What kind of kitchen cabinets do you and how do you like it?
 

My wife is thinking of remodeling our 20+ yr old kitchen. We currently have the standard oak with the white tile counter top. We're thinking of either get new facing for the cabinets or go all new cabinets. Just throwing a lot of ideas out there at this point regarding cabinet finishes, ig. classic white, maple, mohagany, etc.

We also went to an appliance center today and looked some Thermador stuff. Very nice but expensive. Is there an alternative to Thermador with similar quality but less $$?

What finish(es) do you have and its pros and cons? And would you choose that finish again?

No, nothing like Thermador. DCS may be a little cheaper.

First of, you have to ask yourselves what do you want? What style, how will you use this kitchen? Is it going to be abused by 5 teenagers or you guys are just going to use it like normal people.

Mahogany is one of my favorite materials. 5 coats of semi gloss pre cat. lacquer. My parent's home had a natural Cherry kitchen with the same finish. My mom cooks almost daily and she's not too careful about getting crap on the wood work or banging a pot against it. She knows I can replace it. You do know Maple is really hard compare to Mahogany and Cherry. My kitchen is vertical grain Fir. master bath is African Mahogany.

I would be looking at the construction instead of finishes. you can get all type of finishes on all cabinets. You want to see American made drawer guides (Mexican made now), or German. I have seem many of the so call Italian design hign end cabinet that are so nice looking and expensive but are totally junk in term of construction. IKEA are cheap but total junk IMO.

One thing about painted cabinets, you can fix a dent and paint it over. It get too dirty, paint it over and it will be new again.

Custom or store bought?

look 171, you brought up a good point. We're just normal people with two small boys (4,7). We mainly cook on weekends, not much during the week. Very hectic work schedules. I assume these will be custom cabinets, not of the IKEA variety. My wife made the same point about cleanability of the cabinets as well.

Custom, great. Love to see people spend money on custom cabinets. What style is your home? That might determine the finish of your kitchen. Ask your cabinet maker to provide some sample before you sign and both of you sign the simple door. Remember that you keep that. some wood will have drastic grain texture and take stain differently and making the color uneven. Polyurethane maybe the most durable so making it easy to clean. I think it look too much like plastic. That's why I like semi gloss pre cat. lacquer. Does she like a flat slab door? Modern but easy to clean since there is no panels within the doors to capture dust or grime. Once you decides, I can give you more info on plywood if you choose a slab door. The most durable would be p-lam door also know as Formica. Function over form or the other way around?

Jeff

I have cherry cabinets and have had maple. Both are great. Both custom remodel jobs. Custom cabinets can be a great bang for the buck. Not cheap, but they can be good value. Example: my current cabinets were about $7000 installed. Includes a desk, a big island, and a pantry. These were from an outfit that does multi million dollar homes. I did wait 7 months to buy them...

As for the appliances, I think Thermador is over priced and underdelivers. I went wolf, subzero, miele and while the sub cost nearly what my SC cost, I believe they should last 20 years. Should I sell, it will be a big draw as well. On more reasonably priced appliances, I think most lines make an attractive unit that will do weekend duty. I had dacor in the past and it was nice.

Have fun. This stuff is expensive but fun.
Larry

I put in cherry cabinets with Minwax Sedona Red stain. I love them but I have to quit taking on these huge house projects because I take too long to finish.

Counters are green butterfly granite.

I really need to take some good pictures for theads like this.

There are several custom cabinet shops around Texas who will built to your drawings, maybe Cali has them too. That's what I should have done since they probably pay half what I pay for wood making their finished cabinet somewhat reasonably priced.

I went the other way with the cabinetry in the kitchen when I did the reno 10 years ago.
I was a little unprepared for the cost of cabinets and found some thermofoil covered doors and drawers at a custom kitchen shop that were installed at an incredibly low price.
They have lasted quite well, are easy to clean and I wont feel bad about changing them out when the time comes..

I went with Cardell last fall. They're great IMO. Buyers closing on the house on Friday love them too.

Here's a pic of part of the room. I was nearly done with construction but this was before cleaning up. Can do others from the main part of the room later today - pics I already have came out too dark.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5...DSCF3269-1.jpg

Thermofoil is so much easier to clean because it is plastic over MDF compare to a finish on top of the wood.

Steve, I was hoping for something like that myself.

thanks for all of your input, really helps.

We have white Merillat cabinets. We like them and they look nice with the gray granite counters, painted walls and stainless steel appliances and glass tile backsplash.

If you basically do not change the foot print or general layout of the kitchen, reface is very nice and half the price. Few kitchens can have new cabinets fro less than 15K and it always leads to more starting with a new floor.

Average kitchen remodel today is 45K if you expect admiration or a selling factor. Do a cheap kitchen expect snickers when people see it.

We just remodeled our kitchen. Went with a combination of reusing/refacing some existing cabinets. We also had some custom cabinet work done where existing configurations were sub-optimal.

All cabinets new & old were painted in shades of grey.

The results:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299601560.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299601596.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299601626.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299606014.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1299601742.jpg

I agree with Milt. If you like the door profile of your existing cabinets (and the profile is not outdated), if the cabinet layout (and storage capacity) works well in its current state, you can reuse your existing cabinets and just paint them. Put the bulk of your remodel budget into the appliances, finish materials and things that will set your kitchen apart from the others. Kitchens and bathrooms sell your house.

BTW .... don't just grab a paintbrush and buy a gallon of Lowes paint. Hire a professional painter. The cabinets must be properly prepped and the final finish will be key. You do not want brush marks in the finish.

Nice granite-not your normal grade! Save money on cabinets, and invest in other features!

I made our cabinets. Furniture style - posts with mortise and tenon rails and all drawers, no doors. Three inches off the floor and nothing on the walls. Painted with leather finish bluish white granite. None are connected to the walls and are moveable. We have pine floors and placed felt on the bottoms of the posts so they can slide, but only with great effort. I intend to post a thread on the remodel.

interesting. Love to see some pics. the slab of marble is holding evrything in place as ine giant unit that slides?

FWIW our cabinets came out to just under $4K including taxes and delivery. It was 14 or 15 boxes total. Plywood / veneered construction and solid cherry fronts. Hinges and glides are Austrian. I installed them so cost was materials only. I gutted the entire kitchen. Well, Habitat did the removal work but you get the idea.

More pics... not the greatest but you can get the idea.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5...1/DSCF3256.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5...1/DSCF3255.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5...1/DSCF3254.jpg

I usually favor light colors (OTOH, I put in cherry...).

Don't forget to put in extensive wiring/outlets when you have it all ripped apart.

Now is the time to alter any "work triangles" too...

I use a "stain" called Osmo PolyX - it is some German floor finish made from ground up nuts yada yada - it is easy to apply (scrub it in) easy to touchup and hard as nails. I use it on all the trim now too.

Be careful re volatiles from glues, etc. in any paneling you use - modern houses are tight as a drum and vapors will persist.
There are some 'green' panels made from wheat straw now - unfortunately, they aren't cheap -- the manf. is tacking on a green tax or something.

Shadetree, that is one of the most beautiful kitchens I have ever seen!