inch forward. call those service people for plumbing and electrical and get quotes....a few quotes. cabinet pricing is not too difficult to calculate a ball park, but labour and service added with that plumbing and elctrical ugpgrade should be generally known and that is hard to say off the cuff because of demand/ their difficulty keeping people working for them...back logs of work from pandemic / your general area and costs relative to location etc. you need more information. I never mind waiting on big projects because I gather more info and products / processes etc change and improve. but why the ambivalence? do you fear something is going to be a big hassle or something? we did an electrical upgrade in 2019 related to a bigger project and first to get a call back was not easy and 2nd to get someone out based on their busy schedules was not easy...so it took a while ...just start getting things detailed out a little more.

This is more a personal decision on whether you and your husband have the money for this or not, or whether this renovation will be a financial stretch for you regardless of the economy. Because there will always be some economic issue on the horizon to worry about - whether recession, inflation, stagflation, interest rates going up or down (either can be a problem depending on the viewpoint). I will say that I don't see the supply chain issues being resolved in the near future, and those will keep prices up.

I agree @User. I don’t quite agree with the prior comment ”contractors will eventually experience a slowdown if this is really a recession”. There is a supply-and-demand issue of not enough skilled people in the trades for the amount of work out there. That is getting worse as older skilled tradespeople are retiring, but not getting replaced. Regardless of recession and potentially a slowdown in home renovations, the lack of a supply of tradespeople will continue to keep the ones that are left quite busy.

So I see what u all are saying and I agree. I am not employed. I’m a registered nurse and hoping to start work next year when my kids r older. Husband will be going out of town for almost 2 weeks and really want to remodel some things that I could in that time but I’m hesitating bc I know that won’t happen with a kitchen (interested in ikea)

And trust me I’ve gotten many quotes. Been planning this since we moved in 4 years ago!

Husband just keeps telling me it’s not the time. Prices on everything is too high.

I think your husband just doesn’t want this project to happen and reason stated is not the issue.. That’s a communication issue that cannot be resolved in a Houzz advice forum. Not sure how a stealth redo of something in spouse’s temporary absence will help anything and no idea what one could accomplish in that little time.

start on your own w graph paper of your space and sketches of wanted activities and collect quotes from tradesmen.....they will come in and talk to you...it is part of their costs to do business whether you hire them or not.....keep a folder and you'll start to see price surprises maybe both on the upside and downside. when you talk to tradespeople they can also reccomend someone they may know to assemble cabinets for example..as a DIY approach......things can get moving if you do some work on your own. You dont need anyone but your own organization of your time / and willingness to listen to the trade people and get them in. nothing will happen without these steps and husband wont do it so you can......then organize a basic price/time outlay and give husband a plan A / B / and C and tell him the approx costs and timeline say within 18 mo to begin. A small kitchen can be scrutinized and the activities related gone over without that much difficulty if you commit. Is there a possibility most of what you have brought up is WANTS rather than NEEDS..sometimes a lot of opposition results from that difference of opinions of the goals to begin with. In that case you have to readjust expectations.

I totally get what your saying @KW but this would be functional and majorly helpful for me and my kids in the long run. Ur completely right about what u said. But there’s others like @herbflavor which I feel like gets exactly what I need. I’ve done all that by the way. Totally have a book. I should attach photos and give u all a better idea. The stovetop is the main reason of all this and super dangerous. The base cabinets and counter top under the microwave was never installed or attached. Pulled many times by my kids and I’m retried one day it will fall ontop of them.

Here are before and afters. Also around the fridge was completely different before I painted. They were just placed there under the hole in the wall they placed shelves in

I painted them gray bc I love the bodbyn gray from ikea in which I got doors to put and cover the built in shelves

I live far away from family. In-laws r always busy. I truly don’t have many others to ask for advice so I really love the community here and finding out whatever I can! All your inputs really help my indecisiveness

My current situation. Husband broke that drawer and I tried to fix it. But it was pulled too hard again.

I don’t see how this kitchen ever passed an inspection! I wasn’t the one who purchased the home. It was done without my knowledge or even seeing the home.

Hadeal - I see why you want a new kitchen. But first you need to get your feet on the ground. Remodeling a kitchen takes months of research and planning, with dozens of decisions about scope, layout, materials and more. You need to get financing lined up. You have to look for contractors with a good track record, check them out, choose one and get a bid, have a heart attack because it will cost way more than you thought, recover from the heart attack and rethink your plans, hire the contractor and wait for him/her to become available. The actual remodel takes weeks of work involving carpenters, electricians, plumbers, tilesetters, etc. Unless you're very wealthy, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to get much done in a couple of weeks. You might be able to get new counter tops but will that really make much of a difference? Probably not.

It sounds like your husband isn't excited about remodeling. That's your first hurdle so start there. Maybe he's worried about the economy, or his job, or that he's the only wage earner, or that you don't have sufficient savings or too much debt. These are legitimate concerns. Or maybe you do all of the cooking and he just doesn't understand the challenges that go with working in a dysfunctional kitchen. Talk to him. Make a plan, even if it's a few years off. You two have to figure this out together -- realistically.

Hadeal, I hope someday soon you'll be back showing us your beautiful new kitchen. Good luck!

einportlandor I truly appreciate you! Thank you so much! I need to be patient! I’m trying but the dysfunction of it all on a daily basis is getting to me where I want to pour everything I got into this. Then the hesitation comes again. I was at a point where I had tons of ikea boxes in my basement ready to go and build at least the pantry wall myself. Needless to say I returned every package.

"Husband will be going out of town for almost 2 weeks and really want to remodel some things that I could in that time"

Two weeks is not even enough time to paint unfortunately. And supply chain issues and contractors are all out months. Keep saving until you can do this right (or your husband comes around).

Thanks millworkman. I agree. And thanks verbo I totally agree also. Let’s fix the surface issues now since I’m on a advice forum for remodeling. Totally get the other issues which obviously as a grown woman been there done that and still trying. But didn’t come here for that. Wanted professional and peers opinions on my thoughts of remodeling and how quick something can get done.

This might be a bit personal.... but if your husband is the only bread winner and he is uncomfortable with the spending, don't do it. Extra don't sneak around behind his back and start remodeling when he says no and you two are not in agreement on it. That's a serious trust breaking issue if he can't trust you not to just start renovation projects he is actively disagreeing with when he leaves you alone for a couple weeks. Both of you as a couple sharing the household need to come to an agreement on this before you proceed with any active remodeling. You say the house was purchased without your input, you probably didn't like that much. Is the kitchen remodel a tit-for-tat kind of issue going on there maybe? Or maybe you feel like it isn't really your house because you didn't have input, and you want to make the kitchen really yours? Maybe there is some stress going on there because of other issues than the kitchen itself. And remodels are stressful enough on their own without the people doing it being in active disagreement.

While not remodeling, there might be some repairs you can do if you and he are in agreement. You can get some brackets and get that counter firmly attached to the cabinet. You can take the faceplate from the broken drawer and attach just the face to the hole where the drawer used to be- glue and screws would probably work that up in a jiffy. Keep saving money for a future remodel- whatever you have saved so far for it, make yourself a goal for how much total you think you might need, then save an extra few grand past that for just in case.

Money keeps coming up in comments. I have a huge savings. Not planning to blow it all. But let’s be real. I can always make the money back. Go back to work. Working on becoming a School Nurse in 2023! Started my own home baking business in 2019 that to my surprise has become a huge success! Let’s also remember this isn’t tit for tat or “I just want a new kitchen”. I’m the handy one in the relationship. I’ve installed and detailed many things in our home since moving. Every closet door was installed by me. I laid tile, grouts, and epoxy our shower/tub. I also epoxy our garage floors. Let’s just say I know what I can do and I know what I can’t do. With our growing family and dysfunctional kitchen it would take a huge stressor off me designing it the way I want. But there’s just something keeping me back…..

Possibly the location of where I begin the process of a remodel. Do I keep the kitchen layout where it is. Do I change it to become a kitchen/family room combo. Or put the kitchen where the dining room is near the patio doors in a huge area and open up completely the space where the old kitchen use to be. But that would b awkward and create one giant room. If that’s the case I will wait for DH to complete this project. But somethings telling me I don’t want to wait years down the road. I’m a SAHM right now and a a functional space is what I need.