OT Kitchen Remodel - Seeking Information

oldgeezeystax

Hiya Gang!

We are in the VERY preliminary stages of a kitchen remodel and there are an incredible amount of things to consider. I've seen a few remodeling posts here before and, with all of the cooking we do, I figured this would be a good place to start gathering information.  

As we go farther into the planning process, do you have any words of advice, things to consider, things to avoid, things you wish you did, things you absolutely love, appliance reccomendations, etc...

Things we are thinking about:

• We have hardwood floors in the kitchen and we've really liked the pictures we've seen of dark blue/gray floor cabinets, and white wall cabinets with hardwood. 
• We have a small house and we are knocking out one wall to combine our kitchen and dining room, we are strongly considering a booth-style dining setup to maximize space while providing seats for entertaining
• Pro-ish style ranges: I've been researching the mess out of these and don't feel like I've gotten anywhere, would really love some input in this area. We are pretty tied to the 30" size and I'd really like to incorporate a functional exhaust hood
• Fridge: this fridge looks like a solid no-frills deal
• My wife loves farmhouse sinks but I think I've talked her into the largest stainless undermount we can fit citing additional expense of the farmhouse with decreased durability 

oldgeezeystax

I saw in another thread that @lit recommended touch-free faucets but that seems like another thing that could malfunction to me, does anyone else recommend them? 

SamIAm2

Just a thought, who is taller you or your wife. We are both taller than builders think is average height and couldn't stand the sinks when we bought the house. Built 2 x 4 x XX boxes where all the cabinets were going when we remodeled and used kick plates and tall baseboards to hide the wood boxes. 3 1/2" doesn't seem like much but it sure makes working at the counter and sink much better for us.

nate1152

oldgeezeystax said:

Hiya Gang!

We are in the VERY preliminary stages of a kitchen remodel and there are an incredible amount of things to consider. I've seen a few remodeling posts here before and, with all of the cooking we do, I figured this would be a good place to start gathering information.  

As we go farther into the planning process, do you have any words of advice, things to consider, things to avoid, things you wish you did, things you absolutely love, appliance reccomendations, etc...

Things we are thinking about:

• We have hardwood floors in the kitchen and we've really liked the pictures we've seen of dark blue/gray floor cabinets, and white wall cabinets with hardwood. 
• We have a small house and we are knocking out one wall to combine our kitchen and dining room, we are strongly considering a booth-style dining setup to maximize space while providing seats for entertaining
• Pro-ish style ranges: I've been researching the mess out of these and don't feel like I've gotten anywhere, would really love some input in this area. We are pretty tied to the 30" size and I'd really like to incorporate a functional exhaust hood
• Fridge: this fridge looks like a solid no-frills deal
• My wife loves farmhouse sinks but I think I've talked her into the largest stainless undermount we can fit citing additional expense of the farmhouse with decreased durability 

Yes, to the gray floor cabinets with white uppers. If you sell, you'll appeal to more with the gray than blue, but depends how long you'll live there and your tastes.

Yes to the booth - if I was you, I'd shoot for a half booth - if you don't have a window, run wains coating up the wall with a bench, and chairs on the outside, if you're able. At least gives you options if you have people over that aren't able to slide well. 



For the range, you'll want to go with something that matches your fridge. Is your microwave going to be above the range? I've seen a lot of homes with microwave mounted below the counter - allows you to incorporate a rangehood while keeping your counter free. Aesthetically pleasing and don't worry, you'll get used to the microwave being lower. 

Also, keep in mind that it really doesn't matter the brand - all fridges, ranges, etc are basically the same components, quality, etc, unless you're going Wolf, Sub Z, etc.

Yes to stainless. I have a farmhouse sink and it's a pain to clean and easy to scrape.

Theophan

nate1152 said:

... Yes to stainless. I have a farmhouse sink and it's a pain to clean and easy to scrape.

My wife and I remodeled our first floor, notably including the kitchen, several years ago, and I LOVED the way farmhouse sinks look, but the more I researched them, the clearer it got that they are a real pain in the neck.  So let me add one vote against farmhouse sinks.

I don't recall what the sink we got is made out of, some sort of composite, I think, but it's great.  I like it much better than stainless sinks we've had in the past, and it's easy on plates, etc..

evie1370

We just remodeled our kitchen last year. Best advice we got-pick the colors you want/like-not what you think you should have. For example I thought we should go with very light/neutral colors to 'brighten the space'. Contractor encouraged me to go with my favorite color, which is red. Turned out great. Burnt red color cabinets, black/white/red granite and grey slate floors. Awesome!

YukonRon

We just finished our total rebuild of our kitchen, wall to wall, ceiling to floor, appliances, plumbing and electric.

I learned one thing; "Know your limits" prior to taking on such a project, meaning simply understand your space, and maximize its potential.

We have a functional kitchen now, where before we had none. It was small with hardly any counter or storage space. The redesign, although taking up much more cubic feet than we had previously, seems to have made the space larger, which is exactly what we needed and wished to achieve.

It is the gathering spot, and amazes me we can get 6-8 people in there. Somehow, we do.

One thing, about wood floors, we have them in our kitchen, made from extremely durable bamboo. They are difficult to keep clean, but have withstood a tremendous amount of traffic and spills. If I replace the flooring, which I may do at some point, I will likely go with a wood printed tile.

We are happy with the remodel, and everyone that has seen the kitchen prior to the remodel has said they could not believe the difference.

Good luck with yours.

saluki2007

We built a new house 2.5 years ago.  Kitchen was one thing I wanted to have a lot of hands on with.  Mounted soap dispensers for the sink are very nice.  We did go with the farm sink as I liked having a large basin to work in.  Wish I had paid up for the touches faucet.


We went with white counter tops and gray cabinets.  Really like the modern European look.  Get the soft close doors for everything.  Cant tell in the picture, but the bottom cabinets have a second level built into them some of them for extra storage.  Very nice for organizing lids for the pots and pans.  Having silver wear in one draw and then the extra crap (spatula/tongs) above them kinda hidden.


The doorway you see is to the pantry and that's where we keep the microwave and toaster and those type of things.

northGAcock

YukonRon said:

We just finished our total rebuild of our kitchen, wall to wall, ceiling to floor, appliances, plumbing and electric.

I learned one thing; "Know your limits" prior to taking on such a project, meaning simply understand your space, and maximize its potential.

We have a functional kitchen now, where before we had none. It was small with hardly any counter or storage space. The redesign, although taking up much more cubic feet than we had previously, seems to have made the space larger, which is exactly what we needed and wished to achieve.

It is the gathering spot, and amazes me we can get 6-8 people in there. Somehow, we do.

One thing, about wood floors, we have them in our kitchen, made from extremely durable bamboo. They are difficult to keep clean, but have withstood a tremendous amount of traffic and spills. If I replace the flooring, which I may do at some point, I will likely go with a wood printed tile.

We are happy with the remodel, and everyone that has seen the kitchen prior to the remodel has said they could not believe the difference.

Good luck with yours.

Yeah.....but that ice maker gives me the fits.

YukonRon

northGAcock said:

YukonRon said:

We just finished our total rebuild of our kitchen, wall to wall, ceiling to floor, appliances, plumbing and electric.

I learned one thing; "Know your limits" prior to taking on such a project, meaning simply understand your space, and maximize its potential.

We have a functional kitchen now, where before we had none. It was small with hardly any counter or storage space. The redesign, although taking up much more cubic feet than we had previously, seems to have made the space larger, which is exactly what we needed and wished to achieve.

It is the gathering spot, and amazes me we can get 6-8 people in there. Somehow, we do.

One thing, about wood floors, we have them in our kitchen, made from extremely durable bamboo. They are difficult to keep clean, but have withstood a tremendous amount of traffic and spills. If I replace the flooring, which I may do at some point, I will likely go with a wood printed tile.

We are happy with the remodel, and everyone that has seen the kitchen prior to the remodel has said they could not believe the difference.

Good luck with yours.

Yeah.....but that ice maker gives me the fits.

Don't feel bad @northGAcock. I often have trouble working a broom. I let My Beautiful Wife do the hard thinking stuff these days.
Hope your mending well Robin.

stv8r

Just finished a total remodel down to the studs. new electric, plumbing, drywall etc.  One of my favorite choices was an extra deep under counter sink.  Big enough to soak a cookie sheet.  The touchless faucet is amazing too.  Many many times I don't want to touch the faucet before cleaning my hands.  Figure twice the budget and twice the time.  Do that and you'll be fine.

JustOneOfTheGuys

My advice is to get the best appliances that you can get.  We went with wolf and subzero and haven’t regretted the decision one bit.  That was over 13 years ago and we’d do it all again if we needed to (i.e. moved).  The things we love the best was getting a boos block end grain work  top for one of our islands and the warming drawer.  

As far as conveniences, I would recommend a pot filler faucet over the stove and a sink in an island behind the stove.  The less you have to walk with a pot of boiling water to drain pasta and veggies etc, the better.  Oh, and gellpro mats by the main sink, and by the stove top.  It’s like standing on giant thick gel insoles - your feet will love you.

Also consider the kitchen work triangle when planning the layout.  We were lucky enough to run into a professional kitchen planner at the store we purchased our appliances from. He was a real nice guy and turned us on to the work triangle and he was the one that suggested adding an island with a small sink behind our stove and boy what a difference it makes.  While he didn’t actually design our kitchen he was kind enough to look at our sketches and make recommendations. 

The last piece of advice I have for you is take your time, shop around to get ideas, have fun, and plan wisely.

Smokin_Trout

Plan, plan, plan. 
This will be one of the most expensive things you will ever do to your house. You want to do it right. The right layout, the cabinets, the right sink(s), windows, flooring, faucet, outlet placement, pot filler (very handy), counter tops and everything else. 
We have a 5’x6’ island with granite top. It is placed about a foot to close to the countertop area. It is always cold, sounds crazy but I would find a way to use electric floor heating to warm it. We do pretzels a couple times a year and they will not rise on the granite. 
Put outlets on each corner of the island- if you have one. 
We have crappy well water and turned the island sink into reverse osmosis water for the cold. 
Add a pantry if you have any room available. 
Farm house sink makes it very easy to clean large pans or three babies. 
You’re going to drop a lot of money into this- don’t be afraid to look at moving windows, doors, plumbing and electrical. 
We added a couple of hidden outlets behind fake cabinet door and in a cabinet (phone charger).
Makes notes lots of notes. 
Good luck. 

NPHuskerFL

Wrapping up our kitchen and bathroom(s) remodel like....

SmokeyPitt

As far as faucets, I recently put in one of the commercial style and it is my favorite thing. This is the one I have:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Sous-Pro-Style-Single-Handle-Pull-Down-Sprayer-Kitchen-Faucet-in-Vibrant-Stainless-K-R10651-SD-VS/206086636

However you might be able to find a better brand/value. I didn't do any research on this purchase. Old faucet was leaking and we hated it so I had to replace it in a hurry. So far we really like it. Only minor complaint is the sprayer does get stuck in "spray mode" sometimes if you have it running full pressure. 

Lit

oldgeezeystax said:

I saw in another thread that @lit recommended touch-free faucets but that seems like another thing that could malfunction to me, does anyone else recommend them? 

We are a couple years in and no issues. If it broke tomorrow I would get another one. With all the raw meat I handle I would never have one you have to touch again. 

jonessteave

We are looking for local recommendations for a kitchen remodel – mostly cosmetic quotes. House is 1912 and looks like it may have had some upgrades in the late 80’s but plumbing not to code. The plan is to work with existing structure/size however, it was suggested that https://mayflowerva.com opening up the space could prove beneficial. Looking for a recommendation for someone who we can build a relationship with and not luxury. Any suggestions are appreciated.

HeavyG

Jones the SpamBot strikes again.

jonessteave

We're going to be doing a complete kitchen remodel. The plan is to gut the room and completely redo it. How difficult is it to live in the house while something like this kitchen remodeling potomac md is happening? Since both work and school are remote, should we just go rent a beach house for a week or something?

Canugghead

HeavyG said:

Jones the SpamBot strikes again.

Honest, as soon as I read the first post I thought about jones. He didn't disappoint - struck twice!

Edit: By the way, noticed every spam comment has been edited since mid-late Jan 2022? To make it appear legit I guess? This latest one is one minute apart, let's keep an eye on the next one to see if that's the mo.

Canugghead

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1189363/good-cheap-whiskey#latest