Want a Kitchen Remodel Done by Memorial Day? Start Planning in December

A Memorial Day kitchen goal starts with clear decisions well before construction is on the calendar. Here is a practical way to work backward through layout, selections, permits, ordering, and home preparation without treating any date as a promise.

Published 2026-12-07 · Updated 2026-12-07 · 7 min read · By Kris Kohrs, Owner, Precision Home Concepts

Treat Memorial Day as a goal, not a promise

If you would like a new kitchen in place by Memorial Day, December is the time to start the conversation. A calendar cannot guarantee an end date. Weather, product availability, permit review, field conditions, inspections, and late decisions can all affect a project.

What December can do is give you room to make the decisions that shape the work. A kitchen is not one purchase. It is a group of connected choices: layout, appliances, cabinetry, countertops, plumbing fixtures, lighting, flooring, wall finishes, and the work behind the walls. Early decisions reveal questions before a room is opened.

At the kitchen table, I would start with one practical question: what has to be true for the new kitchen to work better for your household? That answer should guide the plan, not a photo saved online. Our kitchen remodeling page is a good place to begin gathering the parts of the project you want to discuss.

Begin with the way you use the room

Before you choose a door style or countertop sample, write down how the current kitchen gets used on an ordinary week. Who cooks? Where do groceries land? Is there a traffic pinch point at the refrigerator, island, or sink? Which items need to be close at hand, and which can move to a pantry or another room?

Bring photos, rough measurements, and a list of nonnegotiables to the first planning meeting. Include any changes you are considering beyond the kitchen, such as opening an adjacent room, moving a laundry connection, or changing access to a deck. A small change on paper can affect structure, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, finishes, or the sequence of work.

This is also the point to decide how much help you want with coordination. A design-build approach can keep design choices and construction questions in the same conversation. The important thing is not the label. It is having a clear plan before ordering items that depend on one another.

Use December to make the decisions that hold up the work

Start your selection list with the pieces that set dimensions or require coordination. That often means appliances, cabinet configuration, sink and faucet, ventilation equipment, lighting, flooring, and countertop material. Then record the exact product, finish, and model information once you decide. “Something like this” is useful during inspiration. It is not enough for an order or an installation plan.

Appliance specifications are a good example of why. A manufacturer’s installation guide sets requirements for the particular product, not for a generic kitchen. Whirlpool’s guide for one 24-inch dishwasher calls for a defined cabinet opening and routes for water and power. [7] Your chosen appliance may have different requirements, which is why the actual model information belongs in the plan before cabinetry and surrounding work are finalized.

Keep a simple decision log. For each item, list the selection, model or SKU if applicable, finish, source, approval date, and any question still open. Give one person in the household authority to make final calls. It keeps a minor choice from stopping a bigger one.

Check the address before you assume the permit path

Permit responsibility is local, and the mailing address alone does not settle it. In Kansas City, Missouri, the city says permits are required for most building, electrical, plumbing, heating, and ventilating work, while it lists cabinet replacement and some finish work among building-permit exemptions. [1] A kitchen scope that moves or adds systems needs a specific conversation with the authority having jurisdiction.

Unincorporated Johnson County is different from an incorporated Johnson County city. The county tells applicants to search the property address first: if it returns “Unincorporated Area,” use the county process; if it returns a city name, contact that city’s planning department. Its remodel page also identifies an application and project documents that may be applicable. [2]

That distinction matters around the metro. A Leawood address should be checked through Leawood’s building-permit process, which specifically lists residential interior remodeling and residential remodel review categories. [3] An Overland Park address should be checked with Overland Park’s own permits, licenses, and inspections office rather than treated as unincorporated county. [5] In Lee’s Summit, Development Services says that, with few exceptions, building permits are required for the listed residential projects and that the information needed varies by project. [4]

Your project team should confirm the requirements for the exact address and scope before work begins. Do not let a neighbor’s project, a blog post, or a cabinet-only refresh answer a question about a wall move, new circuit, plumbing relocation, or ventilation change.

Put permits and HOA review on the same early checklist

Once the scope is clear, identify the drawings, product information, and approvals the project may need. Build this into the planning work, not the last few days before you want construction to start. The county’s residential remodel guidance, for example, says plans must be uploaded with the application and notes that approved plans must be on the job site for an inspection. [2]

If your home is in an HOA, pull the governing documents now and ask what the association wants submitted, if anything. Keep that review as its own line item in the project checklist. Do not assume that a municipal or county application answers the HOA’s questions, or that an HOA response answers the local building department’s questions.

For a home built before 1978, add painted-surface disturbance to the early discussion. EPA says renovation work in a pre-1978 home can create lead dust, and paid work that disturbs painted surfaces is subject to lead-safe certification and training requirements. EPA also identifies Kansas as a state that operates an authorized program. [6] This is not something to guess about after demolition is underway.

Order from a coordinated list, not a stack of screenshots

After selections are confirmed, compare every item against the plan. Check appliance cut sheets, cabinet and panel dimensions, fixture locations, tile layout, lighting locations, and transitions to adjoining rooms. Confirm who is ordering each item, where it will be delivered, how it will be inspected on arrival, and who will resolve a damaged or incorrect item.

Avoid changing a foundational selection casually after related items are ordered. A change can be the right call, but it should be reviewed against the drawing, installation requirements, and the other products that touch it. That is how you protect the plan from avoidable rework without pretending the project has no unknowns.

A written process gives homeowners a place to track these handoffs. You can also use our guides to organize questions before the next conversation.

Prepare your household before construction begins

A good plan includes the temporary kitchen and the people who use it. Decide where food, coffee, dishes, medications, pet supplies, and school or work essentials will live. Think through access for deliveries, a clear route to the work area, parking, pets, and any days when water, power, or the normal kitchen will be unavailable.

Set up a communication routine before the first day: who receives updates, who can approve a field decision, and how you will raise a concern. Keep a small folder, digital or paper, with the final drawings, selections, contact information, and any approved changes.

Starting in December does not create a promised Memorial Day finish. It creates space to plan honestly, resolve decisions in the right order, and move into construction with fewer open questions.

References

[1] Building Permit Exempt Work | CITY OF KANSAS CITY

[2] Residential Remodel Permit | Johnson County, Kansas

[3] Licenses & Permits | Leawood, KS

[4] Building Permits - Residential | City of Lee's Summit

[5] Permits, Licenses and Inspections | City of Overland Park

[6] Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program | U.S. EPA

[7] Installation Instructions | Whirlpool

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