<p>Do the RE losses help with taxes?</p>
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<p>Interesting that you should say that. I would think a solid dark gray soapstone could work. I would love to see your kitchen. Mine is very Scandinavian in style too. In addition to IKEA cabinets, the butcher block counter, and the very small (“European”) scale, I also have a Jotul wood burning stove in the dining area adjacent to (and in view of) the kitchen. I love it.</p>
<p>Is it possible to post pictures here? I would love to see other people’s kitchens and put up my own but don’t know how.</p>
<p>sally pm me your email and I will send you some pictures. </p>
<p>Both my kitchen designer and my sister (who was a kitchen designer in one of her previous incarnations) both said no to soapstone in my kitchen after I said how much I loved it in my friend’s kitchen ( a huge house that was built in the 1800’s.) She kept a lot of the original things - like the wide plank floors, etc. </p>
<p>Ditto for a farmer sink. Not good style for my kind of kitchen. I don’t like those anyway, so. </p>
<p>“Good thing I am not selling the house any time soon. I may have trouble finding a buyer for not having a GD.”</p>
<p>Really? GD are a pain to have in my neck of the woods where everyone is on a septic. If you have a GD, you have to have an annual septic inspection (time and money wai$$$ted). If you don’t, every few years will do. Some places like our locality even “outlaw” them. I have not had a GD in more than 15 years, and I do not miss it a bit. I cook a lot of veggies, so I generate a lot of kitchen scraps; a lot what could have gone down to the septic gets composted. The key is to have a dual sink - one part for peeling/working, the other part is for washing. Works great. </p>
<p>BTW, I have Corian counters, but they are super cool looking, speckled with a white stripe in the round edge that matches the appliances and the cabinet knobs, making the kitchen brighter and more cheerful. It does not look like the ugly 80s Corian. The maintenance is amazingly painless. I would not be repelled by Corian, but apparently some think it is a deal breaker. If your plan is to sell soon, go with the flow.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, do not get talked into tile or marble for kitchen counters. Also, some buyers will want granite that has not originated from China (radioactivity concerns), so choose carefully and do some research. </p>
<p>Since we are resurrecting old remodel threads, here’s one we had on granite counters back in 2010 <a href=“Granite Countertops - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/856799-granite-countertops.html</a></p>
<p>Any chance the current kitchen cabinets can be refaced, DadII? Then you could put your money into the counters, and other things in the kitchen. If you have solid wood cabinets…and you ver well could given the age of your house, refacing could be a better choice.</p>
<p>If the hinges are on the outside of the cabinets, that’s very dated.</p>
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Corporate relocations are sweet deals. You don’t have to worry about the house sitting on the market for months, paying utilities, etc to maintain it when you have moved, or some of the realtor fees. In the long run, one rarely “loses” money on such deals. Especially then, in a down market when houses weren’t moving, you were very fortunate. Many others who sold in the area without a corporate relo probably really did lose. Not the fortunate ones whose houses were bought in a corporate relo. So, this was probably financially a very positive opportunity, not another faux sob story.</p>
<p>T1, my understanding is that labor is more than the material. I will check into it so. Thanks</p>
<p>Agree on the hinges. I had that type on my old cabinets (house built in 1956 and original cabinets.) </p>
<p>But couldn’t refacing involve putting the new hinges on the inside? Or are the cabinet frames different?</p>
<p>^ Frames are different. </p>
<p>Suspect so. Old, dated pulls and knobs have to go too. IMO refacing works if the cabinets are well made, not if they are inexpensive.</p>
<p>What jym said. If the cabinet style looks old, refinishing will not make it more current, especially if you add new countertops. It will look off. </p>
<p>Our kitchen originally had hinges on outside. When we changed the doors, we changed placement of hinges. The cabinets were made of better wood than you can find today, so we didn’t even consider replacing them.
Our neighbor has paperstone in his kitchen. It feels really smooth.
I like our quartz countertops.
Easy to install too.
<a href=“http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20716579,00.html”>http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20716579,00.html</a></p>
<p>We know a number of folks who had very solid wood cabinets. They refaced. The process involves removing the doors, and putting a veneer on the cabinet itself. If the hinges aren’t screwed into the outside surface of the doors…the doors also get a veneer. Sometimes they actually get new doors. </p>
<p>It’s cheaper than ripping out all the old cabinets and getting all new ones. </p>
<p>We are actually considering it for our kitchen cabinets. Price will be half if getting new ones.</p>
<p>Our house was built in 1969. We refaced the cabinets and bought new countertops in 1986 (laminate, of course, back then). They looked great for a time, but then they looked very dated. Last year, we gutted the kitchen and had new cabinets & quartz countertops installed. Ah … now I can enjoy my kitchen until I either croak or don’t know the difference any more. 
If I were moving, I sure wouldn’t put in new cabinets … such an expensive proposition unless you are certain you’ll recoup the cost.</p>
<p>And as far as GDs are concerned, we have a GD both at home and at our cottage, with septic at both places. We have never had any issues. You just have to make sure you don’t put things that shouldn’t go in a septic, in the GD (no eggshells, no coffee grounds, that sort of thing). No annual septic inspection needed in our state … but we get it inspected by our septic guy annually, just to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>@"Dad II" </p>
<p>Can you do any of the work yourself?? How about the demolition and haul away? Painting? Installing a backsplash? Some of these things aren’t difficult. </p>
<p>There are some companies here that put thin granite covers over the old counters, kinda like slipcovers. I dont know anyone who has tried it.</p>
<p>DadII…with regard to the lights…I didn’t say ADD lights (although if your kitchen is dark that should be a consideration. But you can do two things to make the lights better.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Update the fixtures…don’t leave old light fixtures if you are redoing the rest of the space.</p></li>
<li><p>Under cabinet lighting is very nice to have. You can purchase LED lights that are battery powered, and stick on the underside of the cabinets. We have them and they make a nice difference when working in the space.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you have white cabinets that are in good shape, paint and new doors could do the trick…with some new hardware. Then add your new stone of some kind counter top, sink, faucet and GD. New wall paint, refinished wood floor. </p>
<p>Tada!</p>