So that’s the long summer holidays over with for another year and I can hear the cheers (or is it sighs of relief?) of many parents and grandparents throughout the country!
Only joking! If, like us, it’s been great to enjoy a glass of wine well into the long summer nights, spend some quality time with the kids or entertain the extra visitors you’ve had to accommodate and cater for at the family barbecue, here’s a truly shocking thought:
As of today’s date there’s only 111 days until Christmas!
No, we haven’t gone mad but have you started thinking about Christmas yet? We bet not but if you have, does the thought of how you’re going to cope with cooking Christmas lunch for your friends and family in your current kitchen just make you go queasy?!
If over the summer holidays you started to think that your kitchen no longer meets the needs of your family, you’re not alone. This time of year has traditionally been the time that people think about having their kitchen updated and have Christmas in mind as a deadline so that they can show it off and accept the compliments from their guests!
And here’s another thought (which the more cynical amongst you may think is just a sales technique): if you are going to remodel your kitchen in time for Christmas you really haven’t got that long to think about it!
As I mentioned in my blog to diy or not diy your new kitchen the biggest mistake many people make is to underestimate the amount of time and work involved in updating their kitchen – and the cost financially and in stress levels of it not running smoothly – especially if there’s an immovable deadline such as Christmas to be met.
From initial enquiry to the job being completed and our fitters leaving your home for the last time can, depending on the size and complexity of the project, take anything from 6-12 weeks. And 12 weeks from today puts us at the beginning of December!
Why? Well not only are there the obvious trades such as the kitchen and worktop fitters, gas engineer, electrician and plumber to be booked and the manufacturing and ordering to be organised but, because they’re often part of larger projects, many kitchens also require tilers, plasterers, waste removal, flooring
specialists, window glaziers and digital TV contractors (and I’ve probably missed a couple!) to be thought about.
And that doesn’t leave a lot of contingency should things such as the bad weather that we had last November strike again!
So if you are seriously considering updating your kitchen in time for Christmas save yourself the stress of leaving it until the last minute. Ensure that whoever you use is competent and trustworthy enough to complete the job within the agreed timescales so you’re not stuck with a microwaved Christmas dinner or have to go to the in-laws again because your kitchen isn’t finished!
For more information about Nicholas Hythe Kitchen Design Studio please go to www.nicholashythe.co.uk or telephone 01480 468598 or email us at info@nicholashythe.co.uk
For hundreds of pictures of kitchens we’ve installed for delighted clients please go to www.facebook.com/NicholasHytheKitchenDesignStudio
