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There is no problem doing it ourselves but I don't care for the edges on laminate when we do it ourselves. Laminate sheets are very inexpensive…been there done that
I'm tired of the stock cabinets and I don't like the middle stile.
Thanks for your input.
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Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
Since you put it that way-
I'd save on the cabinets. Even cheap-ass cabinets can support granite. Hell, even cardboard can support granite if its constructed correctly. It's much easier/cheaper to dress-up cheap cabinets with the granite selection, hardware, flooring, and backsplash. Even the right wall color can help define- or even adding a glaze finish to the cabinets.
Ha, ha…that's what Mike always says. And he is right. People may like the style and color but they rarely know what the cabinet is made of.(that also goes for me, lol)
If there's any doubt that this will turn into one of your flips- go with the granite. Everybody goes bonkers for granite; but they hardly recognize a cheap cabinet from an expensive one.
I know…I'm just not a fan. Maybe I can find one that isn't crazy wild, lol.
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Originally Posted by ocngypz
I spend the money on cabinets.
Countertops are easily changed. Not so much cabinets.
That is very true. I really like the cabinets we found and so does my husband. We can also get them in a about a week so that is a plus for us. I am going to the stone yard this week to make a decision.
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Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I agree wholeheartedly with all of your post but especially the part about the soapstone. We recently installed soapstone counter tops in our kitchen and I couldn't be happier - we LOVE them. And they feel DIVINE. Super low maintenance as well. We were lucky enough to find a slab that had some green quartz embedded in it and it's fabulous looking.
It was no more expensive than mid range granite.
Granite is so 2010 in my opinion! Overused, overly shiny, overly patterned. I've had it in one house and I swore I'd never have it again.
OP, I'd go cheaper on the cabinets (not cheap as dirt, just that I'd cut corners there price wise) and invest more in your counter tops. Your counter tops will be what you work on every day, what you wash every day, what takes the punishment and wear. That being said, I'd be picky about how drawers function. Life's too short to deal with poorly aligned drawers.
I know you love your soapstone and I'm happy for you. How much was yours if you don't mind me asking…per square foot?
The drawers on the Charleston cabinets slide beautifully. I saw a customer's cabinets and drawers while we were in the store.
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Originally Posted by KellyFG
10.5 years ago we bought our current home which was a complete fixer. We went with stock cabinets from Home Depot that my DH customized to some degree and "custom Formica" from a fabricator. We spent $2500 for everything including Sheetrock, electrical, plumbing ( we had used appliances for a while). We also added an island a few years later.
It was what our budget could handle at that time. I host several large parties a year and I cook at least one meal everyday that I'm at home. Our kitchen still looks great and I don't think the parties we host or the food we serve is enjoyed less because the kitchen isn't HGTV ready.
I would like to change out the counters at some point but we are in the process of design a kitchen renovation for our vacation house so it's not happening any time soon.
I think you should go with whatever your comfortable with, if your planning on selling soon I agree with getting nice but less expensive cabinets and splurge on the counters. I also think most buyers will love granite and SS appliances.
Your my kind of girl That's what my husband and I have been doing for years. In one house we did a granite countertop and it didn't pay off. At least not where we bought and sold. I'm a big cook also and people have no problem enjoying the food, kitchen and the company
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Originally Posted by silibran
If cost is your chief driver in the remodel, then go with the laminate, but understand that it will not really look like granite. The edges and seams of the stuff will be the giveaway, and it won't wear the same.
However, you can use granite tiles, which are less pricey than the seamless granite tops. If you get a narrow epoxy grout, they will be beautiful and easy care. However, the epoxy grout is pricey. I have porcelain tile in my present kitchen, with narrow grout lines. We had the horizontal surfaces regrouted with epoxy, and they are indeed easy care with no staining.
Open your mind to other possibilities before deciding. Prior to this kitchen, for decades, I've always had laminate. It never wore well for me. It looks great for maybe 8 years, with conscientious care--at least in my experience.
Here is another thought: fake granite will always be fake. Even the best laminate will still never look like granite. IMO, it is better to get laminate that looks like laminate. If you want granite, get granite, at least in part of of your workspace.
That's one of the problems. I'm not sure I really "want" granite. The place I am going to this week has over 1500 slabs of level one granite. If I can't find one there I'm getting laminate
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
Lisa, you must keep in mind whether this is your forever home, or just another flip. I really do not see a whole lot of difference between your choices. So, if this is the only choice, I would go with the cheaper one.
I feel as if you might be stuck in flip mode, when you perhaps should be in "listening to what the style of the house wants" mode. For example, I want you to keep the terrazzo, because it is rare and expensive, instead of covering up with ordinary tile. I wish you would go outside the box, as in "the big box" stores.
I've been with your projects for a long time, and so I know that whatever you do, it will be nice, and comfortable, but since you ask, I am giving you my honest opinion.
I think I'm stuck in cheap mode It's hard to get Mike to go to other stores and sadly we both hate the shopping. I'm sorry about the terrazzo but it isn't in all the rooms and we want to make it uniform. You may not like what we chose but it is unique…since no tile place had many I'm still trying to talk him into painting the built ins a light color. He likes what's there…ugh!!
Thank you all for the comments. This house is one of those that has a lot of weird things about it and we are trying to tie it together and figure it all out. My DH and I have never had more discussions and change of plans than we have in this house.
Lisa, you must keep in mind whether this is your forever home, or just another flip. I really do not see a whole lot of difference between your choices. So, if this is the only choice, I would go with the cheaper one.
I feel as if you might be stuck in flip mode, when you perhaps should be in "listening to what the style of the house wants" mode. For example, I want you to keep the terrazzo, because it is rare and expensive, instead of covering up with ordinary tile. I wish you would go outside the box, as in "the big box" stores.
I've been with your projects for a long time, and so I know that whatever you do, it will be nice, and comfortable, but since you ask, I am giving you my honest opinion.
I agree totally with this sentiment!
When remodeling, I always think about resale and the market, but I don't allow that objectivity to determine every single remodeling decision unless I'm ONLY buying a house to flip it. In a house I'm going to live in for 5 or more years, I find the balance between resale and daily living and sometimes that decision may cost me a little more money on the front end, but I love the results every day that I live there.
And like gentlearts said, I want you to keep the terrazo flooring!
That will save you a bundle right there and you can spend that money elsewhere. Like in the kitchen. But I think you've already bought something else so I guess that's a moot point.
Oh, you asked about the cost of soapstone. I think ours was around $50 a square foot.
Countertops are easily changed. Not so much cabinets.
Bingo.
In my new construction, I'm getting cherry cabinets and Wilsonart Laminate. The main reason is that my builder did not have granite or quartz selections that I loved. No point in paying the extra, not to mention the builder mark up, unless I loved it. But I did go with the cabinets I loved and in a few years, I'll switch out the countertops. I see it as working out to the same price overall, just splitting it into phases. And for me, it's a bonus that I'll pay cash for the countertops when I do get them, rather than having that amount extra rolled into my mortgage.
And I have to say that the Wilsonart HD laminate looks great in person. In my kitchen, I got their version of calacatta market and it honestly looks real until you get really close and see the seams on the edges. I got a couple of other styles in the bathrooms and those both look really great too.
In my new construction, I'm getting cherry cabinets and Wilsonart Laminate. The main reason is that my builder did not have granite or quartz selections that I loved. No point in paying the extra, not to mention the builder mark up, unless I loved it. But I did go with the cabinets I loved and in a few years, I'll switch out the countertops. I see it as working out to the same price overall, just splitting it into phases. And for me, it's a bonus that I'll pay cash for the countertops when I do get them, rather than having that amount extra rolled into my mortgage.
And I have to say that the Wilsonart HD laminate looks great in person. In my kitchen, I got their version of calacatta market and it honestly looks real until you get really close and see the seams on the edges. I got a couple of other styles in the bathrooms and those both look really great too.
Wilsonart has come a long way. I really like the look and texture of the HD counters.
A glass falls over on stone or concrete and it's broken. Laminate not only saves your wallet, it saves your dishes, too.
I had tile counters in my last house and never broke a glass or a dish on them. On the tile floor, yes, but never on the counter. I would hope that a glass getting knocked over on a counter wouldn't break it no matter what the counter surface is! And I have solid hardwood floors in the new house, so hopefully that will be a little more forgiving on the glasses and dishes that will get dropped on the floor.
I had tile counters in my last house and never broke a glass or a dish on them. On the tile floor, yes, but never on the counter. I would hope that a glass getting knocked over on a counter wouldn't break it no matter what the counter surface is! And I have solid hardwood floors in the new house, so hopefully that will be a little more forgiving on the glasses and dishes that will get dropped on the floor.
I can break glassware and dishes on any surface: laminate, stone, tile, vinyl and wood. I especially like to break things in the sink.
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How much was yours if you don't mind me asking…per square foot?
It's hard to get Mike to go to other stores and sadly we both hate the shopping. I'm sorry about the terrazzo
but it isn't in all the rooms and we want to make it uniform. You may not like what we chose but it is unique…since no tile place had many
