Let's Talk Remodeling

[shovan]

So here is a question for all of you. As I contemplate my big renovations, I would like to create a look that is more timeless for the hard surfaces (floors, tile, cabinets, and countertops). Is this even possible to achieve? I visited a tile shop this weekend and everything is so beautiful, but a lot of it seems so trendy to me; like it will not be in style for very long and then I'll want to remodel again. Vessel sinks are so beautiful, for example, but will this style have any lasting power? My home was built in 1903, so I figure I should somewhat keep to the integrity of my home. Also, I was thinking of keeping the hard surfaces more neutral, and bringing color in with paint, window treatments, etc. I think we will sell our home in 15 years, and I would prefer not to have to redo the bathrooms and the kitchen again after this. I don't know, I am kind of at a loss here. Any feedback?

I think your idea of keeping the hard surfaces neutral & adding the color with paint, etc. is great! It is so hard to stay current with the trends. We redid our kitchen only 6 years ago & it was already outdated, we had to do another mini-redo this past month, but we still aren't with the most current styles! Since you are planning to sell down the road, I would try to accent the age of the house but with current amenities that will make it user friendly. Kitchens, baths and flooring are really what people look at, but unfortunately also the most expensive to update. If you keep the most expensive items in good neutral colors, you will definitely be making the best decisions.
What may seem like a detriment now, will actually be a big help for you, is that your home was built in 1903! Try to go with what fits the house, not the current trends. Then it will have a more timeless look. That is my opinion, not sure if it's worth much though.

I will. I'm one of those anal people (engineer's daughter) who picks apart how things work or don't work for us. If I give a product a good review, you know its good in every aspect. lol That's a problem for me most of the time. I'm usually less satisfied with function over any other aspect.

I'm going to try to use up a lot of little left over things in the freezer & hopefully it won't be as much as a problem with how its organized & finding stuff in it. Luckily, I'm already in a habit of having a list on the freezer door telling me what I have, how much I have & the date bought. Just a matter of finding it now. lol

I'm not all that thrilled with our very expensive GE Profile Artica counter depth fridge either! The outside measurments are much bigger than the old same cubic foot fridge we had but I really think I have less room on the inside! Since they started increasing the insulation on refrigerators to make them more energy efficient it seems to have reduced the space available on the inside of the fridge.

 

[mickeysgal]

So here is a question for all of you. As I contemplate my big renovations, I would like to create a look that is more timeless for the hard surfaces (floors, tile, cabinets, and countertops). Is this even possible to achieve? I visited a tile shop this weekend and everything is so beautiful, but a lot of it seems so trendy to me; like it will not be in style for very long and then I'll want to remodel again. Vessel sinks are so beautiful, for example, but will this style have any lasting power? My home was built in 1903, so I figure I should somewhat keep to the integrity of my home. Also, I was thinking of keeping the hard surfaces more neutral, and bringing color in with paint, window treatments, etc. I think we will sell our home in 15 years, and I would prefer not to have to redo the bathrooms and the kitchen again after this. I don't know, I am kind of at a loss here. Any feedback?

Yes, I have to agree. Whats in now is not what is going to be in 5 years from now. I would keep everything neutral. (My husband calls me the Queen of Beige )

I would keep to the style of the house. If its a farmhouse style, keep to cabinets, trim, lighting, and such that reflect that, not something ultra contemporary for example. This is especially if you are thinking of selling. Its one thing if you're doing it for yourself and quite another if your goal is to sell.

Yes, there will be unavoidable trends that you may get swept up into. Think seaform green and mauve from the 80's (Yes, we had a lot of mauve in our house back then. We also had octagon shaped tile and bumpy ceramic tile. ).

If you keep the current color trends to accessories and stuff thats easily changeable, you won't have too much of a hard time updating the coloring when the trend changes. Putting in mauve tiles in a bathroom is hard to correct. Putting in mauve towels and keeping the tile beige, isn't. Even when you get right down to it, paint is easily changeable (although can be expensive).

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I just got back from previewing a custom home and it had the prettiest backsplash in the kitchen!

They used the same tumbled marble that I have, but they did one row of 4"x4"'s, then they used a 1"x1" strip of slate mosaic, then another few rows of the tumbled marble 4"x4"'s, with a square of slate mosaic inserts.

They had the backsplash paired with what I think was Verde Butterfly granite (which looks a lot like my Uba Tuba), and tan custom cabinets, and it looked great! I took photos of it, but I used my husband's camera. I won't be able to post them until tonight.

It was a great pattern, with just a punch of color. I loved it!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I think your idea of keeping the hard surfaces neutral & adding the color with paint, etc. is great! It is so hard to stay current with the trends. We redid our kitchen only 6 years ago & it was already outdated, we had to do another mini-redo this past month, but we still aren't with the most current styles! Since you are planning to sell down the road, I would try to accent the age of the house but with current amenities that will make it user friendly. Kitchens, baths and flooring are really what people look at, but unfortunately also the most expensive to update. If you keep the most expensive items in good neutral colors, you will definitely be making the best decisions.
What may seem like a detriment now, will actually be a big help for you, is that your home was built in 1903! Try to go with what fits the house, not the current trends. Then it will have a more timeless look. That is my opinion, not sure if it's worth much though.

Ditto!

As far as countertops, one thing I see used in period homes, is soapstone. You might want to check it out.

 

[mickeysgal]

I just got back from previewing a custom home and it had the prettiest backsplash in the kitchen!

They used the same tumbled marble that I have, but they did one row of 4"x4"'s, then they used a 1"x1" strip of slate mosaic, then another few rows of the tumbled marble 4"x4"'s, with a square of slate mosaic inserts.

They had the backsplash paired with what I think was Verde Butterfly granite (which looks a lot like my Uba Tuba), and tan custom cabinets, and it looked great! I took photos of it, but I used my husband's camera. I won't be able to post them until tonight.

It was a great pattern, with just a punch of color. I loved it!

I can't wait to see the picture. Above the 1x1's, were the 4x4s with the square inserts straight or were done in a diamond pattern?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I can't wait to see the picture. Above the 1x1's, were the 4x4s with the square inserts straight or were done in a diamond pattern?

Good question! If I'm remembering correctly, they were on the diagonal. That would be a LOT of cutting if they weren't!

One other thing they did (and I took a photo of it too), is they had a corner window, behind the sink, and they tiled all the way up to the ceiling, around the windows. I could have done that in my kitchen, and it never even dawned on me! It was different, and I liked it a lot.

BTW, they had slate floors in the kitchen as well, so it really pulled it all together, but I could have easily done the slate, with my hardwoods, and I bet it would look good with ceramic too. And really, it wouldn't even have to be slate, it was just a good, subtle pattern.

My husband is on his way to his second inspection now(He was inspecting the custom home, and I had to bring him his camera that he left at home - a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip drive, thankyouverymuch. He'd better be glad I love him so much!), so I probably won't get the pictures until tonight, but I thought about you!

(I found the MLS photo. I can't post it on here, but I'm going to PM you with it. I'll still post the detailed photo on here later though.)

 

[holbear]

Miss Jasmine, your kitchen looks awesome!!

Our kitchen is progressing so slowly. I think my last post about it was around pg. 35 or so! I had a lot of catching up to do on the posts! I guess it is just a slow job to do.

We have the countertop in (ubatuba granite) and are having a tumbled marble backsplash put in as I type. It sounds like that combo is a fairly popular choice.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

We have the countertop in (ubatuba granite) and are having a tumbled marble backsplash put in as I type. It sounds like that combo is a fairly popular choice.

It's what I have!

 

[shovan]

Well our vanity is going to have to be totally custom. And the first price is already at $2500 for the cabinet only! Not including plumbing, hardware, countertop or sink!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Well our vanity is going to have to be totally custom. And the first price is already at $2500 for the cabinet only! Not including plumbing, hardware, countertop or sink!

Ouch.

 

[disneyofcourse]

No more remodeling for us for quite some time! We live in a brick ranch in the city and in Oct. 2004 we started the massive project of adding a second floor!! It was totally worth it though! We have a beautiful house now that we couldn't even afford if we put it on the market today. We have a great master bedroom, master bathroom w/seperate shower & whirlpool tub, and a walk-in closet (totally done with The Container Store's Elfa shelving)! The kids each have their own rooms and their own space.


Wow, That must have been a big expense adding on a second level! We are looking to buy this cute little home with two bedrooms upstairs. Only one window per room. It doesn't look like its two levels from either the front or back. I'm wondering how much this would cost us if we ever wanted to make it a complete second level... Dreaming dreaming ....

 

[holbear]

It's what I have!

Great minds think alike.

The tile guy just left. Here is our progress so far..

I love my deep sink.

We still have appliances and flooring to select.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Holbear, that's REALLY pretty!!!!!

 

[mickeysgal]

Thats beautiful!! ( Keep those backsplash pictures coming please.)

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Holbear, I LOVE your backsplash! That looks great!

Mickeysgal, look at how similar her kitchen set-up is to the one I PM'd you! She could have tiled up around her window too.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Thats beautiful!! ( Keep those backsplash pictures coming please.)

I like to look thru the backsplash slideshow at the Finished Kitchens Blog.
http://finishedbacksplashesslideshow.blogspot.com/

 

[mickeysgal]

I like to look thru the backsplash slideshow at the Finished Kitchens Blog.
http://finishedbacksplashesslideshow.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!!!

I love the pictures - the kitchens, the backsplashes, the inspirational pictures. - all of it.

 

[mickeysgal]

Mickeysgal, look at how similar her kitchen set-up is to the one I PM'd you! She could have tiled up around her window too.

Yes, I noticed that. In fact I did a double-take. Amazingly similar.

Holbear, your kitchen is beautiful. What kind of tile is that? Send that tile guy my way please.

 

[holbear]

Yes, I noticed that. In fact I did a double-take. Amazingly similar.

Holbear, your kitchen is beautiful. What kind of tile is that? Send that tile guy my way please.

Thanks! It is called Tumbled Marble from PGM Products. We found it at Lowes.

 

[mickeysgal]

Thanks! It is called Tumbled Marble from PGM Products. We found it at Lowes.

I thought it looked like tumbled marble, but there was enough color variance in it that I thought otherwise. Did you mix two different colors?