Need to remodel kitchen without...

[Bob's Project]

Cajundaddy, well played.

[recycled sixtie]

Originally Posted by Rodsrsr

Can you post a pic of the entire wall where the microwave currently is?

[dyount]

Sometimes the space of the home dictates what can be done. That said, I'd look into cabinets available on-line and assembled in your house. Looks as though your place is a bit of a split so maybe cabinets/bar area between two rooms where micro area currently is?
Also I'm not much of a fan of overly expensive countertops Corian/Marble instead there are laminates that are really cool these days that if you choose to sell the new owner could remove. Backslash I like subway tile 3x5ish with accents.
Most of this is DIY IMHO other than maybe a little electrical/plumbing work

[billybek]

Is that square to the right of the microwave a chase for a cinder block chimney?
You may be able to gain some real usable space by getting rid of that.
It will be expensive to do unless you are doing it yourself.
I did my kitchen on a budget and did all the work myself except for the cabinet and hardwood install.

[Don Ro]

My fiance and I are going to do this to my kitchen cabinets. She doesn't like the very light Pine-color look.
Nor do I.
.
Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations®
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The Under $400 Kitchen Makeover…In a Box Rustoleum Transformations in the Test Lab | Apartment Therapy

[dyount]

Sometimes the space of the home dictates what can be done. That said, I'd look into cabinets available on-line and assembled in your house. Looks as though your place is a bit of a split so maybe cabinets/bar area between two rooms where micro area currently is?
Also I'm not much of a fan of overly expensive countertops Corian/Marble instead there are laminates that are really cool these days that if you choose to sell the new owner could remove. Backslash I like subway tile 3x5ish with accents.
Most of this is DIY IMHO other than maybe a little electrical/plumbing work

[Rodsrsr]

I'd ditch everything on the wall where the microwave is. This would let you add a second row of top and bottom cabinets which is what you need. You'll also pick up lots of much needed counter tops. Install a built in microwave over the oven (with a fan) and either slide the oven all the way to the right. (extend the new counter top) or keep it where it is and put in a spacer (front piece) which would let you have a small counter on the right side of the oven. New floors, reface existing cabinets with new hardware, new fridge Very doable for 15 grand. Do as much as you can by yourself.

[Rodsrsr]

We did ours for around 20k doing most of the work ourselves. We also had the added cost of knocking out a few load bearing walls.

Before:



After:










Notice the White Island. You could keep your main cabinets White and go with a neutral wood for the ones on the wall where the microwave is. Lots of people are doing different color cabinets nowadays. Very cool.

[look 171]

Move the ref. to where the stove is now and switch with the stove. You need 30" above the stove so you can get a large pot in there or work comfortably (code here). New refs. are 36" wide. A counter depth ref. may work better for you given the depth you have there. Your kitchen will feel opened up tremendously if you move that ref. out of there. PLus, you can keep all that cabinets on that side. I always design my kitchens with counter space on both side of the stove and at least one counter area next to the ref. You will wonder how you lived without it, even though it may only be 12 or 14".

How often do you actually use that pull out cart under that tall cabinet next the ref now? Get rid of all that and give yourself 18" counter and cabinet on the left of that stove and use what ever you have left there on the right near the sink. Depends on how much room you have next to the sink (can't see it from the picture), a small cabinet can be squeeze in there. Upper cabinet will fill that space above from window to the edge of the cabinet left of the stove. If you feel like spending a few bucks, then have new doors and drawer installed for a new feel and look. A cabinet maker should be able to match that style of door in his sleep. That's a big soffit above the cabinets. What's in there? I am sure you can use that dead space but it will cost you to have new cabinets built all the way up to the top. In your situation, a microwave hood combo will work best due to the limited space and keeping some of the existing cabinets. That should be within your budget.

If you pocket still feels too heavy, then have your cabinet man make floor to ceiling cabinets opposite from your existing ref. Make sure they are no more then 12" depth because you will need that room to move around there. It will serve as a pantry, (I love shallow pantries, very easy to see and use). For a more open feel, split them up and have a counter between the lower and upper with glass doors ( opaque glass, so you can be a little sloppy with stacking stuff in there). Make sure you DO NOT jam that cabinet up to the door way like you have now. Step it back 6" form the door way. You will need it. Again feel is very important in this situation. You can have lots of cabinet space and that's a must, but it has to balance with the way a kitchen feels especially in a small space to create the open comfortable feeling as you walk in there.

Oh, counter depth refs are smaller then what you have now, so be careful. I know that's been the complain from lots folks, but you give and take and must make a choice. All this should be within your budget.

[look 171]

I suggest pre-fabbed man made quartz counter. Imported from China, oh the horror, I know. They have been used through the world in many restaurants and beaten on by the public daily and hold up just fine. Not too expensive but worth the money if you like a smooth and easy to clean surface. Don't confuse it with custom US or Canadian made products (lots more $$$, but worth it IMO if you are putting in a custom kitchen). Watch for the Chinese made SS sinks. Some of them rust. Little pin head size rust will appear in the sink at times. I will not install them, but know others that have them and its been fine.

jeff

[Mothy]

+1 for Ikea kitchens. Very good quality, all worked straight out of the flat packs.

We went from this:


To this:




After these photo's we put on the kickboards, finished the wiring, re-installed the dishwasher.

All the units, doors, knobs, drawers, sink & tap came from Ikea and they all just worked! Minimal (if any) adjustments needed.

Cost from Ikea was $5k plus another $3k for carpenter, electrician and plumber to do their bit - so way less than $10k. Still to do the splashbacks.

Belling cooker was another $4k but thats another story.

Tim

[look 171]

I normally don't post pics, and never of my client's homes, but here's a few of my own home during my kitchen remodel before the baby. before


demo
during
almost done, but actually never took a pic of the finish product.

[look 171]

The remod. took a long time. I was working on other people's homes at the same time and did most of the work myself including building all the cabinets. Thank goodness we had an outdoor kitchen and ate out all the time, so my wife didn't care. Then, it all changed when baby arrived in 07.

[Rodsrsr]

Plus 1 on pre-fabbed cabinets. A cabinet maker will burn through you entire 15k budget. Craigslist is also a good resource for many items. The stainless French door fridge in the pics was sourced from Craigslist. It was less then a year old from a person selling off his new appliances since his house was going into foreclosure. I believe we only paid $800 for it. Agree on swapping the Fridge and range location, thats a great idea. Plus that wall by the staircase will cover one side of the fridge. I wouldn't be surprised it that was its original location.

[Aragorn]

Originally Posted by recycled sixtie

Haha that is funny. Funny you mention that - it does not work anyway!

How to Fix a Doorbell | This Old House

One of the big box stores that "rhymes with toes" has a Virtual Room Designer. Might want to play around with that. Google search Virtual Room Designer.

I would look into moving the fridge where the microwave is then move the stove where the fridge is currently and get an overhead combo microwave oven-vent combo (low end models are around $250.)

I have done a few "fixes" to old cabinets and they never turn out like you want them. New unfinished cabinets can save some coin and be painted DIY.

Just some thoughts...

[ckelly78z]

From what I see in the initial pics, I would keep the cabinets white and go with a natural looking stone counter top and flooring. Get a new stainless fridge, and move it down next to the entry door and get rid of that upright. See about getting rid of that masonry chimney, and installing a nice backlit built-in floor to ceiling windowed cabinets that would be your new pantry.

The difference between an outlandishly expensive kitchen, and an affordable one is the materials you use. On a $15,000 budget, you'll need to compromise a bit (Corian countertops rather than marble), and do some of the work yourself, but you can build a damn nice looking room for that money.

[JavaBrewer]

IKEA has an online kitchen planner that does a good job. Create your login and start planning at home. When you think you have something workable head over to IKEA. Log in at the store and have one of their planners go through your plan and sanitize. They will make sure you have all the trim, end panels, and hardware needed. Once you pay for the order they will hand you a printed "road map" organized by cabinet (mapped to your online plan) with all the related parts/codes. You can walk out that day with the materials or have them shipped for a nominal fee. The road map makes assembling cabinets dead simple - lots of boxes with long identification codes.

What's really cool about this approach is that if you decide to make a change mid-stream (as I did a few too many times) it's simple to return unused materials and purchase additional stuff as needed. If you're paying a pro then this would get expensive fast - contractors don't like changes. If you have an IKEA store nearby I highly recommend you go in and see their kitchen displays. Many folks roll their eye's when IKEA is mentioned but their kitchen line is pretty high quality for a bargain price. Look for their 25% off sale that's run a couple times a year.