Kitchen remodels...

[pinto]

We did an obnoxiously large remodel a few years ago. I love almost all of it ... I will link a photobucket album. We actually redid most of the main floor of the house ... the kitchen is now located in what used to be the family room. We moved walls, rooms, etc.

https://s922.beta.photobucket.com/user/segbrownkitchen/library/

Some of my favorite things:

• Lots of large drawers (eg, my dishes are in a drawer)
• The stainless shelf above the range ... there are warming lights above it, so it is a warming shelf, but it also serves as nice counter space/prep space/storage/etc. I love it.
• Two dishwashers (we still have kids at home, so we have a lot of dishes)
• Very compact cooking space, even though the kitchen itself is large: fridge, sink, and range all together ... think think think about your traffic patterns! Don't mix prep and cleanup if you can help it. Cook and clean up a pretend meal when you do your layout, make sure it flows
• My big window across from the island (it was already there, but we oriented the prep sink so I could see out)

 

[Christy]

What we got and still love:
*The big, deep sink. I don't know how people wash stockpots and cookies sheets in anything smaller.
*The marmoleum floor. Soft and doesn't show dirt easily. I had a slate floor in my last house and ouch, we ended up having to buy those ugly but comfortable pads like they have in restaurant kitchens.
*An oven with convection. You can roast a chicken in no time.
*A four burner stove. I briefly got carried away thinking I needed a 5 or 6 burner but who can manage all of those burners at once? I've had all 4 going only a couple times and that's a big enough hassle.
*A faucet with the spout that pulls out of the fixture
*A pantry cabinet with pull out shelves
*A large corner cabinet with lazy susan type shelving.
*A narrow cabinet for cookie sheets and other narrow items
*Two open shelves (okay, basically a cabinet without a door) for my most used cookbooks.
*Freezer on the bottom fridge. I am most often in the fridge, so it makes more sense to stoop down for the freezer.

And my very favorite thing, a built-in banquette in the corner, under the south facing bay window. We had to get custom cushions made which is a much bigger hassle than it sounds, but I'd always wanted one and it's my spot in the house. Oh and it has drawers underneath for storage, which in our little cottage is necessary.

Mixed feelings:
*Soapstone counters. They look(ed) beautiful and appropriate for our 1908 cottage but they scratch and ding so easily. Before we got them I knew people that had them that swore they didn't scratch and the only thing I can think is that they don't cook and never really use them. We cook all the time and have really beat these counters up. But I don't know what else I'd get next time. Granite is so McMansion, concrete stains, slate seems nice but I'm not sure if it holds up...The soapstone bar we put in between the kitchen and living area still looks great, because it hasn't had to deal with heavy pots and such.

What we didn't get that I regret:
* Cabinets that reach the ceiling. That would have meant a second row of smaller cabinets in our high-ceiling'ed kitchen. It gets disgusting on top of our cabinets and I hate that. Our designer convinced me they wouldn't look right in our old house with those ceilings, and that I wouldn't be able to reach them anyway without standing on the counter. Be that as it may, I hate the grime so much it might have been worth it.

What I'm really glad I didn't end up spending money on, though I was tempted:
*High end appliances. When I bought mid-range our appliance salesman admitted to me that repair calls on their Sub-Zero products basically keep their repair side in business. I read a Consumer Reports article that said all of the tested dishwashers did a great job cleaning, so I bought one of the least expensive SS (outside) ones and it's been great. I already mentioned the 4 burner stove. I also very nearly got sucked in to a double oven but who needs it?

The best piece of advice I got was to get the kitchen I needed 363 days a year. Don't get the appliances or what not that would come in handy on Thanksgiving and that once in a blue moon party we throw.

 

[pinto]

Counter materials are tough. We ended up with soapstone and marble, and people will try to talk you out of them, which is fine ... they will acquire "patina," yes. (I like patina, so I'm fine with it.) If you want pristine, get granite.

But yeah, I don't really like granite, definitely didn't want tile, quartz didn't thrill me, concrete was tempting, wood is gorgeous but scary in this climate (we did put it in the basement bar, and it is gorgeous, but that isn't heavily used, and it's back in a corner). I like the soapstone, and don't even oil it any more -- it's a nice gray, turning darker all the time. You can sand out the dings, but I am trying to get it worn in sooner than later.

There are definitely harder varieties of soapstone, too -- some really aren't as soft as others. That's the "problem" with natural materials, you never quite know.

--Sidenote: When looking for basement bar counter material, I found a slab of Colorado Yule marble, the quarry is near Aspen (in Marble, CO, of course). It was beautiful, and I loved the idea of having a local stone in the house. Problem is, it's expensive to start with (quarrying at 9500 ft altitude, say no more), and besides, they have to ship it to Canada! to the fabricator, then ship it back. Uh, whatever. So much for local. It was waaaaay out of our price range after all that.--

 

[pinto]

As for high-end appliances, agreed ... although we do have them. Haven't had any trouble yet. But we didn't really plan on getting those ... the range has a good story behind it. Our designer had another client who had bought it; it was in storage waiting to be installed in their (much fancier) new kitchen. While it was in storage, a mouse nested in one of the ovens. Well, this freaked out the owner: even after the distributor took apart the oven, scoured it, reinsulated it, etc., she still wouldn't have it, and bought another one. Told our guy to just sell the darn thing, for cheap, and do it quick. The mouse really really disturbed her.

So ... long story short, we bought it for a song. I mean, so cheap, you wouldn't believe it. (And then with the money we "saved" lol we bought the fancy fridge to match it. Oh well.)

That said, I love the range. I love the two ovens -- we almost use the small one most often, which is nice b/c we don't have to heat up a big cavity when we don't need to. I agree that 4 burners is enough, although this depends on how you cook. And I really love the big griddle between the burners: I can make huge batches of pancakes, perfect grilled cheese sandwiches, and lots of other things (steaks, veggies, whatever). It's nice for cooking for a crowd. It bakes so much better than my old ovens ... I had almost stopped baking because the temperature control in those things was so bad, very inconsistent.

 

[geargrrl]

Jilly, my sis has a lot of those pullouts, too. She loves them.

anyway, here is it as is. I tidied the counter for y'all.
https://picasaweb.google.com/penny....&authkey=Gv1sRgCLLNp5vGqo6HWw&feat=directlink

keep the comments coming, I'm loving them.

 

[mustski]

I don't have my dream kitchen, but this is on my list ... walk in pantry, rolling island , pull outs, lazy susan corner cupboards, and - yes- granite counter tops because they are easy to clean and practically indestructible. I will keep my travertine floors because they don't show dirt or dog hair!

 

[Tvan]

Jilly - I like your bread drawer. I have that on my list for the *next* kitchen.

 

[Jilly]

My kitchen was done in 1978 by my mother (I inherited the house and decided to move in 2009). So something stand the test the time. Bread drawer, the divider cupboard and the deep drawers did. We changed the counter top and my step mother had added the pull out faucet. It's works, but I'd like a pantry closet.

Now GG, your present kitchen reminds me of the cottage kitchen. That's next on my hit list. It's avocado green!! We did add drawers behind the cupboard doors as Dad was getting to the point he didn't want to bend down to get stuff out of the back. But you can't load a mixmaster on that, like I do at home.

 

[2ski2moro]

When we bought our house, all of the other houses we saw had tiny kitchens. My big kitchen sold us on this house. Go for the most counter space, even if it means knocking out a wall.

I have real hardwood and I would do it again. I have had it refinished once in 14 years. Engineered floors might be trendy now, but if you damage it, you can't repair it and the warranties have lots of small print. Don't get the pre-finished stuff either. It has grooves between the boards that catch dirt. I wouldn't do ceramic on the kitchen floor because of the dirty grout. YMMV

I love my granite countertop. It's dark and subtle. I saw a granite kitchen with a heavily patterned counter and 1" multi-colored glass tiles on the backsplash. Too busy for me.

I have a wrought iron pot rack hanging over the island. We considered putting the cooktop in the island but decided not to. Good decision. I use my island for staging the buffet for parties. Love it.

I installed 4" travertine tiles on the backsplash. I bought a cheap tile saw at Home Depot and was finished in 2 days. Saved $3000. I seal it once a year and have had no problems with splashing or stains.

I love my Bosch dishwasher. It's so quiet, you can't even tell it is running. I have a GE Monogram duel fuel (gas burners and electric convection oven) for half the price of a Viking or Wolf with the same 'industrial look.'

If I had it to do again, I would put the microwave in a low cabinet on the island. I would have more drawers. I would plan a space for placemats and tablecloths. I would have more windows - I like the light. I wish I had put the pot filler faucet by the stove. It didn't cost much, but it has the look I wanted.

 

[Lilywhite]

Loathed stone/tile worktops we had in the old house, I can't tell you how many glasses/bowls etc got chipped!
Love the shower style pull out tap, so handy for so many things.
The bigger and deeper the sink the better.
If you go for wooden counters get more counter top than you need, I got my Dad to make 8 decent sized chopping boards out of our off cuts, I sold 4 of them which paid for the extra wood, gave 2 as presants to very good friends and have a very solid bread board and butchers block left for myself.

 

[pinto]

gg, do you have a floorplan?

What do you love about your current kitchen?

What do you hate?

Do you want seating at the counter?

How often do you use the microwave?

Do you have any doors that interfere with each other? (pantry and fridge, for instance)

There are a million (almost) kitchens on this blog, and they are searchable for ideas.

https://finishedkitchens.blogspot.c...-10-05T17:39:00-04:00&max-results=21#PageNo=2

 

[VickiK]

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 - shelves that pulled out
2. What did you put in that seemed like a good idea at the time, but you don't love for whatever reason - big German mfg wall cabinet type of pantry where the whole thing slides out. It sounded good, it was expensive & very modern, but in practice, given our particular space & placement, it was a flop.
3. Countertops - what do you have, do you love it/hate it/too much maintenance etc. We got granite, and found it required multiple sealer coats or else moisture rings occurred. Once we did that, it was fine.
4. biggest waste of $$ - the sliding wall cabinet of #2
5. best $$ spent - taking contractor's idea of adding a small built-in cabinet where we thought of using a separate little shelving system, adding a wall-mounted cabinet with frosted glass front panels for wine glasses

 

[pinto]

Ok, since I have to be on my computer all morning dealing with high school girls soccer travel plans, woo hoo, I am going to obsess about your kitchen for a while. :-)

If you bump the peninsula out toward the dining room, do you have enough room to center the sink under the window and then move the dw onto the other side of the sink? You could get it out of the way of everything else, and then above the dw where you want to expand cabinets, use those for dishes. That way they are close to dw and close to the table, too.

If that's too tight, you could put the dw in the peninsula, too. Not as close to sink, but still across from the stove. This works well with dish drawers for storage, too. This is how my parents have theirs.

I would take the fridge away, put the pantry on an angle (corner pantry, still a walk in), and add counter space where the fridge is now. Put a counter depth fridge where the tree is, and built-in desk and shelves on the other side of that.

I hope this stays the same shape after I post: oops it didn't ... working on it ...

DESK-------- FRIDGE- pa
-------------------------------nt
----------------------------------ry
------------------------------------COUNTER
p ----------------------------------COUNTER
e ----------------------------------COUNTER
n ----------------------------------stove
i -----------------------------------stove
n ----------------------------------stove
s ----------------------------------COUNTER
u ----------------------------------COUNTER
l -----------------------------------COUNTER
a
-----D/W --SINK ----------------COUNTER

 

[geargrrl]

Pinto, I will never forgive you for taking me from a 20K concept to a 40K concept...

Things I never thought of...

We do have to be care of not over building due to our neighborhood and the kind of house we're. in.

Oh my lots to think about....

Your new kitchen is beautiful.

 

[pinto]

but wait, it's not that different ... the pantry is just drywall ...

 

[pinto]

The other idea is to turn the peninsula into an island/breakfast bar, that way the opening dw door isn't a problem, and you have two entrances to kitchen. But not sure how that lays out...

 

[canski]

Hahahaha - looking at the same things myself! Think about the cupboards over the peninsula - keep them - but glass doors - depending on sight lines - put your glassware in there and they will not seem to be as monolithic. A friend has same config with glass cupboards - and her DW is in the peninsula so like Pinto there (but does involve plumbing $$$). Possibly - Fridge moves to where your pantry is with a pullout panty unit(s) on the same wall (either or both sides of fridge - but claim more counter space to the left of the range (into the fridge area) (not knowing what is really in that panty though - may be more important than counterspace - I'm currently looking for counterspace myself, but don't have a walkin pantry......)

 

[geargrrl]

but wait, it's not that different ... the pantry is just drywall ...

I love your brainstorming... keep it coming!!! No need for

 

[Jilly]

We have the dishwasher in the island at the cottage with a single sink beside. View from the island is better than the view from the window at the side where the sink was originally. And I really hate the sink under the window anyways, that's why its in the corner at home.

 

[diymom]

. And I really hate the sink under the window anyways, that's why its in the corner at home.[/quote]
Agreed, but don't have it this time 'round- kept most of the layout and all the old (around 1940?) cabinets since they were solid and it saved $$. I spend way more time on prep than washing dishes- and I don't want to be staring at a wall while doing prep.
Oh, I do have the 6 burner and love it. Average meal- 1 large pasta pot, one sauce pot, one pan searing the meat, 2 pots with veggies. I loved the small second oven (when it worked) too, for small batches of things.
One love/ hate relationship- the tin ceiling I put in. Love the look, love the way it reflects the light, hate the way the kitchen has the weakest wifi signal in the house.
Most fought over seat in the kitchen = the bench over the radiator. (Sitting there right now, keeping toasty warm on this blustery cold day.)