The Kitchen Renovation Process — What to Expect
Step 1: Design Consultation (Week 0 — the starting point)
The design consultation is where everything begins. You bring your kitchen dimensions, your inspiration images, your must-haves, and your budget range. Our designer brings the specific knowledge of what works in this market, what the materials actually look and feel like at full scale, and how to sequence the decisions that follow. The consultation is complimentary and takes 60 to 90 minutes in our showroom.
After the consultation: you will have a clear material direction, a realistic cost range for your scope, and a timeline that allows you to plan your contractor relationships and your life around the renovation.
Step 2: Material Selection (Weeks 1–2)
In most cases, one or two showroom visits is sufficient for complete material selection — cabinet line, door profile, finish color, hardware, countertop material and slab, flooring material and color. The showroom environment makes these decisions significantly easier than choosing from samples and catalog images: you see the materials together, in real light, at real scale.
Step 3: Cabinet Order (Week 2–3)
Once cabinet dimensions are confirmed and materials are selected, the cabinet order is placed. This starts the lead time clock. Semi-custom lead times: 8 to 12 weeks. Custom lead times: 14 to 20 weeks. The appliance order should be placed simultaneously — both have similar lead times, and staggering them adds unnecessarily to the project timeline.
Step 4: Parallel Decisions (Weeks 3–8, during lead time)
The cabinet lead time window is the time to finalize contractor selection, apply for any necessary permits, and confirm countertop slab selection (we hold slabs for clients during lead time). Flooring and additional material orders can be placed during this window as well.
Step 5: Countertop Template (Week 10–14, after cabinet installation)
The countertop is templated after the cabinets are fully installed, set, and level. This is the step most clients do not anticipate — countertop installation follows cabinet installation by 2 to 3 weeks from template date. The sequencing is non-negotiable: template happens after cabinets, not before or concurrently.
Step 6: Installation Completion (Weeks 12–18)
Final installation sequence: flooring (if not already installed), countertop installation, appliance installation, hardware and fixture installation, trim and finishing work. The renovation is complete when every drawer closes perfectly, every hinge is adjusted, every drawer pull is level, and the kitchen looks the way you imagined it during the design consultation.
TIMELINE SUMMARY | SEMI-CUSTOM KITCHEN | CUSTOM KITCHEN |
|---|---|---|
If you want a fall kitchen, order in... | May–June | February–March |
If you want a summer kitchen, order in... | February–March | December–January |
Total timeline (approx) | 12–18 weeks | 18–26 weeks |
Installation (demo through countertop) | 3–5 weeks | 3–5 weeks |
Cabinet lead time | 8–12 weeks | 14–20 weeks |
Design consultation to order | Week 0–2 | Week 0–3 |