Kitchen remodels...

geargrrl · Jan 21, 2013

I thought that after we finished up the addition that it might be years before DH agreed to get the kitchen done after his fallout with the contractor...
Surprise! We have to get a new dishwasher, and after looking at appliances all afternoon with me, DH is making lovely noises about getting going.

So, for those of you that have redone your kitchens, here's what I'm looking for input on
1. What do you wish you'd put in and didn't for whatever reason
2. What did you put in that seemed like a good idea at the time, but you don't love for whatever reason
3. Countertops - what do you have, do you love it/hate it/too much maintenance etc
4. biggest waste of $$
5. best $$ spent

I love to cook. I enjoy function and simplicity over decoration and frills. An example is that you'll never find fancy crown mouldings or rope mouldings, or fluted columns in any kitchen of mine as I believe they are dust collectors. I finally found a good use for Pinterest...

Cheers
GG

diymom · Jan 21, 2013

Agreed that fancy mouldings have no place in a kitchen. Neither do cabinets that don't touch the ceiling. Tops of cabinets are notorious dust collectors, and taller cabinets mean more places to stash the lesser used, but still wanted items.
I can't think of anything for 1 or 2. I guess I like my kitchen. For 3- we put in soapstone counters. A previous house kitchen remodel got corian, which I liked for the easy clean up, undermount integrated sink, and durability. Now on our third house and I love my soapstone (and it fits the character of our 1885 house better). We no longer have to oil it (only had to occasionally the first year), and I love that you can set a hot pot directly on it, no worries. Wine spill, tomato sauce- no worries. Cool surface for rolling out pastry. Will definitely do it again in the next house. For appliances, I always get a Miele dishwasher. They are the only one I've found with the silverware rack instead of a basket. Always bugged me when utensils got tangled.

vickie · Jan 21, 2013

I have no input, just :faint:

I can't believe all that you just got through and you are now planning another remodel! Hats off to you, GG!

diymom · Jan 21, 2013

Starting dinner, and I turned on the oven. Reminded me that although I really like my Thermador oven size (I can fit a commercial cookie sheet in it!) DH says that I have to look around more the next time we need a range- he hates that a loud fan comes on every time I use the oven, and won't turn off until the temp is down to 325F.

geargrrl · Jan 21, 2013

vickie said:
I have no input, just

I can't believe all that you just got through and you are now planning another remodel! Hats off to you, GG!

I really fricken hate that my outdated 1979 cheap contractor build kitchen is the only thing in this house we haven't updated. I mean, the cheapest exhasue hood in exisitense? Cheapest stainless sink, etc. We've update appliances as needed, and re did the formica a few years ago but it's just absolutely butt ugly.

SkiBam · Jan 21, 2013

Okay, I'm just throwing stuff out here in no particular order. Agree that cabinets should touch the ceiling. I've never had granite countertops, though everyone on the home-buying TV shows seems to want them. My daughter has them and I'm always afraid I'm going to break something if I put in down too hard. Personally, I'd spend the $$$ on other stuff. Over the years, I've done several kitchens. What I've liked is an island (lots of good work space), double sink, and not white cabinets (harder to keep clean). My daughter put in cork floor which is very nice – warm and stuff doesn't shatter like it does on ceramic. If you do go with ceramic, heated floor is lovely. A good pantry is essential to me. In one kitchen we had a great iron (I guess it was iron) hanging rack – for pots and pans, and anything really. It worked very well in that kitchen as there was space over a peninsula (but might not work everywhere I expect).

Swamp Dog · Jan 21, 2013

one of these days I'm going to do mine as well. My fridge is in a space that has 2 useless cabinets over it (can't reach it), and 1 next to it with about 1 - 2 feet of counter space. I want a pantry-type cabinet there. The small counter is a catch all for crap and the 1 cabinet above is not big enough to hold staples. I want one big, deep sink with some sort of fancy shmancy faucet. I have an electric oven stove combo and I want gas. Since we can't get natural gas here I would have to run a propane line to a tank outside. That will depend on the cost. I want either a drawer or cabinet big enough to organize all the different spices we have and use. And a center island. I like the big ones at John Boos (Harvest Table, near the bottom)

I would put a small microwave on the corner of the (new) counter top and have a nice hood over the stove top. I almost never use a microwave and wouldn't even miss it. So new cabinets, and counter tops, not sure exactly which ones. Ever since my husband was cross trained to fix appliances as well as TVs, he says we're not replacing the dishwasher. As if! But since he does work for Best Buy it will probably be something they carry or can order.

I have a lot of space to work with too. It's a big house and I'm puzzled as to why they used spaces the way they did when they built it. The upstairs bathroom is huge and has a tub, toilet, and small vanity. Could've put a big jetted tub AND a washer and dryer in there, saving me a trip downstairs to do laundry. But that's a different project I guess.

Oh, and my kitchen has wood floors. Who does that? the 1st floor is open concept, so I get that it's hard to find a place to stop, but it would define the space so much better if the kitchen was not wood. Never mind how much abuse it takes. You come in this house through the basement, up the stairs, into the kitchen.

Some day....

Jenny · Jan 21, 2013

I should have put the dishwasher on the other side of the sink, because it's too close to the corner. There's only one small cabinet between the dishwasher and the corner so you really have to stand small to be in between them to put the dishes away.

Oh, and the garbage disposal should be in the BIG side of our sink. I put it in the little side, as my girlfriend suggested, and worked for her, but I'd rather have it in the other side for dumping the water in after it's soaked the cooked on food off the pan. Now I have to carefully lift the water filled pan and try to move it over to the small side before I dump it.

And I totally forgot when we did our kitchen, but my SIL has her sink in the corner. I'd have done that had I remembered. Corner cabinets are kind of a pain, so this would eliminate that. And she had a window in the corner, too, so you get nice light and a view. However, they live in AZ and we never see them, so I really don't know if it's practical or not.

Tvan · Jan 21, 2013

Best thing I did in my remodel was have a narrow custom cabinet built between the fridge and stove. It is just the right height to hold two shelves of cutting boards and cookie sheets in a narrow, otherwise wasted space. I had an old trash compactor removed and replaced with three more drawers. I also LOVE: my wood floor with the red braided rug, having the microwave over the stove, the warm coral/orange color on the wall around my big, over-the-sink window, and my large double sink. I do wish I'd done granite countertops instead of laminate...but on the flip side...the less expensive counter top means more lift tickets.

Jenny · Jan 21, 2013

Oh, and I really like my big pots/pans drawers.

And the slide out shelves.

Tvan · Jan 21, 2013

Swamp Dog said:
Oh, and my kitchen has wood floors. Who does that?

Me, and I LOVE it!

Swamp Dog · Jan 21, 2013

Tvan said:
Me, and I LOVE it!

LOL! enjoy! mine is getting beat because it's such a high traffic area.

Tvan · Jan 21, 2013

Swamp Dog said:
LOL! enjoy! mine is getting beat because it's such a high traffic area.

My kitchen has no outside egress and we don't wear shoes in the house :smile:

diymom · Jan 21, 2013

I usually do Forbo Marmoleum (good ol' fashioned true linoleum) for flooring. Holds up well to kids, 2 dogs, what ever. And comes in fun colours!

Jilly · Jan 21, 2013

I have the corner sink, which gives me lots of counter top space. Also all large lower cabinets are drawers. Built in oven and stove top, so there is drawer under the oven and a cabinet with vertical dividers above the oven. Think cookie sheet etc storage. Over the corner sink is a corner cupboard with a lazy susan. Also the bottom one too. But that cupboard over the fridge - step stool territory. Keep the good crystal up there. They don't get used much. One of the narrower cupboards has a pull shelf for the toaster. It's handy. My mother actually designed this kitchen when she was alive. All we did was change the the counter top and the flooring when we moved in.

As for hardwood floor, the building code in the province of Ontario doesn't allow it in kitchens. So we have a high quality cushion floor.

The one thing I miss from the old house was the pantry cupboard I had. It was only 6" deep, 48" wide, on a wall, but could you pack that thing full!

geargrrl · Jan 21, 2013

OK gals I want to see pics, especially of the cupboard over the fridge that you put cookie sheets in, and Jilly's lower pullouts. Are those pullout shelves, or actual drawers? My sis has pull out shelves on all her lowers and they are really nice. I will take some photos so you can see what I'm working with, and thinking of.

Jilly · Jan 21, 2013

drawers....will do. Better go clean it up!!

diymom · Jan 21, 2013

Pull out shelves or drawers are great- less likely to lose things at the back. Don't overlook the nooks and crannies for storage. In kitchen number 1, there was a between stud space with a door on it, had been for a built in ironing board, but the board was long gone. Put in some shelves, it was perfect for spices. Also had the sink in the corner, like Jilly, to give me a longer uninterupted stretch of prep space. The kitchen was pretty small, so I put shallow drawers in the toe-kicks. Perfect for canned goods, trays, cookie sheets, etc. In my current kitchen I have metal strips mounted on the inside of some of the cupboards for magnetic tins I keep spices in.