We’ve decided to redo our kitchen and really need to get going with it. Lots of things are breaking, and I don’t want to spend time or money fixing them now. However, I’m finding the project fairly overwhelming. If you have redone your kitchen, how did you get started? How did you narrow down the number of choices to something manageable?
Go on the website houzz to get an idea of what you like style wise. It can be overwhelming, but you can get good ideas and begin to understand what look you want. As you bookmark things, you will probably begin to narrow down your ideas.
Then I would go to various showrooms to see model kitchens. Go to an IKEA or look online. Go to Home Depot and Lowes. Just to get ideas–your budget will later determine whether you can spend more or less on cabinets, countertops or appliances.
Then I would go to tile stores for ideas and to see what design elements you want to use and to see what would offset it well. Same with countertops. You may want to go to stores that have grantite pieces to get an idea of colors. Try to get tile/ countertop samples and match them against cabinet colors on display.
Now that you have a basic design idea, you need to decide how you want to approach the job. You may want to get a contractor and have him recommend cabinet makers who can measure and make a preliminary blueprint for you. Then you can buy the cabinets and tiles and countertops separately.
Or you might want to go to a kitchen design store that will take charge of the whole project and either charge a fee for design or incorporate their fees into the price of their cabinets/ tile / countertops.
Buying appliances is separate. But you need to design the kitchen first to know the actual dimensions.
Have fun! It is a huge job…but worth it!
Renovated nearly everything in the house we bought 3 years ago- and were new to the area. Definitely visit Home Depot and Lowes. Talk a bit to various kitchen designers to see if you “click” with any of them. They have various levels of quality for cabinets, fixtures et al. Not convinced IKEA is that great. We chose Kraftmaid plywood cabinets- the store designers can discuss the various grades and features of what they sell. There is likely a design fee/measurement fee that applies to services if you use them for the job.- if you get specific designs. General info is free. My poor designer spent a lot of time answering my questions. And- the darn computer program required her to input everything again when I asked for a price difference in various cabinet styles- couldn’t just say it would be X +/x the other choice.
Go online to the various manufacturer’s websites for information as well. Kraftmaid does a good job of explaining various choices. Get the glossy brochures from stores as well.
We were pleased with the Home Depot general contractor in our area. The downside is that we needed to order every little piece (thank you contractor and designer for telling us what we needed for bath inner plumbing). We chose other stores for flooring materials. Needing to choose everything means you get what you want.
Start this week by visiting the stores above. We started with cabinet/kitchen shops but never liked the available styles/quality at any of them. Be wary of Chinese cabinetry. A “good” price may mean shoddy goods. So different where we are now than when we built elsewhere over 20 years ago. Computer renderings are very useful!
You can PM me with any questions. I have a lot of kitchen ideas I wished I had thought of decades ago (but then the same things weren’t available/popular…). Such as drawers on either side of the stove instead of cupboards- tall pots do fit. Full length, soft closing drawers. Slide out shelves. We created a broom closet in a floor to ceiling pantry cupboard area- don’t know where the previous owners kept their brooms and vac…
Also visit the high end places even if you know your budget runs to domestic upper end things. You may as well indulge your fantasies by window shopping before being realistic (and sticker shock may not be as bad if you know how much things could have cost). Be sure to ask about function and practicality. You do not want high maintenance counters et al. I presume you want to stay put for awhile. Choose what YOU like, not what is popular, trendy. I will never understand how some kitchens are vintage, others, horrors, are outdated, et al. Yours will be out of date before you tire of it or it wears out. You may as well get what you like.
Remember that appliances can easily be replaced while cabinets will likely be there forever. You do NOT need to use the same brand for all of your appliances- the best in one may not be good in another.
Look at things in daylight and various lighting choices. We switched to daylight LEDs in our can lights from the warmer fluorescent bulbs we put in just 2-3 years ago- love it. Neighbor redid her kitchen with those awful pinpoint dots LEDs that were available several years ago.
Quartz vs granite. Asked our realtors which one, in our area it doesn’t make a difference. Might do the other if I had to choose among them. Corian is great as a softer surface for a desk area (and bathroom sinks). Look at costs for backsplashes- we did granite and not the up to the cabinet tiles. Think about what you want to see everyday for years to come before you choose. Our lighter granite is good news/bad news- good the crumbs et al don’t show, bad you may forget there are crumbs et al to clean.
Check cabinet hardware not only for looks but for use. Make sure they are comfortable to grip. And prices- huge differences. Going online is a good way to comparison shop- $2 or $6 time dozens…
As my H says, too many choices.
I’m on a roll. Here are things to consider.
Under cabinet lights. Ceiling can lights- no need for special LED fixtures. Our contractor’s placement was excellent- there can be shadows or too much glare off shiny counters. Needed fewer than I thought. Did add one above the sink on it’s own switch. We also got different circuit breakers for different outlets along a space- running two microwave ovens (or one plus a toaster oven) does not work. We isolated the range hood over the stove microwave oven from the rest of the outlets for this.
Do not miss the pull out cutting board we had in our old house. Consider how neat things need to be with glass doors. In cabinet lighting? Not for me. Nor is a dish soap dispenser built in.
Cabinet height. Had 30", went to 36". Costs more for 42", they would have gone to ceiling. High spaces are not reachable without a step stool, even for tall people. But- 4 shelves (3 moveable and bottom) come in 36" and 42" ht- took out shelves in many so tall stuff would fit. Had a lot of space or would have liked that extra 6". Stock (ie order units joined together, there is also the stuff available in the store) cabinets can be of better quality than some custom. Stock cabinets come in 3" increments for ht and width. We tweaked our stove placement to get 36" on both sides of the stove instead of one being 35"- required an angle to the vent fan pipe in the cabinet above the stove.
A wide drawer above base cabinets that have two doors has a lot more space than two drawers- you lose space on the sides. Likewise pull out shelves have less space because of lost edge spaces for the mechanism. We skipped the cookie sheet cabinet because the space taken would have been too great. Be sure to allow for tall items- such as a mixer (moved upper shelf in one base cabinet to have room- I dislike appliance garages). Full overlay doors means no piece of wood in the middle between doors (see the Kraftmaid brochure/online) to make it harder to use. One 4 drawer base cabinet (others, for pots and pans, are 3).
Try to catch the sales- they run in cycles. Avoid gimmicky things. Keep flexibility- those spice shelves and special knife holder stake up a lot of space. Check out places like Walmart, Target and Bed Bath and Beyond for many clever (and cheaper) inserts instead.
Be sure to allow enough room for a big refrigerator in case you want one later- eg 36" wide if you have the space. Get sizes from appliance sites and skip the side cabinetry panel as well. Built ins may cost a lot more and reliability may not be as good sometimes. A cabinet above the refrigerator works for seldom used items (like vases for me). Gas/electric- depends on availability as well as taste.
Read the Consumer Reports kitchen issues at your library. Useful info even in last year’s editions. They cover counter, floors, appliances and so much more to get you thinking about which choices suit your needs and taste.
Walk in pantry or floor to (near) ceiling cabinetry with roll out shelves? I see advantages to both. Roll out shelves- get the best quality you can afford in your cabinet line. Also spring for the best cabinet construction such as all plywood and dovetail joints. Note that fancier doors, corbels and trims add to costs. Cabinet doors that open from above- test out closing them! Open and close doors, drawers. Check interior sizes (some drawers are more shallow than Kraftmaid- one reason I chose it- can fit plastic wrap/bag boxes in them).
Write down impressions. Make lists when you find things you like/dislike. Remember that appliances are replaceable- plan your kitchen for standard sizes so you can choose among them.
We recently redid the kitchen. I had also put off the project for years - not knowing how to start, who to hire, where to look, etc. I felt as you must be feeling now! The above advice is excellent. I wish I had had the suggestions all in one place as I got started. I think I stumbled onto everything the above posters note and really can’t add much.
I think what I didn’t really appreciate is how much freedom there is in deciding what you want to do. For me, the project began to make sense when I saw the redesign as a building block process - first I choose cabinet layout I wanted as this was most important to me. If I’d had specific appliances as a must have, I guess these would have been the first building block to consider. After the layout was decided on, things like tile, lighting and countertops were easier to consider.
I did end up working with a kitchen design shop that uses an excellent general contractor - who in turn has excellent sub contractors if needed. This worked for me since it gave me access to a lot of experience that I would not otherwise have had. I learned to appreciate the difference between redesign vs re-decorate. The kitchen had been recently “redecorated” when we moved in - new cabinets, appliances, countertop, but had not been re-thought to better use the space possibilities. The designer pointed out possibilities for converting the space without taking down walls - moving gas lines, redoing lighting, etc that I wouldn’t have considered - I was too grounded in the current layout and failed to see a blank slate situation. (Where was Coralbrook?) Now that I have been through this with excellent professional advice, I feel as if I could do another project more independently if I choose to. I have no idea how much I might have saved if I could have done the design and purchasing on my own, but I would not have ended up with the kitchen I now have and am enjoying.
Good luck!
In Calif, I used Home Depot and that store had this fabulous designer who knew how to handle any odd situations.
Now that I’m in another state and I needed to remodel a kitchen for a rental property, I went to the local HD, but was unhappy with the “experience” of the “designers” at that particular store.
I then went to one of the nearby Lowes to look at appliances, and the appliance person happened to mention that their kitchen designer is amazing, and he is. He had been an antebellum home restorer, and knows so much about materials, design, etc. He was able to advise about virtually everything from paint colors, to flooring, to trim, to various oddities that nearly every home has. The kitchen came out beautifully, and the price was totally reasonable.
So, if I were you, I would visit both HD and Lowes, talk to their designers and see how experienced they are. An experienced designer will be able to figure out solutions for nearly anything. They will also work within whatever your budget is and be able to recommend products that will help you stay in your budget.
Personally, I like using HD or Lowes because they stand behind their products and work. If they make a mistake, they “eat” the cost and fix it. I would be worried that a small company wouldn’t do that.
I also liked the granite that Lowes has now. It has (I think) a 20 year guarantee on the seal.
Good luck!!
HD designers no longer comes to the home. Workmen came and measured, but the experience would not have been the same as a kitchen designer. So, I shifted to bring my floor plans to 5 deaign shops. Most offered to come to my house and look. I ruled out one place because it was farthest away.
One man stood out. He checked the space above kitchen, and agreed we could move placement of fridge. He looked through all my cabinets to get an idea of what “luxuries” I would need. I bake a lot, so the divided baking sheet cabinet was a must, as well as the spice rack. I like having 2 big drawers with dividers. This GC suggested that instead of going with shaker, he had a style that was almost shaker, with an extra edge. Adding a stain would make that section stand out. He ordered that style in 2 shades for me.
When I met with him and his designer, they showed several plans, and explained the cost difference. He had also pulled together possible combinations of countertops and backslashes. He explained different ways to make corner cabinets useful. Since I wanted to shop (this being my biggest project), he gave me list of stores for everything. This took time, so I was definitely the one to slow down the project.
Gardenweb became like CC for me. I learned the difference between Quartz, quartzite, and granite. I learned why countertops varied so in price. I learned why Blum closing shift were $$$$, but worth it. It was also important to pay more for under cabinet lighting. When I looked for backsplash, I heard all the big names, and was happy to pay a little more for hand glazed cracked subway tiles. HD doesn’t come close to carrying the amazing selection of tiles, nor granites. There is a wide variety of sinks and faucets. Check out fergusons to see the options.
Next time, I will be more efficient.
I used houzz and gardenweb, though gardenweb wasnt as easy to navigate.
Go to open houses/tour of homes and home improvement shows. That was helpful to me.
We had fabulous luck with Home Depot!!
We knocked down the wall between the kitchen and dining room, went down to the studs, and totally redid that part of our 60 year old house.
Some features we particularly like:
- You know that corner space, at the end of the peninsula, where people sometimes put a Lazy Susan? Instead, what we did was put one cabinet that opened up into the dining room. It’s our “homework” cabinet, where the kids keep loose leaf and textbooks and all they need to do homework at the dining room table. It’s fabulous-- we don’t lose that corner, we can access the whole thing. Over the summer we use it for placemats and tablecloths for the picnic table.
- We found some amazing porcelain tile that looks like raw wood. (Sorry, I have no idea of the make or model, but we got it at Cancos Tile on Long Island.) It's beautiful, shows no dirt, is incredibly easy to clean, and fools everyone who walks into our home!!
- Under cabinet lighting adds to much to the room!
- We put molding above the cabinets, right up to the ceiling. I hated the idea of the dust I knew would accumulate there.
- We were unsure of how to do the pantry--one big pull out thing or separate drawers. The HD guy suggested separate drawers. In a full pantry, they're a lot lighter to navigate. In addition, it's so much easier to find one small thing-- like Cinnamon-- from above a single drawer than from the front or sides.
- We put extra lights in the dining space, knowing that all 5 of us use it for schoolwork.
- A year and a half after it was done, I'm still totally in love with my new kitchen!!! There's not a single thing I would change!!!
Decide what your budget is and then plan to spend at least 10% less than that. If you are removing any walls or portions of walls, most localities will require a building permit. Call your building department to find out what is required. Contractors do not know. Consider hiring an architect we are trained to look at spaces in 3-D. The kitchen cabinet guys also have good software for envisioning what they sell. Replacing appliances is the easy part - though there are some newer things you might like if your budget allows it. Examples: Microwave drawers, dishwasher drawers, French door refrigerators. I highly, highly recommend drawers with heavy duty extensions everywhere for the lower cabinets. Cabinets with shelves are a pain to deal with and the pull-out shelves behind doors just make you lose space. Definitely look at Houzz, the Garden Web Lowes, Home Depot the local cabinet shops to get an idea about materials and costs. Then do what you want. I didn’t use granite or quartz - I’ve got soapstone next to the stove and sink and butcherblock everywhere else I love both.
Oh, and if you like butcher blockconsider a table by Booz instead of an island in the center of the kitchen. Costs less and you won’t be required to install electricity. We have this in our kitchen and it’s great: http://www.chefsresource.com/john-boos-classic-country-work-table-kitchen-island-48-30-shelf.html
Lots of great advice above! I think your first decision is whether you will stay with the current footprint of the kitchen, or whether you will change the location of walls. We remodeled about four years ago–the kitchen remodel was part of a larger remodel of the main floor. We love our kitchen. We discussed many possibilities, including bumping out a wall to get a larger kitchen, but we ended up deciding it didn’t make sense to add square footage at a time when we were becoming empty nesters. We moved an interior wall a bit (less than 2 feet), and closed off one wall of the kitchen, and it is much more functional. Best features: love my beautiful, white cabinets, soapstone counters, Brazilian cherry floor, bigger window, big drawers instead of cabinets–pots and pans, dishes, bakeware, etc., are easy to access, induction cooktop, small second sink. Lots of attention to lighting design. A young kitchen designer may not think you need as much as you do–aging eyes need more light!
Measure, measure, measure! Measure everything 10 times!! Well, maybe not 10, but at least a couple of times. We haven’t done a whole remodel, but bought a new fridge a few years ago that caused a headache. We were mainly concerned with it fitting width-wise into the space, so we measured that area. But then it turned out the fridge was deeper than we expected so it stuck out farther into the room … and we couldn’t open the door without it hitting the island! Thankfully, DH and my dad were able to move the island a few inches.
Years ago we found that the money spent with a kitchen designer was completely worth it. I’d go that route again, especially since I don’t think in 3D.
We did get a little burned when we bought a new fridge. Between the time we built the kitchen and twenty years later when we replaced the fridge, typical fridge dimensions changed, and fridges got taller. There was only one fridge that fit (and that only barely) without moving the cabinet above the fridge. Moving that cabinet up would have required moving every other upper cabinet in the kitchen. If I redo the kitchen, I am going to leave a little more room.
arabrab, we are planning to replace the fridge with a taller version, and our plans for the upper cabinet is just to knock the bottom shelf out, move it up, and replace the doors with smaller doors. The cabinet is completely useless as is, so making it smaller is no big deal.
I completely agree with everyone who said that cabinets are the things that most likely outlive everything else in the kitchen. Plan their placement wisely, use good “boned” cabinets… that way, if you need to spruce up the kitchen in the future, just replace the doors and the appliances and add new paint/tile stuff.
Don’t just measure but go over the order lists with a fine tooth comb. I’m an architect and should know better, but somehow we ended up with a wrong sized window and a cabinet that was 6" too narrow. We made do with both, but it makes me cross. Only myself to blame however.
Unlike shyparental unit we did bump out - a lot! Not paying tuitions freed up cash and it’s made it possible for my boomerang kid to entertain friends and for us to have everyone over for the holidays. We probably won’t recoup the entire investment, but I do think it will make the house much, much easier to sell when it comes time to do so.
We also have arabrab’s problem with the fridge not fitting under cabinets. We had our house built 29 years ago so cabinets were placed to the dimensions of 1980’s fridges. When we had to replace our fridge 15 years ago, only one would fit, and even that required DH to trim some of the overhang beneath the cabinet. Fast forward to now, and there are no fridges the cu. ft. we currently have that would fit under that cabinet. We’d like to do what BB did, but finding someone to do that kind of job isn’t easy. We’re not looking to redo our kitchen, just the one cabinet above the fridge.
We are almost done with a complete kitchen remodel - no change of footprint, but we did change cabinets, flooring, appliances, countertops, lighting, and backsplash. At first we were going to do it ourselves, but after that five minutes passed we got some help…
Our local Lowes and HD were not good options: limited selections of materials and cookie-cutter designers. After interviewing and researching we went with a local firm that does kitchens and baths, and they have been amazing. They guarantee all their work (of course) and that of their sub-contractors; they are knowledgeable about all the options (including some options I had never heard of); they know the local building and real estate trends (so they can advise you on the resale value of quartz versus granite versus whatever).
Here’s what I liked most about going with a design and remodeling firm:
- I'm not so good at visualizing things, and my design sense is....meh. Working with our designer gives me more confidence that the final product would look sleek and polished - rather than something I had designed myself. Any time I had a question, the designer had great opinions, especially since he took the time to get to know us. Case in point - the back splash. I had no clue what to choose and was overwhelmed with all the choices. Our designer went with us to the tile place where we sorted through all the choices together.
- If something goes wrong - they'll fix it promptly. If we wound up doing it ourselves, I'd be screaming at my husband all the time instead of asking the electrician to install a different type of dimmer.
- Again, I got great advice from my designer. He helped us with everything from the color of the new wood floors to the types of drawer pulls. Maybe I had more stupid questions than most, but my logic was - I've only done one kitchen remodel, and he's done hundreds (not to mention, that's what I'm paying him for).
I’m sure we could have done a good job (eventually) and paid a lot less money - and yeah, we may not recoup the whole investment. However, if you’re design-challenged (like me), or if you’re a big worrier (like me), then a design firm may be the ticket.
How did we get started? First I nagged my husband for 5 years, then we went to a home show, and then I realized we needed real help.
I did my kitchen a year ago. I started out with appliances. It’s not a big kitchen. By the time the placement of appliances was decided everything else followed. Absolutely no regrets. One mishap was we had a big tall, floor to ceiling cabinet. The cabinet maker left no room to turn it to stand it up. It was lying on the kitchen floor for a long time until they figured a way to stand it up.
I planned a kitchen remodel, but never got to do it. At least not yet.
I worked with HD’s designer and contractor, was unimpressed. The quality and range of materials available there is limited. I ended up working with an established local firm that carries a huge range of tile and flooring, as well as several lines of cabinets, and has excellent design services. Their contractor was was great. I’d definitely go straight back to them if I had the money to do the project. They had decades of experience, and were both imaginative and practical, with an eye to quality. I was turned off by the most fashionable and expensive kitchen design places, which I felt were oriented towards chi-chi projects for people with absolutely unlimited budgets who probably would have caterers working in the kitchen more than they did. 
Something I found very attractive was that if you were working with this company, you could go directly to the “for the trade only” appliance place and look at/buy models that were not available at HD/Lowe’s/Sears and the like at excellent prices. Since a major goal for me was to get heavy duty cooking and venting equipment, this was essential. They simply don’t carry what I want at HD et al, and the prices for this equipment are higher at the specialty appliance places that do.
My current kitchen was pretty high end circa 1980. Everything was custom, and fit precisely, sometimes at unusual angles. The appliances were Thermador and Sub-zero. Some of the counters are granite, there are tiles embedded in the trim of the wooden hood…that kind of thing. The huge problem with this comes when you have to replace an appliance. Literally the only thing that can be replaced with ease is the dishwasher. Everything else meant very limited choices due to size, accompanied by altering and jury-rigging the cabinetry. The fridge was a nightmare. The wall ovens were a nightmare. The cooktop left very, very few options, and the exhaust fan was again a nightmare. I had to find a more powerful fan that would fit into this very specific custom built hood. (And I had to find it myself. The appliance salesmen were not interested in helping me unless I hired a contractor for that one little job.)
Things that I wouldn’t do without if I were renovating, some of which I now have and some of which I don’t: upper-level vertical cabinet near the ovens to hold cooling racks, cookie sheets, and roasting pans; same kind of vertical base cabinet to hold cutting boards and trays; granite or soapstone counters; base cabinets with pull out shelves and drawers; base cabinets with pop-up shelves for stand mixer and cuisinart, preferably in an island (and don’t forget the outlets); bookshelves for cookbooks; 48" professional style range or rangetop with grill; stainless backsplash behind the range; really strong exhaust fan vented as directly to the outside as possible; some kind of pantry shelves; lots and lots of storage for oversized things like sets of professional baking pans in many sizes, punchbowls, etc.; double stainless sink with one large and deep bowl; place to hang a pot rack; under cabinet lighting; wood or tile floor; large French door fridge, NOT built in :); kitchen table and chairs.
I actually really like the layout of my very plain kitchen…but it needed some sprucing up…and that has been done…in shifts.
First…we got granite counters and a new solid surface white sink. Love them both. And a great new faucet (with the able help of CC folks).
The. We got new stove, fridge and dishwasher (patiently waiting for the microwave to die). We like white appliances so that is what we got. The next owner can get stainless.
Next up…next week actually…we are having all of the wood floors refinished on our first floor. What a PITA. But it hasn’t been done for 20 years so now is the time. We are getting Street Shoe finish…which was what was put on 20 years ago…either a satin or semi gloss finish. That will be decided tomorrow.
This winter, the whole house is getting painted…including the kitchen. No backslash…but we will use a slightly darker accent color under the cabinets and behind the stove. That same aren’t color will go on the fireplace wall at the other end of the open space that is our kitchen, breakfast room and family room.
Our cabinets are quite nice and solid, and in good shape. But the last thing will be getting them refaced and new doors. I like the configuration…might change one or two things when the time comes.
We also like our lights, and our kitchen is very bright…windows and lights.