How to Plan a Kitchen Makeover with AI | Microsoft 365

0:00 I've been helping my parents plan their kitchen remodel, and at first

0:03 I thought it was going to be mostly picking out countertops and paint colors.

0:08 It's not.

0:08 It's calls with contractors a million tiny decisions, budget tracking,

0:13 and somehow I become the project manager.

0:16 So today I'm going to show you how I'm using Copilot

0:19 to help me keep everything organized and a lot less overwhelming.

0:23 We've already mapped out a high level budget, so it's time to start

0:26 putting things into action.

0:28 One of the first things I wanted to do

0:30 was turn everyone's ideas into something structured.

0:33 Let's start in the Copilot app.

0:35 I'm going to drop in all the random

0:37 new kitchen dream plans my parents have shared

0:39 with me and type:

0:40 I'm helping my parents plan a kitchen remodel

0:43 with a $25,000 total budget, based on the below wish list.

0:47 Can you outline which important decision

0:49 should we finalize first and which items depend on other decisions?

0:53 Copilot takes all that information and builds

0:55 a roadmap suggesting what to tackle

0:57 first and explaining how certain decisions impact each other in this process.

1:02 This is my family's first big renovation,

1:04 so I'm sure there are plenty of things we don't even realize we'll run into.

1:09 To avoid as many big surprises as possible,

1:12 I'll ask Copilot: What are a few things

1:14 we might not be thinking of that could sneak up on us later?

1:18 Copilot gives me a list of considerations like

1:21 permits, electrical upgrades, and lead times.

1:25 Things we definitely hadn't thought much about yet.

1:28 Now we can make sure we're planning for the right things from the start

1:31 before we make any decisions we can't easily undo.

1:35 Next, I wanted to make sure we're taking those ideas and agreeing on

1:39 what this kitchen is actually going to look like and feel like.

1:42 So I'll ask Copilot to turn our initial thoughts

1:45 into something visual.

1:46 Based on our kitchen remodel goals and budget,

1:49 create an overall design concept including overall design, style,

1:53 description, suggested color palette, cabinet style, countertop material,

1:58 backsplash style, hardware finishes, lighting approach, and more.

2:03 And in seconds, I have a design concept with details like specific colors

2:07 and styles that brings all my parent's ideas into a cohesive direction.

2:12 I can even take it a step further and

2:14 ask Copilot to help us start to visualize it.

2:16 I'll type create a mood board image that brings us design concept to life.

2:21 Include a color palette,

2:23 cabinet samples, hardware countertops, lighting fixtures,

2:27 and a mock up of a full kitchen in this style for inspiration.

2:31 Now I have a complete overview of our vision

2:34 and some inspiration images that start to make all this feel more real.

2:38 I can just ask Copilot to export his design, direction, summary

2:42 and mood board image into a word document, and I have a reference point

2:46 I can easily share with my parents as we start making decisions.

2:50 Communicating with different contractors is a big part of this remodel

2:54 process,

2:54 and Copilot has really helped me keep all those conversations organized.

2:58 I take notes during calls in my OneNote like normal and afterwards,

3:02 just ask Copilot: Organize these call notes into key

3:06 takeaways, action items, and potential risks.

3:09 Suggest a few follow up questions I should ask next.

3:12 In seconds, my messy notes

3:14 are turned into clear next steps so I can keep things running smoothly.

3:18 And once I have that organized,

3:20 I can even ask Copilot to draft a follow up email.

3:23 Based on those notes, I'll type: Draft a professional follow up

3:27 email to the contractor summarizing our call.

3:29 Include a thank you,

3:30 the clarifying questions we identified, and a request for next steps.

3:35 Now I have a clear, professional email I can drop into Outlook without

3:39 starting from a blank page.

3:41 As contractor estimates start coming in,

3:43 it's time to bring everything back to the budget.

3:46 We've already built an initial budget breakdown in Excel to help us understand

3:50 what we could afford.

3:51 You can see how we created that in the video link in the description.

3:54 Now we can plug in actual cost and see how we're tracking.

3:58 This is where things get real.

4:01 I'll ask Copilot: Update this budget tracker with these new actual costs.

4:06 Cabinets $7,000.

4:08 Countertops $9,000.

4:10 Appliances $500.

4:12 Identify any categories that are over budget and summarize

4:15 how the total compares to the overall $25,000 goal.

4:19 Suggest a few practical adjustments that would help us stay in budget.

4:23 Not only does Copilot help us keep track of the budget

4:26 with an organized tracking table, but it can also help us think through

4:30 how we're trending and where we should adjust.

4:33 Having that extra insight is really helpful with all of these moving pieces.

4:38 Helping my parents with this kitchen remodel has been a huge project,

4:42 but having Copilot to help organize the details, clarify the decisions,

4:46 and keep the budget on track makes everything feel a lot more manageable.

4:51 Follow along for more real life ways you can use Copilot.