Kitchen Remodel Plan: Ideas & Suggestions

[chefann]

Here it is! This is the plan for my kitchen remodel next year. Go to page 5 first, that's the overhead schematic, the first 4 pages are views of each wall's cabinets.

Right now, I've got far fewer cabinets than what's indicated on here. Half of the room is a breakfast area. We're going to be closing in part of a window to extend the cabinets to the left.

Right now, the plan is to have bamboo floors, installed on the diagonal to add a sense of motion to the room. The cabinets will be medium brown (from Ikea, Adel fronts), and I plan to have granite countertops installed, although I'm still deciding on a color. The appliances will all be stainless. I'm not sure if we'll do tile or stainless steel for backsplashes.

Any suggestions from anyone who's done kitchen work recently?

 

[cathyskitchen]

Wow, it looks gorgeous! So much space - I'm jealous! We did tile backsplash on ours and I love how it turned out (on a diagonal, too, so they look almost like "diamond" shapes). We did it 8 years ago, though, and stainless wasn't "in" yet. We're going to replace the cheaper formica counter we got with granite, too. Don't you love home improvements - never done, huh? Good luck with it and can't wait to see the final outcome!

 

[chefann]

We're tearing down to studs and sub-floor. The house was built in 1934 and currently has a really lousy floor plan.

 

[cathyskitchen]

Cool! I hear you on the old floor plans. Our house was built in 1952. My brother just emailed me a picture of his gutted kitchen that they're remodeling, too. It's down to studs and subfloor, and they're completely rearranging everything (it's a 60 year-old cape cod). Just think of all the fun you'll have in there when it's done, huh?!

 

[chefann]

I can't wait to have a decent kitchen to a) store all my PC stuff and b) hold my own cooking shows.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I can't wait to have a decent kitchen to a) store all my PC stuff and b) hold my own cooking shows.

Our next house is going to have an AMAZING kitchen! That is Non-Negotiable! I want to have my shows at my house too!

Good luck on your remodel....I am jealous though!!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Looks great Ann!

 

[JAE]

Is that a double oven I see in the wall? Oooo, I love that. How fun and exciting.

 

[finley1991]

So... Ann..... let me know when I can come over and cook with you!!!!!!!!!!!! There MUST be some recipes we need to test!!!

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Ann,
First of all, Congratulations! on getting to do a remodeling!! We recently built a new home, and, when it was time for me to go and meet the "kitchen guy", I told him how nervous I was to be meeting him. He seemed surprised, but then I explained to him that, he is responsible for helping me get the "most important room in the house", and I so wanted it to be perfect!!
I brought in our current catalog and asked him if he was familiar with PC. He told me "no", so, after showing him the catalog, I said, "See all the stuff in that book?" He said "yes", and I then told him, "Well, I own MOST of it!" You should've seen the look on his face....priceless!! lol

Paula

 

[katie0128]

I can't wait to have a decent kitchen to a) store all my PC stuff and b) hold my own cooking shows.

Did you create a special place for Beaker to hide so she can fly out and attack ankles?

 

[MomToEli]

Awesome kitchen, Ann!

I've had stainless and tile both. I far prefer tile. IMO it is easier to keep clean and nice looking.

Since I've started selling PC I've decided I absolutely hate my kitchen. I truly have NO storage space. And not near enough counter space. I've known it, but now it bites me in the rear every time I cook!

 

[chefann]

Did you create a special place for Beaker to hide so she can fly out and attack ankles?

All of the lower cabinets are on exposed legs, so there's a 4" space under them. I already KNOW that Beaker will end up under there.

One of the reasons I'm going with Ikea cabinets, besides the fact that they're 1/3 the price of the "name brands", is that there are several options for legs/toekick. I'm using a taller than standard leg to raise the counter top by 2". Standard counter height is 36" - mine will be 38. I have a friend with 40" counters (he's 6' 5") - they're really nice, but just a little too tall for me. So I'm compromising, which will also be a little less of a sticking point when we sell the house eventually.

Thanks for the opinion on the backsplashes, Sandy. DH would have everything in the room with a chrome finish if it were possible - he's the one who mentioned SS. I don't want to deal with the fingerprints on it. Right now, I'm leaning toward white subway tile, those are the rectangular tiles that are installed in an offset pattern like bricks (Tyler Florence has green ones on the wall behind him on his Food Network show). Why white? Because then whatever our color of the season is, will match! I can swap out towels and be all set.

 

[chefann]

So... Ann..... let me know when I can come over and cook with you!!!!!!!!!!!! There MUST be some recipes we need to test!!!

Colleen, you are more than welcome to come over! The kitchen won't be done until next year, though. (This year is the plan and decide phase.) We're going to be doing the work ourselves, mostly because we're chea... um, frugal.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Ann,
Have you checked into the granite counters?
We chose Silestone, (Home Depot and Lowe's each have their brand of quartz counters) We have 2 friends who are custom builders and they each discouraged granite they knew how picky I am. This won't stain like granite and doesn't need to be buffed or resurfaced.
I have tumbled Italian marble for all my blacksplashed and love it.
I wish we would have raised our dishwasher up off the floor for easier unloading.

 

[chefann]

Ann,
Have you checked into the granite counters?
We chose Silestone, (Home Depot and Lowe's each have their brand of quartz counters) We have 2 friends who are custom builders and they each discouraged granite they knew how picky I am. This won't stain like granite and doesn't need to be buffed or resurfaced.
I have tumbled Italian marble for all my blacksplashed and love it.
I wish we would have raised our dishwasher up off the floor for easier unloading.

I considered it, but for the price I think I want to go with the real stuff. Around here, the price difference between the real granite and the engineered stuff (which it what Silestone really is) is negligable.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

yes, the price wasn't much different, but the way it would hold up was a major factor for me. I am so darn picky. I have an island with a granite top and someone set a bottle of olive oil on it that had some drips, I can't remove them without buffing it out, Not a job I wanted to tackle so I had my husband take it to the garage..

 

[chefann]

My other big decision right now is: traditional dishwasher or drawer-style? I was at Sears last week, roaming through the appliances while DH was exchanging some old tools. They had a couple of drawer dishwashers on display (as well as a wonderfully hefty-looking cooktop that cascaded over the front of the counter, rather than being set-in). With just 2 of us at home, I find that the dishwasher is usually run when it's less than completely full. Of course, if I get my show schedule bumped up, I'll have tools from shows to wash so that won't be as much of an issue. But I really like the way the drawer dishwashers can do a partial load, and can run 2 different wash cycles at the same time (one in each drawer).

 

[chefann]

Thanks, Teresa. I had not heard any of that about granite. I guess I'll have to do a little more research.

DH thinks I'm nuts (please hold the smart-a$s comments), because I told him I think I want counters like the cubicle walls in the restrooms here at work. They're honey-beige granite with a black and grey matrix (the occlusions and "ribbons"). I do know I don't want something on either the very light or very dark ends of the spectrum.

 

[legacypc46]

Ann, I have to agree with Teresa on the granite vs engineered stone. After a lot of debate, I went with granite because I wanted the natural material. In hindsight, the engineered stone would have been better. I love the look of my granite, but the engineered stone is easier to take care of.

I'm with you on the dish drawers. We plan to install them when we finally move back to the states and are living in our house full-time. The price is finally starting to come down on them (and the kinks are getting worked out too).

Enjoy the process of designing your kitchen. It gets stressful, but it's such a great feeling to get what you want!

 

[finley1991]

Colleen, you are more than welcome to come over! The kitchen won't be done until next year, though. (This year is the plan and decide phase.) We're going to be doing the work ourselves, mostly because we're chea... um, frugal.

I'm patient! Just let me know when!

LOVE the subway tile! Good thinking with the white... it will go with anything and you won't have to update it again in 3 years when decorating changes AGAIN! LOVE the cabinets with the legs. I know which ones you are talking about and it's a great look!

And, hey, if you can do with the work yourself, do it!!!! Why pay someone else to do something you can do?

 

[missydivine]

My other big decision right now is: traditional dishwasher or drawer-style? I was at Sears last week, roaming through the appliances while DH was exchanging some old tools. They had a couple of drawer dishwashers on display (as well as a wonderfully hefty-looking cooktop that cascaded over the front of the counter, rather than being set-in). With just 2 of us at home, I find that the dishwasher is usually run when it's less than completely full. Of course, if I get my show schedule bumped up, I'll have tools from shows to wash so that won't be as much of an issue. But I really like the way the drawer dishwashers can do a partial load, and can run 2 different wash cycles at the same time (one in each drawer).

When we got our new dishwasher we looked at the drawer style, but it seemed like some things wouldn't fit the height. Think about what you will be washing and take your tallest item to see if it fits. If you get the stainless cookware make sure it will fit. We have to small DD's so we run our dishwasher often. For just two the drawers would be nice.

 

[missydivine]

I forgot to tell you how much I love your design. I want to redo my kitchen, won't happen in this house. Right now we are replacing the siding (do it yourself style too). It's a lot of work.

 

[tlennhoff]

I have the fisher & paykel draw dishwashers becasue I wanted something that would work for meat & dairy (one draw for each). I have had repair in at least 3 times due to problems in less than 3 years. You really have to pay attention to the loading directions, make sure not to overload, make sure not to load stuff that is too tall, and we found out to make sure we only fill the soap dispenser 1/2 or it will start problems. While I love them for our needs because I did not have room in our house for 2 dishwashers and I hate doing dishes by hand I have mixed feelings on them. I have a few friends that also have the drawers and have had similar problems.

I love our silestone. Unlike granite it requires nothing from me in the way of maintenance. No resealing every 6 months. It does not stain, it does not burn, it is easy to kasher for passover (safe to pour boiling hot water over it if I'm careful about my feet).

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

I can't help you with the dishwasher, but I will tell you, we got the largest refrigerator they make, with a freezer on the bottom, and it is, by far, my favorite appliance!!!
I do alot of cooking, both at home, for shows, and for people at church who have a baby, surgery, etc. We had a side-by-side in our old house, and I grew to pretty much hate it....no room for all the condiments!! (Either that, or we just use too many different ones! lol)
We do have stainless steel appliances, and the only downside to them is the fingerprints, especially on the refrigerator. You can spend more $$ and get the "smudgeproof", but we didn't, even though now I wish we had!!

One other thing I did....this kitchen has two small "pantry" style cabinets on either side of the refridgerator, about 18" wide each. In one of them, I have stored cookware, and the other one is now fondly referred to as "Stoneware Central"!! It works great for these things!!

In the center of the kitchen, I have an island, and, on the side nearest the kitchen sink, it houses a cabinet with two trashcans inside, the middle has two deep drawers, which is where I put the skillets and grill pan and panini press, and on the right is another cabinet, which houses our "snack foods"...chips, Little Debbie cakes, etc.

On the other side of the island, most people will have no storage, but have bar stools. I opted to have additional cabinets instead, and this is where my pantry items go.

So convenient!!

It's exciting, building and renovating, so I wish you lots of luck! You may also want to check out Taste of Home magazines, as they feature a kitchen make-over in each issue. It may give you even more ideas! And, you can find some of the most recent ones on their website, too!!

Good luck to you!!

Paula

 

[mommyhugz1978]

Looks great Ann!!! I am jealous... I need a bigger kitchen so badly... heck I need to find a house that has a huge kitchen!!! I have no counter space!!!

 

[chefann]

Unfortunately, my kitchen isn't wide enough for an island. Drat. And what I posted is about the 17th draft for a layout. The big issue with this room is that there are no uninterrupted lengths of wall - every wall has doorways or windows. Luckily, DH was cool about bricking up part of a window. Otherwise we couldn't have any cabinets on the left portion of the long wall, because the window currently extends to within 2 inches of the side wall and below counter height.The fridge represented in the layout by the large box with a snowflake on it is a French-Door fridge. Those are the kind with the bottom-mount freezer and 2 doors into the fridge section. On page 1 of the PDF, you'll see what looks like 4 doors. The first 2 (with horizontal handles) are pull-out pantry cabinets, in which the front of the cabinet pulls out like a big drawer. The other 2 doors are a more traditional cabinet. Part of that space will be used for linens, as the only full bath in the house is right off the kitchen and there is no closet to use as a linen closet. (I told you the house was old and poorly laid out.)I already plan to have plenty of space for stoneware - probably the lower cabinets on the wall with the double oven (page 3). And the space above the oven for the seldom-used pieces.

 

[tlennhoff]

When I remodelled our kitchen before moving into our house I closed up one of the doorways and that tripled my storage space. They had 2 doorways going from the kitchen into the diningroom with room for a fridge and one 12" cabinet. I could not see any reason why we needed 2 ways to get into the diningroom and so when the designer suggested closing it off I was very much for it. We have a very small island in the kitchen in order to be within code but I really needed the extra storage space. I have still overflowed into a 5'x8' cabinet in the dining room and all of our dry food goods are stored in cabinets in the dining room. Its tough keeping kosher and having enough space especially when you need (LOL) to have 3 mixers, 3 sets of pots/pans, 2 sets of dishes, etc.

 

[CrazyChef]

How exciting! Looks like it will be a great kitchen!

I wanted to comment on the bamboo floors. My husband and I just installed some in our kitchen and eating area. We did the work ourselves. It's sooo easy to install if you're a bit handy. And the price was comparable to good quality laminate. We rented a floor air nailer from Home Depot and did the whole area (about 400 sf) in a day and a half. I cut the pieces and placed them and hubby nailed them in.

Bamboo floors do scratch very easily. A big dog, high heels, kids with toys, etc will mark up the floor quite fast. But I love the look and live with the marks. You'll have to show us before and after pics next year.

 

[chefann]

OK, you folks with engineered stone - what brand and color do you have? Do you like it?I took a look yesterday (online) at both Silestone and Zodiaq, and it's hard to tell too much about the colors from the little bitty sample pics. There was one that I really liked on the Silestone site, but it only comes in the "leather" finish, which I don't want because it takes more work to maintain (I think I've mentioned before - I'm lazy).

 

[tlennhoff]

We went with Silestone. I think we have diana pearl although on the website it looks less "rosy" then our counters actually do. Find a local store that carries the larger pieces of it to get a better feel for color, several of the places I went to look at had 12"x12" tiles which helped a lot. Everyone comments on how great our counters look and cleaning is easy - just a damp paper towel.

 

[chefann]

I was planning to go see some samples - just wanted a feel for what people have and how they like the colors.
One of the terra cotta looking colors would look FABULOUS in my dining room. The walls in there are a terracotta red. DH mentioned getting some cabinets installed in that room, as a built-in buffet and china cabinet, essentially. There was a display like that at Ikea, and he liked the idea.

 

[chefann]

Here's what I like so far:

Silestone (www.silestoneusa.com)
Kona Beige
Tea Leaf
Yellow Nile (this is the one that only comes in the "leather" finish)

Zodiaq (www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_US/)
Autumn Light
Cappuccino
Chestnut
Giallo Michelangelo
Marrone Ambrato
Minera Pearl
Toasted Almond
Rosso Verona (this is the one that would be gorgeous in my dining room)

 

[tlennhoff]

Rossa Verona looks beautiful.

 

[chefann]

I need to get a piece of the cabinet front, so I can see it with the counter colors. And flooring. AAACK! Too much to do!
And because it's "my" project, DH will be no help except to complain about the choices I make (well, other than doing all the actual work to demo and install).

 

[tlennhoff]

That is a great idea to take a piece of the cabinet with you to set next to the counter samples.

My husband was not much interested in our remodel but did go with me a few times to talk with the kitchen designer. He would not dare complain about the options because he had no opinion other than "do we really need to spend that much?" although by the end he was at the "just get it done".

 

[chefann]

DH asked last year how much I thought it would be - he was thinking around $10-12k. I laughed in his face. My employee stock plan (we can purchase company stock at a small discount) is my kitchen fund, and I've been setting aside 10% of my gross for the last 7 years. Due to a recent downturn in our stock price (it fell 10% one day when I was at conference!), I've got about $65k to spend.

 

[lizcooks4u]

lUCKY YOU!!Great Plans!

I Want To Knock Out My Outside Wall And Make A Damned Nice Kitchen And A Third Room Of Sorts. The Guy I Want To Hire Though Is Almost 79 And Still Does Most Work Himself.

Anyways..

Good Luck And Have Fun Too.

Liz

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Mine is the absolute green & the cultured marble is the same shade with alot of white veins.

About once a month when I deep clean my hosue I clean it with Weimans granite and marble cleaner it is like soft scrub I clear my counters spread it on and wipe it off.

I love the way it reflects the light. I noticed they are offering a free sink under promotions.

 

[tlennhoff]

Wow, I worked hard to keep ours under $20k. When we were purchasing the house one of the things in the contract was "seller will update kitchen" but written so vaguely that in the end he got away with a $3k home depot credit which... well covered the stove and dishwasher and nothing else. It was frustrating but in the end it meant I got a kitchen that is really usuable, if he had done what was "understood" I'd have 3 12" cabinets as my entire kitchen storage (well and under the sink...). I've got pictures of my kitchen online as I designed it to be a teaching kashrut kitchen (http://lennhoff.com/kitchen.htm).

 

[chefann]

Tasha, I like the way your counters look.
I can't even imagine having to keep 3 sets of utensils straight. I have a hard enough time just finding room for ONE of things!

My kitchen fund will be more than enough (it better!), but, like I said, we're replacing EVERYTHING - flooring, wall board, insulation (of course 'replacing' implies that there is some, which there isn't), cabinets, counters, lighting, appliances. We're also removing the soffit, so I can put in taller upper cabinets.

The sinks will be a sticking point between DH and me. DH wants stainless, because he hates the grey marks we get on the current enameled sink. I don't want SS, because of water spots and the noise. I do know that I want a deep sink, so the large cutting board fits in it better. Maybe I'll let DH have stainless for "his" sink (the single to the right of the cooktop).

 

[tlennhoff]

LOL, seperate kitchen sinks, I love it. My mom built a house and I laughed the first time I visited as it was better for a kosher kitchen then anything I'd ever had, and she will never keep kosher. They do have 2 sinks and I think my dad prefers one and my mom the other so it is like having seperate sinks for them.

You could always get the sink made in silestone, easy to clean, no spotting, and matches perfectly.

 

[chefann]

DH's sink is for washing his greasy hands when he comes in from the garage. Currently, he uses the bathroom sink, but that leaves nasty grime all over the porcelain. Besides, a second sink in the kitchen will come in handy for big holiday meal prep.

I was thinking of a matching sink, but if I can find something else I like that's less expensive, I'll go with that.

My BIL works for InSinkErator, and can get me a deal on a disposer and instant-hot tap. Hooray! Every little bit helps, because then I'll have some money left over for SS cookware!

 

[Teresa Lynn]

Ann,
How's the kitchen coming?

 

[chefann]

We're starting it in early 2008.

DH and I took a trip to Great Indoors a few weeks ago to look at their quartz countertop offerings. Ouch! Their price on the quartz was DOUBLE the granite price from a tile and stone shop near my house. I'm going to head to the stone shop sometime soon, though, and check if they have quartz.

DH seemed to be drawn to the blue countertops. Weird. I told him that we're not doing blue because it'll look dated sooner than a neutral. Then he saw the cobalt blue range in one of the sample kitchens - 60" duel-fuel Viking: 6 burners, grill and griddle on top, dual convection ovens. It was marked down because it was a discontinued model and they were selling the sample. $15k! That's almost 1/3 of my (current) fund!

When we visited my sister last week, we asked my BIL about disposers and instant-hot dispensers. He's going to get us those with his employee discount (he works for InSinkErator). Yay! So I'm going to get the top of the line consumer model disposer - super quiet. My sister has one, and I swear her dishwasher is louder than it is.

I really need to get organized and start doing serious pricing/planning.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

I love my hot water tap!! just wish it was "prettier"
we wore our first one out it had a lever this one the top turns but it is so chunky and ugly. plus it only comes in stainless my faucets are gold.

 

[chefann]

This is the one we're going to get: http://www.insinkerator.com/isejsp/product/product.jsp?id=24&template=hwd
It's hot and cool dispensing, plus a filter. It comes in 12 finishes (including gold), in case you decide to replace yours. Sis uses hers ALL the time! She makes her coffee in a French press, and just uses the hot water from the dispenser.

 

[chefann]

Today's the day I check out granite. DH and I are heading out to a couple of shops this morning, and also probably to a flooring store (Lumber Liquidators) to get prices and check out flooring. Yesterday we bought 1 cabinet so that we have a sample of the color to check against granite. And Ikea's currently running a special (24 months financing), so we may end up with a garage full of cabinets by the end of the month.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Today's the day I check out granite. DH and I are heading out to a couple of shops this morning, and also probably to a flooring store (Lumber Liquidators) to get prices and check out flooring. Yesterday we bought 1 cabinet so that we have a sample of the color to check against granite. And Ikea's currently running a special (24 months financing), so we may end up with a garage full of cabinets by the end of the month.

If it were me, I would be giddy with excitement! I'll just be excited for you today!

 

[chefann]

I think the scope is finally hitting DH. When we were at Ikea last night, I showed him some of the little lights that I want for under-cabinet lighting. He thought they were too expensive. OK- I'll let him check with a friend (who owns a commercial lighting business), but I'm not giving them up. And what he doesn't get is that they're 1/2 the price at Ikea as other places.You wanna come shopping today? Pack up Micah and hit the road...