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

[Rare Feathers Farm]

We're in the middle of a massive house remodel...and I need ideas....

Where did you get your cabinets?

What kind of counter tops do you have?

Tile or wood floors?

What would you change about it?

We're doing all of the work ourselves and have a very tight budget...so tight that it will probably be a year or two before we can start on the kitchen anyway...we almost have the laundry room and guest bathroom done, though!

 

[Judy]

I'm involved in the second of two major projects in 3 years. In general, the less expensive materials are quite adequate -- often not the cheapest, as in flooring, but a step or two up. Get several quotes and opinions on floors, cabinets, -- anything you will contract. Not just for a good picture of prices but for what they tell you about materials available. Cabinets vary greatly in price and are not cheap; both times we got the best deal from a local cabinet maker, over the big box stores (Home Depot, etc.) Stay with easy maintenance floors and counter tops. Word of mouth or the bulletin board at the local hardware store are good sources.

Stay with easy maintenance finishes for countertops and floors. Be sure the kitchen counters have the backsplash continuous with the countertop, or you have a pain in the neck daily cleaning chore. We used some pretty black floor tiles for the first kitchen counter -- it was awful to try to keep it neat looking. The floor tiles were on sale and a good idea except for the shiny surface. I would never get wood floors; even with modern finishes they are far from easy to maintain. Not ho0w I want to spend my days, and I grew up on oak floors. A local carpet outlet turned out to be a good source for both carpets and linoleum/vinyl flooring. Ceramic tile is very costly and we never found anyone that installed it decently; my son even worked in this business for a while and found it it is very tricky and you really need to have a talent for it. No ceramic tile the second time around.

Are you doing the outside? You don't want concrete siding -- takes an incredible amount of caulking and still is not bugproof -- vinyl is the most economical way to get a decent finish -- again, don't get the cheapest but a step or two up is fine. Roof? Metal, hands down. Windows and doors? Lowe's or Home Depot. Got the bathroom vanity/cabinet at Home Depot the first time, from the cabinet builder the second time. On kitchen drawers, watch out for inexpensive drawer hardware, it will wear out fast. At least make sure you can replace it if needed.

Closeouts are your friend. Our local dollar store carries closeout flooring, very reasonable, believe it or not.

 

[welasharon]

No upper cabinets this time! I am short and they were a waste of space. I can put pictures and art on my walls now. Love it! I also bought a butcher block counter to go with a granite one and I really like it a lot.
sharon

 

[FarmerJamie]

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We're lucky, Kraftmaid HQ is 20 minutes north of us. There are discount weekends where orders are placed (and deposit paid), but then cancelled after the cabinets are built. Hit-or-miss, and takes some luck.

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DW wants the manufactured type that simulates granite.

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DW wants tile (we have dogs)

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Focus on the sink-frig-stove triangle. Ours is too large and spread out. She wants to put an stove island in closer to the sink and put a full pantry where the stove is now.

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Good luck!

 

[Judy]

The butcher block would be great, a built in cutting board, but no granite for me. Pretty, but it stains and marks. I'll take the artificial stuff.

Be sure the kitchen faucet is tall and kitchen sink deep. No fancy faucets but do get a sink with a sprayer hole; they are impossible to cut yourself.

 

[downstownlady]

Tile backsplash all the way up to the window sill for me...and don't skimp on the cabinetry...I love my kitchen except for the crummy cabinets and the tile not going all the way up to the window sill.

 

[Imp]

Rare...

I did my kitchen a few years ago. Spent a little money on the hickory cabinets and sink, but found I was happy with formica counters (I originally wanted stone, but quickly changed my mind when I discovered that they stain, mark and crack) , and went with the linoleum flooring, for ease of cleaning. I can't easily take pictures cause it is very narrow. The only trouble I had was originally they sent me the farm sink with a 1 1/2 inch drain, rather than the 4 inch. When I realised the error they tried to charge me a 25% restocking fee. (Hmmm, they order a lab sink rather than a kitchen sink, and I gotta pay. Lowes ate the sink.) I'm still pleased with how it turned out. Now only to stop putting more stuff in it. I started out wanting unfinished beadboard hickory cabinets, but at the last minute changed them to a finish. I thought I couldn't live with unfinished for a long time. I also bought a couple extra sheets of the beadboard and used it on the wall behind the sink and covered the dishwasher.
Sorry not a great picture:

Imp

 

[dawg53]

We did a kitchen and bath remodel last year. We went high end in both bathrooms but not the kitchen. I like to cook and always seem to make a big mess....so nothing too fancy in the kitchen. We went with lighter in color cabinets, countertops and ceramic flooring. Also new double insulated kitchen windows with screens. A new range hood was installed along with new updated lighting fixtures. A new larger sink with upgraded faucets were added too. Tile was installed on the walls going around/behind the oven, microwave and sink areas. I painted the kitchen including the pantry after all the old stuff was removed....including the vinyl flooring. I'm a pretty good painter too lol. The bathrooms were completely overhauled except for the combo tubs/showers. New water saver toilets replaced the original toilets as they were heavily stained from the hard well water we have. I'm still amazed that the new toilets dont need to be "doubled flushed." In one bathroom my wife wanted a small cabinet with a big bowl (vessel)...no problem. It is made a real wood and round in shape. There's a big bowl on top with a single tall faucet with one handle that swivels for cold or hot water...really cool. Mine is a high end real wood cabinet, made bigger than the original with upgraded oiled faucets. All the bathtub fixtures are high end upgrades and dont get build up or lime deposits from the well water. The walls were tiled over durarock to the ceiling in the shower/tub enclosures. I went with the standard white 4" tile, my wife liked the 4" light brown wall tile. The vinyl flooring was removed in both bathrooms and a dark slate ceramic tile was installed in one bathroom and beige color ceramic tile was installed in the other bathroom. New high end lighting fixtures replaced the old ones. I painted both bathrooms. Wall tile was was placed on the wall on one side and behind the bathroom sinks as backsplash. There are 2 bedrooms that face the north side of the house. The old windows were taken out and replaced with double pane windows with screens. Extra insulation was added in the walls prior to the new windows being installed. There were some parts of the eves that needed replacing, the wood was starting to rot. I primed and painted the new wood. The exterior of the house was pressure washed and painted with Lowe's best exterior paint 3 days later. We have a brick veneer house, it's pretty easy to paint out. All cracks and seams were caulked prior to painting. My well house was crumbling and a new one was built with easier access to the pump and holding tank. I painted it out myself. The final thing to be done was to replace rotten wood going around the sides of my 8'x16' shed and replacing the large entrance doors. Pressure treated wood was used to replace the rotten wood on the shed, it was wood going vertically about 4 inches off the ground up 2.5 feet that was replaced. New pressure treated entrance doors replaced the old ones. Yep, I primed and repainted the whole shed, caulking as needed. Nothing else needs to be done. Whew!

 

[Spookwriter]

Deep sink was a must last time around. Good plumbing, wrapped
all the pipes. High end faucet. Faucet matches overhead lighting.

Bought cabinet faces, built my own cabinets. Good hardware is
a must. As was under counter lighting.

Had the counter made. Laminate, bull edge with backspash one piece.
Remember to order at least one tube of caulking to match. Make sure
you get the measurements right.

When I built, I put roof flashing behind all my inside drywall. Never a mouse
problem.

Built for the largest fridge I could get.

That budget wood flooring worked for us. Daughter and a dog.

The wall on the stove side is covered in those 2 foot by 2 foot metal panels.
Easy to wipe clean.

I wanted glass panels on the doors. She didn't. Maybe next time. Cherry color.

Kitchen laid out for my left handed wife.

Counters are built up an extra 1 1/2 inch for my wife height. Done by ordering
the new counter top an additional inch thick over standard, and my toe kick is
the other 1/2. Floor raised under stove. You wouldn't notice unless you were
looking for it.

Single most expensive item was the new appliances, followed by the countertop.
More time than money in the cabinets. Display rack over top of upper cabinets.

 

[SallyF]

Biggest mistake in ours was the dishwasher at the end of the counters, right next to a painted wall. Spend all my time washing that wall after I load the dishwasher. Best thing we did was a dark Formica countertop, one of the step-up ones made to look like stone. NOTHING shows on that countertop. My last kitchen had white Formica and I spent all my time cleaning it. Now I can skip the counter, but I have to wash the wall!