How to survive a kitchen renovation

Transform your entire kitchen with just stunning kitchen cabinets

If you are considering a new kitchen, you’ve come to the right place! At DIY Homefit we offer a flexible approach to creating the new kitchen of your dreams. If your existing kitchen cabinets are in good condition and you are happy to keep the carcasses, we can provide a wide selection of replacement kitchen doors which can be a quick and easy way to refresh and transform your kitchen.

But if you want to rip everything out and start from scratch, we also have a comprehensive range of kitchen cabinets, cupboards, drawers and units to enable you to create your own customised fully fitted kitchen.

Either way, the good news is that DIY Homefit can supply your dream kitchen at high quality and low cost.

But if you do go for a complete kitchen renovation, you may be worried about the installation process itself. However well things go, your home is going to be disrupted for at least several days. But if you plan ahead, there is quite a lot you can do to plan ahead, and make the whole process as stress-free as possible.

Here are our top tips.

Top 5 Tips on how to survive a kitchen renovation:

1. Declutter before you start

Let’s face it. You don’t really want all your old junk in your brand new kitchen do you! So have a massive declutter. As you empty the old kitchen, ready for the work to start, get rid of anything that you either don’t like or don’t use. Follow the words of William Morris “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

Extend the declutter to food items too. If there are tins, bottles and jars lurking at the back of the cupboard way past their sell by date, get rid of them. If there are items that you don’t want but others could use then give them away. 

Decluttering means less stuff to store during the kitchen installation. You can also start life in your new kitchen with a clean slate and no clutter.

2. Cover up as much as you can

However well you prepare, there is going to be a lot of dust. So the more stuff that you can either put away or cover up, the better. This applies to every room in the house: dust seems to get everywhere. Taking time to sort things out beforehand could save you a lot of time and trouble afterwards.

3. Create a makeshift kitchen

Find an area of your home where you can set up a makeshift kitchen for the duration of the work. This might be in a dining room, conservatory, hallway or garage. Set up some basic kitchen equipment such as a kettle, toaster, microwave and mini fridge. You will also need some cutlery and crockery: get disposable items if washing up is going to be difficult.

Also have some basic food items available, such as tea, coffee, bread, milk etc. But keep this to the bare minimum as, realistically, you are not going to be doing much cooking in there.

4. Live on meals out and takeaways

Yes, really! This is the one time when you are allowed to do this. It is going to be difficult trying to cook proper food in your makeshift kitchen, so eating out and bringing cooked food in is the order of the day. 

Now is also the time to call in favours with family and friends. If anyone offers to feed you all, say yes. And if they don’t offer then do ask. You would do the same for them after all.

5. Make it fun

Any major work in your home can be stressful but you can make it a lot easier by having a positive attitude and trying to make it fun. So just grit your teeth, accept that there will be noise and mess, and try to make the best of it. With a bit of luck, the meals out and takeaways might make it feel a bit like a strange kind of staycation.

Just take the time to look after each other, and don’t forget your pets too if you have them. Everyone will be feeling a bit unsettled so you need to pull together as a team.

Always remember that the end result will be worth it. It will soon be over, and you will all be able to enjoy spending time in your lovely new kitchen. You will have survived!

Good luck with your kitchen renovation. Get inspired by looking through our wonderful gallery of kitchen pictures to see how fabulous your kitchen could look.

And remember to check back here soon for more lifestyle tips from DIY Homefit.