I also used spreadsheets to compare cooktops, ranges, and sinks.

Yes, absolutely, partly because I like GW so much -- y'all are wonderful! I have a leftover piece of granite, a $10K estimate to remodel a bathroom, and no money, so now that the remodeling bug has bitten I'm going to do it in bits & pieces.

No one says you have to stop living on the forum after you've finished. I've tried to leave...It's a sickness! I think it's just that you develop a love for kitchens and the process that develops them. You can't help wanting to see what others are doing and it helps 'keep the book going' to see and help with others' projects. After all, what would we all have done if all who'd finished their kitchens stopped checking in and were not here to offer their sage advice and encouragement?

I don't travel much because I agonize in the prep stages over everything from what to pack to making the arrangments for the dogs, my aging parents, and everything that has to be managed at home while we're away. Every time I leave for a trip I swear "never again, not worth it" and the minute I board the plane, I'm relaxed and fine. I think I need to manage everything under my control, and then when I've done all I can do, I relax.

That sounds something like what you're experiencing with your remodel. You did all the leg work necessary to get things underway, and now you can enjoy seeing the process unfold. Congrats to you on two counts - for having done your homework so that it's turning out well, and for being able to embrace the process.

As far as keeping up with the goings on at GW, there's no reason to leave. I, like many, still have a backsplash on hold. But you really don't need an excuse to stay on. Having recently done a kitchen you can be a source of info to newcomers who are just embarking on theirs. I love kitchens, so I'll probably always be around.

Oh yes indeed! I can't say I'm as methodical as you are but I also had a GC that was very collaborative.

I love what we did together. I found the creative act really exciting. And it's just great to see an idea become reality and to be able to live inside your creation.

I have lots of plans for other projects. ...just not the hard cash. =o

Glad you had such a great time doing it!

aussies, where do you live? may be I can steel your contractor?

I'm glad you shared your experience. It's especially nice to hear that your contractor--the classic nightmare set-up (low bid, communication problem, available right away)--is working out so well.

I'm finding the remodeling process very stressful and tiresome, and I can't wait for it to be over. Part of the issue is that we are doing our entire house (not just the kitchen), and I've never done ANY remodeling before. My largest project before this one was hiring someone to refinish a few interior windowsills! The past eight months have been one long slog for me, and I've missed out on vacations, parties, family time, sanity....

BUT we are now just a few weeks away from completion, and I am finally feeling some sense of elation and satisfaction. The house is BEAUTIFUL and I can't wait to get in there! I can't say I ever want to do it again, but the outcome is so wonderful that I don't think I will shy away from it if we do decide to take on a smaller project, like refinishing our basement, in 10-15 years.

There are a few of us "old timers" who finished our kitchen reno's several years ago, and still haunt this forum! I like living vicariously through others' kitchens, and am already planning for my next kitchen, although it's years and years away. Also, the TKO never goes away. So no reason to leave us just cause your kitchen is finished. Your insight and experience will be so valuable to newbies.

*clears throat*

Ummm,....I'm 7 years past my kitchen renovation...LOL Pretty soon I'm going to have to do it again.

Is there some kinda prize for being here the longest? :)

My thanks to all of you who finished your kitchens and stuck around! When I joined this forum I had a completed kitchen design and was ready to order my cabinets. I posted my design and within an hour, several people had pointed out some weaknesses in the plan to me. Several people spent their own time messing with my plan to make it better. I went from a major low "oh, god, it won't work!" to a real high a few days later when i realized that I'd now had my plan sussed out by the REAL experts and it held up.

Cheers to all of you who finished but still hang around and help us through this, and cheers to all of us going through it who help one another out. This place is one great slice of life!

Anita

PS, Vivian, yes, there is a prize. It is a nice avocado green dishwasher :)

Having a contractor that I can trust has changed everything and I feel completely relaxed most of the time!

There ya go!

THAT is what you didn't expect.

And aren't you lucky!

(Just remember, as you get closer to the end, tensions rise. You'll get pickier, he'll get fatigued and a little rushed. It's normal. Be prepared for it, and find a way to work through it (take a 1-day break, something, to freshen you both up.)

Best of luck for the rest!

We moved into our new kitchen this past week. It's just a hair's breadth away from being finished and still needs new furniture and window covering. But we're using it and loving it.

After 14 weeks (a short time, I know, to some of you!), we definitely WERE ready for the remodel to end and to start using kitchen. But there's not a chance in h--l that I could stay away from this forum. I've learned more about remodeling a kitchen here than I could have from a library full of books or a room full of KDs, assuming they all knew what they were about. This online community is incredibly giving of time and knowledge, and for all of you I am truly grateful. I hope I can give back to newbies some of what I've learned here and used in my kitchen.

I'm still posting questions, and last night I introduced to the Forum a friend who is just starting to plan her remodel.

We're going away for a couple of weeks, but after our return the last little pieces should fall into place, and I'll be ready to post photos.

I've spent two years reading and planning for our remodel. Almost a year of that reading here daily (sometimes hourly) and I still can't believe how many decisions there are to be made during the remodel process. Contractors are so used to doing many things "the same old way". You have to be very prepared and vigilant to get something different.

- Jim

Thanks for posting this, aussie. We're still in the planning stages and already finding it stressful. We're so dreading the actual construction process that DH and I have been ready to give up at various points already. It's nice to hear that the construction process doesn't have to be the nightmare that so many people have described.

I know just what you mean, aussie! When we finished (but who is ever??? They need to come fix my pantry doors) - I felt a bit at loose ends because I had been living breathing kitchens for 5 months! I still return to the forum and am actually surprised at some of the questions and how silly they seem now - but when I was going through it it was life and death!!! Not to belittle anybody beginning the process or in the midst, every questions is important - that's how we learn!

I've been checking out the home decorating forum a lot now because my new kitchen has made the rest of the house look soshabby!!

I can't even enjoy TV shows I liked while I was remodeling - especially House Hunters because a lot of the kitchens in the prospective homes are horrible and I can't imagine having to start over!! :-)

I've been asking questions and getting so much
information for over a year now. I am extremely
grateful to those who stick around with the answers!
I love hearing from all stages of the process...thats what
makes this forum invaluable!

I can relate. You've heard of 'runner's high'...well I get 'remodeling high'. Being in the business, maybe it's easier for me to relax through it all. Glad you had a good time with your kitchen!
Kompy

I definitely felt the same way. We did a whole house remodel that took 8 months, but we didn't live in it for most of that time, so that made a BIG difference. I too loved the collaboration and creativity of it. Our contractor and I joked that he would always have a room here, and he occasionally drops by and reminds me that he is still "part of the family." I think after all of those months where it is all consuming, it is kind of hard to switch back to your "other" life. And of course, the house projects never really end...

You're not alone Aussies. I was just about to start my own thread titled, "GW withdrawal. Now what do I do?"

We decided to remodel in November. In December, I discovered GW. We boxed up our stuff in April. So for 8 months, Ive been scouring GW for new information. Now everything is ordered and decided upon except switch plate covers, window treatments and area rug.

Our granite will finally be installed in 3 hours. I'm very excited, but also a tiny bit sad. No more wild searches for the perfect item, maniacally looking for every detail, pro, con and opinion. I find myself scanning the threads looking for something that pertains to me. Then I remember that I donÂt have any decisions to make right now! :-)

Posted by yelenatulip (My Page) on Mon, Aug 4, 08 at 16:48

aussies, where do you live? may be I can steel your contractor?

aussies, maybe I can steel your spreadsheets?

I won't know what to do with my free time once I get done. This house is a big 'ol giant DIY project that we are in to for around 5 years. We have done all the work from designing the house and drawing the plan, digging the footers by hand, laying the block foundation ourselves, framing, wiring, plumbing, tile work, just laid all the hardwood over the past two weekends. But now we are nearing the end.....finally!! We are installing the cabinets this weekend, with the assistance of our cabinet builder. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every day that passes, this house is beginning to look more like a home and less like a construction site. We will probably move in around christmas this year. And then we will start finishing the sunroom and master bedroom. And THEN I will be done....no more house building for me!! My kind and loving daughter was so concerned that I would get bored with all this free time on my hands she offered to let me build her a new house too. Wasn't that sweet of her?? lol!! I told her no thank you...I have plenty of gardening projects waiting for me. I will miss all the planning and decision making, but it will be nice to relax on the weekends for once in a long, long time.

It's nice to hear that I'm in such great company :)

I will definitely still be here on the forum, hoping to give back advice and encouragement to others and to live vicariously through others :) I suspect it won't be quite the same though - without the feeling of the adrenaline rush of panicked decision-making LOL. Although I will still have a postponed backsplash to agonize over :)

I really do feel incredibly fortunate to have found the contractor that we have. This truly has made all the difference to me. (I'm in Northern California, in the Bay Area BTW). It also has really only been a month of construction, so I don't know how I'd do with the months on end that I've read some GWers enduring.

Granite is being installed on Monday! I'm nervous but excited ...