Diagnose the room before you shop
A workable plan lines up cabinet runs, appliance clearances, task lighting, range-hood venting, water and gas lines, panel capacity, and any wall openings before a single cabinet gets ordered.
What a written scope should cover
- What's actually there now, and why
- How the rest of the house gets protected during work
- Material choices and how they'll be installed
- Permits, inspections, and cleanup
- What's excluded, the warranty, and how changes get priced
Grand Rapids Context
Kitchens original to that furniture-era housing boom were generally small, closed-off rooms designed for a single cook, a layout that shows up across much of Grand Rapids' older housing stock regardless of neighborhood, so opening up a period kitchen here usually means addressing load-bearing walls placed for a much smaller room than most households want today.