{"id":3576,"date":"2016-05-28T19:39:16","date_gmt":"2016-05-28T19:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yousaytomatocooking.com\/?p=3576"},"modified":"2022-11-17T15:32:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:32:49","slug":"kitchen-remodel-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookwithgem.com\/tips\/kitchen-remodel-101\/","title":{"rendered":"a cook’s guide to designing a kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know that we moved back home to England after four and half years of living in a rented house in California. The house we bought in England needed a total remodel. Once we finished the whole process and had climbed to the top of a very steep learning curve, it felt a shame not to share what we’d learned. Hopefully all the tips here in my ‘a cook’s guide to designing a kitchen’ will help you cut some of the time and angst if you’re adding a new kitchen or changing an existing one.<\/p>\n

This post was written soon after we finished the remodel. I’ve also posted here<\/a> about how I added all the finishing personal touches that have made the kitchen feel more lived in. I’ve also saved a video kitchen tour in my Instagram highlights.<\/p>\n

\"\"Why to trust a cook rather than a salesperson when planning a kitchen<\/h4>\n

Its funny that when you go to most kitchen showrooms you will be sold a kitchen by someone who is a sales specialist first and probably not a cook. Yes, they\u2019ll know all the technical wizardry that they want to flog you (under the veil of saving you time and effort when you cook) but how can they offer you real advice if they don\u2019t actually cook themselves? I\u2019d never really thought about it until we started looking for our kitchen as part of our house remodel. When I realised what a minefield the whole process can be, I wanted to share all my tips while the process was still fresh in my mind, so you can get advice from a cook rather than a sales person.<\/p>\n

When I started quizzing the kitchen sales people them about just why I needed x,y and z that they recommended, I realized that much of the kit they are trying to sell you really isn\u2019t necessary \u2013 and the things that will make your life easier and cooking more pleasurable often get overlooked. So lets plan from the point of view of a cook from now on shall we?<\/p>\n

Our kitchen before<\/h4>\n

This was the kitchen in the house we bought before we pulled it all out, knocked down walls and extended. It was about 15 years old and not our taste but still a good kitchen. So before the building work happened, we auctioned the old kitchen on eBay. A guy who does up houses to rent to students bought it for \u00a31,000 – he even came with his own plumber to dismantle everything and take it away. Much better than it ending up in a skip and the money we made helped cut the cost of our new kitchen.<\/p>\n