temporary kitchen

I suspect it is one of those curiosities that we don't speak about, or at least I am always curious as to how others have survived renos.  I had heard of the horrors of the kitchen reno experienced by others and braced myself for ours.  As mentioned earlier, I consider our basement reno (completed late in 2008) as being significantly more horrific than the current kitchen reno.  Having a good general contractor for the kitchen reno helps significantly, but I spent a lot of time preparing for this kitchen reno too both in terms of what work would be done ( ~ don't forget we plunged into a full basement reno complete with concrete sub-floor removal and replacement with basically 3 weeks notice!) and prepared food in advance.  I cooked and baked up a storm prior to this kitchen reno as we have kids' soccer twice a week and had piano lessons once per week both by 6 p.m..  We had not counted on miserable May weather and had planned to barbecue a lot more than we have.

Let's look at the temporary kitchen facilities.  The basement laundryroom has become our food prep area.

The restored laundry sink on the re-used vanity (from the earlier basement reno) has been a critical and useful element of this renovation.

This antique table below from the 1950s belonged to my dh's grandfather from the 1950s and serves for my cooking area.  Having 2 electric elements has been a lifesaver for me!  (Unfortunately, I blow a fuse if I try to cook with the cook top at the same time as using the nearby microwave!)  The adjacent chest freezer is very convenient as it is a good and larger area where I do my prep work for cooking and serving.

We've been using my craft room (adjacent to the laundry room) as our dining area.  This has worked quite well (although I am squished for crafting purposes!).  I am so glad that I have linoleum flooring in the craft room as well!

With our temporary kitchen and dining facilities, we have dined for the majority of our meals at home and have managed to retain most of our sanity and remain on schedule as well!