New kitchen for $90,000 to $100,000???

[Aliceacc]

We just bought a 4 piece stainless set for our summer remodel.

My kids are old enough that the fingerprints shouldn't be a huge issue. And I have a pretty high mess tolerance.

I just really like the look of stainless.

 

[esk]

I haven't found stainless to be hard to keep clean.....appliances, that is. I hate, hate, hate stainless steel sinks, they are forever getting spots and gross. But appliances, I just wipe down once a week or so with a all-surface wipe and the fingerprints come right off.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I agree with you. When we bought our second home I said to DH "how does it feel to buy your tomb?" I'm not going anywhere...I hope!.

Even patios, pools and outside things become dated. Landscaping, too. Styles in homes change just like fashion.

I know, how you feel. I drew the plans for every inch of my house. I still regret the changes our contractor talked me out of... Honestly, I don't DH could bear the strain of building another house.

Well, some may not like my landscaping, especially the "Disney Garden" or the "Fairy" and "Poly" inspired areas, but I don't care....they can't have my statuary or tiki torches.

 

[nsmith]

We are also planning a kitchen remodel. I found this rule to be very helpful in coming up with a budget. The 5 - 15 rule:

The entire kitchen project (including cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, & trim molding) should cost no less than 5% and no more than 15% of the current value of your home with approximately 50% of the total cost allocated for cabinets (including accessories and trim, NOT INCLUDING INSTALLATION/LABOR).

Here is a link:

http://www.virginia-kitchens.com/kitchen-planning-resources/budget-your-new-kitchen.pdf

 

[Robbi]

I think the big swirly granites all look dated.

Before I redid my kitchen I googled backsplash images and there are tons of ugly backspashes.

The simpler the better in terms of resale. It's cheaper, too.

My SIL has granite on her counter tops but travertine on the back splash which looks very nice. I don't like all of the kitchen (or any room) to have all elements matching. We have Brazilian cherry counter tops, granite on the island and Pratt and Larson fruit tile. The great thing about the tile was we could custom order the colors.
My opinion though about everyone else is to go with what you like. So what if no one else likes it, you have to live with it and if you love it, that's all that matters.

 

[dminnie]

Since we're on the topic of kitchens... what are your opinions on stainless appliances vs black? I like the look of stainless better, but those I've talked to said they are a pain to keep clean.

I was afraid of how hard it would be to take care of. About once a week (or less often...) I wipe them down. We are all careful to only touch the handles so the appliances don't get fingerprints on them in the first place. When we went away for a few days, you could tell the dog sitter wasn't used to that

Black can still show a lot too. I'd get whatever you like the looks of the best.

 

[Robbi]

I was afraid of how hard it would be to take care of. About once a week (or less often...) I wipe them down. We are all careful to only touch the handles so the appliances don't get fingerprints on them in the first place. When we went away for a few days, you could tell the dog sitter wasn't used to that

Black can still show a lot too. I'd get whatever you like the looks of the best.

Some stainless appliances now have a fingerprint/smudge proof finish.
Ours do not require anymore maintenance than the white appliances we had in the past. We have a stainless sink and maintaining it just means spraying and a wipe down after using it. In one of our houses, we had a white farm sink and that was higher maintenance than the stainless is.

 

[mrsboz]

TLSNELL - why was the granite sink your biggest disappointment? I just bought one and just had it installed. What don't you like about yours?

 

[mrsboz]

I am almost done with my kitchen remodel!!! Can't wait. It's been a long haul. FYI: on those inquiring about the stainless and finger prints. I just bought the Frigidaire Galaxy appliances. They are suppose to be the only ones that are smudge proof as of yet. They are awesome. I have only had them in for two weeks now, but so far so good and I like things clean. The other thing that I learned was that the "appliance man" said to never use paper towels on stainless steel. He said that the fibers, over time, scratch the surface and that's why they always end up looking dull. He said to use a microfiber cloth and only put water on it. I'm not a fan of stainless sinks either that's why I bought a Blanco granite brown sink. So far so good, but like I've mentioned I've only had it for two weeks.

Also, everything ends up costing way more than you think and there is always something more to be done that you started doing. I was only going to do granite countertops and before long I ended up gutting my whole kitchen.

I wanted to mention to the person that was thinking of black. I had black before and i hated it. It was always smudgy no matter what. I would wipe it off and it never seemed to come clean -- always had smudge marks.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I would definitely shop around. We did the kitchen below for less than $25k about two years ago.

Remember where you live can play significantly in your costs. I haven't read the whole thread, but if you live in an area that was affected by Hurricane Sandy, almost every contractor is booked solid right now, so it's hard to get great prices.

 

[Aliceacc]

I would definitely shop around. We did the kitchen below for less than $25k about two years ago.

Remember where you live can play significantly in your costs. I haven't read the whole thread, but if you live in an area that was affected by Hurricane Sandy, almost every contractor is booked solid right now, so it's hard to get great prices.

Ain't that the truth?

One of my daughter's classmates started a dormer in September, using a very reputable company-- the one we've used twice before.

They finally took down the scaffolding on Thursday, just ahead of the blizzard. Apparently they had some subcontractors who, justifiably, were more concerned about their own homes and those of their families.

PS-- I love your kitchen!

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

PS-- I love your kitchen!

Thanks!

 

[Swirly girls]

Wow, what state?

We live in the Midwest, and I've always felt sorry for people that live in certain areas of the US because of the high cost if homes, new construction, and remodeling. Honestly, I've seen homes that are appraised at, and sold for 400,000-800,000 and they are comparable to where I'm from for half that.
We built our home 5 years ago. Put travertine flooring, cherry cabinets in kitchen and all bathrooms, cherry wood trim, molding ,and all doors (including 2 sets of French doors, front door with sidelights)
Vaulted ceilings, fireplace, pretty much all the bells and whistles ( my kitchen faucet was $480 as a earlier poster commented on that)
We paid nowhere near $90,000 for my kitchen and its huge, with cherry cabinets, and top of the line all stainless steel appliances.
Just saying, in our area you can get twice the home, for 1/2 the price!

 

[ccgirl]

We are also planning a kitchen remodel. I found this rule to be very helpful in coming up with a budget. The 5 - 15 rule:

The entire kitchen project (including cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, & trim molding) should cost no less than 5% and no more than 15% of the current value of your home with approximately 50% of the total cost allocated for cabinets (including accessories and trim, NOT INCLUDING INSTALLATION/LABOR).

Here is a link:

http://www.virginia-kitchens.com/kitchen-planning-resources/budget-your-new-kitchen.pdf

Using that, the OP is right in line with that (as I posted earlier). The OP has posted that her home value is 700K. That means using this formula, her kitchen remodel should be between 35K and 105K. As a realtor, I will tell you that putting in a 35K kitchen in a 700K home is not a good idea.

Also, size matters especially with granite. You can see posters mention how much they spent. The fact of the matter is, the OP's kitchen could need 2 - 3x more granite.

While our home prices in the Northeast might be double what they are in other areas of the country; our payscale tends to be too so it's all relative I find.

 

[Eastern]

The OP has posted that her home value is 700K. That means using this formula, her kitchen remodel should be between 35K and 105K. As a realtor, I will tell you that putting in a 35K kitchen in a 700K home is not a good idea.

So put in a 100k kitchen and try to sell your 700k home. Guess what, you will still get 700k.

 

[Swirly girls]

Using that, the OP is right in line with that (as I posted earlier). The OP has posted that her home value is 700K. That means using this formula, her kitchen remodel should be between 35K and 105K. As a realtor, I will tell you that putting in a 35K kitchen in a 700K home is not a good idea.

Also, size matters especially with granite. You can see posters mention how much they spent. The fact of the matter is, the OP's kitchen could need 2 - 3x more granite.

While our home prices in the Northeast might be double what they are in other areas of the country; our payscale tends to be too so it's all relative I find.

We're fortunate here in this area of the US, to have the best of both worlds.... My DH has a high paying job and we have reasonable housing. The area and placement of our home plays a role as well. This being said, not everybody in this area has a great paying job, just like everywhere else. If the entire US could be this way, there maybe wouldn't be the foreclosure problems that there are now.
People need to start spending what they can really truly afford.
We've always been told that you can't go wrong upgrading kitchen and bathrooms. If the OP isn't selling ( it didn't sound like that was in the futue) then I don't think they should, or should not fix up thier kitchen, or anything else for that matter based on what a future buyer may want or pay. By the time OP sells ( if ever) things may drastically change any ways!
Op: do what you want for you, and your families needs

 

[mom2rose&john]

So put in a 100k kitchen and try to sell your 700k home. Guess what, you will still get 700k.

Or, not remodel (even modestly) and only get $625,000. Kitchen remodel increase the value of the home the most. Usually by 70%. By the sounds of it it, is dire need of repair.

If it is for resale only, do the minimum. If for yourself do what you can afford and what you really like.

 

[momtofour]

OP back again! Thanks again to all that posted a response. What did we used to do before the internet?! I love the feedback and it certainly has given me alot to think about. I am continuing to do my homework and that could take a LONG time! I read about someone on gardenweb who has been thinking about her kitchen since 2006! I feel like that could be me! I want to spend wisely and frugally and will drive myself crazy in the process!

 

[ccgirl]

Or, not remodel (even modestly) and only get $625,000. Kitchen remodel increase the value of the home the most. Usually by 70%. By the sounds of it it, is dire need of repair.

If it is for resale only, do the minimum. If for yourself do what you can afford and what you really like.

Yup, exactly.

 

[NotUrsula]

Are you changing the layout and adding or moving plumbing, gas or electrical. That can get expensive. The average Kitchen remodel is 10-15 percent of the value of the house. How much counter and the grade of granite can also increase the cost. Gardenweb kitchens has a wealth of knowledge that can help you.

And here is our probable winner... Labor trumps every other cost, and the more specialized the labor, the more that it costs. The markup on labor is also normally higher than the markup on goods; if your kitchen design shop is sub-contracting the installation labor you are probably taking a bath on that, because it is probably being done on two levels if the installers are not on salary there.

Custom cabinets will be more pricey than semi-custom or stock, because of the cabinetmaker labor. Also, if some of your cabinets are the sort that are made to look like freestanding pieces of furniture, then you have explained a huge part of the cost right there -- they need finished hardwood panels on all sides rather than just frames at the back and conjoined sides. Are you going tall with the cabinets? If you go tall you can usually buy fewer of them, and the height of the doors does not add very much to the cost; width tends to add a whole lot more because trees are tall but round; the wider the panel the more it costs because each tree has fewer suitable wider pieces that can be cut from it, so wider doors usually have to be joined.

You have also added a skilled flooring professional to the mix -- wood refinishing is a much rarer skill than laying new tile, requires expensive machinery, and normally requires a team of at least two guys working for three days. (One day to sand/replace boards, one-two days to clean up dust and apply the base finish, and one to apply the final finish.)

You can very often buy your appliances and major fixtures online or at your local supply house for much less than a showroom will cost you; just have them delivered and stored at your home before the demo work begins, so that the contractor has them there when they need them. (Our appliances and fixtures were stored in our garage while the work was done -- we just had to park outside for a week or two.) If the local distributor won't sell to you directly then negotiate the markup with your contractor to purchase and pick them up for you.

Cabinet hardware has a nasty markup, so buy it yourself. Watch for clearances on the stuff -- I got ours at 60% off from a local hardware store that was being closed down; I bought them two years before we were ready to have the kitchen done, so I bought a few extras just in case. I still came out WAY ahead. Also, you don't always need the kind that are shown in the design; for instance, knobs usually cost less than handles, and you can open a suspended drawer just as easily with a knob. (Do be sure that the glides on the drawers are full-extension, however; if they are not you will be going nuts trying to get all the way to the back of them.)

PS: I have a Blanco Silgranit 10" deep single sink in Anthracite color that has been in my kitchen for 12 years now and doesn't have a scratch on it. It looks just like it did the day that it was installed. There are things that I no longer like about that kitchen, but the sink isn't one of them -- I love that sink so much that if I ever move I'm probably going to immediately put one just like it in the new house.