What would you do with this kitchen? (hardwood, engineered, vinyl)
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Just want some ideas. I already have some of my own but this is my first house and I have never given much thought to kitchens before so I want to see what everyone else thinks first.
I guess the first consideration is the budget allotted - kitchen remodels can be very expensive. Personally, if the appliances are in good working order I would wait a while to replace them. Seems foolish to me to waste money just because the color may be objectionable. I would definitely lose the wall border, paint the walls a warm inviting color (I'm thinking red or yellow family), lose the venetian blind over the sink and put up some soft curtains to compliment the wall color you choose. Can't tell if the cabinets are in good shape or not. If they are sturdy, I would consider having them refaced with a warm wood finish, again to warm up the room. Can't tell about the lighting in the picture - and the floor looks dark. If it's wood or tile I would leave it and put down some soft rugs, but if that's vinyl I would get rid of it and either put down tile or something sturdy and pretty. It's just too blah right now - needs some warmth. I'm not big into tearing out walls and such - I just think a makeover without a structural overhaul is enough improvement - most of the time anyway.
Cheap? Get rid of the NASTY fluorescent fixture. Is that wallpaper on the soffit going to come off soon?
If you want to spend some money the cabinets and appliance have seen a long life. I would suggest moving at least the DW to the other side of the sink to give more room near the range. Might be interesting to see what sort of island you could get in their if the peninsula was eliminated.
Honestly I'm not sure on the budget. We don't want to do a major overhaul. We have a set amount of money to buy furniture and upgrade other areas of the house, so we don't know what amount will be allotted to the kitchen yet.
I was going to paint the walls red and go with an asian theme. Bamboo mats for the floor (which is hardwood btw).
New lighting is definitely in the budget. And I agree on the wall border. It's awful. We were going to replace the appliances one by one as they wear out (they are at least 17 years old). The cabinets are the main thing I was lost about. They are very sturdy. I don't even know what re-facing means. Will they just put a thin layer of would on top of the paint or what? Also don't know what color/shade of wood would go well with dark red walls.
That kitchen needs about 400-600w (I prefer more not less - put a dimmer on all kitchen lighting) of recessed can lighting and some low voltage (maybe 4 25w halogens) over the sink and the primary food prep area.
Next thing, ditch the wall paper, keep the cabinets, have them professionally spray painted, replace the door and drawer hardware, new floor and countertop. Save money on the tops by using a solid color laminate with square edges (like the ones you have) and backsplash. New appliances are needed but you will know best about those. Leave everything where it is.
EDIT: I read what you said about bamboo mats. Much as I like all things bamboo, they don't go on the kitchen floor. Forget that. Either leave the hardwood and refinish it or cover with sheet vinyl.
I hate vinyl laminate on cabinets. It says you really wanted to live in a trailer but couldn't afford one. And, putting new wood doors on sturdy cabinets is just a waste. you can almost buy new cabinets for what that costs. I say have them professionally painted. You'll have to juggle your colors a little by not having wood cabinets, but you will be happier in the long run. If you add $2500 to the budget get new cabinets. You can do HD for that. They won't be luxury but will be new.
Last edited by Wilson513; 11-22-2011 at 01:33 PM..
Nemoralis - we just moved to a new house and we had bamboo flooring put down in the sunroom which is primarily used by our cats for their litter boxes, climbing trees, etc. The salesman steered us in that direction as we were actually going to go with sheet vinyl because it is durable and would serve our purpose. He said the bamboo was impervious to moisture, easy to care for, etc. and it did look very nice so my husband agreed and we had it installed. That was in July.....I will say this, it scratches very easily (tracking litter on your shoes can dent it), if you drop anything kinda heavy, it will dent, it shows water marks easily if you drip some and don't clean it up right away. So far, the moisture has not been a problem, but it is not very heavy duty. If you dropped a knife or a heavy pot in the kitchen, I could see a large scratch or dent in that spot. As for cabinet refacing - the house we just moved from - we had some damage done by our cats. The drawer boxes and hinges and the actual frames were all in very good shape - but the door fronts were a mess and they were very dark. I called several places and found a place called Kitchen Tune Up. They have franchises in many areas of the country. They have an excellent selection and my installer and salesman were absolutely wonderful. The tune up involves removing all the doors and drawer fronts, resurfacing the frames with a veneer material that matches the doors and drawers you pick out. You can select from all wood, or an engineered material that is extremely strong, resists heat and moisture, is absolutely dent proof, and very reasonably priced. You can select new hardware if you want it, and they also do countertops, etc. Our kitchen was around 30-31 linear feet and it cost under $6k. It looked beautiful and really opened the whole kitchen up. Our new house has solid oak cabinets by Kitchen Maid and they are extremely nice with lots of storage space (they can add shelving and stuff too). It served our purpose well and hopefully a new owner will appreciate it.
Nemoralis - I forgot to add - you said you were thinking about going with an asian theme with dark red walls - I would probably choose a light caramel color. I am including a link to the website I used. It was most helpful to me and it explains everything. http://www.kitchentuneup.com
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