I'll be honest, I love this time of year here on the Seacoast. The light gets that gold, warm quality, and everyone's pulling out their favorite sweater. It's the time of year when we start spending more time in our homes – chilly mornings and warm, cozy nights. It's also when I start hearing the same thing from clients, over and over: "We're thinking about doing our kitchen... next year." And when I ask them what "next year" actually means, the answer is almost always one word: spring.
Here's the thing I wish every homeowner knew: "next year" and "spring" feel like plenty of time. They're not. A lot has to happen before you get there, and most of it starts now. If you want a new kitchen, primary bathroom, or full home renovation to be done by April or May of 2027, the truth is, that project doesn't start in January or February. Your kitchen remodel timeline (or bath, or whole-house) starts now, this fall, with decisions most homeowners don't even know are decisions yet.
So let's talk about planning a home renovation the smart way, and I promise this isn't a sales pitch dressed up as a calendar. However, if a 2027 home renovation is even a "maybe" for you, there are a few things worth understanding before the holidays swallow your to-do list whole.
I've lived in New Hampshire for a long time, and have moved more than once (if you know, you know), but I have never seen the real estate market like it is today. Prices are high, mortgage rates are higher than we'd like, and staying put in your current home feels like it's not only a wise decision, but the only decision.
Inventory here is tight enough that finding the right next house, in the right town, on the right street, is genuinely hard. A lot of my clients also locked in a mortgage rate a few years ago that they have zero interest in giving up. Add it up, and the math on moving just doesn't pencil out the way it used to.
What I'm seeing instead is homeowners falling back in love, on purpose, with the house they already have. The bones are good, the location is right, and even if the kids no longer live at home, it still holds space to welcome them back. So instead of moving, they're reinvesting and asking the kitchen or the primary bath to finally work the way it should have all along.
If that's you, you're in very good company. And it changes the equation a little, because this isn't a "let's get it market-ready and move on" renovation. It's a "we're staying, so let's do this right" renovation. Which, selfishly, is my favorite kind to work on.
Fall is the best time to plan because every renovation runs on lead time, counted backward from the day construction starts. Design decisions, permits, cabinetry orders, and lining up your builder all need to happen months before demo day, in the right order. Start this fall, and a spring 2027 start is realistic. Wait until January, and you're already playing catch-up.
None of it happens the week before the dumpster shows up in your driveway. And if you skip a step or start it too late, the whole calendar shifts. Not by a few days. By a season. Sometimes by many months.
I've watched it happen more times than I'd like: a homeowner calls me in January, feeling right on schedule for a spring start, and I have to gently explain that January is actually already behind. Not because they did anything wrong. Just because nobody told them how the math works.
So let's do the math together.
Here's roughly what a realistic kitchen remodel timeline (and really, most bath and whole-home renovations too) looks like, from "we're thinking about it" to "it's happening" on the Seacoast:
This is the step people skip, and it's the one that quietly costs the most time (and money) later. The sweet spot is what I think of as the perfect triangle: your builder, your architect (if the project calls for one), and your designer, all starting the conversation at the same table, at the same time. Each of us does what we do best and stays in our lane, because we're building your project as a team from day one instead of catching each other up later. It sounds like it should cost more. In practice, it almost always costs less, since nobody's redoing work someone else already started.
This is where I take everything we've talked about and start turning "wouldn't it be nice if..." into an actual floor plan, a real layout you can walk through in your head before anyone picks up a hammer.
This is decision season. Cabinetry, windows, plumbing fixtures, stone, tile, the big stuff that everything else gets built around.
Your plans get precise enough to hand to the town (if needed), your contractor, and everyone on our team.
The good builders around here are booked six months to a year out. I'm not exaggerating for effect, that's just where we are.
Custom cabinetry and windows are almost always the pacing item.
Look at that timeline again. Someone who calls a designer in January isn't planning a 2027 full-scale renovation, they're planning a 2028 one and just don't know it yet.
Let's start with the honest number, because I'd rather you hear it from me now than be surprised by it later: even when a kitchen renovation goes right, you're realistically without a working kitchen for around 12 weeks. Complex layouts or a longer wish list can push that further. I'm not going to pretend otherwise, and anyone who promises you a two-week kitchen remodel is either talking about paint and hardware, or setting you up for a very frustrating spring.
What I can help you avoid is the version you've probably heard about from a friend or neighbor: demo happens, the kitchen is a plywood-and-plastic-sheeting situation, and then everyone just... waits. Six weeks. Ten weeks. Longer. You're washing dishes in the bathroom sink and eating takeout on repeat while your beautiful new cabinets sit on a truck somewhere, or worse, haven't even shipped yet.
That version is avoidable, and it's one of the places where having an interior designer running point on your kitchen remodel makes the biggest difference in your actual day-to-day life.
Custom cabinetry right now typically runs 12 to 14 weeks from order to delivery. I place that order early, during design development, months before demo day, and then I watch the calendar closely. We don't tear apart your kitchen the day we place that order, and we don't wait until the cabinets are sitting in your driveway either. Demo starts once your cabinetry is confirmed on its way, about two weeks before it actually arrives, which is plenty of time to finish demo and get plumbing and electrical rough-in done before the truck shows up. And where I can, I overlap other phases that don't depend on the cabinets at all, instead of running everything in one long, exhausting single-file line.
The goal isn't a fantasy where you never lose your kitchen, twelve weeks is twelve weeks. It's making sure that time is predictable and spent on real progress, not an open-ended wait for a delivery date nobody can pin down. That's not luck. That's scheduling based on my experience, and it's a huge part of what you're actually paying a designer for, even if nobody puts it on the invoice that way.
More than ever, I'm meeting with homeowners who've made peace with staying in their current home, and are now genuinely excited to finally fix the things that have bugged them for years, the awkward kitchen layout, the primary bath that time forgot, the mudroom that isn't one. They're not renovating to sell. They're renovating to actually enjoy the house they've already decided to keep.
Which is exactly why the timing conversation matters so much right now. If you're staying long-term, it's worth doing this once, thoughtfully, instead of in a rushed scramble that leaves you living in chaos for a season.
You do not need finalized plans. You don't need a Pinterest board with 400 pins narrowed down to a tidy 12. You just need to start the conversation. Here's what I'd actually do this month if I were you:
That's genuinely it. You're not committing to anything by having this conversation. You're just making sure the version of you standing in a finished kitchen next spring isn't the version who wishes she'd called in September, or the version eating takeout on the bathroom counter for two extra months.
Longer than most people expect, and most of it happens before anyone picks up a hammer. On the Seacoast, starting the conversation in October or November sets you up for construction in April. Once construction begins, plan on being without a working kitchen for around 12 weeks, and longer for complex layouts or a bigger wish list.
Early: before or alongside your builder and architect, not after. When all three of us start at the same table, nobody's redoing work someone else already started, which almost always saves time and money. If you're hoping for a spring 2027 start, this fall is the moment to reach out.
Team first, then schematic design and space planning, design development (cabinetry, windows, fixtures, stone, tile), construction documents and permits, bidding and your GC contract, and long-lead orders. Demo starts once your cabinetry is confirmed on its way, about two weeks before it arrives, so rough-in is done when the truck shows up.
Custom cabinetry typically runs 12 to 14 weeks from order to delivery, and almost everything else in the room gets built around it. That's why I place the order during design development, months before demo day, so your kitchen isn't sitting torn apart while you wait on a delivery date nobody can pin down.
That's a personal call, but for a lot of my Seacoast clients the math on moving just doesn't pencil out. Inventory is tight, and many locked in a mortgage rate they have zero interest in giving up. If the bones are good and the location is right, reinvesting in the home you already have can make a lot of sense.
My 2027 design calendar is filling the way it does every fall, and I'd love to talk with you before it does. Whether you're in Exeter, Portsmouth, Stratham, Rye, New Castle, Hampton, or anywhere else along this coastline we both love, let's sketch out your kitchen remodel timeline (or your bath, or the whole house), figure out what your project actually needs, and make sure "next year" is a plan, not just a hope, for the home you've already decided is worth staying in.
Let's design your 2027 home renovation, intentionally, starting now. Book a discovery call and we'll start the conversation.
Renee possesses a rare combination of artistic creativity and intuitive design. Her warmth and compassion extended beyond working with us to understanding the style and feel of our home and how we live in it. We felt fortunate to work with and get to know Renee and absolutely love the updates she made to our home- from windows and walls to artwork and furniture!
Renee is an absolutely wonderful designer. Very talented and easy to work with! She will transform your room or outdoor space into exactly what you want, only better!
Talented, creative, dedicated, great communicator. Renee is such a special person.
We have worked with Renee Carman at this company for almost 2 years. Renee is professional, personable, and a pleasure to know. She is very helpful and will go the extra mile to please her clients. Renee has excellent expertise and knowledge of interior design. We have a beautiful home and highly recommend her.
Renee possesses a rare combination of artistic creativity and intuitive design. Her warmth and compassion extended beyond working with us to understanding the style and feel of our home and how we live in it. We felt fortunate to work with and get to know Renee and absolutely love the updates she made to our home- from windows and walls to artwork and furniture!
Renee was a pleasure to work with and has great vision. We were doing a total rehab of a recently purchased property and she was able to look at a gutted out '50s cottage and turn it into a beautiful mid-century modern home. She understood our budget and timeline and was good about narrowing all our options down to just a few choices. This expedited the process, made it less difficult and more enjoyable. Once the rehab is done, we look forward to working with her again and finish the rest of the rooms.
Renee at Mandeville Canyon Interior Design was simply wonderful to work with. She was able to understand what we were looking for in terms of color, function and design from the moment we first spoke. She's easy to work with, goes above and beyond and delivers an outstanding design.
I highly recommend Renee and Mandeville Canyon Interior Design. I don't think I will attempt to decorate another room in my house without the help of Renee!
Love working with Renee and Mandeville Canyon Interior Design ! I had the opportunity to collaborate on a large scale design project recently and the results were fantastic! Creative, resourceful and one of kind design ideas made this design opportunity with Renee "one of a kind" Have a large or small project? You won't be disappointed!!
Renee not only has an amazingly creative eye, she also directed a massive renovation for us this past year that included the challenges of operating during the pandemic. She put together a team that had an incredible work ethic and brought the project in on-time and on-budget. She's a great listener. When we threw ideas at her, she was never dismissive; quite the contrary, she made them better. Her patience, attention to detail combined with her whacky sense of humor meant we were all able to smile while producing a home that we love. A great talent and a great lady.
Rene is amazing! Great customer care and wonderful attention to detail.