when 10 extended family members decided to crowd around pouring drinks and taking in the smells of favorite holiday dishes. Not to mention that fact that your kitchen cabinets have seen better days, and your backsplash and countertop look dated.    If you spent last year remarking on how you would DEFINITELY take care of that long overdue kitchen remodel before next Thanksgiving, then the holiday season is NOT that far away.  Let us walk you through the steps involved in a typical remodel to understand why.

1.      What do you want?

You may already know what you want to change in your design, but if not, you need to spend some time considering your space and what works…and what does not. 

2.      Which kitchen design specialist is right for you?

A complex job like a kitchen remodel is not for the weekend DIYer. It definitely requires bringing in the experts.  Talk to family and friends, search online for local professionals in your area, and view their work on their website and social media sites.  You want to find a remodeling professional who fits your style and with whom you feel comfortable.

3.      Are they available?

Many top remodeling firms have busy design and installation schedules.  They only take on a certain number of jobs to make sure they can give each client the personal attention they deserve.  Get in early to make sure you are not disappointed to find your preferred kitchen design firm is unavailable in your required timeframe.

4.      Getting the design right and setting a budget.

Any experienced kitchen design firm worth their salt will have a proven design process and in-house experts who make this step a breeze! Like our own 12-step process, a design process provides transparency, sets clear expectations, and puts the experience of the firm to use in creating the ideal design for your space at an agreed budget.

Planning and designing your new kitchen takes between 2 and 8 weeks depending on the complexity of your requirements.

5.      Picking the products for your kitchen design.

Likewise, your kitchen and bath design firm is the perfect place to navigate the vast array of available products.  At Lang’s Kitchen & Bath we have extensive displays in our showroom and the experience to help direct you to the right products to enhance your design and home style.

The longest lead time for products is usually cabinetry, which takes 4-10 weeks to arrive once ordered.

6.      Let your kitchen design firm take care of the rest…but plan your vacation and visitors accordingly!

The hard (but also fun) part is done once you have agreed on your design and picked out the products.  Your kitchen remodeling professional will take it from here and manage every detail of your project from start to finish, plus manage the mess in your home daily.  However, it is important to remember that a full kitchen remodel is a messy, disruptive process (though we work hard to keep that disruption to a minimum).  It may not be the right time to invite grandparents to come stay for the summer.  Then again, summer is BBQ season so it’s a good time to make use of outdoor grilling to fill in when your kitchen is out of service.  You may also not want to go away on a long summer vacation while your kitchen remodel is underway in case there are any final decisions that need to be made. 

Here is a typical timeline for installation for a standard sized kitchen remodel, spanning roughly 8 weeks:

  • Week 1

    • Remove appliances, cabinets, floors

    • Rough new plumbing and electric

    • Inspections

  • Week 2

    • Repair or replace drywall (3 to 5 days)

    • Prepare floor for new material

  • Week 3

    • Install Floor (5 days)

  • Week 4

    • Install cabinetry and cabinet trim

    • Install hardware

  • Week 5-6

    • Complete template for countertop

    • Install baseboard trim, door trim, window trim

    • Wait for Countertop

  • Week 7

    • Install countertop

    • Hook up sink and plumbing

    • Install all appliances

    • Start tile backsplash

  • Week 8

    • Finish backsplash and grout

    • Paint kitchen

If you know it is time for a remodel and would love to get it in place before the holiday season hits, contact our kitchen design experts today to get started!  Wile you are waiting for your first design consultation, check out our kitchen remodeling gallery for more inspiration.