Friday Funday

[chalupa]

It's felt like it SHOULD be Friday since Wednesday, at least, but the weekend is finally here! Anyone have any fun plans? 

Because climate change clearly isn't happening (eyeroll, lest you think I'm being serious here), we're about to swing from the -36* windchills we had this week to nearly 60* on Sunday. W.T.F. I've skipped out on going to the barn since it's been below zero, so I'm definitely going to go enjoy the not-freezing temps, although to say the ground is going to be "soggy" is an extreme understatement.

M and I were also reminiscing about our old neighborhood, so we're going back to our favorite Taiwanese restaurant on Sunday. 

Also, I would like to solicit opinions on my upcoming kitchen "facelift". I'll put photos up in a minute. 

[chalupa]

OK. Here is my kitchen in all it's 90's glory. Well, these are the listing photos from 2 years ago, because I am too lazy to clear my counters off for fresh photos The eat in kitchen table and light fixture have been swapped out to something less granny, and the valance over the bay window was the first thing to come down.

1. The appliances are all still white, but the fridge and dishwasher are new. The range is old as dirt and ready to be replaced. I have a special hatred of the constant fingerprint removing required for stainless steel appliances, but I know there are now black stainless and fingerprint-free stainless options out there. I'm not DYING to replace all the appliances (I'll be the odd person who likes white - it's easy for me to keep clean), but if it's a cost-effective part of updating the look of the kitchen, I'd consider it. 

2. The laminate counters are scratched up, water-damaged in one corner seam, and ready to be replaced. 

3. The flooring was ruined last year by Lowe's when installing the dishwasher and needs to be replaced. They cut me a settlement check which will cover new subfloor and flooring (I mean, it'll cover a fairly budget new floor - the check is for a bit more than my contractor's estimate to replace the subfloor and put down a basic tile). 

4. The cabinets are oak. I don't hate the wood tone and the cabinets are in EXCELLENT shape. Not a scratch or a ding on them. Like the appliances, I'd consider a new color scheme, but it's clearly a custom-made set of cabinets that is in perfect condition.

5. The cabinet hardware makes it a special snowflake - each door and drawer has a knob-style pull, but behind that is a bronze plate which the original manufacturer nailed in place. So while I can easily swap out the knob itself to get rid of the dated oatmeal-speckled ones, the backplate would have to stay unless the cabinets were painted and the little holes from the backplate could be filled and covered over. 

6. We're not sure we'll stay in this house longer than another couple years. We like this house, but miss city living. Nothing is decided, but I don't want to dump $$$$ into the kitchen and not get to enjoy it for more than a year. 

Existing Kitchen: 


Options: 

A. We could simply replace like for like of what is damaged: new floor and counters. Throw in some type of new knobs and a backsplash. Neither of us love the beige-ness, so I think we'd end up with a finished look like this: 

 

B. M saw this granite and loves it. It's a really lovely chunk of stone - it sparkles peacock colors when the light hits it, lol. But it's black and grey, and I don't think white appliances are going to go with it, so we'd be buying floors, counters, appliances (and knobs and backsplash...)


Or C - we go bigger and do some sort of new counter/painted cabinets/new appliances combo to get us to a fresher look in the kitchen. If I knew we were staying beyond a year or two, I would paint the cabinets and put down a white quartz countertop and mosaic-style tile like this: 


Since I'm pretty confident that the cost of having the cabinets painted is going to be about the same cost as swapping out the appliances, what would you do? I did ask a realtor friend if going to blue cabinets would affect my resale, and she seemed confident that a color scheme like this would likely actually increase our value instead of decreasing. I obviously would not get to have the lovely high ceilings and fancy hood in this picture, but I think a white counter and white appliances could live harmoniously together for now, and be easily swapped out later (either by me or a new owner down the road, if that happens) 

[bullygirl979]

chalupa, do you think the range will need to be replaced before you sell?

[chalupa]

Feb 1, 2019 11:07:15 GMT -5 bullygirl979 said:

chalupa , do you think the range will need to be replaced before you sell?

Ehhh It's not going to die, but I don't particularly love cooking on an electric stovetop. My contractor tells me he can run the gas line for $250 if I ever want to convert. 

[bullygirl979]

chalupa, personally, I think even if you replace the knobs, the cabinets will look dated given the back plate. I would look to reface them or paint them over replacing the appliances.

[SwimDeep]

I feel like this today:

[kaneen]

Agree totally with bullygirl979 on the cabinet hardware. That back plate will need to go in order for those cabinets to look updated.

Personally, if I knew I would be leaving in a year or two I'd only replace damage. A kitchen remodel of any sort is time consuming and emotionally too cumbersome for me to only get 1-2 years out of it. Of course, I only got 1.5 years out of my kitchen remodel so maybe ignore me...I didn't know at the time that I'd be selling now so...

Also, the blue won't decrease your value if your market is anything like mine. I have blue/grey cabinets and got tons of compliments on them and sold over asking price. Significantly higher than the other two that sold in my complex just a few weeks prior to mine selling.

[tiramisu]

I'm at the opthalmologist and I think my pupils are dilating because everything is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Oddly enough, when they tested my vision really quickly, my left eye was sharper than my right. Probably still don't need any corrective lenses of any kind.

chalupa, I'll look at the kitchen photos later, when my vision is normal again. But I agree that a kitchen remodel is tough on you when you're loving there, having just watched my parents go through a full, practically taken down to the studs remodel.

[doriswe]

One of my judges asked me to call her so she could ask for my opinion on therapists in the area for her daughter. I'm kinda blown away that she valued my opinion and we had a really nice talk. Sometimes I'm surprised that people see me as knowledgeable lol.

It feels like every day has been a weekend, since I was stuck at home in pjs for days lol. Tonight I'm going to yoga (since I haven't been in over a week) and possibly out for drinks for a friend's birthday. Tomorrow more yoga, going to my friend's son's basketball game and then hanging out with R. Sunday R's band is doing a church service and then we'll hopefully find something fun to do.

[doglove]

chalupa have you seen the white ice appliances? They are nice. They have a sheen on them them that look more slick and modern.

[neonpink]

chalupa , Maybe see if you take off the current hardware if the cabinet could have new hardware for an update instead of all new hardware. If they are in good shape new counters/backsplash/flooring would do a lot for it. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on a place you don't plan on being in for much longer.

Have you thought of mixing wood with paint if you do decide you want to paint? I'm currently doing a blue cabinetry with a mix of wood cabinets on a project.

www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/images/kitchen-cabinets-traditional-two-tone-139-cp040a-gray-blue-medium-wood-hood-island-splash.jpg
cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Transitional-kitchen-with-blue-cabinets-and-a-copper-glint.jpg

[chalupa]

Feb 1, 2019 16:56:46 GMT -5 neonpink said:

chalupa , Maybe see if you take off the current hardware if the cabinet could have new hardware for an update instead of all new hardware. If they are in good shape new counters/backsplash/flooring would do a lot for it. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on a place you don't plan on being in for much longer.

Have you thought of mixing wood with paint if you do decide you want to paint? I'm currently doing a blue cabinetry with a mix of wood cabinets on a project.

www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/images/kitchen-cabinets-traditional-two-tone-139-cp040a-gray-blue-medium-wood-hood-island-splash.jpg
cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Transitional-kitchen-with-blue-cabinets-and-a-copper-glint.jpg

Those pictures are gorgeous neonpink! Remind me to call you when I want to actually spend money on a kitchen for "keeps"  

I think we are going to just do the counter/backsplash/flooring and call it good enough for now. I may play around with putting a non-ceramic knob on top of the backplate to see if that makes the hardware stand out a little bit less, but M and I were both of the mindset that we'd rather spend $$ on buying our way back into city limits in a year or two than working on this kitchen. 

[bullygirl979]

Feb 1, 2019 16:56:46 GMT -5 neonpink said:

Have you thought of mixing wood with paint if you do decide you want to paint? I'm currently doing a blue cabinetry with a mix of wood cabinets on a project.

www.kitchen-design-ideas.org/images/kitchen-cabinets-traditional-two-tone-139-cp040a-gray-blue-medium-wood-hood-island-splash.jpg
cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Transitional-kitchen-with-blue-cabinets-and-a-copper-glint.jpg

Twinsies! Our current design is a blue/gray perimeter cabinet and a walnut stained island