All the time. I'm a nostalgic sort--from a distance at least. Seriously, some of them have developed a character and individuality, tacky and tired as it may be, that just can't be run out and bought. That's why I love to see people retaining as much as they can instead of a total gut and replace with the current look-in-stock. Plus, it's just a damned shame to see kitchens that really just need refinishing and an insert or two sent to the landfill.

I've been fooled a few times with thinking the before picture was the finished one. Oh, that's really nice, I thought as I scrolled down to . . .wait a second . . . oh, THAT'S the finished one. Very nice. First one was pretty good, though.

All in personal taste and function.

Too funny! My "Before" kitchen looked great . . . from a distance. A lot of people that have seen this pic, thought it was the "After". Personally, I can't imagine going through what we went through ~ not to mention spending that much money~ just to change the look of it. I know that some people do that, though. The house next door to us, for example, is a pretty high end one and has had a new kitchen put in with every new owner! That's 3 kitchens in 15 years and they all were gorgeous with top of the line appliances and features! Now it's on the market again.
We had ours gutted and redone because the cabinets were literally falling off the walls; the pine was so soft and cheap that the doors could not stay on! Our builder's insurance company cabinet expert just shook his head and told us they were awful and they wouldn't even attempt to repair them all. We got our settlement and gutted the place. Here's a pic of our "Before" Kitchen:
{{gwi:1587939}}

A friend of mine bought an old house and I loved her kitchen. It was just a little quirky, enough to give it character, and the cabinets had that nice quality that old cabinets can. I visited again a few years later and she proudly showed me her new kitchen. I was shocked: it was completely boring, with cheap looking cabinets and no character whatsoever! Go figure! New is not always better. Tho, with my kitchen it will be! It was built 40 years ago and was ugly from the get go!

Sometimes I see kitchens that are obviously very expensive and try to look like they're from some old French or Italian farmhouse and think to myself that somewhere in France or Italy is a family that lives in a old farmhouse, hates its old farmhouse kitchen, and would happily ship it off to the U.S. in exchange for a new kitchen that would probably cost a fraction of what one of those made-to-look-old kitchens cost. And then I write a ridiculous run-on sentence.

Chipshot, that totally cracked me up! LOL. Guilty as charged. We plan on creating an old-kitchen look/feel with newly purchased stuff...

Glad to be of service. I once shared that thought with a kitchen designer. From his reaction you might have guessed I had said something awful about one of his parents or children.

In the (IMO) healthy spirit of pointing the finger at myself, here's a picture of the kitchen we're replacing. It showed very well when we purchased the house and probably would have suited us well enough, at least for a while. In the end, it wasn't and never was going to be "our" kitchen. So out it went.

You should see my husband's grandmother's kitchen. Actually her whole house for that matter. They have not changed a thing other than furniture for 55 years. I have a picture of my husband when he was 7 standing in front of their fireplace and everything on the mantle is exactly the same now as it was then! But her kitchen is still quirky cute. Even the old refrigerator is still chugging away with it's rounded corners and car door handle looking pull. Their faux wood with the chrome around the edge kitchen table and matching chairs are still there, too. Vintagey looking curtains (probably are) and wallpaper, linoleum floor, sparkly laminate countertops and everything else is in perfect condition. And this woman is 100% Italian, she did a lot of cooking in her day. They were just complete neat freaks. But the funniest thing is their bathroom. Pink tile on floor AND walls, pink tub, toilet, sink, and countertop. Floral wallpaper in pink and foil. When my daughter was 3 and had just been potty trained and she got to see it for the first time (they live far away). She walked in, stopped dead in her tracks, clasped her hands together, and said, "Oh Mommy, it's PINK!!!". She had such a look of delight on her face that it rivaled a Christmas morning.

But I'd still love to have that ancient refrigerator!

chipshot-If you didn't say that was your "old" kitchen I would have thought it was new. It's really nice! I don't know where your located but you can (if it's not too late) contact the link I added. They recycle kitchens, they have some pretty cool stuff. It would be ashame to toss yours as it looks to be in very good condition.

Here is a link that might be useful: green demolitions

This is such a funny thread. I have often lusted after some of the 'before' kitchens.
Chipshot, I'd kill for your kitchen:I'd just maim for half of your kitchen.
There is a modern, huge, beautifully designed, California kitchen which is so perfect for the modern house. I believe it has laminate cabs and an unusual ceiling. I love it the way it is- it so fits the style of the house. Not nice for me to say but I think the remodeler just wants change-to make it hers-of course, I cannot argue with that-that is universal---But I love, love that kitchen and that house. Oh well Bev

chipshot - are you keeping those chandeliers? They are beautiful.

The cabinets, countertops, and appliances were donated to Habitat for Humanity. The chandeliers are now hanging in the garage (they look great there) and will be going to our interior designer, who will give us a credit for them.

I probably shouldn't post pictures of our new kitchen when it's done, as you'll all probably tell me you preferred the old kitchen.

When I posted my mostly finished kitchen, I was actually a little put off by all the people who posted just to say how fabulous my OLD kitchen was (of course the added the obligatory 'but your new one is nice too' line :).

The old kitchen was circa 1947 (when the house was built) and yes, the 8' of counter it had (including the 30" wide sink) was the type of 40s tile that's a very hot retro look right now. Yellow with black trim. And the cabinets (also original) had been painted yellow to match.

What didn't come across well in the photos, I guess, was that the tile was in very poor condition, there was ZERO counter space, the room was tiny (we took out a wall and though we only expanded the edge of the kitchen by 7" it made a HUGE difference), the range was in a drop ceiling alcove that was a dark hole, there was nowhere for a refrigerator except basically in the middle of the room, the 'charming' cabinets had so much paint on them that they didn't close right (or stuck shut when they did), the piping for the solar hot water heater had been installed down the vent pipe over the stove and came out at the bottom, went down about 8" and then straight out the wall into the garage, and the floor was very poorly installed stick on fake parquet tiles. It was a disaster. I never had anyone come in my house and say 'what a cool retro kitchen'. More like 'when are you going to re-do the kitchen?'

Your 'before' kitchen does look like it could be an after kitchen (though my experience proves that things aren't always as they appear) but if it didn't work for YOU then that's fine. It does seem a little wasteful to redo it but since you donated everything I think you offset that fairly well.

If you're curious, here's my 'before and after' from the same spot in the kitchen:

What didn't come across in my "before" photo was the quality and condition of the cabinets, the out-of-the-way oven location, the inadequate ventilation (there is a hood in the photo), the window and doorwalls that needed replacing, the wife who didn't like the wall and countertop colors, cabinet hardware, or chandeliers, and the memory of the kitchen we had done previously elsewhere and missed (see below). From there, I think you'll agree, it's a slippery slope to a new kitchen.

That's the lovely kitchen I remember chipshot. You should post more pics of it. Good luck with the kitchen in progress.

Vislalover,

I think your before kitchen and mine could well be twins tragically separated at birth. I also had many people telling me "its such a wonderful retro look" and from a sufficient distance, if you squinted your eyes a little, I can see that the overall "look" might speak to somebody. However irrespective of what it looked like, the old kitchen was almost completely disfunctional. At a size of 7.5" by 27" it was more suited to being a bowling alley than a kitchen.

If it makes you feel any better, I think your old kitchen was butt ugly :-) Although I think mine may have a slight edge in the ugly department due to the flowered wall paper.

{{!gwi}}

and come to think of it there's a bit of family resemblance in our new kitchens too.

{{!gwi}}

Bob, I hope you at least saved that wonderful old wallpaper you took down. It's priceless and undoubtedly somebody somewhere's treasured antique. :)

lynninnewmexico - I have seen your after kitchen in other posts and in the FKB (by the way, it's lovely) and have been reminded each time I see it that it is a Southwestern cousin to Louisiana architecture. I don't know if you are familiar with A. Hays Town. He is a true architectural genious and a legend in every since of the word. A true preservationists of all things Louisiana (he has passed on, G*d bless him). He single handedly brought true Louisiana architecture back to the forefront, a total renaissance (sp) if you will. Anywho, your picture of your before kitchen (as well as your after) so reflect the similarities in styles, e.g. the white painted brick walls, the beams, the brick floors, etc. The crosses as well, although I know they aren't structural, the style is what you would see in a Hays Town (my hero) home. So a long story short, I really like your kitchen and would be interested to see how the rest of the house compares. I have actually always thought that the bones are the same it is the finishes that make the differences.

Robin - when you talk about your in-laws home, it immediately makes me think of Frank and Maries' home on "Everybody Loves Raymond." LOL :) There was an episode where they moved the gigantic "decorative" (I use the term loosely) wooden spoon and fork and you can see where the wall paper had darkened around them. Too funny!!

I saw that episode!! Too funny! The house I grew up in (Virginia Beach) was a lot like that, too. Hardly anything changed in the 18 years I lived in it. DH and I were house sitting once and our dog ate the wallpaper off the wall. So we stripped some off from behind the fridge to replace it and it was so much brighter than the rest of it. But I'll never forget all those little mushrooms and carrots and tunips that covered the walls of my childhood kitchen. And no matter where she is (3000 miles away in Seattle now) when I think about my mom I always picture her in an apron with flour on her cheek in that vegetable wallpapered kitchen!

OMG! Chipshot, tell me you are playing a little joke and just posting those pictures in reverse order?

I have lived with other people's leftovers all my life....

Hey Robin,

You are right. We get so caught up in what I think sometimes are these most insignificant details that we forget what is truly important like the memories of your mom in her kitchen.

Like the house I grew up in (built in like 1980) had this horrible wallpaper in my sister's and my playroom. Totally horrific but it had a little girl riding a rocking horse backwards on it and I loved it and it still comforts me.

Maybe one day our kids will say, "I remember mom when she was yelling at me to pick up my shoes from right in front of the back door standing on those hideous slate floors with those awful custom finished cabinets with the soapstone CT's, what were they thinking, blah!" Those were the best times!"