Help a newbie out-Kitchen Reno!

[Classic Chic]

BF and I purchased our first house last july, and it's just a plain jane cookie cutter house about 1608 sq ft. We are both Asian, his parents live with us; his mother is the chef of the house, and I'm the baker. The house is only 4 years young, with tile in kitchen....and that's the only plus lol. Given this is the first house, I don't plan to go all out for the reno, but would like to have:

Gas stove
Good venthood system (the one that pumps air out of house instead of recycle it)
Deeper double sink
New counter top
New cabinetry with pull out drawers and up to the ceiling
recessed lighting
and possibly a breakfast bar or island if we haven't declare bankruptcy by then lol


Yes, I know it's replacing everything except the tile I don't have the fund to get them all at once, but would like to start from somewhere. What is the most cost effective way? Should I apply those store cards for 10% and interest free, or go for local contractor? What are some things we should be cautious about? My family always have custom build or interior designer to plan the house, so they are no help in this case. We are on our own this time, so please share your experience!

[balihai88]

I think all the things on your list are pretty standard, so they should be pretty straightforward to accomplish and you will not break the bank. I assume you are looking to have a contractor do this work and not do it yourselves? I strongly recommend you get a few referrals from friends, neighbors etc - don't just look them up online, in a phone book, or in ads.

We live in a condo so we didn't go all out with our kitchen (nothing structural, just cosmetic) but the recessed lighting, countertops, sink, and new appliances made a huge difference. We refaced cabinets but didn't replace them. You don't have to do it all at once. When we redid the cabinets and counterops, however, we had to move everything out of the kitchen so you probably wouldn't want to do that in waves.

Again, I can't stress enough how important it is to get people you trust and know will do a good job - referrals are critical.

Good luck!

[Swanky Mama Of Three]

My interior decorator/designer always says start from the top to the bottom.
But I'd list the items in order of most important to you and check them off as you get them done.

[Classic Chic]

thanks for the tips! so far we are the only two who have a house among our friends, an the other couple just declared bankruptcy, so it's not a good time for me to ask for help I'm going have to ask around at work as most have established family. would it be better to hire an interior designer or just call the contractors ourself?

[bagaholic85]

my bf's fam owns a cabinet biz so i can help a bit :)

1) buying appliances: do your research! there are plenty of articles online that tell u what to look for. stainless steel will always add the most value. venting a hood out would require someone to run the line if its not there already. as for purchasing, you can finance it with zero interest credit card, and make sure to price shop. most companies match prices.

2) cabinetry: you can order custom or semi-custom cabinetry and either hire a carpenter for a few days to install, or see if the place u order the cabinets from has an installer. for layout and design, the company you work with should have someone knowledgeable to help.

3) countertops: shop around for imperfect stone. they discount it quite a bit and IMO its just as beautiful. actually i like it better when it has irregular graining bc i feel like its more unique.

4) "doing it all at once": if you like the sizes of ur appliances and dont want to change where they are in the kitchen, you could do the cabinets and countertops first, then replace each appliance when u have some extra cash. if you want to change the location of anything you would have to do it all at once.

HTH :)

[ahertz]

We gutted our (very old) kitchen a few years ago and what I learned is that it's very difficult to do things piecemeal. You could start with the new appliances and the recessed lighting, but when you go to do the cabinets, counters, sink and island you'll need to do it all at once.

I recommend going to Home Depot or Lowes and having them come out and measure for you. Once that's complete you meet with their designers and find out the cost of what you're interested in. It doesn't mean that you'll have to use Home Depot in the end (we purchased our cabinets through them, but our contractor did everything else) but it gives you a good idea on pricing. They do have the 10% off and interest free for one year plans that we used.

[lorihmatthews]

I've done 2 kitchen renos, the first one a complete gut down to the studs, and the second one I left the cabinets and just repainted them. The first time I had Home Depot, the 2nd time I worked with a contractor and picked out all the stuff myself.

Keep in mind that if you work with a private designer, you will have to pay for their time and the time for the contractors, and they will probably charge a markup, so although it will be cheaper if you forego a designer, make sure your contractor knows what they are doing (in terms of color choices, project mgmt, etc.).

If you want to do things piecemeal, I would suggest getting appliances first if you don't want to change the size of them (particularly the stove/oven). That way you will have new appliances to use while you're waiting for cabinets to arrive (which can take 6-10 weeks if I remember correctly).

If your kitchen isn't that big, I would recommend getting a microwave hood that already has a fan in it. It will save you counter space.

If your kitchen is a good size, since there seeme to be a lot of cooking/baking done in your house, you might want to consider double wall ovens and a separate cooktop.

I didn't see the word dishwasher in there, I can't live without mine! If you only wash small loads at a time, check out the dish drawer style, Fisher & Paykel makes it.

The house is only 4 years old -- is there a problem any of the existing materials? It seems like a shame to rip everything out. Can you refinish or reuse anything?

[mdmc]

Go here:http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/

These people are great and will answer any question you have. Make sure you use the search button first. We remodeled our kitchen 3 years ago and I still go back to answer questions I can. Best of luck to you