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Imagine that you just bought a house that's about 80 years old. It isn't fancy, but it's comfortable. It's near the edge of what's considered a good (although not expensive) neighbourhood. It's in reasonable condition except for the kitchen, which needs to be completely redone: new cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and paint. Other than keeping the location of the sink, stove, and fridge, it's a blank canvas waiting for imagination to shape it.
What would you do with it? There are so many choices. We want to keep the cost down for financial reasons and because expensive upgrades won't pay for themselves when we sell this house (possibly in a few years). I lean toward more green and healthy choices, while my husband is less choosy in this area. We both like reusing existing products when it's feasible to do so. He's good at fixing things, so this can be a DIY project for the most part.
Cabinets: We've looked at mix-and-match second-hand cabinets in the area. If we painted them the same colour, maybe it wouldn't be that noticeable that they don't match. Or would doing this drag down the resale value of the house? We're also looking at companies online where we can order cabinets and install them ourselves -- any suggestions or recommendations of what to consider and what to stay away from?
Countertops: Quartz appears to be the least expensive of the newer countertop types, and it's eco-friendly. What other options would you consider for this situation?
Flooring: For this house, we'll probably choose vinyl or linoleum.
Paint: I'm researching low VOC paints, both for the kitchen and the rest of the house.
Suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thanks for your help.
Mixed used cabinets can work but only if you mix them just right....try to match as close to you can those cabinets that will be on the same wall - side by side. You could certainly mix cabinets that were similar but not on the same wall.
Quartz countertops - are you talking about quartz composite like Ceaserstone or Silestone? I think that would be a good choice...but don't discount laminate - laminate countertops have come a long way. Will you have an island? Why not use reclaimed wood for the top? I'd rub it with mineral oil and use it for chopping too - love the patina of old wood counters. Great for serving/display also. Here are some images of reclaimed wood counters & laminate counters:
I am a 53 single woman. I re-did my kitchen by myself a couple of years ago. It was fun and a learning experiance for me. I put in new cabinets that I had to put together from lowes. I asked my family and friends for all of their discount coupons that Lowes sends out. Back then they had a $10 savings off @$25 spent now it;s $10 off @$50. Then I went to Habitat for Humanity and got flooring for about nothing, they also had cabinets, lights, paint. and doors. Cheap. If you can just redo the cabinetry and make new doors they look new. Cabinet doors can be made from old windows, leuver doors, or even shutters
Imagine that you just bought a house that's about 80 years old. It isn't fancy, but it's comfortable. It's near the edge of what's considered a good (although not expensive) neighbourhood. It's in reasonable condition except for the kitchen, which needs to be completely redone: new cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and paint. Other than keeping the location of the sink, stove, and fridge, it's a blank canvas waiting for imagination to shape it.
What would you do with it? There are so many choices. We want to keep the cost down for financial reasons and because expensive upgrades won't pay for themselves when we sell this house (possibly in a few years). I lean toward more green and healthy choices, while my husband is less choosy in this area. We both like reusing existing products when it's feasible to do so. He's good at fixing things, so this can be a DIY project for the most part.
Cabinets: We've looked at mix-and-match second-hand cabinets in the area. If we painted them the same colour, maybe it wouldn't be that noticeable that they don't match. Or would doing this drag down the resale value of the house? We're also looking at companies online where we can order cabinets and install them ourselves -- any suggestions or recommendations of what to consider and what to stay away from?
Countertops: Quartz appears to be the least expensive of the newer countertop types, and it's eco-friendly. What other options would you consider for this situation?
Flooring: For this house, we'll probably choose vinyl or linoleum.
Paint: I'm researching low VOC paints, both for the kitchen and the rest of the house.
Suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thanks for your help.
First I would like you to search this thread and the home thread for key words desertsun41 and cabinets and you will get 30 years advice and wisdom in just a couple hours of reading with my hundreds of posts helping those like you.
For the sake of space I will not advise countertops except to say your quartz is more expensive then other choices.
No you do not want to paint cabinets. And thanks for not saying paint them white even though you were thinking it. Yes it brings down the value of the home and a home buyer will run for the next house on their long list. I agree not to go overboard in this economic depression as home values will continue to drop for years to come.
So dont go for Omega quality but also dont buy that IKEA trash which is nothing but corrugated cardboard boxes. Hell you can get those from behind your local supermarket. They throw them away. Also do not be tempted to fall for that $995 for a complete all solid wood cherry kitchen crap. All that is is junk Chinese made sulfur and formaldehyde infested garbage. Your savings will guarantee you will get asthma at best and cancer at worse.
Stay clear of buying any cabinets from Home Depot or Lowes unless you feel like being raped. They charge full list price. You would not pay full list price/MSRP/sticker price for your new car so why pay it for cabinets. I dont mind the RTAs so much as the poster above mentioned, just not the cheap junk the big box stores sell. RTAs are ready to assemble. It's the new thing because a cabinet company can stock great amounts of inventory because the cabinets are broken down into a pile of pieces that the consumer assembles.
I think you mentioned buying odd cabinets from some one elses extra junk pile. NO you can not do that. Just like the cloths you wear, cabinets are not one size fits all. You have to buy your size.
There is a whole lot to know in designing your kitchen, more then just fitting certian size boxes. Unless you talk to some one who knows at least some design then you will never know what is available and that means you are cheating yourself. Again I will say this: DO NOT go to Home Depot or Lowes to have them design your kitchen either. They do not employ designers but rather they gave a 3 day CAD course to a cash register person or a floor person. They know less then you do so dont ask them.
If you are looking for brands the first thing I think of is Merillat because you are from Michigan and Merillat corporate headquarters are in Adrian, MI. If you want to look at Merillat and are on a budget then look at the Essentials line. They are very inexpensive and nice. You can also look at a new and up and coming new kid on the block that I like called Covered Bridge Cabinets out of Pennsylvania. They are RTAs. Look at Legacy and UltraCraft as a couple more inexpensive quality brands.
The average home buyer has no idea what quality is, if they did then there would be no Dodge Chrysler products on the road and the Walmart parking lots would be empty. Instead people see new cabinets and that turns them on. Remember....the woman makes the choice to buy a home or not, the man has no say. And the woman makes that choice based on the kitchen. She could care less what the rest of the house looks like, she wants a beautiful workable comfortable kitchen. Remember those last 2 words. Just new is not the whole thing. It must have good traffic flow and modern goodies. If you want to add some of these goodies like trims and such I have to say you probably can not do it yourself.
Cabinets: I saved money by finding a friend of a friend to make my cabinets for me. He did is as a side job so it took quite a while to get it done. It also helps that I have a small kitchen.
Countertops: On "Sweat Equity" on the DIY channel, they announced that a high percentage (greater than 70%) of all homeowners still replace countertops with laminate. If you're considering selling in a few years, perhaps the person buying would want new cabinets and you'd be wasting your money buying quartz now as they would most likely redo the whole kitchen. But if quartz is what you like, go for it.
The way I see it there are two choices with an 80 year old house....expect the worst and it's a fixer upper or it's been updated.
But there is a third choice that I've seen a few times, often with the super smart and with those with money to burn. But this isn't just for the rich. It's for those who can think outside the box.
It's called 'custom'.
I swear it can be the craziest things you've ever seen, even featured in magazines and tv shows....just saw a show on HGTV last weekend. Somewhere up in New England, a multi million dollar home. The bar stools were made out of tractor seats...yep! The stairs had metal hand rails, repurposed from something else. The whole house was like recycled/reused from something it seemed. Oh, many would call it junk....but it was beautiful! They really took the time.
Those tractor seats..... they were as smooth as a baby's bottom, no rust at all. Can't remember if they left them rustic looking or if they painted them.
But anyways, you can bring your house into the present or you can take your home into the past. Whatever you decide....do it well.
I disagree that used cabinets are always junk. Often older cabinets can be solid wood and made a lot better than many of the cabinets being sold today. You have stated that you would like to reuse materials as much as possible and you have stated clear and logical reasons for keeping costs down - I would think that well-made new cabinets would cost a pretty penny.
Decorator magazines often show examples of reused ktichen cabinets - especially in older homes - and they can work beautifully (see links in my post above).
When we moved into our 20 year old home a year ago, our kitchen needed serious updating - we changed the counters, sink, appliances, window coverings, paint and cabinet hardware - but the cupboards were in amazing condition - solid wood and beautifully made - I couldn't imagine getting rid of them yet they are now 21 years old. Some might have gotten rid of them though and lucky the person who reused them.
Quartz composite is about the same price as granite (depending on the grade you choose) - so don't discount granite as a counter.
Not everything has to be new and perfect to be beautiful and useful. Buy and use what you can afford and what makes sense to you- that is the wise thing to do.
I disagree that used cabinets are always junk. Often older cabinets can be solid wood and made a lot better than many of the cabinets being sold today. You have stated that you would like to reuse materials as much as possible and you have stated clear and logical reasons for keeping costs down - I would think that well-made new cabinets would cost a pretty penny.
Decorator magazines often show examples of reused ktichen cabinets - especially in older homes - and they can work beautifully (see links in my post above).
When we moved into our 20 year old home a year ago, our kitchen needed serious updating - we changed the counters, sink, appliances, window coverings, paint and cabinet hardware - but the cupboards were in amazing condition - solid wood and beautifully made - I couldn't imagine getting rid of them yet they are now 21 years old. Some might have gotten rid of them though and lucky the person who reused them.
Quartz composite is about the same price as granite (depending on the grade you choose) - so don't discount granite as a counter.
Not everything has to be new and perfect to be beautiful and useful. Buy and use what you can afford and what makes sense to you- that is the wise thing to do.
Well it depends on how old you are talking about. Some where around 25 years ago cabinets were not made with solid wood on the faces. There were very few stock cabinet manufactorers around. Instead the home builder hired Carpenters (remember them?) to build them on site. These were certianly strong and solid but I would not call them quality just because they are still standing after 25 years. They really were not even cabinets. They are just painted wooden boxes hung in the kitchen.
Even if you want to salvage your old cabinets you still have the issue of poor traffic flow, poor ergonomics, poor storage, waste of precious space and just plain not modern looking.
Sorry man but I will never say that buying or taking used cabinets from scrap yards is an option. Often I have people call me who said they bought a nearly new kitchen from some one who was tearing it out and want me to put it in their house. That's like saying I will fit in your cloths or a big overweight man can wear kids cloths. They dont fit. In the end people have to end up buying a few pieces to make it all work. Call me old school and a wasteful American with wasteful attitudes but I can not see putting some one elses junk in the greatest most expensive room in your house.
I am a 53 single woman. I re-did my kitchen by myself a couple of years ago. It was fun and a learning experiance for me. I put in new cabinets that I had to put together from lowes. I asked my family and friends for all of their discount coupons that Lowes sends out. Back then they had a $10 savings off @$25 spent now it;s $10 off @$50. Then I went to Habitat for Humanity and got flooring for about nothing, they also had cabinets, lights, paint. and doors. Cheap. If you can just redo the cabinetry and make new doors they look new. Cabinet doors can be made from old windows, leuver doors, or even shutters
Or MDF cut to size and painted, not sure if this is green.Depnds if you want a traditional look (moulded doors) or more modern (flat flush doors)
Imagine that you just bought a house that's about 80 years old. It isn't fancy, but it's comfortable. It's near the edge of what's considered a good (although not expensive) neighbourhood. It's in reasonable condition except for the kitchen, which needs to be completely redone: new cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring, and paint. Other than keeping the location of the sink, stove, and fridge, it's a blank canvas waiting for imagination to shape it.
What would you do with it? There are so many choices. We want to keep the cost down for financial reasons and because expensive upgrades won't pay for themselves when we sell this house (possibly in a few years). I lean toward more green and healthy choices, while my husband is less choosy in this area. We both like reusing existing products when it's feasible to do so. He's good at fixing things, so this can be a DIY project for the most part.
Cabinets: We've looked at mix-and-match second-hand cabinets in the area. If we painted them the same colour, maybe it wouldn't be that noticeable that they don't match. Or would doing this drag down the resale value of the house? We're also looking at companies online where we can order cabinets and install them ourselves -- any suggestions or recommendations of what to consider and what to stay away from?
Countertops: Quartz appears to be the least expensive of the newer countertop types, and it's eco-friendly. What other options would you consider for this situation?
Flooring: For this house, we'll probably choose vinyl or linoleum.
Paint: I'm researching low VOC paints, both for the kitchen and the rest of the house.
Suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thanks for your help.
Vanee, I'm in the process as well of closing on a 80 year old house. The kitchen needs major update, but on a budget. The Kitchen cabinets are custom made about 20 years ago, i believe their made from walnut. But not only the kitchen needs work, but so does the small bathroom. I really don't want to touch anything in that bathroom. What can i expect to pay to replace the file walls, tub and shower, toilet and sink? Nothing elaborate.
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