LIVING THROUGH A RENOVATION
Can you still live at home during a kitchen renovation?
Short answer: usually, yes. Here’s what that actually looks like day to day, and how to set yourself up for it.
THE QUICK VERSION
No kitchen doesn't mean no cooking. It means a different kitchen, for a while.
Most renovations don’t require you to move out. What they do require is a proper temporary setup, and realistic expectations about how long your kitchen will actually be out of use. Our renovation process sets out what happens in each stage.
What to expect, stage by stage
STAGE 1
Before demolition
You’ll still have a working kitchen. This is the stage to set up your temporary space, not scramble for it once the sink disappears.
STAGE 2
During the build
This is the stretch without a kitchen, usually the most disruptive window of the whole project, though shorter than most people expect once cabinetry and benchtops go back in.
STAGE 3
Final fit-off
Appliances, plumbing and finishing touches come together. You’ll have a usable kitchen again well before every last detail is complete.
HOW TO MAKE IT EASIER
Five things that make the gap easier to live with
- ✓A dedicated space for a microwave, kettle and bar fridge, set up before demolition starts, not during it.
- ✓A laundry or garage sink as a temporary wash-up point if your main one is out of action.
- ✓A realistic weekly food plan that doesn’t rely on a full kitchen. Takeaways get expensive fast over several weeks.
- ✓Clear communication with your renovation team about which days are noisiest or dustiest, so you can plan around them.
- ✓Patience for the final week. The last few details often take longer than the big visible changes.
A FAMILIAR SCENE
One family set up a temporary kitchen in their garage two weeks before demolition started: a kettle, a microwave, and a folding table. It wasn’t glamorous, but dinner was never a crisis.
The actual “no kitchen” stretch lasted five weeks. Everything after that, they had a usable space again, even while the last finishing details were still being ticked off.
