Kitchen remodeling: give us your words of wisdom

In My Humble Opinion
21

Storage drawers are a great idea!

The back of lower cupboards is the land that time forgot. In my galley kitchen we got rid of the lower cupboards under and next to the sink. Exposed pipes along that wall would sweat and drip and turn yucky in the dank darkness behind the cupboards. Let there be light and air behind there so we opened it up. One corner cupboard was especially cave like and no I did not want a lazy Susan(?) in there.

My pots are either hanging or on an open shelf.

Can you post pics @Eva_Luna

22

I remodeled my kitchen several years ago. I agree with ensuring that there are an abundance of outlets, but you don’t necessarly have to rip the entire kitchen to the studs to accomplish this. I ended up just ripping the backsplash area to the studs (which is where I needed all the outlets). So, really, just a relatively small portion of the kitchen. YKMV (your kitchen may vary).

My only regret is that I wish I had installed an under-the-counter sink rather than a sink that drops in from above. The sink I have has a lip that prevents you from sweeping crumbs and such from the counter directly into the sink. The under-the-counter type is much more common these days, so this is probably a moot point.

mmm

23

And yet, the guy who my gf talked to, hired, paid, etc repeatedly approached me with questions. Each time I had to explain that I had no clue, he had to ask my gf.

The next day it would happen again.

24

This, very much. You may give a ton of thought into exactly where you want a particular light/switch/outlet or finishes, but the installer may view the plans merely as a guideline. You pretty much have to check EVERYTHING every day, to insist upon changes before work progresses further. Especially important in the kitchen where so much depends on close measurements - each cabinet has to be able to swing open when the adjoining drawer is open… A couple of inches can make the difference between an outlet being wonderful vs unusable.

One thing to really think about is how you will be using the room. IMO it is VERY HARD to design a smaller kitchen in a manner that avoids having 2 cooks wanting to be in the same place at the same time. Our kitchen has the garbage can between the sink and stove. Often one person wants that portion of countertop for prepping food, while the other may be actively cooking or washing dishes. Or the pans are stored above/below the main food prep area, so you can’t get at them if someone oelse is prepping food. Like I said, I don’t know how to avoid all such conflicts without a huge, over-the-top kitchen, so just try to anticipate and minimize the sorts of conflicts you anticipate as most likely.

Be very wary of “unusual” cabinet configurations and “fancy” cabinet doors/hinges. Any jointed cabinet door - as is often used in a corner - will periodically go out of alignment and need adjusting. Which screw moves it up and down, and which moves it in/out?

Give a lot of thought to where trash/recycling goes. Both behind one door? Will than necessitate smaller cans/bags? Near the main kitchen prep? If so, it is unusable for anyone else when someone is prepping food. You want it easy for you and your guests to use.

How does the kitchen “relate” to the rest of the house? What “views” of the kitchen do you have from other rooms? Will the dirty pans you used to cook be visible from the dining room? Just a small aspect of “great rooms.” I’ve heard more than one person comment that the view of the impending cleanup detracts from their enjoyment of a meal.

Final small point - we had microwaves above the stove in 2 previous kitchens. This time the designer persuaded us to put it under the counter. It is slightly less comfortable to use at that height, and people often “buttdial” it - turn it on - my leaning against it.

25

Regarding kitchen cabinets, I remember seeing an article that said that some people who wanted higher-end cabinets but also wanted to save a little would buy stock IKEA cabinets (which have good mechanics) but replace the fronts (drawers, doors and frames) with higher-end ones. I think there were companies that specialize in providing just these parts for IKEA cabinets.

26

This is excellent advice. Put in extra outlets and rewire everything to current code. While you’re at it, consider under-cabinet lighting on a single switch. The extra cost for electrical and cabinets is not insignificant, but you will regret not doing it. We did our kitchen a couple of homes ago and it was really a selling point when we put it on the market, easily recouping the cost. Realtors will tell you that renovated bathrooms and kitchens are the best investments.

27

From what I see on home improvement shows and the like, “farmhouse sinks” are the current trend. I’m not sure that’s what I’d go for. I do like the idea of an undermount sink, or even one of those made of the same solid surface material as the countertops so that there’s a smooth transition between the countertop and the sink (i.e., no frame). And think about whether the countertop material is stain resistant. Some family friends cook with turmeric a lot and this stains some surfaces.

28

I only glanced at a few of the replies. Some went in my preferred direction, but I didn’t see any that went all the way there.

If, to your knowledge, this is the first such work your 100 year-old house has, expect the worst.

Not just electrical – plumbing, water intrusion, subfloor rot, structural inadequacies.

Expect disturbing and expensive surprises.

That will call the rest of your “nice to have’s” into economic question.

It’s always risky to spend your entire budget on paper and then get hit with the all-but-inevitable bombshell news from the GC.

This stuff always costs X times what you were expecting and takes Y times longer than you could have imagined.

Aside from all the design choices, it’s good to figure out a way to get your collective heads around this other piece, too.

Best of luck!

29

My daughter bought a house with an amazingly beautiful hammered copper farmhouse sink. An absolute show stopper - the most beautiful sink I’ve ever seen. 1 year later she hates the sink. It is too deep, a hassle to clean…

Our stainless double bowl undercut sink is IMO pretty much the epitome of form and function.

30

In our last house, we had a big pantry that had counter space in it, and all the countertop appliances lived there. It kept the main counters clear, and made all that easily accessible. Close the door to hid everything. It was fabulous.

31

Updating the wiring in a kitchen to current code will be surprisingly involved and not cheap. You’ll want at least two general receptacle circuits, and putting each receptacle along the countertop on its own breaker isn’t gross overkill. You’ll appreciate this the first day you’re making brunch and the toaster, waffle iron, and coffeemaker are all happily running without overloading anything. Then you get into the mandated dedicated circuits for stuff like the fridge, dishwasher, disposer, over-range microwave, a 240 volt circuit if you have an electric range, or two of those if you have an electric cooktop and electric wall oven. Lights need to be on a separate circuit.

All of that adds up in cost and in circuit breaker panel space. Needing 4-8 new circuits for a kitchen remodel is not unusual and I’ve seen a lot of people run a sub panel to the pantry to contain all of those, especially if they’re in an old house that is already electrically deficient.

Think about where the silverware drawer and dishes/glasses cabinets are vs the dishwasher. I don’t have to walk anywhere when unloading my dishwasher (for basic silverware, dishes, and glasses) but my partner’s kitchen was laid out so he has to walk ten feet to and from the cabinet and drawer.

32

We had the regular double stainless steel sink in our old house, and it was fine. This house came with a remodeled kitchen in the latest fashion around here – cherry-stained cabinets and soapstone counters and a huge soapstone farm house sink. We bought a steel dishwashing pan to set in it (very hard to find, we finally got a steam table pan from a commercial kitchen supply) because you can’t wash dishes in a sink that big. But because we actually have a hobby farm, it’s invaluable for washing a big harvest of carrots, setting a stockpot of cheese curd to cool, and things like that. For a suburban house I think it’s impractical.

33

Yeah, our plumber recommended getting a divided bowl sink, and I regret that choice now. I’d much rather have a large single bowl.

Yeah, we went with undermount, and it was the best decision. I hated getting bits of crumbs and gunk in the rim of overmount sinks I’d had in the past.

34

Regarding kitchen cabinets, I remember seeing an article that said that some people who wanted higher-end cabinets but also wanted to save a little would buy stock IKEA cabinets (which have good mechanics) but replace the fronts (drawers, doors and frames) with higher-end ones. I think there were companies that specialize in providing just these parts for IKEA cabinets.

Yep, we met tonight with the designer of the kitchen an old friend of mine had redone a couple of years ago. That’s exactly what she did (the cabinet fronts she chose were from Semihandmade, but there are other companies who do the same thing). We may well end up going in that direction, but we have to do some more homework first.

Tomorrow morning we are going to meet the guy who refinished all our floors and did several other smaller jobs around our place, who also does more comprehensive remodeling. In the afternoon, we are going to meet with a local cabinet place that does everything from just selling the cabinets to full gut remodels. In the next few days, I am going to chat with our friends of 20+ years (who were also our real estate agents) about pros and cons of various approaches. Then, once we have some ideas and some rough numbers and timelines, we will have a better idea of what direction we will go in, at least. At the moment, based on the rough ballpark estimate of the kitchen designer, I am having sticker shock, but I suppose I will get over it.

P.S. This is definitely not the first work done in the kitchen in 100+ years; guessing by the age of the cabinets and the number/location of additional outlets, I’d guess maybe 20 years ago was the last electrical work? The designer thought that sounded likely, too.

35

FYI, I think I found the article (gift link) I was remembering that talked about this. It was in The New York Times a couple of years ago. One paragraph reads,

For the kitchen of an average one-bedroom apartment, “we’re not going to spend $40,000 on the kitchen cabinets, because we don’t have the budget,” he continued. “We’re going to spend maybe $1,500 to $2,000 on cabinets from Ikea and then have, say, $5,000 of custom fronts and panels.”

36

I’m gonna drop this in here - Triangular Kitchen design.

Not a triangular room, but layout between sink, refrigerator and stove. This IMHO also makes it easier for two people to cook/work in the kitchen at once, and saves steps.

I’m also going to strongly suggest to get cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. You KNOW you are going to end up putting stuff on top of cabinets that don’t go all the way to the ceiling. That just becomes a jumbled dusty mess. You WILL have that fondue pot up there eventually. Best to just have cabinets with an extra shelf or two.

37

My mother planned a kitchen remodel about forty years ago, and I remember reading about the triangle idea back then.

38

Yeah, the kitchen triangle has been a thing forever.

I also recommend taking cabinets to the ceiling. I think it looks bad with that couple of inches where there’s that gap. Besides the issue of dust collecting.

39

Hahahah. I’m 100 miles from home, taking care of my mothers ‘Estate’. I found a Fondue set on top of a cabinet in the laundry room. I need to shop a bit and get some recipes, but guess what we are going to eat tomorrow.

40

Choose a good contractor. We redid our kitchen 11 years ago and our bathrooms 5 years ago. If our kitchen contractor had done bathrooms, we would have stayed with them.

Write down all your wishes and things that bother you about the current kitchen.

I wanted to have my knives in a drawer, as I never liked having a knife block on the counter. In the same drawer I have dispensers for aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Really convenient.

I also have a spice drawer which has my most-used spices and herbs.

We have drawers for almost everything below the counter. Much easier to get to things in the back, including the food processor and mixer, and other small appliances which live underneath the counter.

Lighting: We have halogen lights underneath the cabinets and two fixtures on the ceiling. Each are controlled separately, so we can choose different lighting levels.

Outlets. Lots. Above the counter we have 5 outlets, one of which is by the light switches by the door. We have another outlet in the cubbyhole below the oven which is where we store dishwasher tablets, beverages and put the cans and bottles for recycling.

We have everything built-in, which is typical of where we live. This means that our fridge and dishwasher both have panels which match the cabinet fronts, so the overall kitchen appearance is much more harmonious.

We have an induction cooktop, a normal oven and a steam oven. Honestly, for most people the steam oven will not be used that much. We go through phases. We did not have, nor do we miss having, a microwave. And we’ve never had a toaster oven.

We have two countertops, as we have an L-shaped counter and a penninsula. The penninsula is plenty big enough for rolling out a pie crust and cooling dozens of cookies. We can put hot pans directly on the surface with no worries about damaging the finish. It is a big piece of engineered stone, so there are no grout lines on the horizontal surface, just on the corners agains the wall.

The L-shaped counter is stainless, and the sink is also stainless. The sink is part of the counter, and therefore there is no grout between the sink and the counter. We have one big bowl, and are happy with it.

Our kitchen renovation took three weeks. We put the fridge, espresso machine and a temporary hotplate (supplied by the contractor) on the back porch and had a few pieces of flatware and dishes. Each weekend we went away - once to Paris, where we visited some kitchen shops.

The contractor recommended to decide where to put hanging rails only after everything else was installed, as we could always add more later. We decided on one near the sink for towels and that was it.

We have a sliding door between the kitchen and the remainder of the house. We changed from solid wood to a milk glass door. Brings in more light.