Going into Week Five of being Kitchenless and I think I’m definitely starting to lose it!
Somehow the magic of washing our dishes in a basin in the basement laundry tub is gone.
If you want to read the beginning of this saga check out So you want a new kitchen, eh?
![What the livingroom looked like during the cupboard installation process.](http://www.mairlynsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/my-poor-house-e1398192311195-300x224.jpg)
To recap the adventure: I decided I didn’t need a designer or a contractor to have my new wonderful IKEA kitchen installed. What have I learned so far? Simply, that I’m an idiot!
Apparently I don’t speak reno-speak, because I was completely out in left field on finish times. When I heard, “your kitchen will be finished on Friday, April 5” I heard through my own non-contractor personal filtering system, “your kitchen will be FINISHED on Friday, April 5” as in “a working completely finished kitchen.”
Who knew that “your kitchen will be finished on Friday, April 5” just meant the cupboards would be in on Friday, April 5. No electricity, no running water, no counters, no stove.
A contractor would have known that having everything finished on the day the cupboards went in was insanity.
On a positive note I totally love my IKEA cupboards. They are gorgeous, and I loved the work the two guys from PEG did putting it all together. Richard and Reinhardt did amazing work.
![Richard and Reinhardt putting in my cupboards.](http://www.mairlynsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/two-guys-from-PEG-e1398192528939-224x300.jpg)
I know I’m going to love the counter, the sink, the backsplash, the lighting… it’s just that I have to imagine it all right now.
Apparently the next step is the counter people.
So, I called the counter people and they sent over a lovely guy to measure the area that will one day house a counter. He used a laser gun.
I had a lovely women quote me on the backsplash, but she can’t come over until the counters are in.
I called the plumber people and they can’t come until the counters are in.
There seems to be a theme here. No one can do anything until the counters are in.
So “Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re in a holding pattern here until the counters are in……………….”
![My pretend kitchen](http://www.mairlynsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/photo-11-e1398193074971-764x1024.jpg)
In the meantime here are some of the things we’re eating.
Salads, salads, and more salads.
Jacket potatoes, jacket potatoes and more jacket potatoes.
Chicken wraps…
![Chicken wraps made on the dryer in the basement.](http://www.mairlynsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dinner-in-the-basement-e1398193246790-1024x764.jpg)
and did I mention salads……………main course salads….
Here’s the recipe I demmed on Cityline that is one step above a regular salad, and check out Tracy’s blog post from Behind the Scenes at Cityline
I too am in kitchen reno hell. Like u I purchased a beautiful Ikea kitchen. I have been without a kitchen since February 21. It was delivered April 5 and they will just start installing April 23/14. It has been a tough road. It will be beautiful when it is finished.
All I can say, is hang in there. That’s what I keep telling myself!
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
I think I see takeout chicken there from Swiss Chalet or Supercentre?? LoL
turned that cooked store chicken into a Chicken Wrap. It was one of my son’s University Days Specials!
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
Hi Mairlyn, the cupboards look great, the recipe ideas are awesome, the reno sounds scarey!! I am planning an ikea kitchen, but mine involves removing a wall. Now I am really scared!
Keep smiling.
Removing a wall scares me too!:)
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
I watched you on Cityline today and wondered if you had no electricity in your laundry room. I would have used a crock pot and made some hot meals. Just a suggestion which I am sure you must have considered.
I didn’t feel like chopping stuff downstairs, it was just too pathetic even assembling stuff down there. Now that I have moved my make shift kitchen back upstairs and we have one working counter, I have use the slow cooker.
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
Mair, you are hilarious. I cannot imagine the craziness that is your life right now. Just think how blessed (and no doubt harmonious!) you kitchen will be upon completion. Stay the course. It’ll be so worth it.
Thanks, Deb… its pretty crazy over here for sure, but I’m hanging in there.
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
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Don’t know why I only got this a couple of days ago and yet I see comments are from April!! But I’m still waiting for pictures of your completed kitchen! And following is my rant!
We designers (and I am referring to qualified, registered designers) actually do add to a renovation project! Anyone working in a professional field learns through experiences and even their mistakes – this makes them a knowledgeable asset. I’m sure you are WAY more knowledgeable about food, nutrition and cooking and yet I have been cooking most of my life, but I would not try to do what you do! 🙂 And just look at how the role of the kitchen has changed through the years, kitchens are now a multitasking space. This makes them one of the hardest working, most detailed rooms in a house. A good designer helps work with you to make sure you get the best value for your money and avoid costly mistakes. This is of course just my opinion!!
Hi Deborah,
I totally agree that a designer is key to designing a new living space, but after all of the kitchens I visited, the discussions I’ve had with the designers on Cityline, and my Type A personality, I felt that I could pull this off alone. I did have help, which was key from the designer at PEG. without him the kitchen would have been a disaster, then the designers at IKEA did the finishing touches.
The story I wrote was a do it yourself approach so people who were in a tighter financial circumstance would have some tips before they plunged ahead.
Thanks so much for commenting, discussions are key in the learning curve of life!
Peace, love and fibre,
Mairlyn
pictures will be posted when Cityline sets a date for the big reveal…..