03/22/2026
You don’t expect a kitchen renovation to start with a leak…
but that’s exactly what happened here.
A failed faucet hose.
Water damage under the sink.
Cabinets and flooring affected.
Insurance stepped in and did its job:
✔ Fixed what was broken
✔ Replaced what was damaged
But here’s the part most people don’t realize—
It doesn’t upgrade anything.
So the kitchen gets rebuilt…
and still looks exactly the same.
And this is where things get interesting.
Because most homeowners either:
→ accept it as-is
→ or try to upgrade everything a little (and waste money doing it)
But even in a “repair-only” situation…
there are still decisions being made.
And those decisions?
That’s where design actually matters.
I call it Design Triage—
not everything changes, but the right things do.
I broke this whole situation down in this week’s Room Service Weekly—including what I’d prioritize first if this were my project.
👉 Link in bio to read
And tomorrow…I’m getting on camera to talk through this in real time (hold me to it 😅)
