From one working hob to dream kitchen: Here's how I coped while renovating

Home of the Year winner Jennifer Sheahan has advice on making your kitchen useable while renovating

Jennifer Sheahan's kitchen when she bought her artisan cottage, left, and right, her kitchen after the renovation.

When I bought this home I lived in it for nine months before renovations started, saving and planning and waiting for my contractor to be ready. I know lots of people who are pre-renovation will be living in a new home before ripping it up and rebuilding, many for longer than nine months, and some homes need a bit of sprucing up to turn them into hospitable environments during that time. 

If you’re saving for a renovation then you’re unlikely to want to spend much on making your temporary digs habitable, nor do you want to buy something nice only to get rid of it again soon. 

Luckily there are effective temporary fixes available to get you through. The room I’m most frequently asked about is the kitchen, as the most used room in the home. (I can’t personally advise on what to do with ancient bathrooms — mine had no hot water and no water pressure, so I showered in the gym every morning. Never been fitter.) 

When I bought my house, the kitchen had a small fridge and one working hob. If you’ve recently bought a wreck with a barely functioning kitchen, here’s how to get by without blowing your savings until your shiny new one is installed.

PAINT CABINETS

If you have existing cabinets but can’t bear the sight of them even for a short stint, a lick of paint will go a long way. 

Cabinets are easy to paint yourself with minimal investment, and the vast majority of kitchen cabinet materials can be painted. You don’t need a special type of paint, but it’s always a good idea to ask your paint supplier for their advice. 

Start by giving everything a thoroughly deep clean, then remove the cabinets from their hinges. Unscrew any hardware (handles) or if that’s not possible, cover them with frog tape. 

Paint kitchen cabinets. File picture

Sand the doors and wipe clean, then apply primer. Depending on the paint you’ll typically need two layers of undercoat and two layers of topcoat. Wait for them to dry, screw back on, and enjoy. You can also replace the handles if they screw off easily!

COUNTERTOPS

If the countertops are simply hideous, contact paper is your answer for a cheap and surprisingly sturdy fix. Contact paper is a self-adhesive roll of film, usually made of vinyl, that comes in plain colours and in a range of effects such as wood and marble. It even comes in glitter and hey, it’s only a temporary fix so why not live out your dreams? 

I’ve bought marble effect for a shelving unit and wood effect for a desk — there’s a good range available in Woodies and in Lenehans (lenehans.ie). It’s stupidly easy to cut to size, peel off the back, and stick it down — just smooth slowly as you go to avoid air bubbles and wrap underneath the edges of the countertops. If you’re careful about using chopping boards, you’ll get plenty of wear out of your new surface to see you through to your new kitchen.

BACKSPLASH

If you can’t stand the sight of your backsplash you can also use paint or contact paper here — you can paint tiles too. Alternatively, you can get tile decals. Tile decals are also typically made of vinyl, and they are essentially stickers that look like tiles. 

Be sure to measure your existing tiles and buy the right-sized decals to match. There is a great range available on Etsy — just be sure to read reviews to make sure there’s no issue with peeling. 

Another backsplash option is to have a piece of acrylic or even a mirror cut to size and stick it to the wall using strong double-sided tape.

TEMPORARY UNITS

Perhaps your new pile of rubble doesn’t have any functioning kitchen to speak of at all. In this case, you’ll need some temporary units. First, I would check salvage yards or adverts.ie and donedeal.ie — people often put kitchens up for very low prices or even free on the collection, and you could find one that fits your home and will tide you over. 

If you prefer something unused, Ikea has some very affordable options here that require minimal installation. The easiest option is to look for freestanding units, and at the most basic end, the Sunnersta range plus some shelves and a kitchen trolley will get you a functioning workspace for a couple of hundred euros. This could even be repurposed into a utility unit in your refurbished home!

Temporary units are an option. File picture

CLEVER APPLIANCES

It can be worth thinking through what you’ll want in your permanent kitchen — if you’re certain of what you will use then it makes sense to invest in that appliance now, assuming you have somewhere to store it when it’s time to clear out for renovations. 

Jennifer Sheahan's kitchen after renovation. Picture: Moya Nolan

If you’re not sure yet what you’ll use, you can go a very long way with a combi-microwave oven and a plug-in electric hob. Aldi and Lidl often have very useful appliances in their middle aisles, such as air fryers and slow cookers, which will cover most cooking needs for the majority of people. Again check online for pre-owned appliances that you may even pick up for free. 

If you need a fridge, consider also your freezing needs —if you need space for frozen food then it can often be easier to buy a separate freezer, especially if space is awkward, as it’s easier to manoeuvre than a double-height unit.

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