When my first child was coming into this world, my expectant dad nesting emotion kicked in. Male nesting is a way for men to feel connected to the pregnancy. It tends to be something physical they can do to feel involved as well as preparing for their role as protector and provider.

So what happen with me? Well, I totally gutted the home we bought and remodeled almost everything especially the kitchen!

For this post, we will just focus only on the kitchen. We always wanted to remodel the kitchen, but suddenly it became very important that we finish before my wife’s due date. 

Planning Tips For Renovations:

• Set a budget amount and stick to it
• I had an excel file tracking every cost spent into the project. You may want to allocate 10% extra for any extra surprises

• Determine the type of style and look of the kitchen
• I had download Google Sketchup tool and built a 3D and 2D model of the proposed kitchen and constantly modified it until we had agreement
• this step also includes appliances that you want to keep (this is helpful for dimension capture)

• Prepared for time delays - not everything goes to schedule (especially if this is your first time with renovations) 

• Visual references (e.g. youtube) helps a lot especially if you are planning to do the renovations yourself. Reading books help but studies have shown that visuals help a lot.

• Prepare for a lot of visits to Home Depot store (especially for unexpected surprises). I had gone so much - I knew the staff by first name and knew how to navigate the aisles store in the dark ...

Special Notes about My Renovations:

As much as I wanted to get a sledge hammer and start knocking stuff down, people actually do buy old cabinets (for their own rental properties). So I was able to save some money (free hundred) but I needed to carefully remove the old cabinets. I was doing most of the renovation myself and was trailing behind in schedule. I eventually hired a contractor to help assist with the reno.

Special Notes about Focus Design about Kitchen:

Worked with a kitchen designer and she maintained that we need an effective triangle range (sink to stove to fridge). In addition, we do some cooking and really don't like smells to linger in the kitchen. As such, we bought one of the most powerful range hoods on the market (900+ CFM). Lastly, we decided on a custom kitchen slide out spice rack right beside the stove/oven when cooking.



My Kitchen Budget:

I had budget about $15k once we decided to keep some of the kitchen appliances since they still work. Costco actually sells home renovation materials with great prices. I only bought the top light fixtures from them (so good). 

Electronic: Range Hood	$1,000.00
Labour: electrical outlets	$800.00
Labour: install light fixtures	$0.00
Labour: install new cabinets	$500.00
Labour: install new countertop	$0.00
Labour: install sink	$0.00
Labour: install the new tiles	$400.00
Labour: remove the old cabinets	$0.00
Labour: remove the old tiles	$0.00
Material : 3 piece countertop	$1,000.00
Material : Ground Tiles	$2,000.00
Material & Labour sink plumbing	$80.00
Material: Backsplash tiles	$450.00
Material: buy light fixtures	$80
Material: Miss. Tools and Glue	$500.00
Material: New Custom Cabinets	$3,000.00
Material: Sink & Faucet	$460.00

Before Renovation:





During Renovation:








After Renovation: 
 




Let me know if you have any comments