kitchen upgrades - need opinions - update post 13

[clh2]

We are preparing to get floors and countertops redone.

But EVERY project we undertake always has some "what-ifs" to it.

Our house is almost 20 years old. We currently have a 21 ft3 fridge. It just seems like fridges have just gotten bigger over the last 5-10 years. We have the biggest fridge our space can take. It also seems like due to more insulation in the fridges is making it so if we bought a new fridge - we will need to downsize the size - so it can fit in the same space. (I hope that makes sense.)

So - we have tossed around - what if we would have a cabinet maker come in and redo the base cabinet between the fridge and the stove, and essentially make the width about 4 " smaller. The base is a 3-drawer cabinet and is ~20 inches wide. (the only thing stored in the drawers are linen - i.e. hot pads, towels, dishcloths etc.) The upper cabinet is a "bank of connected cabinets, and would need to be redone entirely. Plus - since I don't really like the "space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling" I would wnat new cabinets to go to the ceiling.

It seems like an expensive way to get a bigger fridge. We do not need a bigger fridge. OUr fridge is 17 years old - so a new fridge will probably be happening in the next 5 years or so. It would be hard though, to be in a smaller fridge.

So - in all tossing this idea around - one of our thoughts is resale. If we do not do this, it might make the hosue less desirable. If we do go ahead and make this change - it mght not make the house worth more, but possibly on the list of "desirable things" to help the house sell faster.

We are talking toa cabinet maker later this week - it'll be interesting to see what this little "what if" would cost.

Our other "what if" is should we extend a different base cabinet about 24 " - which would require replaicing about 5" of a different base cabinet. Since we would be doing counters anyways - if we were to do this - now would be the time. (The "thing" that would go here would be a garbage can and recycle bin - as right now - we simply do not have a cabinet that these would fit in - the plumbing doesn't allow room under the sink.) there is plenty of room to do this, and the upper cabinets would look fine if they weren't extended as well.

If you were doing some minor kitchen updates - would the above projects make the "A" list on what you would do???

 

[disneyhand]

I remodeled my kitchen 1.5 years ago. From that experience, I don't think I would make the changes you're asking about, unless I changed all my cabinets at the same time.

What type of counter tops are you considering and what is the condition/ quality of your existing cabinetry?

 

[clh2]

I remodeled my kitchen 1.5 years ago. From that experience, I don't think I would make the changes you're asking about, unless I changed all my cabinets at the same time.

What type of counter tops are you considering and what is the condition/ quality of your existing cabinetry?

I LOVE my cabinets. They are a gorgeous oak, with raised panel doors. The condition of the cabinets is great - although, at some point - I might update the handles.

We currently have formica counters, with an oak edge. We will be upgrading to either a granite or quartz counter. And in case you are wondering...my head is spinning with all the choices out there!

 

[AKL_Megs]

Our kitchen was remodeled a year ago when we moved in. I LOVE it. I have LOTS of (empty) cabinet space, so much my neighbor (identical house) says she wants to come over and store things at my house.

Suggestion... even if you have a pantry, have pantry cabinets. We have them, and keep our cereal, chips, cookies, snacks, etc., that we are eating NOW in them.

I also have an extra wide (about 3') utensil drawer near the stove. SO handy.

 

[disneyhand]

I LOVE my cabinets. They are a gorgeous oak, with raised panel doors. The condition of the cabinets is great - although, at some point - I might update the handles.

We currently have formica counters, with an oak edge. We will be upgrading to either a granite or quartz counter. And in case you are wondering...my head is spinning with all the choices out there!

I thought my original oak were great too and kept some of them, as well as adding lots of new ones. Loong story.

Keeping the old ones did limit my choices for the new by trying to keep the same look going. Then I went with a beautiful granite counter top. Everything looks gorgeous, but (I bet you knew that was coming) the new cabinets inside quality is far better. The new cabinets are completely enclosed, the old aren't. The new came with great hinges, the old were too flimsy of wood to add the same hinges.

I'm almost sorry I kept them. I don't know if it's possible to change the cabinets once you have a good counter tops on them and I'm not going thru another remodel again any time soon. And again the kitchen turned out really great.

There are so many cool options for the inside of cabinets now too. I was budget driven with my choices and was able to have the old paint/stained to match. I added cool hardware to all of the doors and drawers and only I and everyone I tell know they aren't all the same.

My only advice is to be sure you are long term happy with the quality of your old cabinets, before you put a more expensive counter top on them.
Best of luck!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think I understand what you're asking.

Our kitchen is small to start and we have no choice but to have the smaller size fridge, at least in the side by side we have (We wanted the ice and water dispenser on the door. I think that feature may come in other styles now but when we bought it, that was the main choice.) We have an active family of four and the small one works for us, however we do also keep a fridge downstairs for drinks and extra storage, freezer space, etc (which we would need even if we had the larger fridge upstairs).

Have you considered putting something like a wine cooler instead of a cabinet next to the fridge? You might be able to find one with the dimensions you need (assuming you like wine!). Is there anything else you could put there? (Think creatively - look at magazines, books, websites.) I guess in your shoes, if it was reasonably affordable, I'd go with the smaller cabinet if it allowed me to keep the bigger fridge if that's really important to you and if you can't find anything else to put there. I doubt it will affect resale. Unless you think you'll be moving fairly soon, go with what pleases you. Like us, you may end up being in your home a lot longer than you expected. You should like it while you live there.

As for the other cabinetry, yes, I guess I'd do it if it was within my budget. I wouldn't want to be sitting in my kitchen for the next decade going, "I sure wish I extended that cabinet when I had the chance". (Which would be me.)

it'll be interesting to see what this little "what if" would cost

We just remodeled our kitchen and we discussed this a lot. Our feeling was that we could make it as expensive or as inexpensive as we wanted to, it was up to us. Keeping things pretty much as they are keeps costs lowest. Once you start changing things around it adds to the cost and your minor updates become quite expensive, especially when you're hiring people to do them. My $.02 anyway. I'd still do these particular updates if they're within your budget as it seems pretty important to you to have the bigger fridge. But just be careful when the cabinet guys come in and keep in sight the changes you want as those changes may lead to more changes, etc, and next thing you have all new cabinets and your minor renovations turned into major ones, lol.

Here's a recent thread I posted about our remodel. Hope it's helpful.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2483725&referrerid=70088

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I don't really consider your upgrades, "upgrades" but reg. maintenence on a 20yr house.

So unless you are gutting it and reconfiguring the layout, stick with a smaller fridge if you are trying to keep costs down. Now if it does not cost a fortune to change the cabinets, go for it but if you replace the bottom ones, the top is going to bug you.

It also has to have a modern layout & features, if that makes sense.

Not sure how your kitchen is laid out, but go look at display homes near you, to get some ideas.

 

[clh2]

Op here - our kitchen is GREAT. It is HUGE. We have - a ton of storage - just nowhere to put the trash can. We have 2-huge pantry type cabinets. We have an island that is about 35 square feet. I love the layout. Our fridge - 17 years old will need to be replaced sometime, it is past its life expectancy. So - as Murphy's law will dictate - if we dont' allow for a larger fridge...it will have a sudden death right after we finish the counters and floors. If we do allow for a bigger firdge - it will last 10 more years.

It also has to have a modern layout & features, if that makes sense.

Not sure how your kitchen is laid out, but go look at display homes near you, to get some ideas.

I totally get what you are saying - I really can't think of anything I would change in my kitchen. Well - I could manage to find a few things if I had an unlimited budget..but that isn't the case.

If we don't do these small things now, we will be stuck with the the exact current layout. The fridge thing just has me confused.

 

[jmpurdy]

If you plan on selling at some point, you should allow for full size fridge. Not tailored to you per se. We just redid our kitchen too and replaced counters (have you looked at silestone?) Very nice. We took advantage of Home Depot's services and they were wonderful. Moved our refrigerator to other side of kitchen and what a difference! We put in 2 built in trash receptacles with a pull out cabinet. Awesome! No more trash bins to look at! We did not spend a huge amount. We got the 'middle' priced cabinets and love them. Regarding color palette: think about your cabinets first, then match a counter you like and then wall paint, etc. Again, for re-sale value, earth tones are big. Kitchen/bath are most expensive renovations and buyers will love a renovated kitchen. Hope this helps!

 

[Disney Doll]

Do you have the ability to move those cabinets rather than remove or restyle them?

We did a semi-redo a couple of years ago. Got a new dishwasher, stove, countertop, backsplash. Kept the beautiful golden oak cabinets and the hardwood floor. Kept the fridge for now, but will get a new one when this one dies.

DH wanted a 6 burner stove...he does all the cooking. Problem was ,the space for the stove was smack in the middle of a wall of cabinets, with uppers butting up to the exhaust fan and lowers butting up to the stove. But, we were able to actually move the group of cabinets to the right of the stove about 6 inches farther to the right so that the new stove could fit in the space.We though it was better to keep the cabinets intact as a whole.

 

[clh2]

So - we had a guy (highly recommended by a neighbor) and he had some great recommendations. Of course - we need to see the estimate first before we would move ahead.

He loved our cabinets too, and agreed that they are great quality, and still look really nice. The ideal amount of extra space needed for a bigger fridge is 3 inches. So-his recommendation was to:

1. take the base cabinet from between the fridge and stove and move it in the general area of where we want to do the other base cabinet expansion.

2. He is going to "rework" the existing upper cabinet and make the above the fridge cabinets 3" wider, and the spice cabinet 3" narrower. He will not be able to use the existing doors, so those will be new.

3. With the 3-drawer base cabinet that is moving, he is going to put that just to the right of our dishwasher, and then move the existing cabinets down 2 feet. He proposed this because the end cabinet, has oak on the end, and that would be a less expensive way to handle the side.

4. With the new base cabinet between the fridge and stove - it iwll have 1 drawer and then a "garbage can" pull out thingy. So - I will still get one, just in a different spot than I had originally planned.

I can't wait to see the estimate! If they were totally redoing the upper bank of cabinets, I would have loved the ceiling height cabinets, but reusing the exisitng cabinets is great!

I can't wait to see the estimate!!!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I really love my pull out trash and recycle.....I think you would too!

 

[clh2]

So, we got the estimate from the builder this week. The cost to get an additional 3" space in our kitchen by the fridge, which includes: moving one base cabinet to a different part of the kitchen, and then incorporating it in to a different bank of base cabinets; building a brand new base cabinet to incorporate the garbage cans; redo the cabinets on top of the fridge to make them 3 inches wider, (involves 2 new cabinet doors) and narrowing up the spice cabinet by 3 inches (also involves a new cabinet door).

This will be $2500. Just that cabinet work. Ouch...about $1000 more than I thought it would be, but then again...I'm always off by about 1/2 what a home maintenance/improvement project should be.

DH and I discussed this down in depth. The advantages, the disdvantages. Even down to an alternate solution (which would be just get a fridge for the basement). We decided to go ahead with this. We are in an area that where many people are gutting kitchens and redoing things (to the tune of 80,000). When we sell our house in 15 years or so - the small fridge space will be a deterrent, although we are fully aware that this will not "add value" to our house either.

We are going to do this first, then the counters hopefully starting in September or October, and sometime next spring or summer get the floors done. (Unless we win the Lotto, which would most likely move up the timetable a little)