Heh. I rent, so I’m not allowed to do anything to my kitchen.
But I just got freecycled a great bed. And now my nightstands, which before looked mismatched and awkward, now look positively trashy and painful! So I really should replace those. But our dressers (also hand-me-downs) are this weird greenish/beigeish '70’s “wood”, so finding matching nightstands is just going to be impossible, so we really need new dressers - and then the mirror won’t work, so…
This might turn out to be the most expensive free bed ever!
If I had my druthers, I’d do either a concrete floor or concrete countertops. I’ve seen so many beautiful examples on all the Homes I’m Never Gonna Own shows on HGTV. Gorgeous!
Personally, I fantasize daily about making my own cabinets. (And of course that would give me the excuse to buy all the really big tools I want.) But, maybe the kitchen could be designed better? And obviously I’d want to redo the floor after the cabinets - I’m thinking that new linoleum stuff, real linoleum. And soapstone countertops, I think. And maybe one of those farmhouse sinks.
So my compromise has been thus: if I ever get around to deciding what kind of wood and finish I’d want, and doing a little design work, whcih I’ll ask your help for, I’ll make a proof of concept over-fridge cabinet. If I actually make it and put it up, I’ll commit to the whole kitchen.
So, who’s up for a cooperative kitchen design project? I don’t want to end up with LESS space!
(Or I might start out just putting together one of those 20’s baking cabinets.)
::Sigh!:: I started out by replacing some ugly-ass 9" square white kitchen and hall tiles with travertine. Then the downdraft cooktop seriously needed to be redone. That necessitated redoing the countertops. I got a nice GE ceramic cooktop and ubatuba granite countertops. This granite composite sink is my favorite thing we’ve put in. Looks fabulous and is very durable and easy to clean.
[QUOTE=dangermom
So, is Corian good stuff or horrible? Don’t even bring up granite.[/QUOTE]
**
dangermom**
Just IMO, Corian is the best stuff to ever hit a kitchen! We are on our second Corian kitchen counters and I would have to be seriously unable to afford it to EVER have anything else in my kitchen. (Just so you don’t think I wore the first one out: from '95 to '04 I had a Glacier White counter, which looked brand new when we remodeled in '04 and I planned to reuse it. However, in that wonderful project creep you are all referring to, the layout and color scheme changed, so a new counter was necessary.)
Stains ‘disappear’ with a light rub with Scotchbrite, and a more serious cut or crack could be repaired by an installer invisibly (I’ve never needed to do it). There are NO seams to collect germs or grow mold. I’ve had and strongly recommend an incorporated sink, again, no seams, no stains, no hassle. There are LOTS of colors and patterns to fit most tastes. It IS more expensive than formica, and depending on where you are, possibly a bit more than granite, but SO much easier to live with. It’s one short-coming is that it’s somewhat heat sensitive. I would never sit a hot pan on mine, but that’s easily avoided as they make your sink cut-out into a trivet to sit next to your sink. If your counters ever take a real beating, they can be totally resurfaced and you basically end up with brand new counters. If anyone is interested, I can try to bring a picture tomorrow.
-jean
