if you could re-do your kitchen...

[ladykemma]

Date: 1/4/2007 2:40:45 AM
Author: monarch64
Well darnit, I have to say for our very tiny little dollhouse kitchen, I would reface the cabinets and have them all painted white to add some visual space...no never mind, I would just knock the entire thing out and redo it completely. In white. LOL! We don't plan to stay in our house (we've been here for almost 3 yrs, when we moved in were only planning to stay for 2 but the housing bust came), so now we're between a rock and hard place deciding on whether to remodel or leave it as is... As is is fine, everything is new-ish and in working order but a tad outdated as far as the countertop and tile floors. The space is maybe 12 by 15, though, so instead of our original birchwood, stained cabinetry (which is gorgeous, I might add), I would definitely reface with white and have new hardware installed, as well as new stainless appliances and new countertop.

My dream kitchen is simply to have my mother's. Although I have no pics, she has a Dutch Colonial 5,600 square foot home that is just gorgeous through and through, kitchen included. In the kitchen, she has walnut original cabinetry, (dark stained), a double built-in oven surrounded by the same brick that is on the outside of their home, a beautiful butcher block island and bar going right into their breakfast room...AHHH, it is the envy of all who enter. Yeesh. She's always coming up with ways to improve it, but so far has only to change the wallpaper and tile about 6 times, and has had that beautiful butcher block island covered with ceramic tile, unfortunately. every time DH and I are there she is telling us not to lean on it so we don't break the tiles...blech. It kills me. Her range is one of those flat things that has a chimney for a hood (no kidding, it does lead into one of their three chimneys), but she still has some crap ass Revereware pots and pans from Target even though we always offer to buy her new, more expensive and updated ones...she doesn't even use the new dishwasher that was installed 2 yrs. ago.... forget it. It makes me ill just thinking and typing about it. She has a great kitchen that most women/people would salivate over.

ya know it's funny. i am a pot snob. i own mauviel, all clad, calpahlon and revereware.

if for some reason i had to select all over again i would choose revereware copper bottom for 2 each of (1qt,2qt,3qt,4qt,6qt,8qt,16qt and 24 qt.) but buy calphalon for the high end cooking saute pans, and a hollandaise type all clad saucier of all sizes 1,2,3 qt and some non stick cheapo pieces for eggs and potatoes.

the pieces that have been outstanding: the calphalon 5qt covered shallow wide saute pans (i own 2). the calphalon plain unadorned turkey roaster. edited to add: and the round bottom all clad sauciers/

i would not buy the mauviel again. just wasn't good enough to justify all that money.

anyone think different?

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 1/5/2007 9:48:47 AM
Author: jcrow

we are looking to buy or build a home. i was wondering about stainless appliances. for those who have them, do you LOVE them? or whould you go a different route? we have all white appliances like the coffee pot, toaster, etc. lots of the new homes we are looking at have all black appliances like the stove, fride, dishwasher, etc.

Honestly, I hate stainless. I always thought it looked amazing until I got a stainless stove in my old apartment.

That thing was THE WORST to keep clean! No matter what I cleaned it with, it looked streaky. Not to mention it shows every last little fingerprint!

Funny that you''re seeing all black appliances, because in our area (north shore Massachusetts) everyone still has WHITE. I hate white too, because it shows every little thing. NONE of the places we looked at had black, and even some of the new places (like ours) are being furnished with white. We got in on our house just in the nick of time to have him change them to black.

 

[aljdewey]

This my our kitchen. We didn't really have a choice on the cabinetry, although it's what I would have likely selected anyway.

The builder had just ordered white appliances and a light countertop prior to our making an offer; we were fortunate that he was able to change the appliances to black. The countertop had already been cut, so we split the cost to replace it to this dark one.

Overall, I really love my kitchen. Only improvements I'd really make? I'd love to put in a double oven, and I really wish we had a chimney style heavy power vent hood.

In this picture, there's a small table on the right side that we moved into the kitchen just for that night to put drinks onto (it was getting thrown out, and I didn't have time to empty it first, and it made a sensible place to stage drinks). That's where we are likely going to put the wine fridge in....which was our xmas present to each other this year.

 

[aljdewey]

My "plan" was to add a peninsula bar like the one is this picture (which I found on MLS that looks somewhat similar to our layout, only image reversed).

The pub table set you see above in our kitchen was intended to be a temporary solution until we got other things done in the house and were prepared to pay for the bar to be built. I wanted the bar to provide a place for people to sit and chat while I worked in the kitchen, and also to house a small wine fridge.

However, since we put the table in, I'm feeling like maybe we won't do the bar....at least for now. We can always elect to do it later, but I'm finding I really like having the space open, and my biggest fear is that one more surface will become a "junk" collector!

When we host parties, having the open space is really a plus.

 

[Mara]

i also am not a real fan of stainless steel unless you never plan to USE your kitchen. it is very hard to keep clean. we got all black appliances, which show a little less stuff but even those we have to keep pretty clean or they show streaks and dirt quite easily. but my parents have stainless and my mom is forever wiping those things down. since we have granite, it''s already somewhat high maintenance (we never do anything on the actual counterop, we put down these flat thin plastic cutting board/placemat things first before doing anything, even pouring coffee) so we wanted to stick with other low maintenance things for appliances. but if you don''t cook that often and want something that looks snazzy, stainless could work probably.

 

[Skippy123]

I like your kitchen Al! Very pretty.

We have stainless, and it is hard to keep clean. We have a titanium fridge from LG and it does not show finger prints and that I love!

This may be a dumb question, but what are those big hood vents for? Sorry, I don''t cook that much and now I am just curious. Thanks!

 

[DonaBella]

Wow...Kimberly and Miranda...you both have lovely kitchens. I have the double ovens, a big prep island and tall ceilings, but I do wish some things were different in my kitchen. First of all, I have to get new countertop, hopefully this year. I want granite to go with our granite and porcelain tile floors. I currently have warm honey oak cabinetry and railings for the stairs, but I prefer the richness of cherrywood. As soon as I can, I will take pics of the family room and kitchen since they kind of share the same space. I have burgundy paint on the wall that has the fireplace and runs into the kitchen with the refridgerator. The burgundy continues like an "L" onto the wall where my stovetop and ovens are. That wall meets with the wall that has the window over the sink and continues onto the family room. This wall is a whipped butter color. In person, the two paint colors look amazing.

I hate my refridgerator and have for years!

It is a side by side but is so old. It is hard to manuever casserole dishes and is just plain yuck. So second on my list of improvements is a replacement for this sorry fridge. Ideally, I would love and appreciate a subzero but I am not sure if my DH is up to that. Hmm...I might need to remind him that a subzero would mean more to me at the moment than a diamond upgrade. That might get him thinking!

I have really wonderful 10 or 12 feet high ceilings on my first level where our kitchen, living room, family room, laundry room one bedroom and office is. I have already informed my sweet hubby that we will be incorporating a wrought iron pot rack in the kitchen over the island. He is not keen on this at all, but the cabinetry is not designed properly for my pots and pans and he says he wants me to get some new professional level pans and I cannot fathom putting new pots in those cabinets. Also, because I saw a pot rack of a smaller scale but the same height of ceilings in a friend''s home, I know it will look great and add a little umph to the kitchen as well. However, he is still not 100% with me on this...but its my choice and my kitchen.

Two summers ago, we bought a palapa covered bbq and island for our backyard. My sweet hubby got all the bells and whistles he wanted, including a fab travertine counterop! So much nicer than my kitchen countertop....So, we agreed that when the time came and we worked on the kitchen, I had total say, as long as it didn''t break the bank and that''s fair.

With 7 kids still at home and all of the entertaining we do, people hang out in our kitchen alot. I want it to reflect me and to be physically beautiful and functional as well. Right now, it has broken white tiles and just lacks in appeal. Quite frankly, I am embarrassed to spend much time in it even with one friend.

 

[Tybee]

Oh, I am so jealous of the beautiful and ****SPACIOUS**** kitchens you all have posted!
Like I said before, while I adore our new house (our first) I''d eventually love to tear down some walls and open up our kitchen.

Ours would probably be described as an alley-kitchen. It''s long and narrow. Like others have mentioned, when we''re entertaining, guests always end up n the kitchen. There''s just not enough space!

The house is very old, built in 1930''s. At some point the kitchen was definitely redone, but, well, I''d like to eventually redo it again, but I''m not sure how we''d widen the space, we''re already dealing with a storage issue in our little bitty 2/1.

Our house is located in an historic neighborhood in Atlanta.

Here''s the left side of the galley.

 

[Tybee]

Wow, talk about cluttered counters!
Here''s the right side of the galley.

 

[Tybee]

YOu can see how narrow it is.
Then, on the opposite side of our kitchen is an eating space. It''s actually a bit wider than the cooking space.
Here''s out new Crate and Barrel dining table. Since taking the picture we got two of the chairs for Christmas. Why are chairs so expenisive?

 

[Tybee]

And since we have a seriousl lack of art in our house, and I couldn''t stand the blankness of that wall any more, I ran around the house and took photos of simple objects and stuck them in Target frames. It''s a temporary solution, but gets a few laughs from guests.

 

[KimberlyH]

Tybee,

Every picture I''ve seen of your house I think, OH I LOVE IT! I have always wanted to own an older house; probably because I grew up in a house my mom''s great uncle built over 100 years ago. It was such a great house (2/1 like yours) but our family outgrew it, read two teenagers sharing a bedroom and 4 people sharing a bathroom, and the neighborhood wasn''t so great and getting worse, so my parents sold it. It had always been in my mom''s family so it was a very sad thing.

When we started considering where we would live we looked at a bunch of the older houses in San Diego and I fell in love with several bungalows. But when we considered the long term, where kids would end up in school (if we have them), where to move John''s mom, etc. it just didn''t make sense for us at that time. I absolutely love my house, but someday, before I die, I''ve made John promise we can live in an old bungalow home in Mission Hills if he doesn''t move us to Hawaii first.

 

[Tybee]

Aw Kimberly,

You are very sweet. We do love our old house so much, and we''re really having fun with it. As two people living in a 2/1, I can see
why your family outgrew yours, though. With just the two of us sharing a bathroom it sometimes can be hectic!
We have a little shed/garage in the back that I''d eventually like to have rennovated into a guest cottage. That might be a pipe dream, but I''ve been looking at the magazine Cottage Living and I now have a ton of ideas. Maybe that''s where we can put the spa tub and the working fireplace, lol! What I don''t have is a ton of CASH!

Your house is a stunner, though. It really is just lovely. You two must totally enjoy it! There is so much to be said for open space. You two can always down-size later in life to a bungalow, or maybe you can get the best of both worlds and live in a bungalow in Hawaii... oh, what a dream that would be!

 

[Cind11]

Wow, beautiful kitchens everyone. The only thing I''d like to change about my kitchen is to replace my countertops with granite. I live in Ohio and the prices I found when checking into it, have been $80 a square foot. A friend of mine in Illinois somehow got a $60 a square foot price. What is typical where you live?

 

[jcrow]

ok, this is going to sound like a really stupid question, but what''s the value in having granite coutertops vs. ceramic tile? i mean, i know they are more $$, i just didn''t know if they are less maintenance or something?

 

[Sundial]

Not a stupid question at all. We had ceramic tile countertops for years and I was thrilled to get rid of them for granite (actually engineered stone) when we remodeled our kitchen just over a year ago. Tile is very high maintenance with all that grout. It needs to be sealed or it can stain and it is a magnet for germs. If you use slab granite or stone it is a smooth continuous surface. The stuff we used is not porous and doesn''t require sealing. Love it!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 1/7/2007 9:19:19 PM
Author: Sundial
Not a stupid question at all. We had ceramic tile countertops for years and I was thrilled to get rid of them for granite (actually engineered stone) when we remodeled our kitchen just over a year ago. Tile is very high maintenance with all that grout. It needs to be sealed or it can stain and it is a magnet for germs. If you use slab granite or stone it is a smooth continuous surface. The stuff we used is not porous and doesn't require sealing. Love it!

Sundial is so right. I love it. It hids crap too. I had tile in our previous house and the grout showed so much crap and never came clean. I put hot pans on the granite, and it is so easy to clean. I think it is the best thing ever!!!!


Cindy 11,
Granite prices vary with the slab you buy; I guess it depends on where they quarry it and how hard it is to dig up? I think ours was $70 a sq foot. I would shop around. We went to Lowes and the same granite was sold cheaper through an outside company.

Tybee,
I love your house and how you decorated it. Very pretty!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Usually prices at Lowes/Home Depot are higher than independant tile/carpet stores. I would just shop around. Also different colors/kinds are different prices.

 

[Skippy123]

I just read this today. I think it may be helpful information for people thinking about remodeling.

"You will probably want to focus on the areas that are most important to prospective buyers—the exterior, the kitchen, and the bathrooms—and skip over frivolous renovations and additions of offices, sun rooms, and master suites. The least profitable project in 2006 was a home-office remodel, which returned 63.4% of remolding costs at resale.

Once you have narrowed down your options, stick to minor improvements. While major upscale kitchen projects, costing an average of $107,000, recouped just 75.9% of their cost in resale in 2006, minor kitchen remodels, costing $18,000 on average, did much better, with an average return of 85.2%. "

Here is the link http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/homeworth_1.html

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Our house is only 13 yers old, but I want to redo the kitchen countertops/sink and a few other things.

Thing is, I really don''t know how people "live thru'' reno''s. Especially kitchens. How does one stay sane thru the process????

cheers--Sharon

 

[Dee*Jay]

Sharon - I don''t know about the sanity part, but I''ll give you some practical advice. You need to still be able to cook. The grill saved my marriage. Even though we did our last kitchen renovation in the middle of winter the happy hubby made dinner as much as he usually does by grilling. We put the microwave down in my office, which has a bathroom right off of it so we had access to water. Don''t both doing any more dishes or silverware than you ABSOLUTELY have to. Go paper and plastic. Doing dishes in the bathtub is too grim for words. Also, if possible, keep your old refrigerator somewhere until your new kitchen is done and then get rid of it. We had ours put in the garage, so it was out of the way but still pretty accessible. Finally, this is a PRIME opportunity for losing weight because everything associated with cooking and food in general will be such a pain in the a$$ that you will often consider eating something, and then when you really think about the amount of work involved with your makeshift cooking arrangements you''ll be like, nah, I don''t really want it that badly.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 1/14/2007 4:14:09 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Sharon - I don''t know about the sanity part, but I''ll give you some practical advice. You need to still be able to cook. The grill saved my marriage. Even though we did our last kitchen renovation in the middle of winter the happy hubby made dinner as much as he usually does by grilling. We put the microwave down in my office, which has a bathroom right off of it so we had access to water. Don''t both doing any more dishes or silverware than you ABSOLUTELY have to. Go paper and plastic. Doing dishes in the bathtub is too grim for words. Also, if possible, keep your old refrigerator somewhere until your new kitchen is done and then get rid of it. We had ours put in the garage, so it was out of the way but still pretty accessible. Finally, this is a PRIME opportunity for losing weight because everything associated with cooking and food in general will be such a pain in the a$$ that you will often consider eating something, and then when you really think about the amount of work involved with your makeshift cooking arrangements you''ll be like, nah, I don''t really want it that badly.

HI

DeeJay--thanks for the practical advice! And amen about washing dishes in the bath! Yikes! I can just see myself stressing about the whole thing--and for me with stress comes automatic weight loss, as I don''t eat. Not a good scenario.

I guess the other question is, realistically, how long should one guage for replacement of sinks, and countertops and backsplash? Days, weeks? We''ve already painted the hosue, and our appliances are brand new.

cheers--Sharon

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/14/2007 4:21:25 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 1/14/2007 4:14:09 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
Sharon - I don''t know about the sanity part, but I''ll give you some practical advice. You need to still be able to cook. The grill saved my marriage. Even though we did our last kitchen renovation in the middle of winter the happy hubby made dinner as much as he usually does by grilling. We put the microwave down in my office, which has a bathroom right off of it so we had access to water. Don''t both doing any more dishes or silverware than you ABSOLUTELY have to. Go paper and plastic. Doing dishes in the bathtub is too grim for words. Also, if possible, keep your old refrigerator somewhere until your new kitchen is done and then get rid of it. We had ours put in the garage, so it was out of the way but still pretty accessible. Finally, this is a PRIME opportunity for losing weight because everything associated with cooking and food in general will be such a pain in the a$$ that you will often consider eating something, and then when you really think about the amount of work involved with your makeshift cooking arrangements you''ll be like, nah, I don''t really want it that badly.

HI

DeeJay--thanks for the practical advice! And amen about washing dishes in the bath! Yikes! I can just see myself stressing about the whole thing--and for me with stress comes automatic weight loss, as I don''t eat. Not a good scenario.

I guess the other question is, realistically, how long should one guage for replacement of sinks, and countertops and backsplash? Days, weeks? We''ve already painted the hosue, and our appliances are brand new.

cheers--Sharon

Plan on weeks so that you can remain sane during the process. My mom and dad lived with their kitchen in various states of remodel for 3 months (they went down to 2X4s and started all over again). They used the dining room for storage space and purchased food that could be eaten cold. Also, a hot plate might be a good idea along with the grill, just another means of cooking at home.

 

[Sundial]

We completely gutted our kitchen and the entire remodel took two months. We were only without cabinets for about three weeks though and then our kitchen guy put temporary plywood counters in and an old sink so we could partially use the kitchen again. Like Deejay we had a frig in the garage, a microwave, and a grill. We also ate out quite a bit especially in the beginning. The longest wait was for our countertops. The worst part of it all was the dust that you can''t keep out of the rest of the house!

 

[Matata]

I love my kitchen. It''s the reason we bought the house -- double wall ovens, professional grade 6 burner gas stove top, warming drawer, large island w/prep sink. Still, if I were to build a house, I''d want this island

 

[Matata]

and I''d want it in this kitchen

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/14/2007 4:21:25 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 1/14/2007 4:14:09 PM

Author: Dee*Jay

Sharon - I don''t know about the sanity part, but I''ll give you some practical advice. You need to still be able to cook. The grill saved my marriage. Even though we did our last kitchen renovation in the middle of winter the happy hubby made dinner as much as he usually does by grilling. We put the microwave down in my office, which has a bathroom right off of it so we had access to water. Don''t both doing any more dishes or silverware than you ABSOLUTELY have to. Go paper and plastic. Doing dishes in the bathtub is too grim for words. Also, if possible, keep your old refrigerator somewhere until your new kitchen is done and then get rid of it. We had ours put in the garage, so it was out of the way but still pretty accessible. Finally, this is a PRIME opportunity for losing weight because everything associated with cooking and food in general will be such a pain in the a$$ that you will often consider eating something, and then when you really think about the amount of work involved with your makeshift cooking arrangements you''ll be like, nah, I don''t really want it that badly.

HI


DeeJay--thanks for the practical advice! And amen about washing dishes in the bath! Yikes! I can just see myself stressing about the whole thing--and for me with stress comes automatic weight loss, as I don''t eat. Not a good scenario.


I guess the other question is, realistically, how long should one guage for replacement of sinks, and countertops and backsplash? Days, weeks? We''ve already painted the hosue, and our appliances are brand new.


cheers--Sharon

How long you should gauge totally depends on the efficiency of your contractor and whether he/she is good about being there EVERY day to work on your project. However, to cut the time down as much as possible here is one more piece of advice: Do not start ANY part of your project until EVERYTHING you will be installing is in.

We have friends who had the contractor rip out their old kitchen when they received word that their cabinets had been shipped. From Italy. Right before that port strike in California. They spent a few months in total limbo because their cabinets were vacationing on a ship off the west coast and their old kitchen was gonzo.

Seriously, NOT ONE THING leaves your old kitchen until EV-RE-THING you need for the new one is delivered to either you, the contractor or the installer. None of this "It''ll only take 3 business days to get here."

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Thanks for all the tips/suggestions. I have a feeling that this "little project" may end up being a long term thing--not by choice. Over the last two years the city (Province) where I live has experienced huge economic growth--and is not poised to stop. All indicators point to the opposite. That said, the/all trades are at max capacity, as builders/contractors don''t have enough workers to complete the projects booked, regardless of the type of job. My reality could be waiting up to a year--like when I wanted to do some major landcaping last year, I called a dozen vendors in the Spring and were told they were booking for Spring 2007. Many were not even taking bookings, at all. Oh to be handy!

cheers--Sharon