Kitchen Remodel

[Newman]

Hi folks. If you were redoing a kitchen and had the option of more space with cheaper finishes or less space with nice finishes; which would you choose? I'm currently having the inner debate. My personal choice would be more space but the ultimate goal is to make some money on the house in a few years so I'd like to do what the majority of people would look for. Thanks.

Interesting how this aligns with the thread about wanting the best...

 

[blaster]

When you go to sell square feet almost always trumps nicer amenities when it comes to resale value.

 

[Henry Boyd]

What is the intent for the kitchen? You don't need a huge amount space (if it is well thought out) to produce good meals. What increases space are things like kitchen tables, or breakfast nooks and bad storage practices. If you envision a multi purpose room (cooking, eating/entertaining) then space should be the focus. If you are aiming for a chef's kitchen, then work space - things like a prep sink and a separate wash up sink is a better choice.

I'm currently going through a similar process (i'm starting to build new cabinets) and I find a lot of space is misused. Not necessarily wasted, but used to store stuff that could be stored elsewhere. For example appliances like rice cookers, Robos, pastry mixers, stock pots, meat slicers, juicers, ice cream makers, etc could all be stored in a cabinet in the basement, or even garage, and brought out when needed. We also have an entire cupboard dedicated bread and cake pans and other bakery crockery. I could probably cut down by half the number of cabinets and cupboards we actually need in the kitchen.

Henry

 

[Newman]

Depends. Does the rest of the house have nicer items and trim, or would dressing up the kitchen be the equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig? My wife has never lamented that she wants a nicer finish, she wants more space.

HAHAHAA!!! Lipstick on a pig. That one is new to me. No, the rest of the house has had extensive work done. New roof, windows, carpet, both bathrooms are slated to be gutted (water damage), hardwood and tile in family room, new doors and hardware. New sill-plates but nobody notices that until the house falls down. I've done 90% of the work myself (exception roof, gutters and soffits) and have managed to do it pretty cheaply. Nothing is high end but it's all nice. To give an idea of the level I'm at all of the trim has been replace (half of it was missing or covered in dog pee) but I went with painted instead of stained. The hardwood is real but was pre-finished (ends up being not a smooth between the boards). The windows are HE but basic vinyl replacements.

 

[Woody]

If there was a 'that depends' poll option I'd choose it.

 

[ZZ13]

Just sold my Virginia house. We renovated the kitchen several years ago from the early '90s Formica look to solid surface quartz counters and hardwood flooring. Did the bathrooms as well. Sold the house in 5 days. Realtor said the upscale looking kitchen and bathrooms would sell it and they were right. So, if resale is your priority then make it look current and upscale. The right answer you didn't present to us as an option. Which is larger and elegant.

 

[mwph]

I just sold my house 6 weeks ago. The cabinetry was somewhat on the weak side but the buyer LOVED the space. On a side note, adding space to a kitchen sounds expensive. If you are going to spend a lot of money, might as well spend a little more for at least some mid level upgrades. I like Scott's comment on the rest of the house.

 

[Newman]

I knew it wouldn't be simple answer.

Henry - I absolutely love to cook and cook for people. So it would end up being a mix of work and entertainment. The size of it works now except when more than 3 people are over then my cooking usually invades the current kitchen table.

To be a bit more clear to I'm not adding any square footage to the house. It would be re-purposing existing space. Or leaving the current configuration.

 

[Newman]

You guys are responding quicker than I can. So ignore the poll. I figured it was probably pointless and you guys would bring up stuff I didn't think about. So... It sounds like I should open up the space but I should also make it look "nicer". That kind of makes up my mind on the cabinets. I was leaning toward painting and new doors but they're the original from 1973. I'll have to be creative with my budget on this one. How does everyone feel about the counter tops that look like granite but are the composite material? They're much cheaper and require no maintenance.

 

[ZZ13]

They work out Ok from an appearance standpoint as long as you don't have any exposed side edges (meaning the counter top runs between two walls). If you have an exposed edge then it would need a stick on edge piece, which in my opinion doesn't look as nice as the more expensive polished edge of a solid surface counter.

 

[Henry Boyd]

We put Corian in the three baths we renovated (even a Corian shower lining). For that it looks great. I'm not sure I'd want it in the kitchen for anything except a sink surround. One large surface should be granite if you bake, or make pasta or confectioneries. You won't believe how much it will improve that kind of cooking.

Refacing/painting the existing cabinets only works in my mind if they were good cabinets to begin with. My hobby is woodworking, so I may be overly picky. But if I looked at a kitchen that was supposed to be "renovated" and saw cheap cabinets with a coat of paint, my first reaction would be that it's the same thing as a rocker panel repaired with duct tape and a skim coat of bondo. I think a lot of people can spot good cabinetry, they may not be able to articulate why it's good, but they know the good stuff.

The one thing you didn't mention is ventilation. Having a serious ventilation system to the outside makes a big difference. There are benefits to this whatever the direction you take. For a chef's kitchen good ventilation allows a broader operating environment , for the cook to eat crowd ventilation means you don't smell Friday's fish until the following Wednesday.

Henry

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[src]

If you are going to be in the house for a while, go for more space, and spend any extra money to get as close as you can to good finishes. In other words, good cabinets, then cheap out on floor covering and counters. You can come back an upgrade the cheap bits later.

 

[HUMPH]

I had a 1,000 square foot place on 5.5 acres on a hill and added 600 square feet to the living space. The kitchen was the focus and I designed it to handle our everyday meals but also the ability to cook for and sit 40 people at once. The guy that bought it fell in love with the kitchen that was all solid maple cabinets, granite counters, top of the line (trust me) appliances and all tile flooring. The new house has a basic kitchen and we hate it. As soon as I finish the boat projects I may get to the kitchen...

 

[my3sons]

More space. That's where people love to hang out. We have a large Kitchen and are always herding folks out to the family and living room and an hour later, they're back.
Finish can be upgraded later easier than making it bigger...again

 

[moparlvr4406]

maybe you can have both
My kitchen is shaped like a U
really odd but nothing I can really do about it
Kat and I had this same debate and it was just too cost and time prohibitive to "have it all"
so... me being Mr DIY we made it a 3 year project ...winters only of course
the first phase was add cabinet and counter space and do the flooring
phase 2 was walls and ceiling and appliances
phase 3 starting this week is replacing the old wall cabinets and old counters, sink, and add a dishwasher.
Doing it in sections will get us a better job and a little nicer stuff.

 

[1990-270-da-lover]

I am a cabinet maker/ remodeling contractor, and did my kitchen 2 years ago. I took 20" from the family room to get some more space in the kitchen, and took out the walls dividing the old kitchen from the living room and the dining room which opened the space up dramatically. I built my own cabinets from cherry, and we added new kitchenaid appliances to give the kitchen a new updated appearance. I turned what was originally an 11'x10' space into an open kitchen with a 14' peninsula and more than doubled the cabinet space. I used laminate tops that i built because of cost, but did a cherry edge on the tops and also the tops of the backsplash pieces.
I would say that if you can gain any space from any where,take it, also if you are in this deep upgrading appliances is a good idea especially for resale. If you are in the design phase, put in all the bells and whistles, and work backward from there, that way you get exactly what you want without missing something. I will try to resize and post some pics.

 

[jrirvine1]

Kitchens are in vogue today and this is where most clients will look first on the interior when considering a property. To make a sale it is a good idea to give people something to say “wow” about and this can be done with the kitchen area. I am of the buy it once school rather than the buy low and upgrade later opinion, so for kitchens I recommend:

As much space as possible without adversely effecting traffic pattern
Natural light – consider increasing the existing size or adding additional windows
Semi-custom cabinetry is mostly acceptable, although I prefer full custom as the design options are unlimited
Granite is first choice and can be affordable depending upon selection (There are 4 price groups for granite – low-medium-high and exotic) Kinda like buying tires – good – better – best.
Quartz composites are second choice (Zodiaq) Not as real looking as granite but more sanitary
Sinks – undermount stainless steel or enameled
Fixtures – Kohler
Flooring – ceramic
Lighting – add several types of task lighting such as recessed and low voltage under cabinet
Appliances - this is an area that can be a real budget buster. From my experience, KitchenAid seems to offer a good product and good price / value

 

[HUMPH]

I am a cabinet maker/ remodeling contractor, and did my kitchen 2 years ago. I took 20" from the family room to get some more space in the kitchen, and took out the walls dividing the old kitchen from the living room and the dining room which opened the space up dramatically. I built my own cabinets from cherry, and we added new kitchenaid appliances to give the kitchen a new updated appearance. I turned what was originally an 11'x10' space into an open kitchen with a 14' peninsula and more than doubled the cabinet space. I used laminate tops that i built because of cost, but did a cherry edge on the tops and also the tops of the backsplash pieces.
I would say that if you can gain any space from any where,take it, also if you are in this deep upgrading appliances is a good idea especially for resale. If you are in the design phase, put in all the bells and whistles, and work backward from there, that way you get exactly what you want without missing something. I will try to resize and post some pics.

Try robosizer for resizing pictures. It works automatically and makes life easier.

 

[islandhopper00]

I don't understand the whole kitchen craze. People spend crazy money building kitchens and then eat out! (At least the people I know). Every restraunt in the LKN area is always full. So who actually cooks in these kitchens?

My friend just "updated" her kitchen, so I made a joke to her the other night, (we were out eating) about how her husband stores his boots in the oven, because she doesn't cook anymore. She didn't like the joke, but the next evening she cooked for him. haha He liked it.....

 

[kilroy]

If the cabinets are in fairly good shape painting is always an option, especially if you're only there for a few more years. New pulls, new countertops, sink and faucet can freshen things up quite a bit. What you want to avoid if possible is throwing good money at cabinets that have clearly seen better days. Regarding 'composite' countertops, I'm assuming you mean quartz (97 pct quartz and 3 pct polymer resin), but maybe not, because these days quartz is more expensive than granite. Fifteen years ago when it first came out, it was cheaper, but as people started appreciating the 'no maintenance' aspect, demand, and price, went up. I'm about 90 percent finished on a complete kitchen remodel. My square footage is the same as before but I moved some cabinets and appliances around and changed a peninsula to an island, which I made wider for more storage. New lighting, extra receptacles, refinished the existing hardwood flooring, etc. The result is more useful space, better traffic flow, better lighting, etc. I built all the cabinets and did everything else myself except for refinishing the floors, so I save a lot of money there. And we went with quartz countertops.