Design Notes

Part 4: The Finishing Touches

Construction crews have left your home, and it is time to put your space back together with the finishing touches.

Cleaning Up

Now that everything is in its place and the dust has settled, it’s time to clean up.  As mentioned in our Part 3 article, if you used a contractor, some cleanup may be included in their estimate.  This is probably basic and may not include wiping down all of the surfaces.  Your new cabinets will be dusty inside and out, first, from being assembled in the shop, then from installation, and finally from the countertops and appliances being put in.  Hopefully, the dust barriers you put in place helped some, but you should still plan to devote a large chunk of time to straightening up.

Tile Backsplash

If you tend to procrastinate, you’re in luck.  Your tile backsplash can be decided on and installed after you’ve lived in your kitchen for a while.  Mine wasn’t installed until after 6 weeks of using our kitchen.  We had narrowed our selections down to three options, and my husband requested that we wait to decide until he could “see it all come together”.  Once it was all together we went with my original selection from months earlier…..happy wife, happy life, right?

Artwork

All the photos and prints you took down to avoid damage can now be put back into place.  Since the walls are likely freshly painted, you can get creative with how you rehang your photos.  Mixing frame sizes and finishes is gaining popularity.  Now that you’re living in the renovated space, you will most likely want to buy some new artwork to bring the space together.  Don’t be afraid to play with scale and color when making art purchases.  If you live with something for a while and don’t love it, then you can always replace it.  That is what makes decorating with artwork so fun.

Finding A Place For Everything

Restocking your new cabinets is an exciting time.  Think through where you want to put things based on how you utilize the space.  You probably planned this with your kitchen designer in advance, but now you can put it into action. I’m talking about all the utensil dividers, spice pullouts, mixer lifts, custom corner storage, etc.  At Walker Woodworking, they pride themselves on making use of every available square inch.  My favorite part of my new kitchen was using my silverware drawer.  We hadn’t had one close to the sink in our old 80s kitchen, so we’d been using a silverware tray set in an upper cabinet.  I now have a huge silverware drawer with a custom divider and knife block inside, courtesy of Walker Woodworking.

Grocery Shopping

Now for the fun part.  If you’re like me, you may be thinking, “How on Earth will I fill all of these cabinets?”  Believe me, you will be able to. When I went shopping before our renovation, I had to buy only necessities for the next meal because we had very little extra pantry storage in our kitchen.  We now have a snack drawer, a bread drawer, a sippy cup drawer, a full-tall pantry cabinet, places for stock pots and crock pots, storage for my broom/swiffer, and even a recycling nook.  I love being able to shop knowing that I have space for all the food to fit in my kitchen.

Cook and Enjoy

You can now use all your wonderful appliances and the gorgeous new deep sink you installed.  Once in your new kitchen, you can branch out and try exciting new recipes.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to move beyond the microwave for cooking and learn some new techniques.  The only bad news is that using your kitchen means it will get dirty again.  Have fun in your new space……cook, clean, rinse, and repeat.

Ready to start your next project? Call Walker Woodworking today and get the process started. 704-434-0823

If you have recently completed a renovation and would like to share your experience, please comment below.

Check out the other parts of our remodeling series.

Intro to this remodeling series? Click this link to see it now.

Part 1: Budgeting and Planning Remodel Budget Analysis? Click here to see it now.

Part 2: Making your selections. Click link to view post.

Part 3 Under Construction. Click link to view post.

/onFebruary 14, 2015/updatedJanuary 27, 2026/inDesign Notes
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