Living through it…
I am currently in this phase. Once I established the scope of the work that needed to be done, I had to decide what part of the labor, if any, Jon and I would do ourselves. I opted to scrape the popcorn texture off my family room ceiling myself. I am extending the footprint of the kitchen that direction and wanted the ceiling to look the same in both rooms as they will appear more as one room now. Jon removed the old cabinets and is hauling them off. I will remove the old wallpaper and paint the walls.
I started packing up boxes of kitchen stuff early on. The items we rarely use were easy to get out of the way. Our dining room is now a warehouse of packed boxes. Our living room now holds the family room furniture as well as the living room stuff. The refrig is now the focal point in our entry and the family room is completely covered in plastic. Our microwave is perched on old cabinets in the upstairs hallway and the bathroom counter is the coffee station/dish-washing area. I called friends ahead of time and let them know I needed them to invite me over for dinner, they have been great and the invitations have been rolling in. I cooked and froze dinners that I could microwave and my neighbors said I could use their range anytime.
Make sure you stock up on alcoholic beverages, you’re going to need them!
When I get my new kitchen all my friends will be invited for a spectacular meal to repay their kindness.
Cooking of any kind is a challenge. We have been without a range for a week now. To make a cup of coffee we need to find the cup and coffee, go downstairs to get the creamer out of the frig, go upstairs to the bathroom to heat the water. I’m keeping a knife and spoon in the frig. so I can find them to butter bread, etc.
I estimated that I wouldn’t be able to cook for three weeks; everyone thinks I am very optimistic; some people go a full two months without appliances. No kidding.
I am the one coordinating the subcontractors coming in. As soon as I was done scraping the ceiling the electrician came in to install recessed can lighting. Schedule workers as far ahead of time as you can, so you can get them when you need them. This will not solve the schedule problem but it will help. There are always subs who don’t come when they said they would for a variety of reasons: they’re not through with the last job, they’re sick, car broke down, bad hair day… and these are the good subs– not the ones who don’t show up because of drugs or alcohol. Some excuses are legitimate, some not, but while you are kitchen-less it’s hard to understand.
Know ahead of time this will happen and open that first bottle of wine.