I am looking at kitchen makeovers and (funny)

[DawnM]

I somehow got caught down the rabbit hole of kitchen make overs.   We have one area to make over, but we have no plans to make over our entire kitchen.

Anyway, I saw one that caught my eye due to the color of the cabinets and the brick wall behind it.   I like the look of a sea salt cabinet with a white washed brick behind it as an accent wall.

Anyway, as I clicked on what I thought I might like, it says, "Kitchen mistakes we should all stay away from"

🤣🤣

[Ali in OR]

We are getting ready to redo the kitchen. As I look at Houzz for inspiration, usually when I find something I like it's the "before" picture. It took us forever to decide, no, we don't want to change to an all-white kitchen. We like natural wood. So we keep ending up with people's "before" pictures before they switched to all white.

[Catwoman]

I think a lot of the supposedly on-trend kitchen designs often end up out of style very quickly, particularly when those styles are picked up by every house flipper on the planet. I'm at the point where I can pretty much figure out which house listings are flips and which are being sold by longer-term residents.

I have been looking at houses lately and whenever I see one more all-gray house with a gray and white kitchen, I just move right along to the next listing.

[DawnM]

1 minute ago, Catwoman said:

I think a lot of the supposedly on-trend kitchen designs often end up out of style very quickly, particularly when those styles are picked up by every house flipper on the planet. I'm at the point where I can pretty much figure out which house listings are flips and which are being sold by longer-term residents.

I have been looking at houses lately and whenever I see one more all-gray house with a gray and white kitchen, I just move right along to the next listing.

Yup!   Our current kitchen was designed in the 80s and still has an 80s look to it.   It has that desk in the kitchen, which has got to go!   We plan to put in a large area pantry right there, and I have a feeling that it will be in a light wood rather than white.   I need some texture and warmth in there.   

[Catwoman]

3 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

We are getting ready to redo the kitchen. As I look at Houzz for inspiration, usually when I find something I like it's the "before" picture. It took us forever to decide, no, we don't want to change to an all-white kitchen. We like natural wood. So we keep ending up with people's "before" pictures before they switched to all white.

White kitchens are fine with me (not my favorite, but some of them are beautiful,) but so many of them look stark and cold... and if the cabinets aren't good quality, it's very obvious and the whole effect screams "cheap." 

 

[Catwoman]

Just now, DawnM said:

Yup!   Our current kitchen was designed in the 80s and still has an 80s look to it.   It has that desk in the kitchen, which has got to go!   We plan to put in a large area pantry right there, and I have a feeling that it will be in a light wood rather than white.   I need some texture and warmth in there.   

It's hard to decide what to choose, because not only are kitchen remodels expensive, they are also such an inconvenience that it's not like you will feel like re-doing it in a few years, so you want to really like what you pick!

[HomeAgain]

Youtube has old "Kitchens of the Future" type shows produced by Westinghouse and the like.  Some of them had brilliant ideas.  My favorite was the pull out shelf between drawers so you had a place to pull up a chair and work with longer things like peeling potatoes.

Others, not so much. 

It's the same now.  My kitchen of the future would have these in it:

-a slide out tray from a cabinet at counter level for mixer, toaster, etc.

-a drying rack built into the plate cabinet

-a sink area that has the rolling mats and such to work with items in the sink

-drop down shelving

-no open shelving.  All closed door, but glass is fine.

-no pot filler

[DawnM]

I like several of these:

https://onekindesign.com/2019/08/23/rustic-kitchen-design-ideas/

[katilac]

16 minutes ago, DawnM said:

Yup!   Our current kitchen was designed in the 80s and still has an 80s look to it.  It has that desk in the kitchen, which has got to go!    

I would love to have a desk in my kitchen! 😄

[Faith-manor]

33 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I think a lot of the supposedly on-trend kitchen designs often end up out of style very quickly, particularly when those styles are picked up by every house flipper on the planet. I'm at the point where I can pretty much figure out which house listings are flips and which are being sold by longer-term residents.

I have been looking at houses lately and whenever I see one more all-gray house with a gray and white kitchen, I just move right along to the next listing.

This is what I think. Do what you like.

My next kitchen will be hickory cabinets on the bottom stained dark walnut, and hickory cabinets on top that are whitewashed with cream colored paint, and a few that have glass panel doors. Mark is going to make them. I want faux tin plate backsplash in white/cream. I love the grain pattern and look of hickory, but do not want the kitchen too dark thus mixing stain/paint. It probably will be seen as not in style and a ridiculous choices, but that is fine with me. I don't care about trends.

Everything is so boring these days. Greige is the trend, and the houses look lifeless and monochromatic. I cannot love like that. I need color and warmth.

[fairfarmhand]

2 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

.

Everything is so boring these days. Greige is the trend, and the houses look lifeless and monochromatic. I cannot love like that. I need color and warmth.

I need the same. Color! Light! Interesting stuff! 
your kitchen sounds wonderful.

my kitchen has medium brown stained oak and I’ve always loved it even tho it all looks like before pictures on the home remodeling sites. 

[Carrie12345]

I *love* my monochromatic house. It soothes my adhd. Same with my monochromatic car.

I really enjoy looking at more creative spaces, I just don’t want to live in them, lol. 

[popmom]

1 hour ago, Carrie12345 said:

I *love* my monochromatic house. It soothes my adhd. Same with my monochromatic car.

I really enjoy looking at more creative spaces, I just don’t want to live in them, lol. 

This is exactly how I feel! 
 

I mean my bedroom is a pale blue, and my dining room is Van Courtland blue, but those rooms flow with the greige nicely. I was seriously considering painting my living room dark green (and posted about it here), but I haven’t been brave enough to do it yet. 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

I need the same. Color! Light! Interesting stuff! 
your kitchen sounds wonderful.

my kitchen has medium brown stained oak and I’ve always loved it even tho it all looks like before pictures on the home remodeling sites. 

Someday. It isn't the kitchen I have now. Future kitchen. Mark and I won't be retiring in this current house. We will be moving when he retires in 4 years.

[KungFuPanda]

My kitchen is original to my early 70s house. While I’ll probably swap out the countertop, I want to keep the cabinets. They’re solid wood, not plywood or particleboard.  I’m sure they were builder grade at the time but they just seem to be built better than all of the stuff at box stores and ikea. I’m certainly not shelling out for a cabinet maker. 
 

My cabinets are brown, and when I look for inspiration photos I only get before photos and those photos are 25 years newer than my kitchen 🤣 I put butcher block on my island and I love everything about it. I love the price, the look, how it’s not cold when I rest my elbows on it, that it’s useful and easy to repair, and that I did it myself. 
 

My kitchen will never be Pinterest worthy. I keep too many things out for efficiency. I love all my tools and gadgets and “small appliance store” just isn’t a great design choice. Still, the counter that spans the dishwasher-sink-stove wall could use updating and finding photo inspiration is hard. 

[Faith-manor]

I would like to say that without the robot maid from The Jetson's and the Replicator from Star Trek ALL kitchens fall short. All of them. No exceptions. Not even Gordon Ramsey's kitchen is anything better than just mildly disappointing! 

[popmom]

40 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

My kitchen is original to my early 70s house. While I’ll probably swap out the countertop, I want to keep the cabinets. They’re solid wood, not plywood or particleboard.  I’m sure they were builder grade at the time but they just seem to be built better than all of the stuff at box stores and ikea. I’m certainly not shelling out for a cabinet maker. 
 

My cabinets are brown, and when I look for inspiration photos I only get before photos and those photos are 25 years newer than my kitchen 🤣 I put butcher block on my island and I love everything about it. I love the price, the look, how it’s not cold when I rest my elbows on it, that it’s useful and easy to repair, and that I did it myself. 
 

My kitchen will never be Pinterest worthy. I keep too many things out for efficiency. I love all my tools and gadgets and “small appliance store” just isn’t a great design choice. Still, the counter that spans the dishwasher-sink-stove wall could use updating and finding photo inspiration is hard. 

just fyi to file away... We have found that custom cabinets are often no more expensive and often less expensive than cabinets from the big box stores. I would advise anyone who does want to replace cabinets to give your local cabinet makers an opportunity to bid the project. They often have excellent design experience as well. When we built a house years ago, our cabinet builder helped us reconfigure the blueprint for our kitchen. We didn't like the layout from the plans we got from the architect. He added lots of nice features and thought of things we wouldn't have. All for less than the highest quality cabinets (which are only semi-custom) available at the time from Home Depot, etc. 

But I 100% would keep original cabinets if you can! I love that. 

[Ottakee]

9 hours ago, katilac said:

I would love to have a desk in my kitchen! 😄

I agree.  My last house had one and I loved it….and yes it was early 90s honey oak.   I miss that desk with cabinets above it.  
 

My current house as the same honey oak cabinets and eventually they will come back in style.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Ottakee said:

I agree.  My last house had one and I loved it….and yes it was early 90s honey oak.   I miss that desk with cabinets above it.  
 

My current house as the same honey oak cabinets and eventually they will come back in style.

Oak cabinets are getting very popular again. Sometimes all it takes to make older cabinets look more current is changing the drawer and door pulls; it can make a huge difference!

[Halftime Hope]

One of my kids has a large two-story house they bought in greater San Diego. It was built in the mid-80s, in a very nice suburban neighborhood, and they have slowly been renovating a number of the features in the house that are less transitional, so it has a cleaner look. The kitchen had been re-done at some point, but they are replacing the granite and repainting the good-enough-to-keep cherry cabinets. She's going with white-marbleized quartz and white cabinets. Everything in the house is very light colored, with a light gray carpet. Oy, that's going to be a lot of white. ??

[Pam in CT]

On 5/11/2024 at 10:35 AM, katilac said:

I would love to have a desk in my kitchen! 😄

I DREAM of one day being able to use the kitchen table without first... clearing off the kitchen table. It's been 32 years and counting.

[Frances]

On 5/11/2024 at 7:14 AM, Catwoman said:

I think a lot of the supposedly on-trend kitchen designs often end up out of style very quickly, particularly when those styles are picked up by every house flipper on the planet. I'm at the point where I can pretty much figure out which house listings are flips and which are being sold by longer-term residents.

I have been looking at houses lately and whenever I see one more all-gray house with a gray and white kitchen, I just move right along to the next listing.

We bought our house 25 years ago and before that it was probably last remodeled in the 1950s (I once was at a play that took place in the 1950s and had an almost identical kitchen to ours for the set). Anyway, the cabinets were all white (although the oil based paint had yellowed over time). So I don’t think painted white cabinets are anything new, but the combo with gray probably is. It seems like both white and unpainted wood cabinets have been around long enough to both be classics. Besides preference for wood vs painted, I think people also consider the amount of natural and artificial light in their kitchen. Painted white cabinets can really help to lighten up an otherwise dark kitchen. But I haven’t seen red Formica countertops like we used to have come back in style yet and I don’t expect too! 😜

I will say that I probably have an unnaturally strong negative visceral reaction to white painted brick after living with our very ugly white painted brick LR fireplace for so many years before our remodel. There are probably places where painted or whitewashed brick would look good, but personally I could never go there after hating that fireplace for so many years.

Edited May 12 by Frances

[busymama7]

On 5/11/2024 at 7:22 AM, HomeAgain said:

Youtube has old "Kitchens of the Future" type shows produced by Westinghouse and the like.  Some of them had brilliant ideas.  My favorite was the pull out shelf between drawers so you had a place to pull up a chair and work with longer things like peeling potatoes.

Others, not so much. 

It's the same now.  My kitchen of the future would have these in it:

-a slide out tray from a cabinet at counter level for mixer, toaster, etc.

-a drying rack built into the plate cabinet

-a sink area that has the rolling mats and such to work with items in the sink

-drop down shelving

-no open shelving.  All closed door, but glass is fine.

-no pot filler

Wait why no pot filler? We are about to go our kitchen and that is totally on the list 

[HomeAgain]

4 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

Wait why no pot filler? We are about to go our kitchen and that is totally on the list 

It's an extra expense with limited capabilities and gain.  It takes me nothing to go the 4 steps from the sink to the stove with a pot, and I still have to go back that way to empty it, so a pot filler only saves me one trip with a heavy item, possibly.  And then because it's above the range, it's an extra item to clean and wipe down at the end of the night or risk buildup of gunk.  I'm not interested in the extra cleaning. 

[busymama7]

5 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

It's an extra expense with limited capabilities and gain.  It takes me nothing to go the 4 steps from the sink to the stove with a pot, and I still have to go back that way to empty it, so a pot filler only saves me one trip with a heavy item, possibly.  And then because it's above the range, it's an extra item to clean and wipe down at the end of the night or risk buildup of gunk.  I'm not interested in the extra cleaning. 

Interesting. Yes I have thought of the still needing to empty it but I have a lot of weak upper arm issues due to autoimmune disease and even limiting the one trip will be helpful for me.  Plus there are times like hot chocolate water or oatmeal when the pot isn't getting drained after like with pasta.  

[BakersDozen]

8 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

It's an extra expense with limited capabilities and gain.  It takes me nothing to go the 4 steps from the sink to the stove with a pot, and I still have to go back that way to empty it, so a pot filler only saves me one trip with a heavy item, possibly.  And then because it's above the range, it's an extra item to clean and wipe down at the end of the night or risk buildup of gunk.  I'm not interested in the extra cleaning. 

We just stayed for 4 days in an Air BnB which had a pot filler. I'd never used one before and had wondered if it was worth the hype. Nope. It was just another thing to wipe down, even if it wasn't actually used, because of steam and splatters from stove top cooking.

[BakersDozen]

This is my dream kitchen as far as colors and such: white with rich warm wood, bright, different finishes (although I'm not loving the brass light). No open shelving, though - too much dust. 🙂 

I'll never have this kitchen or anything close to it, but I can sigh over the dream.

Edited May 13 by BakersDozen

[HomeAgain]

10 hours ago, busymama7 said:

Interesting. Yes I have thought of the still needing to empty it but I have a lot of weak upper arm issues due to autoimmune disease and even limiting the one trip will be helpful for me.  Plus there are times like hot chocolate water or oatmeal when the pot isn't getting drained after like with pasta.  

I think in your case it makes sense. It would be a benefit to you in ways it would not for me.

[DawnM]

On 5/11/2024 at 10:35 AM, katilac said:

I would love to have a desk in my kitchen! 😄

Come and get it!   We really need a pantry cabinet in that space.   

Edited May 13 by DawnM

[mmasc]

This is my dream kitchen color scheme. I like that it seems warm, while still being bright and simple. 

Edited May 13 by mmasc
Typos

[Scarlett]

If I was able to build a house I have no idea what I would make my kitchen.  I do gravitate toward white so that is probably what I would do.  
My boss is building his 11 years old daughter a cottage on his property and he wants her to go old world classic dark wood cabinets in her kitchen.  She is a light and bright creative young girl and she doesn’t want that.  I told him her taste is different than his.  He said, ‘well, do I let an 11 year old make a decision that she will have to live with for years to come’.. Um, yes.  She should have what speaks to her world with in reason.  

Edited May 14 by Scarlett

[Faith-manor]

23 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

One of my kids has a large two-story house they bought in greater San Diego. It was built in the mid-80s, in a very nice suburban neighborhood, and they have slowly been renovating a number of the features in the house that are less transitional, so it has a cleaner look. The kitchen had been re-done at some point, but they are replacing the granite and repainting the good-enough-to-keep cherry cabinets. She's going with white-marbleized quartz and white cabinets. Everything in the house is very light colored, with a light gray carpet. Oy, that's going to be a lot of white. ??

I would not want to keep quite so much white looking white. Too much work for me with a husband who splashes stuff all over. Whatever I have for flooring must HIDE the husband antics!

I know someone with white carpet in their living room, and it is always pristine. However, I am not capable of that. No talent for the housekeeping thing. White flooring would make me fall into a catatonic state. Think Goldie Hawn in "Overboard" sitting in the rain barrel going, "Buh buh buh buh buh buh buh" while staring into the void. 🤪

[iamonlyone]

8 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

This is my dream kitchen as far as colors and such: white with rich warm wood, bright, different finishes (although I'm not loving the brass light). No open shelving, though - too much dust. 🙂 

I'll never have this kitchen or anything close to it, but I can sigh over the dream.

So pretty! I love the double sinks overlooking the yard. Do you think there really are two dishwashers in this kitchen (is this a thing?), or is this an AI oops?

[Acadie]

5 minutes ago, iamonlyone said:

So pretty! I love the double sinks overlooking the yard. Do you think there really are two dishwashers in this kitchen (is this a thing?), or is this an AI oops?

Maybe a kosher kitchen? 

[popmom]

5 hours ago, DawnM said:

Come and get it!   We really need a pantry cabinet in that space.   

I’m with you. I have a desk, and it is a junk collector. It has a hutch above with glass doors—which is useful. I already have a walk in pantry, but I’d still the prefer the desk to be cabinets or maybe a built in china cabinet with deep drawers under the hutch. That would be more useful. 

[DawnM]

3 minutes ago, popmom said:

I’m with you. I have a desk, and it is a junk collector. It has a hutch above with glass doors—which is useful. I already have a walk in pantry, but I’d still the prefer the desk to be cabinets or maybe a built in china cabinet with deep drawers under the hutch. That would be more useful. 

We plan to rip it out completely and we are debating between upper and lower cabinets that match with a countertop, or a floor to almost ceiling pantry/storage.

DH wants the countertop and I want the extra storage.   

We have a pantry but it is small closet sized in this house and I need more, and would l like a place to store all those items I don't use all the time like party platters, crock pots, paper goods, pans we don't need much, etc....

[Catwoman]

3 hours ago, iamonlyone said:

So pretty! I love the double sinks overlooking the yard. Do you think there really are two dishwashers in this kitchen (is this a thing?), or is this an AI oops?

Two dishwashers in the kitchen is a pretty common thing where I live. It's a very nice convenience to have!

[QueenCat]

I would love to have two dishwashers. With one that has a drawer that can handle stemmed glassware.

[busymama7]

10 hours ago, mmasc said:

This is my dream kitchen color scheme. I like that it seems warm, while still being bright and simple. 

We are starting a kitchen remodel and this is one of my inspiration kitchens.  Ours will look very similar to this but the flooring is different. 

[mmasc]

What flooring are you going with? @busymama7

[busymama7]

29 minutes ago, mmasc said:

What flooring are you going with? @busymama7

We've already installed vinyl plank in the whole house in a darker wood shade.  It is actually hard to keep clean. I went from natural maple in our old house which also showed everything to the other extreme 🤦‍♀️🤔😂. But I love the look so there is that 🤷‍♀️

[Scarlett]

4 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Two dishwashers in the kitchen is a pretty common thing where I live. It's a very nice convenience to have!

Several of my friends have 2 dishwashers and two dryers. Really nice with a big family . 

[Arcadia]

On 5/12/2024 at 9:46 AM, Halftime Hope said:

She's going with white-marbleized quartz and white cabinets. Everything in the house is very light colored, with a light gray carpet. Oy, that's going to be a lot of white. ??

My home is all white for kitchen and mostly white for the living room. I like it that way especially when the skies are downcast or sunsets are early. I like my living spaces bright so my kitchen is very brightly lighted with six bright white lightbulbs. I don’t mind darker colored furniture when I lived near the equator and get blazing sunshine all day to the extent that clothes can be line dried. The only negative about white is dirt shows up more obviously. 

[iamonlyone]

6 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Two dishwashers in the kitchen is a pretty common thing where I live. It's a very nice convenience to have!

Huh! I have learned something new!

[BakersDozen]

On 5/13/2024 at 9:06 AM, iamonlyone said:

So pretty! I love the double sinks overlooking the yard. Do you think there really are two dishwashers in this kitchen (is this a thing?), or is this an AI oops?

I'm not sure - I wouldn't want 2 dishwashers and there are days when we run ours 2x/day.

[Tina]

On 5/11/2024 at 12:48 PM, popmom said:

just fyi to file away... We have found that custom cabinets are often no more expensive and often less expensive than cabinets from the big box stores. I would advise anyone who does want to replace cabinets to give your local cabinet makers an opportunity to bid the project. They often have excellent design experience as well. When we built a house years ago, our cabinet builder helped us reconfigure the blueprint for our kitchen. We didn't like the layout from the plans we got from the architect. He added lots of nice features and thought of things we wouldn't have. All for less than the highest quality cabinets (which are only semi-custom) available at the time from Home Depot, etc. 

But I 100% would keep original cabinets if you can! I love that. 

This.  Ours ended up cheaper and most of the cabinets were wider than the big box guys, and made to fill the wall, so there wasn't wasted space on the ends of the cabinets.  And, as a short person, my main counter tops are a bit lower so they are comfortable for me.  Love the pull out cutting boards, and I have a pull down cookbook holder

And dh would strangle me if I suggested painting the oak cabinets.  We have matching floor to ceiling cabinets in the entry, and dh thought I would want a matching vanity in the new bathroom, but I politely declined and went deep gray in there.  😶

 

Edited May 15 by Tina