By Go Project’s president’s wife Nadia.
The backstory: We moved into our 1900 SF townhouse in the heart of the Historic Steveston Village about 5 years ago. At the time, although the kitchen was a bit outdated, we decided a renovation it wasn’t high on the priority list. We were a busy family and as with most contractors, Jim often put our own home projects on the back burner because he was so busy renovating other homes. Our weekends were full of sports and activities not leaving much home improvement time. Finally last fall we decided to bite the bullet and turn our attention to the kitchen and dining area. We completed planning in the New Year and things were set to go in March.
The before.
It wasn’t the end of the world but I didn’t enjoy being in the small dark space.
Well, our kitchen reno didn’t go down as planned… but pretty much everyone could describe the last couple of months this way, eh? My daughter and I planned on being out of town over March Break. Then immediately after I had back to back contracts booked. My older daughter would be finishing her year at university in Kelowna and my husband, Jim, was planning on being at his shop and on site at projects around the lower mainland.
Then BOOM. The now infamous Friday the 13th hit and our lives were turned upside-down. Trip to Toronto cancelled. Contracts cancelled. Older daughter returned home 6 weeks early. Restaurants closed and we had a kitchen reno ready to go on March 16th! Eesh. We decided to take a leap of faith and push ahead. All of us home, restaurants closed and kitchen under construction.
It’s been a few weeks now. Here are some musing and three things that surprised me.
1. Contractors become like family.
We followed stringent hand washing, physical distancing and pre and post site sanitizing. Jim made sure that we had the same couple of people from his team in our house through the project (one at a time). Each day one of them would walk in and the whole family would be happy to see them. Even our cat Kyrie would go running to say hi each morning. I had a coffee station set up and over a cup I was able to hear about their lives, their families and discuss the day’s news. There is something intimate about the relationships that are formed. It’s like having a new uncle. I missed them when it was over.
The kids and their dad
Although Jim did a lot of the work we loved seeing members of the Go Projects team each day.
2. Priorities became more clear.
With Jim and I both being self-employed these were scary times. All of my spring contracts were cancelled and we had no idea about how this pandemic would impact our financial situation over the long term. I looked at our fridge which has had a dent in it since we moved in and no ice maker. I looked at our microwave that is outdated. They both still worked. Suddenly new appliances seemed not so necessary. They stayed and somehow became much less ugly with the facelift that took place around them.
I had to consider Needs vs. Wants
The fridge and microwave are in good working order and as much as some new appliances would have been nice - they stayed.
3. It brought the family closer.
Full disclosure here I don’t love spending time in the kitchen cooking at the best of times but the reno has changed that. I look forward to spending time cooking in my bright, shiny new kitchen each night then sitting down with my family even for 20 minutes to enjoy a meal before we go off to our for our respective evenings. I put more effort into making each meal yummy and special by playing eclectic music (hello Jill Scott, hi Drake!). I set the table to look pretty and call the family down as soon as it’s ready. We eat until it’s time to go out and bang the pots in honour of front line workers at 7pm. The kids do the dishes and then we all retreat to our separate corners. No we aren’t that family who puzzle, play monopoly or watch classic movies. But we love each other and our meals. I’m not sure if it’s the global pandemic or our new kitchen I have to thank for rediscovering the joys of a family meal. Either way I am grateful.
A bright space i love to spend time in
I was thrilled to have a bright space to showcase my brother’s beautiful ceramics that I use everyday to prepare family meals (and happy hour drinks 😉)
I hope that you enjoy this peek into our lives and some behind the scenes with Go Projects. We’d love to hear how your family has been rediscovering your kitchen over the last couple of months. Please leave us a comment below!
Sending best wishes and warmth to you and your family. Stay strong. You got this.