Role reversal

Less than a week to go until my 1985 kitchen is stripped of it's broken Formica cabinetry and age-old, energy-sucking appliances.  We are taking a big leap of faith that we will be up and running to host Christmas dinner, but even if we end up at the Chinese restaurant, it is time to finally jump.  When we first moved into the house six years ago, we knew that the kitchen had to be remodelled.  We thought that it was two years down the pipeline.  Well, sometimes other things come up - like more babies, a recession, and an external makeover (http://spacetograce.blogspot.com/2012/05/unobvious-update.html), and the plan gets pushed back.  Until NOW!!!

Because I have been thinking about this for quite awhile, you would think that I would have had it all planned out.  Instead, I got stuck in a pair of my client's shoes - paralyzed and overwhelmed.  I have been exposed to so many incredible spaces throughout my career, and there are so many great products out there to choose from, that wrapping your head around it all can really keep you up at night!  So after a few (dozen) sleepless nights (and many rolls of tracing paper), I realized that if I can be objective with my clients, then I can be objective with my own project.  I got my act together and designed the kitchen following the same guidelines that I use for my clients: make a wish list; set a budget; be consistent.    

This has been a lesson in compromise.  I wrote my wish list last year in a blog post entitled The Heart of the Home (http://spacetograce.blogspot.com/2011/09/heart-of-home.html).  Even though my list remains the same, I now actually have to work within the footprint of the room, and not everything will find a place in the new design.  Not-to-mention, my never-cared-about-design-before husband suddenly does, and has a wish list of his own :)   And, because I am a preacher of cohesive design, I have to make sure that the new kitchen will mesh with its already existing neighbors.  Given the parameters that I have just listed, the choices for colors and materials were suddenly not so vast, and my decisions became more obvious.  The layout is set.  Everyone is happy.  No turning back now.