Kellie Sink Kellie Sink

What I Learned While Renovating Our Kitchen in 2025

If you’re planning a renovation, here’s what actually matters. After going through it ourselves, these are the design decisions, splurges, and small details that made the biggest difference in how our home looks and functions.

Hi! If you’re starting a home renovation, in the middle of a project,or even just thinking about one, I get it.

We recently renovated our entire first floor, including our kitchen, living room, floors, fireplace, powder room, mudroom, and a dedicated office space. It was exciting, overwhelming, and at times… a little chaotic (especially being very pregnant with a toddler during the thick of construction 😅).

While I’ll share more details along the way, I wanted to start with our kitchen renovation and some of the biggest lessons I learned along the way. There’s a lot I wish I knew before we started.

Vet Multiple Contractors + Know Your Priorities

We talked to several contractors before choosing ours, and I’m so glad we did. We interviewed at least a dozen contractors and had half a dozen in our home to provide detailed estimates and initial renderings for our project.

More importantly, we got really clear on what mattered most to us. We wanted a contractor that was committed to bringing our vision to life, would provide a transparent timeline and budget and of course hit a specific timeline (we had a baby on the way after all!). That clarity made the decision much easier as we were vetting contractors.

Get Clear on Budget + Build in a Buffer

Once you select the right contractor, make sure they itemize costs from the beginning so you understand exactly where your money is going. Also, unfortunately, assume that something unexpected will come up. Plan for a buffer in your budget so it doesn’t derail your budget. For instance, we decided to make a few things more custom as we progressed in the pre-construction process (like wallpaper in my office and more cabinets in our hidden pantry) that drove up costs but ultimately was covered by our budget buffer and also within our vision for the space.

Don’t Ignore the Pre-Construction Phase

If there’s one thing I wish someone told me before taking on a major renovation project while living through the demo and construction, it would be this: Slow down before you start.

This goes hand and hand with selecting the right contractor. I also recommend selecting a contractor that builds a preconstruction phase into their recommended timeline for your project.

It’s so tempting to jump right in, but taking the time to plan everything out - from layout to materials - makes a huge difference.

The more decisions you make upfront, the smoother the actual construction phase will be.

Our kitchen before the renovation

Work With a Designer

One of the best decisions we made was working with a contractor who had an interior designer in-house (shout out Wendy at Americraft!). Even better, we made sure our contract allowed for multiple rounds of renderings included because we knew it would take a few cycles to get it right. This helped us so much. It allowed us to really visualize the space, make changes early and avoid mostly mistakes later.

Do Your Research + Come Prepared

Pinterest is amazing, but it can also be overwhelming. Spend time gathering inspiration and identifying patterns in what you like so you can clearly communicate your vision. If possible, go over these inspiration photos in-person with your contractor and/or designer so they have an even better idea of your vision and taste.

It makes working with your contractor and designer so much easier.

Bring in an Architect Early

Before you get too attached to a layout, have an architect assess the space.

We originally wanted to open things up more in our space, but discovered a load-bearing wall with a lot of mechanicals behind it. Removing this wall would have made it significantly more expensive.

Knowing that early saved us from going down the wrong path.

Order Appliances First

This is something I didn’t fully appreciate going in: Your appliances drive so many design decisions. I was shocked that “What are you thinking for appliances?” was one of the first questions that contractors asked us when discussing our kitchen project but now I 100% understand why.

Things like: cabinet layout, spacing, electrical, ventilation. The finer details - even the less fun ones - are all impacted by your appliance choices.

If you can, order or at least finalize your appliances early so everything else can be planned around them - especially if you are planning to move things like plumbing, water and gas lines, etc.

Appliance placement and layout decisions ended up driving so much of the final design.

Source Your Own Lighting & Hardware

This is one of my biggest takeaways. Find an interior designer and/or contractor that allows you to source your own materials. If you can, try to source your own lighting, cabinet hardware, plumbing fixtures + mirrors and finishing details

Contractors will often offer to source these for you, but options can be limited and pricing is almost always higher.

I found so many great options through places like Amazon and Wayfair that gave us a much more custom look at a better price point. Our designer actually took us to higher end lighting stores first, and then encouraged and helped us find “look for less” options online. Find you a designer like that! Check out links below for some of my lighting, hardware and detail choices (all sourced by my husband and I but endorsed by our designer).

A moment for our beautiful kitchen island pendants from Amazon!

And a moment for our cabinet hardware from Top Knobs!

Be Flexible: Things Will Inevitably Change

No matter how much you plan, things will shift. Whether it’s materials, layout tweaks or unexpected issues, expect changes along the way. For us, we had to make several changes even after a smooth pre-construction phase - like layout in our hidden pantry and lighting in our beverage area.

Having a flexible mindset and knowing things will come up makes the process less stressful.

Timelines Matter, But Expect Delays

Get a clear timeline upfront and ask for regular updates. But, also know that renovations (especially kitchen renovations) almost always take longer than expected.

Our project ended up being delayed by ~5 weeks because we had added on a few small projects to our scope and

Managing expectations here will save you a lot of frustration.

A Good Project Manager Is Everything

Having a dedicated project manager who checks in regularly made a huge difference for us.

It kept communication clear, progress moving and small issues from becoming big ones. Our project manager visited our home nearly every day to hold his team accountable and to give my husband and I updates in real-time on our project.

Living Through a Renovation Is… A Lot

If you’re living in your home during the renovation, prepare for some chaos. Double that chaos level if you have any kids.

Set up a temporary kitchen, simplify where you can, and try to embrace the season. It truly won’t last forever! Best advice I could ever give if you are living through it: Invest in a good air fryer and put that thing into overdrive.

Our air fryer we used nonstop during the renovation

Washing dishes in our basement laundry room utility sink will always be engrained in my brain BUT boy was it worth it in the end!

Our dog Luna thinking “what’s happening here?!” after demo.

Treat Your Team Well

This might sound small, but it matters.

We got to know our carpenters and made an effort to treat them well (even just grabbing lunch at Jimmy John’s occassionally occasionally).

They appreciated it, and it showed in their work.

And Finally… Maybe Don’t Do This 7 Months Pregnant

Would I do it again?

Yes.

Would I time it differently?

Also yes 😅 But it was absolutely worth it. And now our family of four (and dog!) are thriving and loving our new space.

Highly recommend not taking on a full renovation at 7 months pregnant.

Final Thoughts

Renovating is a big investment. It can be a lot of time, money, and energy. But it’s also incredibly rewarding.

For me, it’s been about creating a space that not only looks good, but actually works for our day-to-day life as a growing family.

I’ll be sharing more of each space soon, but starting with the kitchen felt like the right place.

Shop Our Favorite Pieces in Our Kitchen

Read More