Show me your remodeled kitchens--what would you do differently?

[LovinMyPeeps]

What I started with

What I ended up with

I have Kraftmaid ESF forested maple cabinets in a chestnut finish. A sensa granite counter top and an armstrong 30yr laminate floor in their ultra high end line called limestone biscuit.

What I learned... an undermount sink is serious asset if your a serious cook. Make sure you have a garbage disposal, even if you compost, I don't and I regret it. Make sure you get sealed granite if you go that route. "B"Lowes and Home Despot often have great deals when you buy all together like get your cabinets and get a free sink cabinet or get your countertops and get a free stainless sink. MAKE SURE THE GRANITE IS SEALED. My sensa is great it requires NO upkeep. I can dump red wine on it and walk away. The armstrong snap together flooring is CRAP. I installed it on brand new level subfloor with the recommend padding to the manufacturers specs and the edges/seams crack ALL THE TIME. I am not thrilled with the quality of the kraftsmaid cabinets for the price, for what I know now, I would have probably gone up a step and got better cabinetry. Get a vented hood, you'll be glad you did. Be wary of tile floors, drop one heavy pan or baking dish and you can split your tiles.

 

[Spookwriter]

I love those DYI shows, but they spend more money than I
want to.

Peeps, that was one rough kitchen you started with. Looks good
now.

 

[franklinchickens]

We bought a 1945 bungalow that had been 'remodeled'. It had mold in the crawl space so we had to gut the kitchen (it was collapsing at the floor joists) which in my opinion was no great loss. Luckily hubby was a contractor in a former life, and we got some great deals on things, plus I have a few contacts in the industry. We used quartz on the countertops - look for remnant pieces if you have a small space like ours. Stock cabinetry spiced up with a few custom bits from DH. Original floors in wood we found under 6 layers of linoleum - I like them - tile is too hard on my legs. I'm a big cook so it's designed to use every bit of available space. Our whole house is 1060 s/f so it has to be functional.
Before:

After (knocked out a wall):

If your kitchen is small - go all the way to the ceiling - use every bit of space. We did a lot of drawers, rounders in the corners, pullouts in the pantry, and put the garbage & recylcing bin in the cabinetry because we didn't have room for a garbage can. Since these pics, DH added a counter to ceiling shelf over where the mixer is with shelves for cookbooks & pottery.

 

[justbugged]

In a year or so we are going to have to concentrate on the Kitchen. I would love to bump out the whole side of the house about 4 feet.

I do know that a pull out cutting board is a nonnegotiable need in the kitchen. I think that if I can I will have two pull out boards. I also want a very deep sink. I like the one I have but the second bowl that has a garbage disposal and that side is just a little bit to narrow. So I might just go with a very large deep sink. I really want DH and his dad to build the cabinets. Papa is an incredible wood worker.

I also want concrete floors the next time. We have worn out vinyl, and destroyed several Laminate floors. It should be a lot easier to clean concrete, and I think that it would be had to damage.

 

[DuckLady]

Awesome remodels!!

We re-did our kitchen over the course of 8 months.

This is the kitchen when we moved in

This is after

View from the hall from the dining room on moving day.
(pardon the mess. We were exhausted)

After

We used a local interior designer, Jeanne's Interiors, who did a fabulous job with color and pulling it all together. I couldn't be happier!

We put in 18" floor tile that is vinyl mixed with marble for a stone feel, but slight flexibility. It was grouted like tile and is wonderful.

We used Formica laminate for the counters and a whimsical backsplash. Paint is a creamy vanilla with cinnamon brown as a contrast.

We replaced all appliances but the dishwasher plus the sink. We extended the counter that the stove is on to 30 inches deep. We have since added blinds to the window and the door leading to the balcony.

We also turned the closet in the hall from the dining room to the kitchen into a small desk area where I can look up recipes or whatever while on the main floor of the house.

Before

After

 

[redhen]

Beautiful kitchen, Terrie!
What kind if tiles did you use again? A vinyl and stone mix? Where would i find them? Lowes?
We need to re-do the floor in my kitchen..and i dont want to use ceramic tile again..(they crack too easy..)

 

[MeatKing]

I don't have any pics sorry. But to me the most important thing would be placement of the stove. Ours in a corner placement type, picture franklinchickens kitchen (beutiful by the way) Where the kitchen aid mixer is standing is our stove. And becuase it's a corner, there'a a cabinate on the back side to ceiling. I love the way it is placed here! I can cook, well entertaing guest, and not have my back to everyone. The placement is "feng shui" (Which I didn't do or know till a friend pointed it out) I would really do a little bit of reading up on "feng shui" Before placing anything like stove, fridge,water ect. I spend an aweful lot of time in the kitchen could never live now with my back to everyone while cooking. Just my humble idea. All the best, so exciting to re-do your kitchen!

 

[EweSheep]

The kitchen is about six years old. There is a window that we covered up right behind the sink. The cabinets were unfinished from Menards and I finished with Light Oak stain poly finish. I am quite happy with the gallery style type kitchen. Cost was about close to 2000 dollars. Brand new stove and refigerator.

Now with that Armstrong vinyl floor, after three years of heavy traffice and constant mopping, the finish is coming off and I hated it! Wished I had tile. Same for the bathroom which I love everything BUT the floor, again, finish is coming off. Piece of crap if you ask me! I am hoping when I get some extra money, I wanted to tear out the vinyl floor or leave it alone and get those tiles. Some said I can not put tile down on top of the vinyl, it has to be put down with concrete board before I can tile it. The problem is that there is a finished floor and it would be too cost prohibitive to go that route. I would have to raise the floors thru the rest of the house if that is the case. OR a big wide wooden baseboard that would connect both rooms when you walk in.

AND a backsplash is needed, getting water splashed behind the sink and paint is peeling. Same for bathroom!

 

[sred98]

Funny you posted this. DH and I have decided it's time to do our kitchen. We both cook and have a lot of family and neighbor functions, and a full house of kids and their friends. Not to mention the occasional chicken or cat that sneaks in the doggy door!

We moved into our house almost 2 years ago and they did a complete "remodel" while we were negotiating, that we asked them walk away from. Needless to say, they didn't. So, we are gutting the white tile with cream swirls on the floor of the dining room, keeping room, and kitchen. Even when it's spotless, it still looks filthy! We are ripping up the granite tile they put on the counters. They used a gray and black that looks like pepper was spilled everywhere. That wouldn't be so bad, except they have 1/4" grout line in it, and they used light grout. It is a pain! They painted the solid wood cabinets white. So, they took the big, country kitchen and made it gray, black, and white. With gray and black walls.

I ended up hiring a kitchen designer to come up with a layout for us. We meet with him Wednesday and I am nervous and excited! It was kindnof expensive, but we had figured that into our budget. He is knocking down the wall into the gameroom behind the kitchen and putting a bar and island there. It was isolated before, and I think I will like it. That makes the kitchen in the middle between the family and game room. I had never thought of that before, so that was already a bonus for hiring him!

I had already chosen my floors. I love the look of wood, but the laminate wasn't an option and neither was real wood. We found some tile that is in planks like wood. When it is laid, you have to really look, or be told that it's not wood. That is going in the kitchen. I am using slate in the dining.

The cabinets can't be salvaged, but I think we are going with stock hickory from Lowes, and then customizing with special features. We were going to go with bargain hardware, but after reading the comments here, I think we'll spend a little on good ones. The countertops, we like the look of stone or granite, but they have a lot of maintenance, so we are going with the crystal composite. Virtually indestructible and has several finishes that look like stone.

Our sink is a custom job that the designer created. It is our big splurge. If you google The Galley Sink you'll see it. DH fell in love with it a year ago and it helped speed up my remodel!

I know we'll have a prep area with a smaller sink. That way DH and I can cook together without getting in each other's way. That was one thing the designer asked. We had to fill put a family questionnaire on all of our cooking habits, entertaining, etc. It will definitely keep peace in the kitchen! LOL!

Our designer will also act as foreman and make sure things stay on track and within budget. DH and I plan to do a lot of the demolition ourselves and tilework, things like that. Whatever we can do to save money, yet not cut corners. We have a nice double oven we bough recently, so we will be buying a new fridge, and cooktop. We are thinking about the dishwashing drawers, rather than a new dishwasher. I saw someone posted pics with one, how does it compare?

Good luck with your remodel! Thanks so much for posting this! I'll be following this thread as well. I hope your remodel goes smoothly and you are thrilled with the results. We plan on staying in this house for a long time so we are excited. We've never remodeled for a house we're keeping. We've always remodeled to sell, so I am bouncing off the walls!

Keep us updated!

Shelly

 

[ChikeeMomma]

When we purchased our old house it had formica countertops. We changed the countertops to Swanstone (is like Corian, but is a little different). Swanstone looks more like a stone surface and you could set hot pots (up to 500 degrees) right on the countertop. Swanstone also has seamless sinks available in any of the colors (I had my colored countertop that continued on into my sink -- kinda neat and the sink was huge). I also had a custom island made (workmanship was beautiful, but very expensive). The Swanstone was better than the formica, but still not what I was looking for (I did make a small un-noticeable chip when a coffe cup hit it just right). I kept the same cupboards that came with the house -- they were Schrock brand, but considered contractor grade -- not that great of cabinets.

When we built our current house, I went with hickory cabinets and was very picky about the construction of the cabinet. I would have loved to have a whole kitchen full of custom cabinets, but that is lots of mula $$$$$. So I found some Kraft Maid cabinets through Home Depot -- they were the best grade before going to custom built cabinets. I plan on keeping these for a long time so I was willing to splurge. I am very happy with them. I also went for Silestone brand quartz countertops. Both my cabinets and my countertops were on sale. The cabinets were installed by our builder and the countertops were installed by a local certified contractor (through Home Depot). I have been the most happy with my quartz countertops (when comparing the other two types I've had). They are extremely durable (my aunt had granite put in her kitchen and the edge got bumped by a stool and it made a big chip in it!), non-porous (unlike granite), easy to keep (no special cleaning needed), can set hot items directly on them right from the stove or oven. And I was very pleasantly surprised to find that as long as you don't get into any crazy or specialty colors they are affordable -- I stuck with a neutral color (it has black, white, and tan quartz in it). I was told by the contractor who laid it and another cabinet contractor that they cannot touch the price that Home Depot has on the Silestone quartz countertops. I have tile flooring in my kitchen, which I think is so - so. I wanted a very durable tile and I have cracks in a couple of places (I dropped a heavy pot on a tile). I also would have went with a darker grout in the kitchen. Overall, I am happiest with the Kraft Maid cabinets and the Silestone countertop. Sorry no pics -- just my 2 cents.