Masters Running

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Enk, Erika, Dg - Kitchen Remodel Stuff - TOTALLY OT (Read 382 times)


Marathon Maniac #957

    Dg had asked to see before and after photos of my kitchen paint project, and I finally unloaded my camera. When we moved in there was blood-red semi-gloss on the walls, and putty-colored cabinets - not bad colors, really, but nothing matched. I painted the walls a flat caramel and the cabinets a semi-gloss walnut. I’m not totally in love with it, and the white tile floor and appliances kind of ruin the whole “warm glow” that I’m trying for but this is just a temporary fix until we eventually do a total remodel, and replace the appliances with stainless steel. Before: After: Question for Enk, Erika, Craneium – how did you go about designing your remodel? Ultimately I want to completely redo our kitchen – floor, counter, cabinets, etc., but I want to lay out a plan first, since we will have to do it slowly, one project at a time, as finances permit. Dg used a neat design software to plan her beautiful kitchen, but the software I looked at online was pretty expensive. I think that Lowe’s may have someone who will sit down with their software to help plan. Did you just think it up yourself, or have someone help you plan it?

    Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

    huskydon


      Yes, much improved. Good luck on your remodelling project, I am sure it will be fantastic when you are done. We survived a major kitchen remodel a couple years ago, but it was the best money I have ever spent. huskydon
        Holly, how'd you get my refrigerator? It was in my kitchen when I left for work this morning. There are any number of Software packages that will help with designing a kitchen. I've not used any so I don't have a recommendation. If you go looking, make sure you research and get the right package. Many of them are for Professional Installers/Designers - others are for home use, etc. Bill

        "Some are the strong, silent type. You can't put your finger on exactly what it is they bring to the table until you run without them and then you realize that their steadiness fills a hole that leaks energy in their absence." - Kristin Armstrong

          Holly, your kitchen looks great! I really love the warm colours, what a difference that makes! I wish I could post a "before" picture of our kitchen....it was from 1955 and had been modified once in a really ridiculous way. Just think of Grandma's kitchen from 30 years ago...plywood cabinents, fruit and flowers wallpaper, etc. I went to Lowe's and a guy there helped me. I can't remember if I used their software or whatever, but it was a simple program either way. The guy came to our house for some measurements. In the end he miscalculated something and a piece didn't fit. (I had a feeling it wouldn't work - should have trusted myself more!). Had to send the piece back. We have a water heater under the countertop, in the corner, a tricky situation so we had to carefully measure everything and leave one base cabinet unglued so that it can slide out after sliding the stove out and then the heater is accessible. Ikea also has free software you can use. Cabinets come in standard sizes so you can see what fits.

          "During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

          evanflein


            Well, I'm no help. We hired a contractor. We lived with a totally crappy kitchen for over 12 years... I hated it. No real storage, open glass shelves up on top that collected dust and grime, indoor/outdoor carpeting (in the kitchen!), awful cabinets, just hideous. It was the worst thing about the house when we bought it and the reason we almost didn't. So we looked at tons (and I mean tons) of cabinet books, magazines, bought several "Remodel Your Kitchen" type books, went to home shows, got nosy with our friends and neighbors, etc, etc. DH and I could never seem to agree on just what we wanted. Finally, we just decided to do it, and pulled together all the ideas we had collected over the years: I knew I wanted cherry cabinets. It's my favorite wood, and I like the natural finish. We wanted granite counters... looked at several alternatives and kept coming back to that one. We removed the suspended ceiling with the hideous fluorescent lights and put in recessed lighting and under-cabinet lighting all around. I wanted a stained glass window from a local artist to front a lighted cabinet, and it was pricey but worth it. It's gorgeous. We put in laminate flooring which I do NOT like... it's the one drawback. We're too messy and the chairs we use have the wrong casters on them so are ruining it under the table. I thought I wanted a light peach paint, but it looked too "bathroom-y" so ended up with a rosey-taupe that at first looked too pinky, but it's beautiful. The design for the cabinets was done by the shop we bought the cabinets from (used deWills cabinets, and got a 15% off sale). They have a computer-modeling program, I think any place that sells cabinets will have one. They take your measurements and you pick what you want that will fit in the space. We went back and forth on some things and the guy we worked with was great. Our contractor helped us keep on track with selecting and ordering things, and his crew did the installation of everything (we love him, he's our next door neighbor, too). It was fun to go to work and come home to see what else was done... Living without a kitchen is hard. We had the microwave and toaster oven in the living room and did dishes in the bathroom for about a month. But we gutted things down to the studs and started over, sounds like your job isn't so extensive. I think I have some pictures somewhere...
              the suspended ceiling with the hideous fluorescent lights...
              There is nothing, nothing more hideous than those! I remember now, the Lowe's guy had his own software and fit all the pieces in and printed everything out for us, but I measured and did all my own calculations too. Erika, I only lived without a kitchen sink for 3 days....that was WAY long enough!

              "During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

              stumpy77


              Trails are hard!

                Holly--i think you hit the warm feeling you were looking for, at least in the pictures. maybe it's the contrast with the old version, but it looks gorgeous. we redid our kitchen about 15 years ago when we had the house deleaded and the kitchen got taken down to the studs. we went to several kitchen designers until we found one we felt comfortable with and had cabinets we liked. Actually Home Depot was good in terms of design, but didn't like their cabinets. I'm guessing the the chains can be a crap-shoot in terms of getting a decent designer. comfort level with them is key where ever you end up. you'll be living with it for a long time. we had the small luxury of being able to get a layout we liked and then move the windows to match. the windows were about the only thing i didn't do myself. FIL came to help hang cabinets and i did all the drywall, electrical, most of the plumbing. we just replaced the fridge and dishwasher at the beginning of this year. dishwasher worked fine, the racks were just rusting away. almost cheaper to replace the dishwasher than the racks, so we decided to get new racks and the new dishwasher all at once and hope it lasts another 15 years.

                Need a fast half for late fall.  Then I need to actually train for it.

                 


                The Jogger

                  Holly Nice improvement, much more relaxing looking. Ikea have a downloadable kitchen planner on their site, free. On the UK site and probably US site. It might or maybe not be useful. Roy
                  dg.


                    Holly, it looks great!! And I know how much work it was. I want your refrigerator. Wink. It looks like a great space to work in. You did such a nice jobs. Cabinets are especiallyl hard to paint. Thanks for liking my kitchen Smile. Sorry my software is too old for you to use. I didn't look at it much yet, but that Ikea planner might be a good idea. It's nice if they'll help you at a store, but I changed mine about a million times. I think they likely would've killed me. I took the final design to where we bought our cabinets, she copied onto their software, & then listed it as an original design by her. Roll eyes But that was probably just their default process. Anyway, having a way to tweak your design as you think about it, so you can try to physically copy some of the functional ideas & play with it, things like that, I think would be helpful. And it helps to have detailed specs of the cabinets you're looking at. We got Brookhaven, I think... & they finally got tired of me & just let me take their books home. Kevin just reminded me of the window part... I wonder how much flexibility you have for sizes & styles (in the various software options). That's another thing that made a huge difference. Enke, I love your ktichen. Did you really install your cabinets?? my DH did ours. Not me. We didn't have something that didn't fit... but the guy that framed the house made the hallway 4" too wide, so I had to plan a big chunk of it all over again. Erika, how about a picture? I'd post one of mine, but I don't know if I have any where it's clean. Big grin.
                    evanflein


                      Erika, how about a picture? I'd post one of mine, but I don't know if I have any where it's clean. Big grin.
                      Heheh, that's my problem exactly! And where Holly's house is so clean and tidy, mine's a disaster... Some people never save anything and throw stuff away routinely. We come from packrats, and seem intent on carrying on the tradition.
                        Thanks dg. I really did install all the cabinets. DH helped hold them up Wink and clamp them. But seriously he made me do all the measuring and drilling. The wall around it is still white (3 years later) because I can't decide what colour goes with the strange colour of countertop I picked out (kind of muted green/grey). This project tested our relationship a bit...but in the end two heads are better than one and one person would have an idea that the other hadn't thought of.

                        "During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."

                        wildchild


                        Carolyn

                          Well, we built our whole house, so obviously the kitchen too, 16 years ago. Hard to believe its been that long, but DD was born while we were in the middle of construction, and she's 15 already. DH built all the cabinets himself, out of pine, with a clear finish. For the most part they're open shelves above the counter, and have doors below. We like the open look but some folks don't. The counters are a mix - the one on either side of the sink is granite tile. We liked granite but it was expensive, so we got some Italian tile. We used it for the backsplash too. Then by the stove we put a big chunk of butcher block that we picked up used somewhere - I think it used to be in a restaurant kitchen or something. Its probably about 5 feet long, and makes a great work surface for food preparation. Then the counter on the third side of the U shape is made of thick jointed slabs of Douglas Fir, with natural edges, meaning the bark is peeled off but the edges are wavy from the natural edge of the wood. It's easier to design and build a new kitchen than to do a remodel. Holly, your paint job looks great!

                          I hammered down the trail, passing rocks and trees like they were standing still.

                          SteveP


                            Where the heck are the Batman posters???? Shocked Surprised Confused Cry

                            SteveP

                              nice changes Holly!!

                              denise


                              Marathon Maniac #957

                                You guys have some great ideas - thanks. I'm lucky that I have a fairly large space to work with, but no real idea of a plan, other than that I want a natural wood/stone look. I'll go check out the Ikea software, and probably after soccer season I will sit down with the Lowe's person to talk about the plan. I know this project will go along inch by inch, since our available funds are limited, but maybe with one project per year we could get this done in 5 years.... Smile

                                Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."

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