Advice for remodeling the kitchen....

[kkwis2]

To comment on what others have said:

I also had rollers put in all the lower cabinets (both shelves) and pantry and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

I don't have drawers that pull out all the way and really wish I did. What a pain trying to find the spoon you never use way in the back. You have to pull everything else out!

I hate my white sink! Looks nice because we actually have all white appliances (I am one of the few who didn't want stainless steel) until you have to look into it. Yuck! Impossible to keep clean.

My advice is to really get as much on your wish list as you possible can. Spend more on the things that don't change easily or inexpensively - floors, cabinets - and if you have to spend less on appliances right now, so be it. Appliances are only going to last 7 - 10 years (if you're lucky!), so they won't be there forever. If there is something major that you want to do (for instance in our house we really should have removed a wall to open up the whole kitchen/dining area) do it now if you can. We really regret not doing it when we remodeled 10 yrs ago and of course are not going to spend the money to do it again for quite a while.

Good luck and try to have fun with it! Think how the kitchen will be used down the road, not just in the next 2-3 years.

 

[2bearsmom]

In our old house my dh remodeled the kitchen himself. We spent 3mo designing it from the Ikea site. We bought all the cabinets there and dh had to build each one and install them. We bought all new appliances, double wall oven which I miss terribly in this new house, flat-top cook top, two huge pantry cupboards where one had pull-out shelves. It was so very awesome and I had so much room for storage of small appliances and baking things I didn't use on a daily basis. We also had the lazy susan for pot/pans and an island. We put in Silestone countertops which I also miss terribly! They don't stain, could cut right on them (which was great for throwing a pizza on right from the oven to cut up, and put a hot pan on without any problem. We also put in recessed lights.

 

[julirina]

My 2 favorite things about my newly remodeled kitchen:

- the custom-made natural hickory cabinets are breathtaking, and our local Amish cabinet builder made higher-quality cabinets at a substantially lower price than any of the big box stores
- I love love love my refrigerator with bottom freezer and french-style upper doors

We went with laminate countertops and we're not disappointed -- granite was not in the budget and we don't feel like we missed out. I'm just tickled pink with my new kitchen and it's not even completely finished yet (we still need trim and some finishing touches, but this is a whole-house remodel and we had to move on to other higher-priority projects -- like bedrooms!).

 

[Halle]

Just finished a remodel. I had white painted Rutt cabinets and had them repainted, they look brand new. I got a gas Thermidor 5 burner cooktop with down draft. I always had electric didn't want gas but DH did so now I'm in love with it. Kitchen Aid 30" double oven (both are convection) and an Asco dishwasher...love it.
My granite countertop is gorgeous, I love it.
My advice is if you have the time, do the entire remodel on your own. Get a good handyman and cut out the kitchen design people.
We were quoted 25% more for the granite alone from the kitchen place, yes same grade and granite dealer.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Great adivce. We are in the planning stages, although I have been "planning" for 5+ years! Home Depot has been good about our design, but everyone here keeps saying custom. Where do you find a good custom shop - and I just have a hard time believing they would be more affordable.

My one must is granite. For those of you who love yours - what was the name? ( i know some have diff. names depending on where you buy it) Santa Cecilia is my front runner favorite. We are going with a white kitchen because ours is sooo small. However, all the ones I love in the magazine that are glazed (ameretto cream, etc.) look too distressed and antiqued in person - so I am struggling there.

Spent hours on here - pic's of finished kitchen remodels. Click the slide show on right:

http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My dad is a kitchen designer so we had a lot of help. Dh and dad are extremely handy, work in trades, so no paying for labor, except for the floor installation just to speed things along. Ours was done in 2003 so it's not all that new anymore but still was completely gutted to the studs.

Regrets:
1. We have slightly off white porcelan/ceramic tile. At the time, our old 1960's vinyl floor was dark so we wanted something lighter/brigher. This one shows so much dirt, it's ridiculous. Also the light grout color doesn't come clean even with bleach added to the wash water.

2. I originally wanted the floor tiles turned 45 degrees, like a diamond, instead of a square, with possibly a darker shade border. It would have raised the installation price by a few hundred $ more, as this is much more time consuming. I let dh and dad talk me out of it. I wish I stuck to my guns and did it. It's kind of blah looking.

3. Our crappy Maytag dishwasher. We'll never buy Maytag again. The features are nice but the handle broke in less than 1 yr. It's about to break again (very loose like something partially cracked.) It's no longer under warranty so we'll buy another before we spend $1-200 to have this one repaired.


Still makes us happy:
1. Granite countertops. They still haven't scratched, dulled, scorched, etc. Formica just looks so plastic now and Corian is ok but you have to be extremely careful with hot items. My mom cracked hers using an electric pancake griddle. With granite, you can cut on it, put a hot pot on it, etc. It's really hard to damage it. Dh is a bull in a china shop so this is still worth it for us.

2. We pulled our cabinets 6" away from the walls to give us another 6" of counterspace. This is our all time 'best idea' which every other 'good idea' is compared to. There's so much space, I can fit a gallon of milk between the faucet and the wall behind it. Best part is that small appliances that normally stay on the counter such as coffeemaker, toaster oven, can opener, etc. can be pushed so far back, they no longer obstruct our work space. Any time we visit other people's kitchen, rent a condo in FL, etc., we appreciate this more. 6" of counterspace is way more useful than 6" of floor space.
Seven years later, it's still our ongoing joke at how happy 6" can make someone.


3. Our huge pantry. It's like a huge cabinet, floor to ceiling with roll out shelves. It holds soooo much stuff, we'd never want to be without it again.

4. Undermount stainless steel sink. Still looks great and scrubs up great with cleanser. Easy to push crumbs into sink.

5. Our flat glass cooktop. It's easy to wipe down with Windex and a paper towel or for more stubborn, burnt-on stuff, easy to use white paste cleaner, sold at appliance section of Sears, and a little razor takes the burnt on stuff right off and leaves it shiny clean.
When I see other types of gas or electric cooktops, I know I'll never own one like that again. PITA to clean. It wasn't expensive: Kenmore brand.

6. Our plain white Whirlpool side by side ref/freezer. We didn't like the modern stainless look, just seems cold/commercial/morgue-like to me. Also since magnets won't stick, I wouldn't be able to hang my kids school/artwork on it. Same as with the 'built in' style fridge.

We didn't get any high end appliances, Wolf, Viking, etc. We don't cook elaborately and not into that 'status' stuff.

 

[pixie921]

I also had rollers put in all the lower cabinets (both shelves) and pantry and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

I totally agree -- I can't believe I forgot to post about my roll-out shelves! Rather than buying the wood ones that Thomasville offered, we installed heavy-duty stainless steel roll-outs in most of our cupboards (including the pantry) and they are one of my favorite things about our kitchen. They make everything so convenient!

My parents re-did their kitchen at the same time and also got a few of the roll-outs. My mom was at first reluctant to spend the money on something she considered "frivolous". After two days of using them, she was wondering how she'd lived without them.

 

[dex08]

Biggest regret: not getting a double sink

Best decision ever: Quartz countertop! We didn't want granite but wanted hard surface that would not scratch. My cousin has Corian and I've seen way too many scratches on their counters so we went with DuPont Zodiaq Quartz which is similar to granite but you do not have to treat it once a year with that sealant. So glad we spent the $ on the counter!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Our kitchen remodel was to the studs, a complete overhaul.
My suggestion is one I was told.....purchase the very best you can afford. Don't skimp, don't try to "save a few bucks". We did this and I regret nothing.

What I'd say is, if this is similar to what you will be doing, scheduling is important, it may run over in time, unforeseen things may pop up!

Good Luck, I too would use a designer (they can be worth their weight in gold ) and keep to the "style" of the home rather than get "trendy".
Good Luck....the end result is SO satisfying!!!!!

 

[NaplesRI]

Julirina- can you tell me what brand refrigerator you have?
We're in the market for a french door, and would love your rec. thanks~

My 2 favorite things about my newly remodeled kitchen:

- the custom-made natural hickory cabinets are breathtaking, and our local Amish cabinet builder made higher-quality cabinets at a substantially lower price than any of the big box stores
- I love love love my refrigerator with bottom freezer and french-style upper doors

We went with laminate countertops and we're not disappointed -- granite was not in the budget and we don't feel like we missed out. I'm just tickled pink with my new kitchen and it's not even completely finished yet (we still need trim and some finishing touches, but this is a whole-house remodel and we had to move on to other higher-priority projects -- like bedrooms!).

 

[StephMK]

I love our pull out drawers in the lower cabinets too. Someone added them to the original cabinets, we have not done a remodel but will definitely get them again when we do.

One thing I have not seen mentioned is to really think about where you store items. A friend did her kitchen, looks beautiful, but she planned to put her dishes in a cabinet above the dishwasher, next to the sink. However, the DW is in a corner so you have to lean way over to get to that actual cabinet.

Also on that subject, pay attention to where the doors will open. Our dw is also in a corner & I can't open the stove when the dw is open. Plus I had to remove the lower drawer handle because the DW hits it. I guess that is why there was a drop in stove originally. I had drop in frame cut out so I could replace it with a free standing because I wanted the below stove storage.

 

[Califgirl]

Here is a link to some of our 'after' photos. We did a complete remodel down to the studs, took out a 3/4 wall, and moved our kitchen to a completely different wall from where it was. So that entailed moving the water and having a huge trench in our living room for a month or so.

We have black galaxy granite - which has copper specs in it. We have a hammered copper sink. Stainless appliances with an induction cooktop and pop-up downdraft. All the cabinets have roll out drawers and there is a lazy susan in the far corner. The cooking island is a 4' distance from the counter, and there is a baking pan storage on one side of the stove, and a spice drawer on the other side. Both the oven door and the dishwasher drawer can be open at the same time and they won't collide.

Our fridge is a Kenmore Elite with french doors, freezer on the bottom, there is water on the door, but it does not take up any of the shelving space on that door which still amazes me. In fact most of our appliances are Kenmore Elite. The dishwasher is a Bosch and is so quiet I really can't hear it when it is running.

There is additional seating at the cooking island. We also have a 'dry bar' island with a wine refridgerator and additional seating. The large arch by the new concrete fireplace is now occupied by a large screen TV. More finishing touches and furniture have been added since these photos were taken.

And still, my favorite feature is that insta-hot faucet, for having tea, instant coffee, cocoa, oatmeal .. whatever.

We had a design and build company do the work. The majority of the work was done in 4 months, but it seemed to take forever to get the final details taken care of. Total time, 6 months..
But - I say "wow" everytime I walk into my house now. I just love my new kitchen, dining room, and living area!

http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/Califgirl_photos/house remodel/

 

[JerseyMouse]

OP Back...

Thanks everyone for your responses. You've provided some great advice.

Any thoughts on what is better for resale: French White cabinets or cherry colored cabinets?

This may just be a personal preference thing but was curious what your take is.....

 

[shelly3girls]

OP Back...

Thanks everyone for your responses. You've provided some great advice.

Any thoughts on what is better for resale: French White cabinets or cherry colored cabinets?

This may just be a personal preference thing but was curious what your take is.....

I personally like both. If you get a lot of natural light then it may not matter. I prefer light cabinets in kitchens that do not get much sunlight. Our lot is wooded. DH really wanted dark cabinets but I thought it would make the kitchen look like a cave. We have so many trees that we barely get any natural light.

 

[Pigeon]

We redid our kitchen last summer. I agree with the gardenweb.com suggestion--it was very helpful. Ours was a DIY job.

I wanted the highest quality, all wood cabinets I could afford. That was what was really important to me. Get a variety of quotes. When all the upgrades were included, Home Depot was as expensive as a well-established custom cabinet shop. I love, love, love my cabinets. The full extension drawers are great.

Don't be pressured into stuff you don't want. I didn't want new appliances. My old ones weren't that old, look and work fine, and I like white and dislike stainless a great deal. A few designers just would not let this go.

I love the look of granite, but have two kids yet to put through college, so it wasn't in my budget. I was planning on one of the nice Wilsonart laminates, but the kitchen place we used had a great deal on Corian. I never really liked Corian because I'd only seen the solid colors, and thought it was blah. I got a very nice pattern that ended up being about the same price as the laminate would have been. I love it and really love the integral sink.

Have fun with it. You are going to love it.

 

[cbg1027]

OP Back...

Thanks everyone for your responses. You've provided some great advice.

Any thoughts on what is better for resale: French White cabinets or cherry colored cabinets?

This may just be a personal preference thing but was curious what your take is.....

For resale, the white cabinets are most likely better. The more dark colors in a room, the smaller it seems. But if the cherry goes better with the rest of the kitchen, that might be the better choice. Hard to say.

My little tidbits on kitchen features:

If you like to cook and have a gas hookup, get a gas stove! You get much more precise temperature control.

Roll out shelves in the pantry are awesome!!!

I would avoid wood counter tops. My mother has them in her house and while they're pretty, they're a pain to care for and are easily scratched and stained.

I really like single basin sinks. They make it a lot easier to wash large items like frying pans, cookie sheets, and casserole dishes!

Make sure your sink faucet has a sprayer! Again, makes it easier to do dishes.

Have fun and enjoy your new kitchen!

 

[DawnM]

We completely gutted and remodeled our last house, but DH did all the work himself.....and by all the work, I mean he designed and built our cabinets too!

He would never have time to do that again, but I miss that kitchen terribly! It was designed exactly the way we wanted it.

We chose Hickory wood (DH said he will never choose that again as it is too hard to work with!) and built our cabinets all the way to the ceiling (8 ft. ceilings) so that there was no wasted space.

We put in marble countertops, although I would choose granite or quartz now.

We painted the walls a color from Lowe's called Craftsman Gold....the kids called it peanut butter color! It offset the black countertops and maple cabinet colors so well and made it POP.

All stainless appliances.

I miss that kitchen!

Dawn

 

[phamy76]

1. take your cabinets all the way to the ceiling, if possible. The extra 12 " all around the room has truly paid off. We used to have soffits.

2. Do a blacksplash all around the room. I did a "baking area". Enough room to keep a mixer and make cookies at the holidays. But, I did a backsplash against the back, but not the side wall there. It was never suggested, don't know if it's possible.

3. Make a place for a hidden Full Size trash can. I thought we were going to put a trash can under the sink. Only the 9 gallon size fits under there. We were using a 13 gallon. Now I have a trash can against an empty far wall and it looks terrible.

4. Don't use a glossy paint in the kitchen. It's shiny and shows off ALL imperfections in the wall.

Good luck!