Microwave Drawer? Gimmick or Gotta have?

[tvguy]

The house you were selling sounds much older than our home if your realtor was talking about code issues. In that case, it was probably best to sell w/out the upgrades at a lower price and let the new owners revamp. Most buyers who are looking in the price range of our home want a move-in ready house.

It was older, built in 1960, but only code upgrade I had to do was strap the water heater to the wall, that cost me $75.
But I am in crazy California. Law changed here effective January 1, so some people selling houses built in 2014 and 2015 that are having to replace all the faucets, shower heads and toilets to the new drought standard (unless they got lucky and their builder used compliant models) and install CO detectors.

 

[tvguy]

Oak cabinets ARE outdated (sorry to break it to you).

LOL. I've never been a slave to styles.....thus we waited until our kitchen cabinets were 35 years old to replace them because of wear, not style.

But, I'm in California where the trends are set, and Oak is hot....at least to all the cabinet folks at the Home Expo this weekend. So it's coming. You were warned.

 

[tvguy]

Well, our cabinets were built for the drawer microwave. But all that means is there is an electrical outlet in the back of a fully finished cabinet box under the counter with a drawer below it. You certainly could pull out our hood vent and put a microwave-vent combo over the stove, and use the box where the drawer microwave was for storage. It would just be an open box with no doors. Certainly could store cookbooks or pots and pans there. Other than undoing 4 screws, and unplugging the microwave, it would require no work at all.
But again, our mindset was different. We don't care what anyone else thinks, or trends. This remodel was to give my wife the kitchen she wanted. We were both 55 when we did the remodel, and we spared no expense to build a kitchen my wife will be happy with for the rest of our lives.
I will add, our 24 year old daughter still lives at home, and she and a couple of girlfriends regularly cook/bake in our kitchen and love the space and being able to have one of them at the oven/stove, one at the microwave (and the counter over it) and another at the sink or other counter space all at the same time and not being in each other's way. Throw in that my wife often is in there helping, 4 adult women can work quite nice in the space.

Now that I know how to post photos. This is what my kitchen looked like mid-remodel, you can see the drawer microwave cabinet between the door and the space for the oven.

 

[FINFAN]

Now that I know how to post photos. This is what my kitchen looked like mid-remodel, you can see the drawer microwave cabinet between the door and the space for the oven.View attachment 148433

wow our kitchen footprint is so close to your~only we have an island instead of the u_shape .Window,pantry and oven wall the same, our door next to pantry leads to the laundry room. Our cabinets are not as high though. Thank you for posting~ very helpful

 

[indygirl99]

Oak cabinets ARE outdated (sorry to break it to you). White, black, cherry and of course high quality medium to darker woods are in, but not your standard oak that scream 90s. Just do a google search for kitchen cabinet trends and see what you find. You won't find much oak at all and the oak you will find is a different cut and looks different than what I'm referring to. I'll help with what came up at the top of my google search:

http://www.hgtv.com/remodel/kitchen-remodel/kitchen-cabinet-styles-and-trends-pictures

http://www.bhg.com/kitchen/cabinets/styles/top-10-cabinetry-trends/

http://blog.kitchenmagic.com/blog/b...Color-Style-Combinations#sthash.suxPnzig.dpbs

Replacing cabinets is very expensive but painting them a neutral shade can really brighten up a kitchen. White cabinets are timeless, so I completely disagree with you. Changing out our old bisque appliances to stainless, changing out the counters (we opted to stay with laminate due to the cost and the price range of the house, but it looks like granite), and painting over the 90s looking oak made a dramatic difference. The white cabinets with the stainless steel give the kitchen a clean, open look and paint is much cheaper than replacing cabinets. Our realtor said we've already added $10k to the value of our home and we only spent 4k. Our carpeting was a very high quality when we built the home 17 years ago and it's held up well, but it's a hard sell if we don't upgrade the flooring, so we are replacing the kitchen and bathroom tile that is outdated and chipped, and we're putting in wood laminate in the rest of the downstairs rooms. Our home will sell quicker and we'll make our money back and then some. We are kicking ourselves for not having done some of this sooner so we could enjoy it longer.

The house you were selling sounds much older than our home if your realtor was talking about code issues. In that case, it was probably best to sell w/out the upgrades at a lower price and let the new owners revamp. Most buyers who are looking in the price range of our home want a move-in ready house.

I don't know where you live but where I am everyone that doesn't already have oak cabinets are remodeling to GET oak because it is the "trend".

One of the girls I work with could not get a decent offer on her house (in an area with bidding wars) because of the "blinding white cabinets". Several people who looked commented on the outdated white. They put in oak cabinets and has 3 offers the next day and sold for $65 thousand OVER their list price.

We also just got back from the home remodeling show and saw that the painted white is out and oak is back in. Now of course I am on the West Coast where we tend to be ahead of the curve on most things

 

[tvguy]

wow our kitchen footprint is so close to your~only we have an island instead of the u_shape .Window,pantry and oven wall the same, our door next to pantry leads to the laundry room. Our cabinets are not as high though. Thank you for posting~ very helpful

The door is to the garage. There used to be a wall to the right of the door, coming towards the camera. The area to the left of the wall that is no longer there was the laundry room. We added on 20 years ago, and moved the laundry room there. We left the old laundry room as a pantry, and decided to take the walls out with the remodel.

 

[IDoDis]

I don't know where you live but where I am everyone that doesn't already have oak cabinets are remodeling to GET oak because it is the "trend".

One of the girls I work with could not get a decent offer on her house (in an area with bidding wars) because of the "blinding white cabinets". Several people who looked commented on the outdated white. They put in oak cabinets and has 3 offers the next day and sold for $65 thousand OVER their list price.

We also just got back from the home remodeling show and saw that the painted white is out and oak is back in. Now of course I am on the West Coast where we tend to be ahead of the curve on most things

My comments weren't meant to hijack this thread. I find it funny though that home show sellers are saying white is out. Of course they'll say that because they won't make a sale if you paint your cabinets. And I mean auto-finish paint, not gloppy paint for a paintbrush. I have not found one single article saying that white cabinets are out. They are timeless. I grew up in a white kitchen and still love it today! To each his own though. Keep your oak if that's what you like.

I cited 3 web articles that say white is timeless and they say nothing about oak being "hot." Please cite some sources that says white is outdated and oak is hot. I will do my part citing more articles that white is timeless.

http://www.houzz.com/discussions/881393/are-white-kitchen-cabinets-a-trend-that-is-on-its-way-out

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/kit...tyle-7-ingredients-for-a-timeless-look-215743

And I'm referring to the gold or honey oak tone that is outdated. This is close to what our kitchen looked like. I think the white appliances And white walls are too much though. Stainless would offset the white beautifully, and a neutral paint.
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/41...y-oak-or-paint-white-mocked-up-photo-included

 

[indygirl99]

My comments weren't meant to hijack this thread. I find it funny though that home show sellers are saying white is out. Of course they'll say that because they won't make a sale if you paint your cabinets. And I mean auto-finish paint, not gloppy paint for a paintbrush. I have not found one single article saying that white cabinets are out. They are timeless. I grew up in a white kitchen and still love it today! To each his own though. Keep your oak if that's what you like.

I cited 3 web articles that say white is timeless and they say nothing about oak being "hot." Please cite some sources that says white is outdated and oak is hot. I will do my part citing more articles that white is timeless.

http://www.houzz.com/discussions/881393/are-white-kitchen-cabinets-a-trend-that-is-on-its-way-out

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/kit...tyle-7-ingredients-for-a-timeless-look-215743

And I'm referring to the gold or honey oak tone that is outdated. This is close to what our kitchen looked like. I think the white appliances And white walls are too much though. Stainless would offset the white beautifully, and a neutral paint.
http://www.houzz.com/discussions/41...y-oak-or-paint-white-mocked-up-photo-included

Don't really need to cite articles from the web. Experience has shown me that in my area white is not what is selling.

 

[IDoDis]

Don't really need to cite articles from the web. Experience has shown me that in my area white is not what is selling.

I'm an evidence-based person. So I stand by my statement. If honey oak is "hot" in your area, I'd be EXTREMELY surprised. But it's what YOU like that's important since you have to live with it.