If you get a standard size counter depth fridge or standard size range, you can upgrade those years down the road. Hard to upgrade cabinets. Appliances can break, too. So, I'd spend less on appliances (that's what we did) and more on architectural details, good quality construction, cabinets, etc.

I almost went pro appliances, but decided that I cook well enough on a good dual fuel, so we have a Kenmore 30" slide-in (like we had in previous house). If it dies, I'll cry first because I love it, then I'll go for the new GE Cafe Dual Fuel or a Dacor Dual fuel that will fit that space. Same with the fridge. We got a Kenmore Trio French Door. Space will hold another brand and we could even do a built-in with minor wall modifications because of the way we arranged that space.

We don't have a built-in microwave. We have a custom shelf for it in our island. Why? Because microwaves are like comptuers, they just keep getting better and cheaper, so why not be able to donate this one and get a better one later.

Just my opinion.

I would put more money in appliances than cabinets. I mean how much does a cabinet have to cost to store things? HA! HA! That's what I'd do.

Agree. Put your money into the cabinets. Appliances come and go and don't last as long as they should. Do you by any chance have room for a walk in pantry or wall pantry? That could help you save further by requiring fewer cabinets. I've also seen (in books and magazines) people using antique hutches in the kitchen. I could never pull it off but if it fits with your style and if you already have a piece or could find a deal on one, it might serve to save on cabinets. Regarding the appliances - if your current plans call for something like a cook top and two wall ovens, you might compare the price of a Maytag double oven/stove or a microwave that also works as an oven. This would eliminate the wall ovens but still give you two ovens. That might save money(?). I know it hard to change your dream kitchen.... good luck.

Everyone is saying put it in the cabinetry. I've been pricing cabinets and the price difference has been in the style, not the construction of the cabinet. I can get the same structure of a cabinet and material for $200 and get the other with the fancier door for $400. The fancier door is not going to make it function any better, only make it look different.

By no means am I implying that you should buy cheap cabinets, no way. Only be careful you are not paying for "pretty" and not something that has nothing to do with function and dependability. In getting several quotes on cabinets I've learned that's a very easy trade to get ripped off if you're not paying close attention to the specifics.

Sounds as though you've already picked a cabinet line; is that right? Even if not, I'm with the 'spend it on cabinetry, upgrade appliances later' club.

If you haven't decided on cabinets, you really might want to shop around the custom shops. Some are *shockingly* higher, some in line (or lower, if you're lucky) with the major lines.

In any case, you might want to check in with the 'Kitchen' forums here; you'll find info and opinions a'plenty!

Good luck! Kate.

Here is a link that might be useful: The nice kitchen people

One trend I notice is the extravagant exterior treatment of new houses. I know that first impressions are crucial in attracting buyers and we (secretly) like to impress others. Vinyl costs less- and that is all I have to say about that. Multiple roof lines and multiple gables look good, but cost more and add no technical advantages to a house. Inside, lighting fixtures are easily changed later. Check Lowes, Home Depot, and (gasp) Walmart. Sure, the fixtures are made in China. So are many of those at the specialty lighting store

I would cut the appliances not the cabinets.

We decided to put single knob hardware on the cabinets. While it cost us $500, it was worth it so that hubby doesn't have to drill them. If he screwed it up, then it's on us.

Our "perfect house" would have a rock front, I'd then do gray siding. I also love the green siding that's offered by our builder. We'd also have a porch, walk out basement, gourmet kitchen with a sun room.

What we got was a brick exterior, no porch, no sun room but we got the upgraded master bath with whirlpool jets (important for my back) plus tile and better cabinets / counters.

We did get the better wood on the stairs. If there was no carpet it would look cheap & scratch without the better wood. While I'd love to have the iron railing spindles (I think that's what it's called) we ended up with wood.

The house we bought was already spec'd out by someone else and while we were able to change come things, others we left because we could change them later on. I can't post the amount of money we saved by buying this house then if we would have chosen everything ourselves. We did get an awesome deal and are very happy with our decision.

I'll try to email you later to give you some ideas of what we did.

We were overbudget and did have to make those decisions. (Our foundation/excavation ran 25% over, so we were over budget as soon as the foundation was completed.)

Our bottom line was
1) Is it cosmetic or structural? (Structural got priority)
2) How hard (expensive) to upgrade later? (The more difficult/expensive to change, the higher the priority)

We had some of our appliances from our former home and used those. We did not skimp on the cabinets, but had drawer cutouts cut instead of spending on hardware (hardware can easily be added later).

Lighting fixtures - easily upgraded so we chose the least expensive but made sure we put them in the right locations.

We put wood floors in the great room, dining area and kitchen. Where we carpeted, we used the cheap builder's grade carpet because we plan to change it in a few years.

We did not do a lot of expensive, cosmetic exterior stuff.

If you were $5,000 over on cabinets AND appliances, where would you choose to put your money?
That's a no brainer - we'd put the money into the cabinets even if it meant buying used appliances.

Is it really necessary to cut anything at all?

Take a look at your overall budget and do your research to find additional cost savings. Buying online you can find a wealth of deals to be had for things such as knobs, sinks, flooring, lighting, etc.

We just finished our build & moved home Aug 30th, and as I mentioned on another thread, we managed to find savings of $8,000 just on flooring alone versus the price we could get locally. As another example, I had picked our specific vanities for our master bath that were priced locally at $2695 each. Ouch. But I went direct to the manufacturer and they sold to me at $1305 each - delivery included!

If you haven't started your build yet, you still have some time to do as much research as you need to get your costs within your comfort zone. Good luck on your build!

Finding big savings is wonderful. But small items can help a little. Our cabinets (stock items) were designed and built so that no hardware was necessary. Wife decided that she wanted hardware. Found some we liked at HD. Shopped online and got a very similar item for 1/3 the cost. Saved over $100.00. I made a jig for drilling alignment so that it was fast and accurate.

I made one big concession - after the bids were in and that big concession has kept us under budget to this point. It literally gave us a nice cushion and enabled us to easily change products etc along the way without going over budget. It was a biggie for me to give up - until I understood what I was actually giving up. It was THREE masonry fireplaces. We estimated our house with three full masonry fireplaces. When I started showing the builder what I wanted with pics he realized that we could have exactly what we wanted with inserts. When he quoted our house he thought I wanted large open hearth walk in type colonial fireplaces. Would love that but it's not the look I want. Wanted more classic Rumsford looking firebox. I realized afterwards we could trim them out anyway we wanted. Changed to inserts - saved us almost 50K - which enabled us to change to Hardiplank over vinyl and several other changes including finishing at least half of the basement.

Other changes that have saved us money along the way- bathtub- do you really need a jacuzzi tub? We actually have a nice one- brand new- that didn't fit in our old home. We were going to use it but the look of it doesn't go with our new house. After looking at all the options and realizing I could get the look I wanted BETTER with a soaking tub decided to go with no jets. If you ask very few people use the jets - and they are a PITA to clean. Saved probably 2K on tub.

As for your kitchen question- I would certainly spend my money on "hard" fixtures- cabinets over appliances etc.

Good Luck with your decisions.

PD

Let me make it clear that this isn't a custom home where I can go out and choose any cabinet/get bids. The builder has a very wide selection, but several of them are upgrades~of course my choice is an upgrade. It's similiar to the Thomasville Cream w/rubbed edges, and could very well be one and the same. I don't know the varying prices but the kitchen has tons of cabs. There's one section of cabs that stands on it's own~they're on an outside wall with a small centered arched window, and glass-door cabs on each side. I was thinking of doing this section in a stained wood that would compliment the painted cabs. I guess from what i'm implying, I want the esthetic, or the *pretty*, and am not so concerned about a particuliar function, except to hold dishes, pots, etc. I'll be the only one living in the house, so I don't have too much concern about wear and tear.

I know there are varying prices on appliances too, and that's where the functionality thing comes in, and don't need the fancy-smancy, but don't want el cheapo, either. Who has the fridge/DW covered with cabinetry? Is this feature comparable to SS appliances? Which would *you* prefer? My main concern is the double oven/stove, so maybe I can splurge a little more there, if the fridge/DW are covered over. Im not one of those people who needs numerous functions on a DW or a fridge. Hey, I don't even use my DW now! LOL

Seems the general consensus is spend on the cabs, which is what I *wanted* to hear. LOL

Trisha, over at CityData there's a post about stainless steel appliances, most people would choose bisque. Since we bought a house that was already spec'd out, we couldn't change the stainless steel, but I wish we could have. I much prefer the bisque.

In one of the estate homes they used the bisque appliances, it looked much more classic & clean. The kitchen also had more of a home feel them the SS.

There's one section of cabs that stands on it's own~they're on an outside wall with a small centered arched window, and glass-door cabs on each side.

I've always wanted the glass doors. I have this vision of good dishes & glassware I wanted to change out at different times of the year. I still have no clue if we got any glass doors on the cabinets and am afraid to ask due to being heartbroken :) lol

From what I understand of the little I've been at the design center, they have the different colors of appliances then they have the upgrades (meaning better quality) but with those same colors. You might be able to get bisque if it's what you want but in the cheaper version, which you can upgrade later.

If you want the link to the post at citydata I'd be glad to send it to you. They also have discussions on wood.

Are you getting excited yet?

ME????? Excited???? Did you get my email? And send me that link to citydata. I have the bisque now, and i've never tired of it. When you first look at the kitchen cabs(I painted them white), you would think they're the same color the bisque is so light. Nothing like the almond color from a few years back, which looked like a dirty yellow-tan.

I've always considered the SS more of a comtemporary look, and definitely want a homey, cozy feeling, that's why I was thinking of the cab fronts. All the kichens with this builder are huge, and I didn't want that because I think it takes away the cozy feeling. The breakfast area is big, but the cooking area is not huge. The GR has a two-story ceiling, so i'm planning to cram it chock FULL of furniture to *make* it cozy. Fabric on windows too, not just blinds. Can you tell i've been in the 'planning stage' for awhile? LOL

Sue, you can remove the cab doors, and take them to a place that sells glass/mirrors and have glass put in after the fact~no biggie. They'll just cut out the center. If there's a trim piece, that would make it look nicer.

Didn't get any packing done today!

A bit off topic perhaps, but we still use the only dryer we ever have owned- bought new in 1968. Dried clothes prior to that "on the line". The dryer does not now look so good, but works perfectly. I have personally done all the repairs. And that dryer has outlasted 3 washers and is well on the way to 4. Wife does not want a new dryer- I offered to buy one.

Save on stuff that either wears out, or is [realitively] easy to upgrade later.

And remember-- as a general rule, the sooner in the build it happens, the tougher it is to replace.

So the last stuff to go in is the easiest to change: furniture, trim, paint, appliances, faucets, flooring.

You can do Ikea cabs now with simple doors, then have nice custom doors made down the line.

Counter tops can be upgraded later, but some care has to be taken to fasten the 'temporary' top with screws that are easily accessed. If you ruin the cabs while removing the top, your savings are gone, and they've taken some nest egg with them.

patty cakes

When you make trade off's you have to think about the cost & pain to upgrade down the road (which if you cannot get what you want now - you know you will want to do). In my experience - replacing cabinets is much more painful than changing out appliances. However, replacing cabinet doors only (not the framing) is relatively easy. You might decide to get a nicely made cabinet with a lower cost door and cheaper finish. We found that the same cabinet with a more elaborate door sytle and extra finish (like a glaze) are the big cost drivers. In our last house, our cabinet doors faded so badly that i had to order all new doors - fairly easy to do yourself if you are handy or have access to a handy person.

I would also check to see exactly what type of appliances and "upgrades" your builder is trying to sell you. We found that the builder mark ups were very high and the quality was not worth the price. In our last house, we put in the cheapest stuff (upgraded nothing) and then started replacing appliances over time. The first to go was the GE builder builder special dishwasher which sounded like a jet engine running a full throttle. But it lasted long enough for us to save up for a much nicer dishwasher that the builder did not offer and that was very easy to replace.