Can this kitchen be saved?

[morgie44]

I usually lurk/post on the MM boards, but I suspect I will be venturing over here more as my husband and I are house hunting currently.  We are considering putting an offer on this house:  I love the outside and like the neighborhood.  I think that I can update most of the areas with better furniture arrangement, paint and other easy fixes, however, the kitchen is far from my dream kitchen.  I like white and bright, carrera marble, subway tile etc. in a kitchen.  This one has dark cabinets, tile, and granite.  Any ideas how we can update this relatively cheaply?  We don't want to spend a ton of money or gut it because there is nothing wrong with the kitchen really, it's just not my taste.  One thing that we would like to do is change out the tile. 

Edited to remove link.  Thanks for the ideas!

[simpsongal]

Change the tile floor? Because that would be extremely expensive.

I don't think I would change a kitchen like that. It's brand new. It's not my style either, but it probably wouldn't be a good value/investment to undo the upgrades.

[Ramz-ee]

Mar 22, 2013 15:17:18 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

That kitchen is gorgeous! It might not be to your taste, but it's new and well done.
I've seen far worse kitchens than that transformed on a budget.

I was going to type the exact same thing.

Changing out floor tile to lighten up the floor is a pretty easy and relatively cheap (depending on the tile you pick) DIY project.

[morgie44]

You guys are right, I might be a little dramatic by saying it needs to be 'saved'.  There isn't anything wrong with it, just not what I would choose. I guess what I am struggling with is, how can I make the kitchen work with my style in other rooms. Will I need to modify what I was hoping to do in the other rooms (family and breakfast are adjoining, but it is still pretty open to the more formal rooms too? I was hoping to do something like this for the family room as far as colors and layout. 

[TBM]

I understand how you feel...the kitchen in our new house is completely not our taste, and it is brand new.

If it was just an issue with the doors being the wrong style or color, I would buy new doors, (like we are doing for this house before we sell), but I think our new kitchen is actually going to need to be reconfigured to be functional.

[emoflamingo]

I'm glad you realize that was dramatic. WHO has that pink kitchen?? It needs reposted lol.

I don't think those two rooms won't work together. Get upholstered chairs for the island and you can paint those cabinets (even if they are brand new and not your style -- you can hire someone to do this so that it's done perfect and will last). I'm not sure if it's just the photo but it needs more lighting. Maybe color on the walls will help.

And this is coming from me, who recently bought a house that I wasn't completely happy with the kitchen on, but it's livable and I'll make it my own one day when we gut it.

[simpsongal]

Your taste seems to align with the bedrooms. I'm guessing they were trying to match the style of the house with the kitchen. Remember, 'thou shall not paint woodwork in a pre-war house.' I think it's an old house, right?  I would probably go more craftsman/cozy in the family room and kitchen area. I agree your style doesn't really match those rooms.

These issues would probably be dealbreakers for me. I would rather spend less money and put my own kitchen in a house rather than accept something that's not my style.

[morgie44]

Mar 22, 2013 15:37:24 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Your taste seems to align with the bedrooms. I'm guessing they were trying to match the style of the house with the kitchen. Remember, 'thou shall not paint woodwork in a pre-war house.' I think it's an old house, right?  I would probably go more craftsman/cozy in the family room and kitchen area. I agree your style doesn't really match those rooms.

These issues would probably be dealbreakers for me. I would rather spend less money and put my own kitchen in a house rather than accept something that's not my style.

It's actually 5 years old.  We would be offering about 20% below asking price, which has already dropped significantly.  We think that it might be a good investment based on other sales in the neighborhood and price per square foot.  We know this isn't our forever house, but have been looking seriously since September and casually for at least a year before that.  We have yet to find a house that we like everything about and are currently in a tiny barely 2 bedroom 700 sq ft house in a crappy neighborhood, so we are ready to compromise on some things.  This house fits the space, layout, and neighborhood criteria than  anything else we have seen. 

[lavender444]

I think deccluttering the counters, new pendants and maybe a new floor would help. If it's still not as light as you want, I agree with hiring a professional to paint the cabinets. The house looks great. I wouldn't let a few aesthetics hold you back if everything else is what you want.

[kaylie]

Here are my guesses on the costs:
New granite - minimum $3,000
New floors - probably a few thousand depending on what you choose
Having cabinets professionally painted - at least $2,000
Backsplash will probably be ~$500
Add another few thousand for other stuff you'll decide you want to change along the way.

Honestly, I don't think it's worth it to go all out if you're going to sell in less than 10 years. I might just change to a lighter granite and leave it at that.

[morgie44]

Mar 22, 2013 17:42:11 GMT -5 FormerlyRR said:

Definitely a new floor, and if you take off the granite strip and add a backsplash that goes to the edge of the counter, it will be a big change as well. Lighting, as PPs have said will help, and I'd say paint the cabinets as a last option.
I'd take up the tile and have wood put in and run it into the family room area next to it.

W would love to do wood, but the front rooms are wood, and the tile starts at the start of the hallway. I am worried about matching, and really like the existing wood so we don't want to rip that out. I think thday we willl start by changing the tile to something not so dark and work from there. Thanks for talking me down. I agree that it's not a good investment to throw out a perfectly good kitchen, or paint those cabinets, as that is what must buyers want based on whats in all the new construction houses around here.

[SusanBAnthony]

I hate the tile, and I don't care for dark countertops. I would probably change the countertop to a light color and deal with the floor for now, but change it in a few years. The dark cabinets are not my style either but I would live with them and try to lighten it up with better lighting.

[magdala]

Start by painting the room your favorite color. It is amazing the transformative power of a coat of paint. That kitchen has great bones. The layout is good and the granite appears to be in good condition. If you are fixated on the floor tiles, change the floor tiles. I would also change out the hardware.

I loathed my kitchen when we bought the house. We had put aside money to widen the window and change out the light fixtures because the kitchen was so dark despite the pretty maple cabinetry. The kitchen was painted a dark grey-purple. I had the kitchen painted an apple green to complement the green in the marble counters....transformative. I walked into the kitchen and laughed at how much brighter the whole kitchen was. I love my kitchen now. It didn't need the window widened or the light fixtures changed.

[Deleted]

Painting the cabinets a light color would completely transform the kitchen. I'd paint the cabinets white and re-tile with a lighter color tile.