Hi friends. I’ve been out of town the last few days working on a project with my daughters, and I’m excited to share an update soon. But since so many of you have kitchen remodels on your minds (judging by the messages I’ve received this week!), let’s talk about our kitchen. I had hoped to return last night to find it complete and planned to take reveal photos today. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
While I was away there was another mishap that caused a further delay. If you’ve ever dealt with a remodel set back by someone else’s mistake, you’ll understand how frustrating it can be. For those who haven’t, here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at what remodeling a house can really involve — it’s rarely as tidy or fast as the TV versions make it seem.
The current issue revolves around the final important element: the round window above our sink. That window is meant to be a focal point, so we’ve been eager to see it finished. The photos in this post were taken over the last couple of weeks and should give you a sense of where we are. I’m hopeful the end is near and can’t wait to reveal the whole kitchen once this piece is in place.
One challenge of blogging about home projects is managing real-life timelines while honestly sharing problems that arise, especially when they’re caused by others. I do my best to keep you updated and to stay on track for a reveal, but real projects don’t always cooperate. Some mistakes can’t be fixed or explained as quickly as a 60-minute TV episode might suggest.
When you plan a remodel, build in time for potential delays. If everything goes smoothly, you might finish on or ahead of schedule, but any number of unexpected problems can set things back — delayed schedules, broken items, illness or injury, pieces that don’t fit, incorrect orders, and more. These issues can push a project off track quickly and affect the budget. In our kitchen remodel we’ve encountered many of those setbacks, and while they’ve been stressful, everyone involved is okay, which is what matters most.
In our case the subcontractor handling the round trim work struggled with the job. Creating and installing perfectly round trim requires a specific skill set, and several attempts failed, causing repeated delays. As a result we’re now at least a month behind schedule and have chosen to bring in a different contractor to finish the work.
Since the top progress photo was taken, the team has completed additional caulking, installed outlet covers, and finished trim and paint touch-ups, so the kitchen is in even better shape than those images show. Those final details truly make a difference.
The missing round trim piece is the last element we need to finish, and fortunately it hasn’t held up other parts of the project. Still, it’s the reason I can’t do the full reveal yet. I’m eager to answer your questions and show every detail once everything is complete.
Please know I’m not delaying the reveal intentionally. This is just the reality of remodeling — not reality TV drama, but real-life complications that happen during projects.
Thanks so much for your patience and excitement. We’ll celebrate even more once the kitchen is truly finished!
See our design board post for a list of some sources featured in these photos — a comprehensive list of sources will be posted as soon as possible.