Why Summer is the Best Time to Renovate Your Kitchen

No matter how well you plan for the disruption of a major kitchen renovation, there's nothing that quite prepares you for the inconvenience of preparing meals and doing dishes in a temporary kitchen. As the heart of our home, the kitchen is more than the place we eat our meals, it's the central gathering point for most families. 

Booking your kitchen renovation during the summer months has its advantages.

You Can Eat Outside
Polish up the patio set, turn on the portable CD player, set the table and VOILA! You've got yourself a temporary kitchen away from the dust and mess of your kitchen renovation.

You Can BBQ
Eating at restaurants and bringing take-out food home is not only expensive, it can be tiresome as well. With the Internet at your disposal, you can discover numerous creative ways to use your barbecue to grill meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. 

You Can Grab a Breath of Fresh Air
With any renovation, there will be dust. You can close off rooms, shut doors...but the dust will follow you--except outside. Grab a book, your laptop or a deck of cards and head outside for a breath of fresh air. (Opening your windows to let a fresh breeze in also works better in the warmer months!)

You Can Hit the Road
Why not plan a summer road trip or vacation to coincide with your kitchen renovation? You may not be able to avoid living at home during the entire period of upheaval, but you can reduce the amount of stress your family feels by planning to be away during some of the "messier" periods of your renovation.

Surviving a Kitchen Renovation: 5 Things to Include in Your Temporary Kitchen

Although most major home renovations create some form of family upheaval, nothing quite compares to the drama and trauma of ripping apart the very heart of your home: the kitchen. And while you've probably spent countless hours making decisions about how your new kitchen will look, it's just as important to plan for how your family will cope in a temporary kitchen during the weeks (and often months) your dream kitchen is becoming a reality.

To maintain your family's sanity and keep frustration to a minimum, you'll want your temporary kitchen to include:

A Refrigerator
Whether it's big or small, a refrigerator is an absolute must. Even if it's just for a few staples like milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables.

A Toaster Oven and/or Hot Plate
While a microwave will suffice for cooking and reheating some items, you'll need a hot plate--or if you have room, your own full-sized oven--to fry eggs or whip up a batch of pancakes. At the very least, a toaster oven will help you brown meats and, well...make toast. If your temporary kitchen isn't big enough to house your regular oven (or your new one!), a hot plate doesn't take up much room and will give you some added options when you can't face another night of take-out.

A Sink
Don't fool yourself into believing you can wash your dishes in the powder room sink or clean them in the laundry basin. Space in those areas is probably tight as it is and carrying dishes to and from your food prep area will get old very fast. If at all possible, try to set up a sink in your temporary kitchen. You won't realize how much you use it until it's not there!

A Microwave
If you only use your microwave to make popcorn and reheat your morning coffee, now's the time to explore what it can do! For some culinary inspiration, click here, here or here.


The Essentials
Utensils, glasses, cups, plates, bowls, serviettes...being able to find the basics will keep you sane on the craziest days. Don't forget to keep a corkscrew (or a bottle of Tylenol or Advil) on hand, too. Sometimes a glass of wine goes a long way...