Not in a million years! In my case it would have been like lipstick on a pig. ;)

I called my renovation a "refresh", but "facelift" is probably as good a description. Kept the cabinets, which I liked well enough, as well as the ancient Subzero and new-ish dishwasher. Replaced the "wood look" formica with granite, installed a tile backsplash, got a new sink and faucet, and switched from an electric cooktop to gas. It was much less expensive than a complete rehaul, and it looks like a new kitchen.

I have to admit that it would be like lipstick on a pig for me too, but I think I might be happier. Facelifts/cosmetic surgery is more for self than others.

jeanteach, I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I was meaning cosmetic surgery rather than kitchen facelift

Kitchens last longer.

Facelift is cheaper and less painful.

I don't know if that's true. I think I read that after about 10 years your kitchen is dated. That might be about the same amount of time as a good facelift! :)

janran, I agree that a facelift is cheaper and less painful! And probably far less decisions that you can screw up.

Face lift? Ha! I should have had a heart transplant instead of or prior to doing my kitchen.

No way! A "facelift" would have meant the same lack of counter & work space, same lack of cabinet storage, same dysfunctional cabinets (construction & configuration), same dysfunctional layout, ... the list goes on.

A "facelift" would have been a big waste of money...

Oh! You meant an actual "facelift!" In my TKO-mindset, I thought you meant a kitchen facelift!

Let me think....Nope! I still would rather have the kitchen!

I would rather have a new kitchen. I probably need a facelift but the thought of it is too frightening.

My answer would be no to either kind of facelift. :-)

Ha, I also thought you meant kitchen facelift. And my answer was that I am very happy with my spruced up 20+ year old counters and cabinets.

My sagging chin?...not so much.

But I wouldn't pay thousands and thousands for a fresh start there either.

Ha! Great thread! Don't want a facelift but wouldn't mind a brain transplant.

While planning this kitchen I've let my hair grow out. Now I'm just going to wear my hair in realllllly tight piggytails, giving me that "always surprised look!" AND a new kitchen. Win/Win.

Except that no one in my family will go out with me in public.

This thread has given me a good chuckle. I much prefer the new kitchen. Fortunately for me I inherited good face genes!!
but considering I don't wear makeup, don't have my nails done, don't dye my hair, I doubt I would get a face lift.

Well, I'm not in need of an actual facelift just yet (am making do with Strivectin from Costco for the moment) so I'm glad I did my kitchen "facelift" or "refresh" or whatever you want to call it.
But what will I do in ten years when both my face and my kitchen need some "help"?

Luckily my face is not in near as bad of shape as my kitchen was! My vote, kitchen.

I'm getting a kitchen facelift and a new boatslip for my boat. Minimal stress = minimal wrinkles.

Much as I'd love to look in the mirror and NOT see any wrinkles... I'd much rather have my kitchen. I live in an area where Botox, facelifts, boob jobs, lipo, etc. aren't uncommon. (I have 3 casual friends with new "girls".) They just look so plastic to me. And I don't like the message it would send my 13 y.o. girl, who is already self concious enough about looks, if I had to go under the knife to be satified with the way I look. Sorry if I sound preachy, it's just kind of in my face (pun intended) fairly regularly, having 2 neighbors who are cosmetic surgeons.

So, I'd rather have a bunch of friends over in my kitchen, drink wine, and earn those laugh lines!

I am very happy with our project, but sometimes I start thinking "I could have gone to Europe first class X times, and heliskied in Canada Y times, and...." Then I get a little conflicted.

BUT I then have to remember that I am not actually able to travel that often, since my kids are 12 and 15 and I have a husband and a real life I need to do here at home, and this makes it nicer.

Hey I earned everyone of these laugh lines and with our kitchen remodel we removed a very large 70ish mirror that covered the whole wall so I kind of got both. LOL!

NO! My acquaintances with facelifts start to sag fairly quickly. I think my new remodel which will be done in a few weeks won't sag for years and will give my spirits a needed lift. I think having friends over for meals will keep me younger than the knife would.

luckily i don't need a facelift yet but you can bet when the time comes, having a new kitchen would not be a deterrent.

A face lift! How about a complete over haul? My face is okay. It's the other part's I' worry about. Lol sharaz

When I first responded I thought you meant kitchen facelift too! Now I feel like an idiot because I made myself sounds really ugly! But, that said, I think my face WILL lift (all by itself) when my kitchen is finished!!

Ha! I've already had a face lift!!! Now it's time for a new kitchen. First things first.

What do you think about a giant, strong rubber band on the top of your head to lift everything up?

Last week kitchen finished. This week, upper lids nipped. Life is looking re-freshed! :))))

Bireland, my upper lids are crying for nipping and I'm tired of feeling tired all the time. Worth the effort?
Westsider40, you seem to have your priorities in order with the facelift first. You reminded me of an email joke I rec'd recently about "the knob" (installed in a woman's head to tighten skin) by a "plastic surgeon". It was a bit of a riskee joke but if you want to read, google all the words I put in ( )

The mother of my kindergarten-age child's friend is redoing her kitchen so I came online to get some info for her and found this. What an entertaining thread!

My 3 3/4 year-old recently transitioned onto the spectrum (of autism), although he's clearly had (milder) special needs since ~five months of age. Anyway, our current out-of-pocket costs for his therapies each month are about the same as our mortgage, and as I wrote he's not even four years-old. (My point being we have a l-o-n-g road ahead of us.)

So sometimes during navel-gazing moments I wonder if it would have been wiser to not have spent so much on the kitchen (and whole house), to have established a special needs trust for his lifelong care. And now we're going back and tweaking things for "autism-proofing," a la baby-proofing! I also give myself two solo trips a year, and they're always big trips (last year India & Mexico, this year Nepal & Peru, and just my will-be six year-old and I are going to Egypt this autumn), and I'll tell you I do NOT feel guilty about taking (and spending the money on) those! It's either that or drink heavily ....

A friend kindly, generously said to me "Yeah, but aren't you glad you did your house? You get to spend your [home] time in a space you love and which works for you."

She's right. Thank goodness our house is nice, because otherwise instead of feeling good at home I'd be pissy and blue, a bad combo!

Yea for kitchen remodels!

I'm with bireland...kitchen's done, and now it's time to get the eyelids fixed so I can actually see my new kitchen. Tired of looking tired and squinty.

But, hmmmm....do I have enough left to take care of the 20%??? Probably not!

I am patiently waiting for genetic rejuvenation therapy to be developed! Meanwhile I am forging forth with my kitchen remodel.

rmkitchen, sounds like you have found the right path in this crazy journey called life. I have a good friend with a special needs child of 14 years of age. I cherish the strength and joyfulness of her spirit. Kudos to you all who are conquering these difficulties and remodeling kitchens at the same time!

doraville, I am so thrilled with the lift, as I am with the kitchen. I don't look so tired and sad. If you would like more detail send me an email. By far, the kitchen re-model was the more stressful event.

I have a disabled daughter. A special needs trust, which is not ordinarily very involved, says that that child/person is entitled to public entitlement programs without using personal/family resources first. Many govt programs will provide benefits to special needs people only if they first exhaust private/personal funds.

A Special needs trust creates a trust for the person where the person receives whatever public entitlement program benefits she would receive if she had no other resources, possibly. I did not say it clearly. See a lawyer. It's not expensive and not complicated. Definitely see a lawyer. The earlier the better if you have a special needs person in your family. I may have misstated the particulars, it's been a very long time, but do so now.

Is westsider supposed to do the above post?? Strange.

I'm happy, or will be, with my kitchen but after 3 years eating take out I'm seeing lipo on the horizon! Lol.

Facelift? Naw, takes too much time to see the results...just like my kitchen reno! I go for the instant gratification--the other week I was totally feeling low and frustrated by things and so I cut my hair. If I can't change my life, I cut my hair and try and transform myself. Worked for abut an hour until the hairdresser's cute blow out got melted by the rain. When I was younger, every time I wanted a new look I cut my own bangs...not a good look for me LOL!

Donnakay, I don't understand your March25 early am post.
This started out as a lighthearted face facelift or kitchen facelift. So I happily said Ha, I've already had a facelift and now it's time to do the 50 yr. old kitchen.

And then rmkitchen and someone else talked ot about special needs kids- and how costly it can be AND a special needs trust. I didn't raise this issue-not at all. What I said was that I have a disabled child and creating a special needs trust for that child is a very important thing. I said, 'see a lawyer'.

Please re-read rm's comments where she, not I, first raised the 'special needs trust'. Not a hi-jack by either of us, but side comments.

We are all still happy about getting little nips and tucks and haircuts and facelifts or planning/wishing for them. That's all. Not a big deal. Don't pick on me.

Not in a million years! But even if I were of a mind to have cosmetic surgery - which I am *so* not - I wouldn't do it. Look how many famous people, with access to tons of money and the best surgeons that money can buy, end up looking weird and even maimed. I'd never take a chance unless it was a medical issue.

Just had a glance at myself in the mirror, covered in drywall dust etc.....Maybe not a face lift but something....
That image was scary!

I'm 48 and I must have entered a birth year somewhere when I registered for Facebook. FB keeps popping up Botox and wrinkle cream ads for me. I thought those were bad enough... last week I got an adult diaper ad!!

My original plan was cosmetic surgery until we bought a house with a 1950's kitchen... I'm so happy with the makeover... the makeover of my kitchen that is.

I think some opinions about facelift etc are relative to aging. I know friends and even myself who scorned the idea/vanity of cosmetic/plastice surgery in our younger years. However, as things begin to sag, some of us (not all of us but certainly myself) began to reconsider. Then it becomes a matter of priorities and money. When I see the need of new hardwood floors, driveway, basement remodeling, etc in my future, it's hard to prioritize something that would make me happy (plastic surgery - and why is it called plastic?) vs something that might improve the value of my home as I near retirement. I personally think a facelift/eyelift would be more gratifying than a new driveway! (but obviously didn't think the same about a new kitchen though I did have some regrets). However, I didn't mean to get serious and am glad a couple of folks had a good laugh!

Facelifts - both of my younger sisters have had them, and apparently lots of filler shots and botox too. Plus boob jobs. They have a sort of frozen look to their faces now that is odd looking, not that I would ever tell them. Neither looks natural after the first glance. Much as I regret the passing of my own youthful looks, I do not want to go their route. Some days I Iook pretty good, espcially for my age, other days - oh Lord! I wonder who that stranger in the mirror is. On those days, I do feel tempted to do something, until I think of all the women with their odd plasticy faces - which scares me back to reality :)

I think I will stick to re-doing my kitchen.

Ya know - our kitchen "remodel" ended up being a complete gut. All things considered - I would probably opt for the kitchen, but not far behind would maybe be a personal "tweak" - because if the house is worth it - certainly we are as well.

Especially after going through the remodel - a bit of a toll on the soul... ;-)