First, my experiments with painting the cabinets failed. They're finished in some kind of oil-based (seems like kryptonite-based) clearcoat, and the primers and paints I have on hand will not stick. I'd have to strip the finish first, then paint. :( I don't like using chemical strippers. And the cabinets are so poorly made, they're hardly worth the effort.
Second, the garbage disposal side of my sink began to leak. The disposal -- which shakes the entire cabinet and operates at the decibel level of a 747 -- has long been in need of replacement, but I'm not keen on installing a new garbage disposal on the crappy old sink.
I don't want to spend the next year putting time and money into a continuous series of patches to a kitchen that will eventually be gutted. I think my better course of action is to move ahead with the full kitchen renovation sooner rather than later.
First step: Plan the layout. The general footprint of the kitchen is fine, but I don't like having the stove on the peninsula (or the requirement of buying a more-expensive slide-in range). I also think the sink should be under the window. Moving the appliances will require re-routing of plumbing and electrical; the expense of this work is part of the reason I was delaying the remodel.
Second step: Plan the cabinetry. There's a huge price range for cabinetry, from relatively inexpensive stock cabinets to somewhat pricey semi-custom to how-many-thousands-of-dollars-did-you-say?! custom cabinetry. I will stick with stock cabinets.
Some of the cabinet companies offer free 3D design tools, which make it easy (and fun!) to determine which sizes and styles work best for you.
 |
| this is what my kitchen currently looks like |
 |
| option A: same general U-shape footprint, stove and sink moved |
 |
| option B: different U-shape, fridge moved to right side wall, pantry added |
 |
| option B in dark stain |
 |
| option C: cabinets and appliances on two walls only |
 |
| option C in dark stain |
I like the idea of an ebony stain on the cabinets (it looks dark brown in the renderings), but it might make the kitchen too dark. White cabinets would keep it brighter. Of course, I could also change the wall color.
 |
| purple walls are always an option in my house ;) |
Be careful on colour combinations - looking at them on a picture is not the same as being in a room those colours, as I found out at Dad's house. When I was (much) younger, I was asked to pick a colour for the kitchen (a reward for doing more cooking was getting a say in the then-new kitchen). I picked a nice rich green which I thought looked lovely next to the (real!) oak doors of our new cabinets... Well, this was before making fancy CGI kitchens like the ones above was easily done, and all we had were swatches to go on. Dad's kitchen is now a VERY bright green. It actually does not look too bad under natural daylight, and would be better if my Dad wasn't awful at actually completing DIY projects and actually put the tiles up (He starts a million and one projects at once and then is surprised when he doesn't finish all of them.) as there would be a significant wall area covered in neutral tiles (around his sink and window, as a splashback to worktops and hob), but as it is it looks VERY VERY green, and as its a small room and illuminated much of the time with artificial light, it LOOKS very green. We had even previously tried a small swatch of wall to make sure we liked the green. It's just a small patch of green doesn't quite have the same effect as a whole room of GREEN.
ReplyDeleteTalking of tiles, are you planning on having tiles under the sink and behind the hob? Or any kind of splash-back? It really does the wall great favours - paint does not like repeated soaking or splattering with boiling oil. I know that tile-cleaning can be a pain (or rather the grout between the tiles) but it's a lot better than having to de-grease and then strip and then re-paint the wall because the last paint started flaking.
Personally, I can't figure out whether I like the dark stain and off-white walls better or the white-ish cupboards and purple walls better, probably the dark stain version.
Paint can look remarkably different in the can or in a small swatch. I'm not comfortable with a color until I've painted a test patch at least a meter square. I was very glad I did this with my exterior paint; the grey that was lovely on the swatch turned out to resemble mud on the house. :/
DeleteI will be installing a backsplash/splash-back (funny that we use the same words, but in reverse order :) ), though I haven't decided what kind. One option is to have a matching backsplash installed with my new countertops. I also like some of the glass tile and decorative metal choices.
Honestly my advice is to go for the white kitchen, as you can cheaply paint the walls any zany colour you like and with little effort/money you can repaint if you want a change or don't like it. A simple blind would feel much less cluttered than your current curtains. I also think Option B is the best use of space, get rid of that penninsula. It just feels a bit claustrophobic with it in place.
ReplyDeleteYou can hardly go wrong with white kitchen cabinets. :) They can be worked into almost any decorating style. Yes, I agree, the peninsula needs to go. The kitchen and dining room are small enough without a chunk of cabinetry taking up space in the middle.
DeleteI agree -- go with a white cabinets. It will really open up the room. We had dark cabinets for a long time, and just recently changed to white. I am shocked at what a difference it makes.
DeleteI personally love purple on the walls. But you could do any color.
The open layout looks great! I can imagine it will be a lot of work to move the sink and the stove but the result is so nice I think it's worth it. I would have chosen white cabinets for the kitchen but I'm very fond of light colours in interiors (Because of our long dark winter). Good luck with your plans!
ReplyDeleteIt will definitely be worth the effort to move the sink and stove. What a difference it will make! Though I generally lean to dark colors, I prefer a lighter/brighter kitchen. In fact, I really like cottage style, which is almost entirely whites and pastels. :)
DeleteI like option C with the purple walls. They provide a nice contrast to one another. As much as I love dark colors, I don't think dark wood really works in a kitchen unless it is pretty large.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Though I like dark wood, I'm not sure it would work in my small (and poorly lit) kitchen, particularly if I have a dark floor.
DeleteIt's uncanny how much option B looks like my kitchen. We've started the remodel process as well, though we're not moving any of the appliances. We're just refacing the cabinets (same deal, crap doors but good boxes), replacing the cabinet doors, replacing the counter top, replacing the backsplash, repainting and potentially adding a new stove/microwave combo.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I'm partial to option b in a dark stain (we're going with "chocolate" which looks so killer).
Kitchen twins! ;) It's great that you could reface and just replace the doors. So much easier and less expensive! My cabinets are particleboard crap. The shelves are so warped that my food slides to one end. :P
DeleteGood luck to you, too! I hope you'll snap some pics of the chocolate cabinets.
I like the idea of getting rid of the peninsula, it opens up the space a lot. Also, moving a sink isn't that hard, it's simply buying some pipe, connectors and caulk and connecting it to the already existing pipes. The only difficult part will be the electric. Adding in extra cabinets, such as the pantry is also a great idea, as it always seems that one never has enough space for food, dishes and small appliances, though that may just be me, lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping the electric may not be too hard - it comes up through the floor and can be accessed from the basement. (Bringing it up to code may be a different matter...) I don't have a lot of kitchen stuff; still, one can never have too much storage in a kitchen. :)
DeleteThe electric coming through the floor will make it a lot easier, and probably cheaper if you hire someone to do it.
DeleteHow awesome that you can use the 3-d pics to plan out your kitchen. I think you're smart to go ahead and gut the kitchen. It's a room that you inevitibly spend a lot of time in and it should work for you.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. :)
Yeah, the 3D planner is awesome indeed. I would never be able to visualize the various layouts in my head. In addition to time spent in the kitchen, I spend a lot of time at the dining room table or in the living room, with the (currently hideous) kitchen in view. There's no escaping the ugly. ;)
DeleteThanks!
Just don't overlook the importance of counter space!
ReplyDeleteLoss of counter space is definitely a drawback of losing the peninsula, especially with option C.
DeleteI'm seconding Gothica's comment- I have almost zero counter space. Floor space is lovely, but it's not super useful when you want to start flinging pans around.
ReplyDeleteI vote white cabinets, colorful walls.
Yep, even a non-cook like me needs to have a place to set dishes down or assemble a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
DeleteI also second Gothica's comment. Counter-space is really, really useful. We've got a tiny kitchen with a flip-down table in our kitchen and really, really feel the lack of counter-space, even with the flip-down table in use. Maybe some kind of folding/sliding/on wheels extra counter-space would be useful? Something you can put away when you don't need to use it, but can bring out when you're doing more expansive cookery projects?
DeleteOption B with white cabinets and maybe a lighter purple so as not to have your kitchen too dark :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking a lighter purple, and a bit more on the blue side. :)
DeleteOoh, Option B *does* look just like Captain Morgan's kitchen! Exact same placements of everything! I love that layout, especially if the kitchen is on the small side. I like the white cabinets - they would indeed brighten up the space.
ReplyDeletePurple walls would rock - then your kitchen would be a combination of Captain Morgan's house and my house. :-D
Kitchen twins indeed! :) It's an efficient layout that makes good use of a small space, I think.
DeleteWould that be a Captain Kitty kitchen? Maybe it would infuse me with good taste in music and an elegant sense of fashion if I spent enough time in it. ;)
I like option B with the white cabinets and pantry. I would go purple on the walls with that layout. Of course you lose some countertop space but how we remedied that when we redid our kitchen was we had an island made for us from the same cabinets and countertop. Our island has six drawers on it and gives us that extra countertop space we need. We also did something that surprises everyone who sees it. We went to Home Depot and bought wheels for it. We installed the wheels under the island and now we can wheel it out of the room if we want it somewhere else or if we just want to open up the space. It's very cool :)
ReplyDeleteA very versatile solution...
Deleteso many nice options :-D hope you make the right choice for you!
ReplyDelete<3