BlessedMom Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 If you have remodeled your kitchen or have a kitchen you love, I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. I currently have a small "L shaped" kitchen with an odd entry point. It is very open and there are some options for remodeling it to make it more functional. I am not totally in love with any of them yet......always a bit of a trade off. Theses are some things I am considering, please share your thoughts both positive and negative. White cabinets either painted or thermofoil. Adding an island or peninsula. With or without seating. Would really like a light porcelain tile floor. Not sure about counter tops. Something very durable. Adding a wall double oven. Here are some questions I have: Anyone used cabinets from Ikea ? Pros, cons? What works well in your kitchen? What would you change or add if you could? What floors do you have? What would you recommend? What counter tops do you have? Pros, cons? What do you do with your trash and or recycles? Please feel free to add any advice you might feel is helpful. Thanks so much for your time. I am looking forward to your responses! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Can you reface the cabinets that you already have? I'd avoid Ikea cabinets - or any cabinets you have to assemble yourself. My friend's lasted about 3 years before falling apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Is thermofoil the same thing as RTF? I think that is what is in my bathrooms and I absolutely hate them. They're all nicked and look so ghetto! The nicks show the wood underneath which looks like MDF but it's much lighter than MDF would be. I tried painting over them but they still look bad. Have you considered keeping the cabinets but buying new doors? I want to remodel my kitchen too. I don't love the cabinets and I hate the laminate top. It's so outdated. I plan to put in granite but we're waiting until we can afford it. I don't want to settle. My DH and I talk about the changes we'd make. We did talk about adding the extension on the countertop for barstools but decided we wouldn't really use it since our table is a few feet away from the counter. We don't really need the extra seating. Good luck! I have to wait at least a year, maybe 2 to have the money we need. I'm also going to remodel my ugly bathrooms. They are custom sized ugly cabinets so we can't even replace them easily. I was literally heart broken when we looked into it and can't do it ourselves easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Here's what I can answer What works well in your kitchen? tons of counter space. Tons of lighting. I LOVE the frig- freezer on the bottom and the milk sits in the door. I love the stove- I looked at 2 stoves and one stove with 2 in it. We went with one stove with a convection oven. There are 3 conventional burners and the 4th can be large or small. Love the convection oven. We are so glad we took out the wall and put in a peninsula. I wish i had put in full length cupboards across the wall with the block window on it and made that into a pantry. There's nothing full length and nowhere to put the broom. Other than that I LOVE the kitchen. What would you change or add if you could? I would switch the deeper kitchen sink for one large sink that was an under counter mount. I would have gone with a fancier faucet. Again, a dedicated pantry. What floors do you have? What would you recommend? Red Oak. LOVE them. They are gorgeous and very easy to clean. What counter tops do you have? Pros, cons? Laminate. Pros: very inexpensive esp with the space that we were covering. Very nice looking and easy to keep clean. Also, everyone we talked to said, you live in a farmhouse - for re-sale no one looking at a farmhouse is looking for high end. They are looking for clean, new, easy to maintain. No complaints about going with laminate AT ALL. and there are a ZILLION choices. All of that to say- where do you live and how does that affect where you put your money and what will be important for re-sale? What do you do with your trash and or recycles? We haul our own trash ($30 a year, vs. $45 a month) so we have 2 lower cupboards with pull out trash cans in them. One has 2 rectangular bins -one for the burnables (which we burn every week or 2. One for trash we'll eventually haul to the dump(this goes in metal trashcans outside when full to await the bi-annual dump trip). We have a 2nd cupboard with a heavier metal frame that we put our compost material in and that goes in the compost bin when full. It's a pretty sturdy metal frame that a heavy trash bag sits in and there is a place for deordorizers- we haven't had to replace it yet and we'be been back since Aug. 1). I also have a small rubbermaid bin under the kitchen sink for recycleables that we smash and take out to a larger bin in a shed to await the dump trip. You can see pics of our kitchen here :001_smile: In our last house we painted our wood cupboards and it was a great improvement. During the remodel our contractor pointed out that (for re-sale) folks like to see wood. Painted or other cupboards seem cheaper to people, even when they aren't. You can paint laminate too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Momling, thanks for the information about the Ikea cabinets. I did not realize they needed to be assembled. I appreciate knowing someone had a first hand experience that was less than positive. I definitely do not want to do this again in 3 years. For many reasons refacing is really not an option but I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks. Night Elf, I am not familiar with RTF. Most cabinet makers offer a Thermofoil door option. The way I understand it is that it is a laminate that is heated and applied to the doors. I think most of the times it is applied over an MDF?? I think there are different thicknesses to the laminate and that may add to the likelihood of it denting and chipping. I really appreciate hearing your experience. What you described is one of my concerns. Thanks. Laughing lioness, your kitchen is wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to link the pictures. I enjoyed seeing what you had done. Glad to hear you are happy with your new stove. Are you willing to share which model you got? Thanks for your detailed response about your trash and recycling. I am so thankful to have so much wisdom to learn from. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The Kohler "smart divide" sinks are not a gimmick. Wow I loved mine. Much less splashing on me, counter, and floor during rinsing, etc: http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=10453602§ion=1&category=5&subcategory=36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The stove is an Amana- I went to the Consumer Reports Appliances issue last year and picked out the features I wanted and cost. I think the stove was the best value for a convection. I'll look around and try to get the model # to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When we remodeled our kitchen I spent a lot of time on this kitchen forum: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/ We painted our existing cabinets, but several people on the forum raved about the Ikea kitchen cabinets. My friend put them in and loved them. We went with white cabinets and dark Uba tuba granite counters. I loved the contrast. Our current home has white thermafoil cabinets with sand colored Corian counters. I wish there was more contast between the two. The dark granite counters were a little more upkeep since dark granite needs to be wiped dry with a microfiber towel to avoid streaks. It was worth the extra effort though because they were so beautiful. It was like having art work in the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 If you have remodeled your kitchen or have a kitchen you love, I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. I currently have a small "L shaped" kitchen with an odd entry point. It is very open and there are some options for remodeling it to make it more functional. I am not totally in love with any of them yet......always a bit of a trade off. Try to think outside the box here. We paid a kitchen designer a whopping $200, and she made 2 suggestions that radically improved traffic flow in our kitchen. A fresh pair of eyes can be invaluable. We closed up the door between the kitchen and dining room and then extended the floor between the kitchen and breakfast room (that one's hard to explain--there is an 8" step down from kitchen to b'fast room; we moved the step towards the b'fast room, making the kitchen bigger and the too-big b'fast room smaller. Theses are some things I am considering, please share your thoughts both positive and negative. White cabinets either painted or thermofoil. I vote for painted. I've heard nothing but good things about Ikea cabinets, though we went with custom-built from a local cabinet maker who gave us a price nearly as good as Ikea's. Keep in mind that a custom builder will include installation in his price. Ikea does not, and big-box stores may or may not. Adding an island or peninsula. With or without seating. My kids know I love my island more than I love them, so "yes" on the island. Would really like a light porcelain tile floor.One word: grout. Also, I hear ceramic floors are hard on your feet. No personal experience there, though. We have white oak. Not sure about counter tops. Something very durable. We went with laminate over granite and other pricier options, but it was because that is what we wanted. We did not redo our kitchen for future owners of our house; we did it for us. I love my laminate (I have also had granite and corian in the past) and would put it in again in a heartbeat. The only downside is that it can be difficult to do an undermount sink. If that is important to you, though, there is a way to do it. The Gardenweb forums discuss it from time to time. Adding a wall double oven.Love mine. Use 2 ovens at a time several times a week. Here are some questions I have: Anyone used cabinets from Ikea ? Pros, cons? Check out the forums at thathomesite.com (Gardenweb). Lots of Ikea fans over there. What works well in your kitchen?If you have cookbooks, don't forget bookshelf space for them. I also keep all of my spices lying down, labels up, in a big, shallow top drawer. It beats every other spice-organization method I have ever had. I didn't plan the drawer for that purpose, but it's one of my favorite things about my kitchen. What would you change or add if you could?I would go with perfectly flat cabinet fronts, rather than the shaker style I have. I thought slab doors would be too modern, but I would have loved it. I love what I have; slabs would just have been easier to clean. What floors do you have? What would you recommend? What counter tops do you have? Pros, cons? What do you do with your trash and or recycles?In my island top, where my main workspace is, next to my stove, I have a 5" x 7" hole that opens into my 30 gallon garbage can underneath. Love love love it. It came with the house, and I replaced that countertop but kept the hole, and then I replaced the entire island and still kept the hole. My very large trashcan is hidden in a cabinet that I never have to open with goopy hands. Please feel free to add any advice you might feel is helpful. Thanks so much for your time. I am looking forward to your responses! :) My responses in blue above. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The stove is an Amana- I went to the Consumer Reports Appliances issue last year and picked out the features I wanted and cost. I think the stove was the best value for a convection. I'll look around and try to get the model # to you. Your kitchen is beautiful. Your appliances look like mine! Mine are Whirlpool though...and my stove has the two ovens. I LOVE it. Oh wait. I'm so dumb. My appliances are black! For some reason when I looked at yours I thought, 'those are just like mine!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuff Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I don't know your area for resale, but remodelling just for me: We have an old 50's style kitchen. Really needs to be redone. But i do love 2 things about it. 1) the big farmhouse sink. I want to reglaze it and keep it when we redo the kitchen. It's so nice to have onw big sink. 2) tile countertops. I know they're not popular and probably not good for resale, but I love how durablr they are. I never have to worry about them. I can take things straight out of the oven and put it right on the counter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoast Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I haven't read all the replies. My advice: get a kitchen book from the library or we had borrowed one that Home Depot published. It tells pros and cons of different items: flooring, counter tops, etc. It also has a planning guide and standard measurements; such as if you have an island, you need at least a mininum 3 ft width walkway around the island. If you don't know what you want or need, books such as these will help prevent making a costly mistake. FWIW, we put hardwood in a kitchen and loved it, put in used cabinets. We had to move 2 yrs after the redo but we were pleased with the choices because of research before hand. I wish you success with your remodel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) We just did a partial kitchen remodel. We replaced the cracked countertops, updated the pastel tile backsplash, and replaced the sink, refrigerator and cooktop. (The double ovens had been replaced about two years ago when the old ones died.) Things I love about our kitchen: 1. Double ovens (one convection) with a separate 5 burner cook top. 2. My deeeep single sink from Blanco. I have this one in brown: http://www.blancoamerica.com/index.html?p=KITCHEN_SINKS 3. Our new countertops are a multi-colored granite. The granite is shiny, but it shows no dirt/dust b/c it has lots of color and "movement." I. LOVE. IT. 4. Linen white subway backsplash. I tiled it myself! :) With a very plain backsplash I wanted to add a bit of "bling," but didn't want to spend a lot of money on it, so I found a glass tile that was expensive, but used them in a 2" accent, so I only had to buy 6 sheets of tile. :) We have 18" ceramic tile on the floor. It's a neutral color with medium-tone grout. It doesn't show dirt and hides dog hair well, so it rarely looks dirty. If you go with a white/very light floor, it may look dirty all the time, b/c every spot will show. Unless you plan to mop daily, I wouldn't do a light colored floor or even a light colored grout with darker tile, b/c grout is very porous, and will get dark and discolored quickly. We have a peninsula. I like it, but if I had had room for an island, I'd have chosen an island over a peninsula. We have a French door refrigerator, and I love it. The bottom freezer would aggravate me, though, if I didn't have an extra freezer to store more frozen items. I second the idea of spending money on a consult with a kitchen designer. Sketch (to scale) what you're thinking about, and let a designer give you feedback. It's better to spend a bit now than to wish you had, later! Lisa Edited January 23, 2011 by Lisa in Jax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We just had our hobs blow up, not before time. And in order to accommodate a new stove we had to make some changes. I can't answer all your questions, because we are still a year and a bit from a full reno. However, we have just bought a couple of Ikea cabinets to fill the gaps until we can do the lot. I put them together myself, they were VERY easy. A set of 3 drawers took just on an hour, and not an arduous one. I don't know if the kitchen the person mentioned above that fell apart after 3 years was an Ikea one, but I doubt it. We have had professionally built and installed kitchens before and the Ikea cabinets are just as good quality as those, in fact I think they are beautiful quality. They also have a 25 year guarantee. They do have an installation service too if you want that, but when we do the full kitchen, we will be doing it ourselves. I also know others with Ikea kitchens that have lasted much longer than 3 years. All self-assemble kitchens are not created equal. I have a friend with the pale porcelain tiles, they are totally gorgeous and we are definitely getting them when we finish the kitchen. Oh and for the trash and recyclables, Ikea has a pull out drawer thing for under the kitchen sink, which looks perfect and we will definitely be getting. They also have a design software thing on their site so you can build your new kitchen and look at it from all angles. My wish list: seperate zones for cooking, cleaning and sandwich/coffee making. Engineered stone benchtops, induction hob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Adding an island or peninsula. With or without seating. I like my island a lot, but I don't have much other counter space, so it's really necessary. Ours does have seating for two on one side, and I used it often when I just had two children, but now, it's pretty rare that we use them. I'd probably opt for more cabinet space instead. What would you change or add if you could? In our previous house, we put a TON of cabinets, which was so, so nice. Some of my favorite features were the skinny cabinet for cookie sheets and the like, and the bank of nine drawers, some of which were really big (like, big enough for two crockpots and then some). What floors do you have? What would you recommend? I have linoleum right now, and I hate hate hate it. It's a style that is really hard to clean; my Pergo and hardwood floors vacuum, sweep, and mop up nicely with a string mop, but the linoleum has all these little textured spots, and it really needs me to scrub it on hands and knees with a cloth in order to look good. No quick mops. We've had Pergo and DIY hardwood in kitchens before, and while you do have to be careful that they don't get super wet (so you might want a rug in the sink area), they did work well, and they cleaned up nicely. I know nothing about tile at all though. What do you do with your trash and or recycles? Trash -- sits in a small corner of the kitchen and gets taken out pretty much every day. We also set recyclables on one small part of a counter, and DS1 takes them out every morning as well. (If we accumulate a lot in one day, we might take them out a second time in the day.) When we lived in a house where taking them out was less convenient, we kept two covered trash cans, one for trash, and one for recyclables, and we took them out when they were full (or if there was something particularly icky in them). My advice is to get as much counter and drawer/cabinet space as you can afford, more than you think is necessary, if possible. We also found that getting extra-tall upper cabinets was not significantly more expensive than regular height cabinets, and we got a good extra amount of space with them. We put in a LOT of counter and storage space, and it was SO nice. (It's been four years since we moved, and I still miss that kitchen!) Also, we put in a dedicated spot for phones, chargers, mail, stuff like that, accessible but not in the main cooking space. It had extra outlets too. Very, very useful. If you use things like tall mixers often, consider that when choosing how far down your upper cabinets will come. I currently have my mixer in a less-than-convenient spot, because that's the only place it fits. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 If you have remodeled your kitchen or have a kitchen you love, I would love to hear your thoughts and recommendations. I currently have a small "L shaped" kitchen with an odd entry point. It is very open and there are some options for remodeling it to make it more functional. I am not totally in love with any of them yet......always a bit of a trade off. Theses are some things I am considering, please share your thoughts both positive and negative. White cabinets either painted or thermofoil. I don't know what thermofoil is. We put in white melamine cabinets and love them. They are very easy to clean. If you go with paint make sure it is very durable/washable. Adding an island or peninsula. With or without seating. We added a peninsula to our formerly L shaped kitchen. I wish we had had room for seating, but it would have blocked the entry to our dining area. It is still very useful without seating though. Would really like a light porcelain tile floor. Absolutely! We have a light beige tile floor. Don't go with a solid color though, it shows dirt too easily. Not sure about counter tops. Something very durable. We put in granite. We went to the stone yard and picked out our slab ourselves. It is perfect for our kitchen and we love how durable it is. Adding a wall double oven. Now I'm just jealous. We had nowhere to put in a wall oven because of wiring issues. We did add a huge built in pantry though! Here are some questions I have: Anyone used cabinets from Ikea ? Pros, cons? We actually found custom cabinets to be about the same as the off the shelf variety. I would get a few estimates just to see... What works well in your kitchen? Our extra deep sinks. And we added a pony shelf along the wall behind the stove that then continues around behind the sink. It is halfway between the countertop and the bottom of the cabinets. It is only about 4 inches wide, but it is AMAZING how much extra space it adds to our kitchen. What would you change or add if you could? A dedicated cabinet for trash. Our pantry has a cabinet for mops and brooms, but I totally forgot about the trash. It sits just outside our kitchen and is convenient enough, but I would have preferred it to be hidden. What floors do you have? What would you recommend? See above. What counter tops do you have? Pros, cons? See above. What do you do with your trash and or recycles? See above. Please feel free to add any advice you might feel is helpful. The best thing we did was hire a designer. She was an architect and interior designer, she charged us $700 and came up with most of the good ideas in our kitchen. She also went with us to pick out paint, tile, backsplash, etc. I shudder to think what my beautiful kitchen might have looked like if not for her. You can see a few pics of my kitchen in this old thread toward the bottom of pg 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thank you all so much!! I am just so blessed by all your very helpful responses. You have given me so many wonderful suggestions & so much wisdom! I greatly appreciate you sharing all your personal experiences, likes, and dislikes as well as all your advice, encouragement and suggestions. Thank you & bless you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I would get wood cabinets, but that's just me. I love the look of natural wood, and generally dislike white cabinets in kitchens. When we remodeled the kitchen in our open-concept house, we added an L-shaped peninsula to separate the DR/kitchen and to give me more storage & work space. Our countertops are granite. Love them! The only thing I don't like about them is keeping them clean. I usually have to wash them and then either wipe them super-well with paper towels, or wash them, spray them with some special cleaner stuff, and then wipe them with paper towels. If I don't you see everything. Our counters are very dark though and have very little variation. Garbage is on a pull-out track under the sink. Recycling is in a pull-out track in the bottom of our floor-to-ceiling cabinet. I wouldn't go with IKEA cabinets. I have friends with them and they're not wearing well. We got ours from Home Depot, but they weren't the Home Depot brand. I don't remember which brand we bought, but I love them :). Our floors are ceramic tile, but they're a matte finish. They are good at hiding dirt. We put them in at an angle so they're diamond-shaped instead of square, if you know what I mean. DH said it was a PITA, but it truly DOES make our tiny kitchen floor look bigger. We invested the extra money in a tile backsplash. It was soooooo worth it! It really makes the kitchen. We did it ourselves, but went to a tile store instead of Home Depot to buy the tile. The lady there was so nice, helped us choose everything, and made some great suggestions. It was worth the extra $$$ we spent at the tile store to get the advice and to get the tile we really wanted. HTH! Enjoy your remodel. I'm sure your new kitchen will be lovely :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 A word of warning: Do NOT, under any circumstances, order your cabinets from Bertsch (sp?). We had a nightmarish experience with them. Over the course of SEVEN shipments, there were multiple, major defects. It took more than a year to set it right (and a lot of money on a lawyer). Defects included: --Peeling finish (looked like sunburned skin peeling) --Poorly joined pieces (very rickety) --Doors with interior pieces missing, causing the center panel of the door to slip, exposing a white line of unstained wood (This was the biggest problem.) --Drips (stain) and splattering on the doors--some drips were large enough to be felt as a raised bump. --And the real doozy: One door had a HOLE in it, which the factory tried to plug with putty. It was large, ugly, and could be felt as a bump--it was such an obvious patch, and sooooo dishonest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 We're in the process of remodeling our cabinets. I just painted our dark, outdated cabinets white and put brushed nickel handles and hinges on them and they look BEAUTIFUL!! The only problem is that the paint dings up easily, so I have to touch-up all the time, even with a thick layer of polyutherane on them. :( But they are really pretty. We were going to do all wood countertops from Ikea, but found out we'll be moving soon, so we're just putting in laminate. Check out this girl's blog.... this is what we were going for (scroll down to finished product): http://kleypas.blogspot.com/2009/06/countertops.html I would love to do brick floors like hers too, but dh doesn't want to. we're undecided there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 After the fire I got to do the kitchen, *almost* exactly like I wanted- within our budget. Flooring- we went w/ a tannish tile and a tannish grout- I would not do white, under any circumstances. Had that in the rental house, know others that have it, it shows everything. Cabinets- I went with cherry- I wanted something differnt. I have custom they were cheaper than any of the store varieties. My fav cabinets are my small one by the stove for cookie sheets, my pullout spice cabinet on the other side and my side cabinets for various spices and condiments. countertop- Laminate- I didn't want to have anything that required special care and although I did like the look of granite and such I couldn't justify the huge price jump. sink- I went w/ an extra deep and with one side larger. I did like the look of the farmouse and almost went with one but again the price difference was pretty large. I am glad now that I don't have a white one, as I am glad not to have to worry about it showing so much. I love my extra big sinks. I went w/ an extra tall faucet as well- that is so great- I can fit even my largest pan under it. Island- I have one specifically for food prep. I had orignially planned to put in a sink in there as well, had it bought and everything but after living with it for a while decided that it was redundant w/ the distance from the sink to the counter. On the island I have butcher block- I use this ALL the time, all the time, love it. As someone who cooks all the time from scratch, always chopping veggies and fruits and such it is awesome. I have a pot rack above it, which is great as well. Only problem is I bought one that hung too low and dh has to reweld it- as of now my pots sit on top of it. Trash/recyclables- I have a large pantry and there are 3 cabinets the bottom cabinets for all 3 have pull out trash cans- each old 2 cans. So, I have containers for 6 different things. Regrets: I wish I would have went with a french door frig. I had a reg. one before but couldn't find a bigger one w/out going side by side or french- I didn't want to invest in the french door- my next one I will for sure though. Pot filler: I wish I would have had dh put in a pot filler on the stove side, it would be so handy to have a little pull-out spigot for filling the stock pot/crockpot etc. I am happy w/ my basic stove. I have no desire for a double oven, my mil has one but hardly cooks or bakes, seems a bit useless to me. I love to cook but am not much on baking. If I had my way and an unlimited budget I would have loved a huge stove with more burners on top, but I just have a basic one, which serves my needs well enough. I have a little seating area in front of the window which has a small table and 4 chairs, it is perfect for breakfast, very handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thank you again to all of you! You have given me so many great ideas and so much to think about during my planning. I appreciate your time so very much! Bless you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) oh boy! We did a kitchen remodel in 2008, so we are now 2 years out and I can tell you what I did and what I would change (not much, thankfully!). Here is the link to before and after pictures: http://www.amylovesbud.com/2010/01/kitchen-photos-and-please-help-me.html First off, to dispel the Ikea myth: We have Ikea cabinets that are now over two years old and are every bit as strong as the day we installed them, and we reeeeeeeally use our kitchen. You can see from the pictures that we have a HUGE piece of granite on them - it's one piece 9'x4.5' and took about ten guys to move in and put in place. Those Ikea cabinets are supporting it beautifully. I believe Abbeyj and possibly Amy in Orlando used Ikea cabinets in their kitchens, too. You do have to assemble them yourself. I did ours all by myself, as Bud was busy with electrical and framing and such. Once I put one together and figured it out, I timed myself, and I was able to assemble a cabinet in ten minutes. It's not that difficult. Ikea uses Blum hardware which is the best in the industry. The hinges and drawer glides are amazing! You can find other testimonials to the quality of Ikea on Ikeahacker and on Gardenweb. Okay - other topics. I approached my remodel by looking very hard at what I do in my kitchen and how my work triangle would be arranged. This came long before any material selections. Once we figured out a layout that we felt would be the best use of a space and make for an efficient work area I chose my appliances so I would know the precise measurements. Then I drew it out and planned where Every. Single. Item. I use in my kitchen would go. For example, I wanted my pots under my cooktop, and my food storage containers for leftovers near the sink where I clean up. I tried to put everything as close to its point of use as possible. Then I started planning cabinets. The best thing I did was use almost all drawers in the base cabinets. No more getting on my knees to root around in the back of a cabinet. I just pull out the drawer and have a full view of everything in there. It's awesome! I echo Lisa's comment about the deeeep sink. I love mine. I also have a pulldown faucet with a very high gooseneck. I can get any size pot you throw at me in there and wash it without getting water all over the place. Since we were remodeling and moving walls and all, I made a recessed spot for my refrigerator. This way it doesn't protrude out from the cabinets and I didn't have to give up cubic feet or more money for a counter-depth fridge. I got a good hood and had Bud run the venting out the attic for me. We also went with a 36", six-burner cooktop. We don't need all six that often, but when we do it's fantastic, and I imagine we'll use it more and more as time goes on. I love my mixer lift. It gets a ton of use. We put in a pullout cabinet for the trash and recycling. Handy. The one thing I would do is encourage you to think outside the box on your kitchen. I really wanted to go a different direction that wasn't working on paper because of the dimensions of the old kitchen. Then Bud got the idea to move the wall from the laundry room into the kitchen, effectively moving 16 square feet out of the kitchen. It seems crazy to make a kitchen smaller, but it made our plans work, and I got space in the laundry room! The most important thing you can do, in my opinion, i spend a lot of time planning. Don't rush - this is a huge change and ahuge expense and you want to do it right. So there you go - my dissertation on kitchen remodels. Have fun! (And go to Gardenweb, really!) Edited January 26, 2011 by Amy loves Bud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) What works well in your kitchen? Lots and lots of cupboards (also have cupboards along one wall in dining room, which is an addition to the house and has a very large opening to the kitchen). Decent size kitchen island with overhang on 3 sides. Have 2 bar height chairs along the long side, and can pull up a stool on either side, so we can fit 4 kids at the island when all of dh's extended family is over and we don't have room at the table for everyone. What would you change or add if you could? A double oven; more/better lighting; a window over the sink or a sink that looks out into another part of the house (mine looks into a wall); a small amount of wall space for a calendar. I don't have any wall space in the kitchen. But on the other hand, I do like all the cupboards. So I guess it's a trade off. What do you do with your trash and or recycles? I have a nice white metal trash can w/lid that sits under one of the island overhangs. There is no other place to put it. A small trash can under the sink was just too small and too stinky. The one I bought was pricey ($80 after sale & coupon), but it looks nice and is durable, so it'll last for years (I've had it 5 years so far). I wanted something nice looking since it would be sitting out, and durable so the kids can't break it. Our recycle bins are in the garage (a few steps beyond the kitchen), so I just open the door and toss things in. ETA: maybe instead of a double oven, since I'm not sure how much I'd actually use it--it would come in handy when I have family over, but that's not often, I might like a regular wall oven with a separate cooktop. I wouldn't have to bend down to put things in/out of the oven, and the cupboard(s) underneath could be for items used less frequently. Before dh and I met, I used to house sit for some people who had $$$, and they had a cooktop with 3 large drawers under it. That was handy for the pots & pans that you use regularly at the stove. They had a wall oven in the hall around the corner from the kitchen, so it didn't take up actual kitchen space. Also in that hall were 2 large closets--one was a walk-in pantry, and the other was one you could take maybe one step into, and held all the consumable household goods--napkins, papertowel, tp, cleaners, etc... . Edited January 26, 2011 by gardening momma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 My DH and I talk about the changes we'd make. We did talk about adding the extension on the countertop for barstools but decided we wouldn't really use it since our table is a few feet away from the counter. We don't really need the extra seating. You could add to the island just for additional counter space. My island would look just fine if you took away the chairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I haven't read all the replies. My advice: get a kitchen book from the library or we had borrowed one that Home Depot published. It tells pros and cons of different items: flooring, counter tops, etc. It also has a planning guide and standard measurements; such as if you have an island, you need at least a mininum 3 ft width walkway around the island. If you don't know what you want or need, books such as these will help prevent making a costly mistake. At our last house, we seriously considered a kitchen remodel that would have included removing the wall separating the kitchen & dining room. When the kitchen designer came to our house to discuss what we could do, I mentioned that I'd like an island. She measured the space, and rather than saying, you don't have enough room for an island, she recommended an 18 inch wide island. :confused: No, I don't think so. I'll go without. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 The nicks show the wood underneath which looks like MDF but it's much lighter than MDF would be. I tried painting over them but they still look bad. That is one thing to consider in terms of the colour of the cabinets. We are still in the deciding phase ourselves (looking at Ikea at the moment), but dh is in favour of a black colour that shows a grain pattern. His logic is that this would be much easier to fix if it has small nicks. Not sure if that logic is correct, but thinking about how you would fix damage is important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Adding an island or peninsula. With or without seating. We added one that sits 2. It's the bkfst and lunch spot for the girls. Would really like a light porcelain tile floor. I've heard this is hard on the feet. We have solid hardwood, and it's held up great! We had a clear stain, and it was installed 13 yrs ago. Not sure about counter tops. Something very durable. We have butcherblock and I love it! Adding a wall double oven. I have an oven/microwave double. The microwave is also a small convection oven. I LOVE it! Here are some questions I have: Anyone used cabinets from Ikea ? Pros, cons? LOVE our ikea cabinets. You have to assemble them. Ours are a year old, and are white melamine. We are happy so far. I have a feeling that they are as good as the instaltion. What floors do you have? What would you recommend? Real hardwood, with a clear stain. If you drop something and it nicks, there's no problem. What counter tops do you have? Pros, cons? Same thing as the floor. Butcher block; chips and cuts don't show. What do you do with your trash and or recycles? garbage can under the sink that on a pull out thing. Please feel free to add any advice you might feel is helpful. Get one of those cool fridges that has the double doors so you can easily fit a large pizza box, salad tray, etc in it. Watch for sales. Hit your hardware stores weekly. We got our ovens and fridge both for half price. One was 'last year's model' and one had been bumped. the back right corner of the Fridge has a couple of scratches on it. It sits between 2 cabinets. I don't really care. Thanks so much for your time. I am looking forward to your responses! :) nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hsmomma75 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Hi, I am kinda new here, but chiming in because we just finished a major kitchen remodel. I too spent many, many hours at Gardenweb's kitchen forum. I think that is such a good and comprehensive resource that if you only educate yourself and bounce ideas off of them, you will still learn 10 times more than you needed you know and if you heed their advice, you will end up with a fabulous end result. I even chose some things based on their feedback that went against my orginal desires and am so very glad that I listened! If you need to keep your budget down, Ikea cabinets are a good choice, but I didn't use them so can't vouch for them. I just know the average kitchen cabinets are about $15K-$40K for a full kitchen (huge range depending on quality and brand), but I saw Ikea kitchen cabs going for $5K or so, which is a huge savings. We went with granite and I don't regret that choice one bit. It was the big splurge that hurt a lot to spring for but in the end, I am glad we did. We also chose real wood floors because we love them, but they do get dented and dinged and you have to wipe up any water immediately so you have to be OK with that. My main advice: plan every detail before you start. A lot can go wrong in a renovation and there will always be things you didn't bank on, but most of it can be avoided by good planning. Don't plan on picking out flooring (or whatever) as you go because it's sooooooo stressful that way and it really limits your choices to what goes with whatever you already have in place. Most importantly, it can be the most beautiful kitchen ever, but if the layout doesn't work well, it's all for naught. Make sure you have a good workflow. There are a lot of layout gurus on the gardenweb who will review your plans and give feedback if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 We remodeled our 1966 kitchen 4-5 years ago (not where we live now). We put in light hickory cabinets, pull-out bottom shelves, and hinges that don't allow a slam. All good. We installed a white porcelain sink, big mistake, chipped too easily; but the one we have now doesn't. Stainless steel is good. Our lighting didn't take high enough wattage, mistake. We did stone-look ceramic backsplash, loved it! Pergo flooring because we didn't want to tear up the older linoleum. It was okay. We now have ceramic floors and do not care for it because the house is built on a slab foundation and the floor is like ice. If you are on your feet in the kitchen for long periods of time you've either got to wear your shoes or have squishy mats under foot. It kills your feet, like walking on concrete. The great thing: ceramic floors are easy to clean. Not knowing the pitfalls of cork flooring, I would choose that.:001_smile::lol: Double wall ovens are great. We don't have it now, just a free standing range with flat surface cooktop. I don't like flat surface cooktops, but this one heats up quicker than our others did. Fluorescent light in this kitchen, I like it. White appliances, I said I'd never do that again, but have it and really like it better than the popular silver or black. I do like granite counter tops, have it now, I wouldn't choose black which we had before, we have a green which isn't too dark. A sink with a soap dispenser built in is nice. I would prefer a vent fan that goes to the outside, not recirculating. A quiet dishwasher is nice.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) We redid our kitchen last fall. I struggled with the island because it meant giving up the small table and eat-in kitchen area and living with just the large dining room table. But I did end up going for a large island with a bar overhang and stools, and we all love it. It gives me a nice large prep area (with outlets at both ends) and in a pinch, when we need the extra seating at large dinners, older kids can sit in barstools at the island. I would have loved a double wall oven, but that wasn't in our budget. But I did get a double oven that's the size of a normal oven. Instead of the drawer at the bottom, there is a larger oven on the bottom and a smaller one above it. I LOVE this. It fit the budget and gave me the functionality I wanted. I highly recommend looking in to this style. We tripled our storage space in our remodel, so losing the storage drawer on the bottom of the oven wasn't a big deal. I store all the pots and pans in a corner cabinet near the oven now. We got our cabits through Costco when they were having one of their 40% off sales (currently running one now, I believe). Saved us thousands! Edited January 26, 2011 by HLDoll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 You guys are great! You have given me so much to consider and some ideas I had not thought about. You have been so very helpful and I am thankful for your advice. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrie_irene Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 We just finished a kitchen remodel and here are a couple of things I love... Huge island. we made a space for two people to sit...which is nice for Hs'ing because sometimes we need space! =) Two trashcans. I have one on each side of the kitchen now. I didn't think I would use it, but....it is nice to not have to carry ickies across the kitchen. mine "hide" in my cabinets...they are the pull out type....and one of them holds two bins...one for trash and the other for recycling Granite. Duh. I have two kinds....the black shows EVERYTHING...and my more mottled looking one hides EVERYTHING! =) Have fun! It's so much work.....but oh so nice to have an open inviting place to cook, do school, do experiments and projects. Carrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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