Who is right re: kitchen remodel?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Since I've ripped out a cabinet to accommodate the new fridge (which should arrive tomorrow! :hurray:), dh and I have been having conversations about the kitchen. He thinks we should get new laminate countertops because there are some burned/ scratched parts on the countertops that are fairly obvious.

 

I say, we can't just get the counter tops replaced. We'd have to redo the whole kitchen. Practically all the surfaces in the kitchen are laminate. The cabinets, built in table, and island are laminate and they take up the whole kitchen. If we just replaced the tops, I think the rest of the laminate would look really junky. Not to mention the hideous racing stripes down two sets of cabinets that I'd have to replace just on principle.

 

Here are some examples of what I think would look extra junky if we just replaced the tops. The last is a pic of the whole kitchen so you can kind of see just how much laminate is in there. What were people thinking in the early 90's? :tongue_smilie:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Here's pic of the whole built in laminate table/shelf thing.

[Shannon in TN]

If you're going to do new surfaces, yes, you have to replace all the surfaces in the kitchen - the table top, the island top - not just what's on top of the cabinets. We recently updated the kitchen in our old house the "cheap" way by painting the cabinets and replacing the counters with granite-looking laminate. That made a HUGE difference, along with an updated vinyl floor made to look like ceramic tile. The change was amazing and I truly believe it's what helped sell our house.

 

Wait, I just realized I may not have understood what you mean by your kitchen being all laminate. Are the cabinets fronts/sides laminate, too? Maybe you could paint over them instead of replace them. It's time consuming, but a nice, clean coat of paint makes a big difference.

[DawnM]

Yeah, laminate is pretty much shot once it starts buckling and chipping. I don't care for laminate furniture or cabinets at all, so I do have a bias.

 

Dawn

[3browneyedboys4me]

I agree with you...wait until you can do the whole kitchen.

[Desert Strawberry]

I'd be more concerned with the geometric wallpaper.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I'd be more concerned with the geometric wallpaper.

 

:lol::lol::lol: That is one of my pet peeves, too! I just haven't had the time or energy to rip it out yet. Every room in this house has needed a total makeover. I've done the boys' room, the living room/dining room, basement (aka man cave) and sun room so far. We've done a LOT of work on the outside, too. It's a matter of having the $$$ to do things. My next project before the kitchen, though, is my room. It's really my scrapbooking room, but I've moved in there because of dh's snoring. We're having a German teenager coming to stay with us for 5 weeks this summer, so my project for June is to redo that room, so she can stay in there more comfortably. And then it will be nice for me, too!

[Parrothead]

Wow! Replace it all.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

awww...I was distracted by your cute boys...:001_smile:

 

Thanks. The backs of their heads are some of their nicest features! :D

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Wait, I just realized I may not have understood what you mean by your kitchen being all laminate. Are the cabinets fronts/sides laminate, too? Maybe you could paint over them instead of replace them. It's time consuming, but a nice, clean coat of paint makes a big difference.

 

Yes. The sides and fronts of all the cabinets and the island and the table thingy are all laminate. It's a laminate wonderland in there.

 

I like the layout and amount of great light I get in my kitchen. The rest of the stuff can go! :tongue_smilie:

Edited May 24, 2012 by thescrappyhomeschooler

[LaxMom]

Um... Penguins?

 

I would not replace the just laminate unless you are not planning to do the rest for a very long time. Paying twice for countertops just seems wrong to me.

 

So, actually, I guess I'm agreeing with you in the poll. :D

[Farrar]

Obviously replace it all if you can. If you can't, but can replace the laminate with whatever you'll put in down the line to replace the rest, then I'd go ahead and do it. We have two different kinds of countertops in our kitchen (purposefully, though) and it looks fine.

[justamouse]

Wait to replace it all.

[Chava_Raizel]

My kitchen is all laminate too and I despise it. I'm hoping in the next year or so that we can FINALLY redo our kitchen. I would definitely say wait until you can remodel the whole room rather than just the countertops.

[Ellie]

:blink:

 

Hmmm...I'd have to go back to the 80s for that.

 

Definitely wait until you can do all of the horizontal surfaces, but I'm still fuzzy about what the difference is between your dh's "just the countertops" and your "all." In addition to countertops and other horizontal surfaces, do you mean the cabinet boxes, doors, and drawer fronts?

 

And you know, even if you just added handles/knobs to the doors and drawer fronts, that would help, even if they aren't necessary to the functionality of the door/drawers.

Edited May 24, 2012 by Ellie

[Princess Peach]

Wait to replace it all.

 

This is what I'd do, too. I'd wait until I could completely redo the whole thing.

[kroe1]

This kitchen has some top notch features. The natural lighting from those windows is great as well as the gorgeous wood trim. And I love the shape of the kitchen with it's big, wide space.

 

If I was going for a remodel, I would wait and do everything I wanted at once. To save money, I would keep the existing cabinets and just replace the doors. I would put a butcher block top on the island to match the wood grain of the windows. And I would replace the counter tops with quartz. I can't really see your floors. And I can't tell what is to the side of the refrigerator. Is that where the new refrigerator will go? Or is that just a big open space with wall showing?

 

Enjoy. I love remodels.

 

:)

[desiraejb]

Yes, wait to do it all at once. We did new cabinet doors, counters, backsplash, flooring and light fixtures 3 years ago and it looks great. We initially started with counters in mind, but decided to go for it and spent about $15k on surfaces. It looks like a new kitchen. Well, I guess it is...:). But we saved a ton in leaving the cabinet boxes up and just doing the doors.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

:blink:

 

Hmmm...I'd have to go back to the 80s for that.

 

Definitely wait until you can do all of the horizontal surfaces, but I'm still fuzzy about what the difference is between your dh's "just the countertops" and your "all." In addition to countertops and other horizontal surfaces, do you mean the cabinet boxes, doors, and drawer fronts?

 

And you know, even if you just added handles/knobs to the doors and drawer fronts, that would help, even if they aren't necessary to the functionality of the door/drawers.

 

I know. The kitchen screams 1990 to me. It's pretty funny. EVERYTHING IS LAMINATE! The entire cabinet units are particle board covered in laminate. The sides, fronts, etc. The table leg and the sides of the island are all laminate, too.

 

 

This kitchen has some top notch features. The natural lighting from those windows is great as well as the gorgeous wood trim. And I love the shape of the kitchen with it's big, wide space.

 

If I was going for a remodel, I would wait and do everything I wanted at once. To save money, I would keep the existing cabinets and just replace the doors. I would put a butcher block top on the island to match the wood grain of the windows. And I would replace the counter tops with quartz. I can't really see your floors. And I can't tell what is to the side of the refrigerator. Is that where the new refrigerator will go? Or is that just a big open space with wall showing?

 

Enjoy. I love remodels.

 

:)

 

The lighting is wonderful, and I do find the layout to be very functional, and I cook quite a bit in there. The refrigerator was built in to a big laminate box. In the picture, it's just pulled out from the space because I was painting back there today where I had torn out the over-fridge cabinet. Right next to the fridge wall is the door into the garage.

[Ellie]

I know. The kitchen screams 1990 to me. It's pretty funny. EVERYTHING IS LAMINATE! The entire cabinet units are particle board covered in laminate. The sides, fronts, etc. The table leg and the sides of the island are all laminate, too.

:blink:

 

Ok, well, I wouldn't recover everything in laminate...only horizontal surfaces. So you could do those now. I'd look into replacing cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and wood veneer on all vertical surfaces. Lowe's and Home Desperate can do this.

 

So I'd probably say do the horizontal surfaces, with a nice laminate, you know, one that's textured and whatnot so that it looks like a granite or other stone. Then you can do the rest of the work later.

 

And I can tell you that as someone who was married with children (and homeschooling, even) in the 80s, it's definitely 80s and was old by the 90s. :D

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

And I can tell you that as someone who was married with children (and homeschooling, even) in the 80s, it's definitely 80s and was old by the 90s. :D

 

So, if the fridge was purchased when they did this kitchen remodel, (my house was built in 1949), which I'm assuming it was since it matches all the built in stuff, then it is somewhere in the vicinity of 20-30 years.

 

I'd love to have the money to redo everything. I just think if we just did the horizontal surfaces right now, the rest of it would look really shabby and ugly.