Dreaming of a new kitchen? These DIY pros can help

By Garrett and Cathy Poshusta | thegritandpolish.com

It's been several years since our family left the hustle and bustle of Seattle for an old country farmhouse on three quiet acres in rural Washington State. But it took renovating the kitchen last year to make the place really feel like home. Previous families had done some updates of their own, and, fortunately, left plenty of the original character in our 1912 home. The '90s-era kitchen always stood out, though.

We spent nine months transforming the orange, dated space into a more functional, better-flowing, more 'us' kitchen that we hoped would pass as original. And we've been surprised how much this renovation has changed how we live in our home (I can't remember the last time we had a meal in the dining room!) and how much more the house feels like ours.

Just thinking about a renovation can be overwhelming! Getting a solid plan is key to a successful project. Whether you decide to hire a designer, contractor, or go full DIY (do-it-yourself), this article will give you a place to start. We'll walk through how we plan for a kitchen remodel, discuss a few takeaways from our own farmhouse kitchen, and share lots of photos of the project.

My husband, Garrett, and I, are not new to DIY kitchen renovations. We've tackled nine in total, living in most of them. Over the years we've found that renovating as a homeowner gives us a unique spin on the process. The homeowner experience can be really valuable when it comes to planning, and we hope to show you how today. We've never been the type to have everything dialed to a T before we start - some of our best design happens during construction! But we do believe in being prepared. Here is the process that works best for us, which we've developed over a decade of renovating.

1. Space planning

Planning a kitchen renovation, as the homeowner, begins the moment we set foot in a house. Whether we're moving in right away, or doing some remodeling first, we start with dreaming, imagining, and spending as much time in the space as possible. We like to start out with grand ideas for transforming the space with no budget and no space constraints. We ask ourselves things like: Do we want an eat-in kitchen? How is the indoor-outdoor flow? Is there room for a designated pantry, or would we rather have wall cabinets? Can we add natural light (you can never have enough)? Will the original floor plan work? Should we blow out walls to increase the flow with adjacent rooms? And once we have those big concept ideas out in the open, we start to come back down to earth by adding in budget, scope, and time constraints to the puzzle.

Planning a renovation as a homeowner means you know the house intimately. This is your kitchen and you know what you want, or at least what you don't. We spent over two years living in our farmhouse before starting our own kitchen renovation and that time helped us figure out that (a) the triangular island had to go, (b) the appliance layout just didn't work for our family and often left all five of us standing within the same ten square feet, and (c) a more modest renovation making use of the existing room size would still get us most of what we wanted, and also embrace a bit of the quirkiness we love about old houses.

During this stage, the abstract space planning eventually becomes a more concrete floor plan. We like to take dimensions of the existing kitchen and then draw the space as an empty box (using a pencil and paper or software) and play around with our ideas. This is when we address our annoyances with the space, like how our farmhouse kitchen had such a small stove/fridge/sink triangle that we were always stepping on each other's toes. And this is also when we talk about must-haves (a six-burner range for Garrett, a proofing oven and baking area for me) and constraints of the project like reusing the existing cabinets that were in good condition. This is also when we start thinking about things like outlets, lighting, plumbing, and venting.

During design of your own kitchen, we want to encourage you to pursue your ideas no matter how out-of-the-box they seem. When someone inevitably tells you an idea is not possible, kind of weird, or that you won't like how it turns out, take their advice with a grain of salt. Remember you're the expert on how you want to live in your space and what will be best for your family. Our farmhouse kitchen has a few of these unconventional design elements that received some pushback when we proposed them - the fridge location in the pantry, the side-mounted second sink, and a shelf below the upper cabinets - but we're so glad we followed through. Those features MAKE our kitchen! If you want something unique, you might have to push your designer or contractor or partner (or whoever is involved) for it, but know your ideas are worth exploring.

Actionable tips:

• I'm an old fashioned pencil and paper person when starting the floor plan, but whatever your medium, get the floor plan onto paper for a visual way to explore ideas. You'll quickly see if your dreams fit into the space!
• It can be helpful to tape out /layout ideas on the floor of your existing kitchen (using blue painter's tape), so you can walk around in the space and see how it flows and functions.

2. Design inspiration and finishes

Finding design inspiration, early on, is integral to a good renovation and can help with the space planning. I usually start this process on Pinterest, where I'm constantly collecting inspiration and ideas. There are 'big picture' ideas I'm looking for - like the feel of the space and what look is appropriate for the house style - and small details like color palette and molding profiles. Once I have a few images to guide the design, I start to narrow down other items like countertops, flooring, and cabinetry. But we never have the design 100% finished at this stage - things like paint colors and cabinet hardware are often selected later on. During construction there's a sort of magic that happens while the space is coming together and we're able to mock-up options and see how things fit into the emerging design. We did this with the hood vent in our farmhouse kitchen - we knew we wanted it to be a built-in style, but we couldn't decide what it should look like until we started seeing all the other finishes come together around it. Suddenly it was obvious that it should be paneled like the backsplash.

Things Garrett and I consider when thinking about the design: What's the era and style of the home? How can we make the kitchen cohesive with the original architecture and the other rooms nearby? We're big fans of classic design that will never go out of style. We also love to add some vintage elements into the space to give it some soul.

Actionable tips:

• Start collecting inspiration on Pinterest.
• Think about lighting. (You probably don't have enough.) We've found over and over again that kitchens need more lighting than you'd expect. At the farmhouse we have recessed ceiling lights, pendant lights, sconces, hood vent lights, and natural light.
• Don't be afraid to imitate other designs (it's the highest form of flattery). There are really talented people who spend a ton of time creating spaces and they share it for free. Use blogs, home sites and Instagram for inspiration!
• A picture is worth a thousand words. Whether you're remodeling yourself, or hiring a contractor or designer, find images that can show your ideas, so you get exactly what you want.

3. Budget

Oh the budget. Figuring out what the renovation will cost, and how you're going to afford it, is important to do as early as possible. It saves headaches and disappointments in the long run.

Creating a detailed line-item budget is best. It can help you finalize the total cost and make sure you're accounting for everything. Over the years, Garrett and I started using more of a broad-stroke type budget that's less detailed and based more on experience, but we still have a final number in mind. For our farmhouse kitchen, having a ballpark total helped us feel comfortable moving forward with the project. In the back of our minds, we're always thinking about monetary return and only take on renovations we think will increase the home value by at least as much as the total cost of the project. Kitchens are at the top of the list for getting a great return on your investment.

(For background on costs, Remodeling Magazine publishes an annual list of projects and their estimated ROIs.)

Whatever budget you need to feel comfortable - a detailed line item budget or a broad-brush budget - the bottom line is HAVE A BUDGET. It's always a good idea to add a 20% contingency fee. If you're brand new to the process, add even more as a cushion for unexpected costs along the way. And then figure out how you're going to pay for it.

In the meantime, here are some quick ideas for saving money:

• Work within the existing space
• Don't move the plumbing
• Shop "scratch and dent" sales for old appliances and other things you might need
• Salvage materials you are removing from your space and sell them on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace (a win-win for the environment).

Ready to take the next step?

If you (or someone you know) are taking on a renovation project, a HELOC from Citizens can help you unlock the full potential of your home. We provide an easy and efficient approval process and two repayment options for maximum flexibility. And our home equity specialists provide support at every stage of the process.

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Garrett and Cathy Poshusta renovate old homes in Washington State. With seven old houses, nine kitchens remodels, and countless hours of DIY under their belt, they share it all on their blog, the Grit and Polish. When they're not swinging hammers and painting walls, they're chasing after their three young kids and enjoying a slow-ish life in the country.