Imhappy, your name is on the rug! Shades, what color did you end up with this time? I guess some people are more affected by the colors that surround them than others. Though I could live with the colors that were in my house when I moved in, I didn't realize how much happier I was when all the colors were of my choosing!!

Thank you, murraysmom.

I'm waiting.

still waiting.

Are you tired of it yet?

Now?

How 'bout now?

I'll just sit right here and wait.

My family decided my kitchen is so out of date that it is "classic." Original cabinets - from 1932 (we are lucky enough to have the original blueprints). No dishwasher. No granite (we have tile). My husband and I completely ignore what is in style and do what we like. We ripped out the ugly vanity in the bathroom and restored it to the original cabinet and pedestal sink. We never think about resale value. This is our first and hopefully last house. We've been here 30 years so far. We like Chinese floral carpets.

Well, if you ever feel the need to roll up those carpets......... here I am.

Socalgal, your rooms are gorgeous! It looks like home to me!! I like your placemats too. Your carpets are so clean!! And beautiful! Love the colors.

Murraysmom the wall color for kitchen and dinning room is a very light wild iris like the china cabinet only so much lighter you almost have to compare it to the ceiling see it is not white. Like you I was ok with what was there an off white. Now this off white has a hint of purple in it.

socalgal your photos are Gorgeous!!!! That couch is amazing. Love the carpets.

Thank you. The blue carpet means a lot to us. Thirty years ago we saw it in our neighbor's house and that is what got us interested in the Chinese florals. The delightful neighbor passed away a few years ago. I offered to buy the carpet from her heirs, but they gave it to me. It was a thank you for all of the assistance we gave her over the years as she aged.

Your rant made me smile Imhappy. After a few years of reading GW, I realized last winter I've developed an appreciation for "dated". I got so saturated seeing pic's of new white kitchens with dark stone counter tops, I felt like giving my 25 yr. old orange-y oak kitchen with bisque laminate counter tops a big hug. :)

I stopped watching HGTV when I realized I didn't really like most of what was currently *in*. It all started to look alike to me. Imagine what a boring world it would be if everyone's decor was identical.

Isn't it amazing how alike they all look? When I did my remodel a few years ago I wanted it to match my 1880 house. Not period perfect but not white with marble counters! Needless to say, it wasn't a hit in kitchens. The only regret I have is not using the dining room as the kitchen part and the existing kitchen as the eat in area. My table is cramped. I was counting pennies not realizing I could have done it. I'm a pay as you go person and I was afraid of running out of money when that unexpected thing happened. I was lucky. Nothing money consuming happened and the glitches that did show up were handled by my carpenter. I was at work!

People just are not sure of their own taste, and/or they are "other directed" rather than "inner directed." Hence the threads titled "do you like this, or this?" I used to post replies along the lines of "it doesn't matter what I like, it only matters what you like," but apparently that's not what people want to hear. They seem to want guidance, direction, maybe just attention.

At the same time, if you know you will be moving soon, you can lose a lot of money if you decorate in an oddball way. Voice of experience. ;)

Yeah, but if you know you're going to be leaving soon, paint it greige like everyone recommends and quit dithering about it! The question isn't even worth the bandwidth.

On the other hand, if it's YOUR house make it YOUR house. I'm the person who bought a house with wall to wall to wall green shag carpet. Never even noticed it until the day I moved in. I bought a barn with pasture and a free house came with it!

Hahahaha I am totally cracking up re-reading all of this. OH Baby am I ever timeless here. I have gone straight back to my old Hippy days and plan on staying there forever. Never really did want to grow up. PHEW it has been a long week.

Peace, Chris ;-)

I still watch a few shows on HGTV but there is no way I'd let any of them take over my place to remodel or redecorate. While I might like a thing or 2 here and there, I could never live with their end results.

btw, I did see a new show (to me anyway) on DIY last night. something about Restoration of Stone homes. old stone houses in the PA country areas. one they did was from the 1600's. the guy either helps to keep the old from crumbling, makes it a usable space while preserving the period of the home or restores the prev 'updates' to what it would have been when the house was built (when possible).

Greige wouldn't cut it in my local market. It does help to have some idea of what's likely to sell or not, so I get the concern on that level. Most people would prefer to make more money, when they sell, since you often have to discount the value of any improvements anyway, unless the market is red hot.

Not everyone has the type of job where they can stay parked for many decades. Not just corporate, but young people moving for marriage, school and careers, or military. I've been in all these situations, and moved something like 50 times in 60 years. (Before first grade, my father was moved by the Navy every six months.) Some of my moves were due to house flipping old wrecks, not just outdated, but really deteriorated. Houses like that go for a big discount.

Then again, If I where an older person expecting to move into assisted living at some point, or hoping to give money to charity or kids, I'd think twice about painting every wall purple or hot pink, or letting plants grow through the cracked windows. My next home will have individuality, I think, but it won't be too weird to sell fast if necessary. It's just an asset, after all, and you never know when you might want to, or have to, sell unexpectedly.

That seems to be the norm in this country, anyway. IIRC, Americans live in the home they bought about seven years, on average, just enough time to recoup costs. I think that's a big part of the "updated yet neutral, if bland" impulse. It's not for me these days, but I can understand it.

scone911... "Americans live in the home they bought about seven years, on average, just enough time to recoup costs."

This is so sad to me. Excluding those who HAVE to move, it speaks to me of the economic attitude. And now I sound like an old person, (which I am)... I am not criticizing those who do, but nothing is made to last anymore...so we have to replace it...

It's really just conditioning us to "want" new (or new-ish...or better).

I do understand the need to consider the market for many. We flipped wrecked houses for about 20 years and always had to consider the market. This time the house goes to an animal shelter and I actually have permission from them to do whatever I want with it. It is my house for the time I am living in it. I will go out feet first. Paint is paint no matter what color and can easily be changed. I am painting my walls with glass murals. Yes the walls would have to be removed and new sheet rock. OH well. It is what keeps me sane and to me that is worth every cent of what it would cost to remove my murals.

Paint it griege and never paint again? Ever? That's the part I don't get. It must be painted griege for resale. How many years will that paint job hold up? Eventually it will have to be repainted. Why not have some color and repaint griege to sell it? I'm not a jewel tone color person but if you are you should make your house your own.

I try to keep the jewel tone painting to smaller things verses walls. Easier to re-paint. Our walls are all painted very light colors. We also have a very light bright house so it can handle a little more color. I have come a long way from my usual all white. But I could go back to it easily. As I get older it is harder for me to paint and the 9 1/2 high vault ceiling. UGH. Way up there for me and my vertigo.

@kjbjw I'm a military brat, our family has been military for generations, so moving around is a way of life. I've seen a lot of places, it hasn't been boring. I've only lived in a new house once, though. I've lived in a 19th century dog trot, a log cabin, a 17th century farmhouse, a Craftsman bungalow, several Victorians, and lots of other house types. All sorts of people and cultures, too. Great experiences, great memories.

@I'm happy A good paint job with quality paint should last at least seven years with touch ups, and painting a whole interior is damned hard work. I gave up on my last house and hired out the job. With wallpaper removal, on a 2500 sq. ft. home in New England, it came to $11,500 and change. Looking forward, I'd paint the walls some quiet color, and add brights to smaller items like pillows or rugs. So much easier and cheaper to change.

@Shades, I'd like to go out feet first too. That's what my MIL said, as well. But now she's over 90, and while she's physically o.k., she's losing her memory and is having trouble doing basic things. She will have to sell her home to fund the assisted living care, there's no other way. If she didn't have that asset, she'd be in some state run institution. Sooner or later, the last phase of life has to happen, no getting around it.

I'd rather be in a comfortable assisted living setup, rather than struggle to stay in a place that doesn't work for me anymore. A house, or trailer, or what have you, is just an inanimate material object, after all. It's the living creatures who matter.

Scone this is why we bought the house we did and had it built for us to age in place. I will hire some one to come in and care for me with living quarters for them. Neither of us have any family. The living creatures we care about are the animals.

All the greige walls were one of the things that eventually turned me off HGTV. I like white. I understand it reminds some people of hospitals and apartments they lived in (I've lived in MANY rentals), but to me it looks fresh and it's easy to change color schemes by changing out pillows, pictures, placemats, rugs. Greige may be a neutral, but to me it's more boring and less versatile than white.

I admire people who paint their walls in colors they like. What keeps me from doing it is a) I'm lazy and b) I think I might want to change the color after 3 - 4 years which would bring me back to a). :)

@Shades -- yes, exactly, that's what we are planning. The second floor of our new build will have two big bedrooms and a bath. One of the bedrooms could become a good sized sitting room with a kitchenette. We could also rent it out, if we like.

That's one of the reasons we wanted to move to the coast, it's rather remote out here in NH, and help is very hard to get. While we may never need to initiate this plan, it's nice to have some flexibility. You just never know.

Scone I figure if I am bad enough to need help the help will have my studio room for their bedroom and it is 10 by 13 not counting the closet and room entry area. There is a full bath right next to this room and it is just up the hall from the master bedroom. I figure the helper would use the rest of the house as their own with me.

I hope I have another 15 years maybe 20. My Mom just turned 85 and is doing ok and would be better if she took better care of herself. So for now I will paint what ever colors I want and continue to do my glass work on the walls. This is my house and I will live in it to the fullest. I will not have to sell the house to pay for care. We also planned for that early on in our life.

We looked into long term care insurance, but given that DH and I both have prior medical issues, it would be extremely expensive. (If anyone is reading this and interested, there are a number of threads on the Bogleheads site on this topic). So we will likely self-fund.

In Maine, HCOL area, I'm assuming about $100,000 per year for ten years, in current dollars. That's for all forms of help, e.g. gardening, cleaning, snow plowing, and some nursing. Since I don't know what future inflation will be, I've got a COL increase in there for planning purposes. I'm not making any assumptions about my current health based on genetics-- both DH and I have developed issues that do not run in our family at all. You never know what's going to happen health wise.

Still, at some point along the way, one starts to lose memory, and that's where living on acreage becomes difficult. You forget to take your pills, schedule maintenance, pay bills, return phone calls, buy food, etc. Then you get to the point where you can't drive. In our area, if we couldn't drive, we'd really be stuck.

So at some point in time, maybe earlier, maybe later, you have to make a tradeoff between staying on the land (saving up a lot of money early on in order to stay there), or selling the property and downsizing into assisted living, in order to spend time and money on something else. Hopefully something pleasant like travelling, or music concerts, or art. In either case, on the land or in an apartment, you're living life to the fullest, you're simply making a rational decision about resource allocation.

So whichever way you go, unless you die early while you're still able to manage, eventually there is that last stage of life to consider, where the house on acreage is just too much, but one has some years left. Most of the older people I've known either die fairly quickly, while still relatively young, or they linger on into their nineties, gradually losing their independence. Ironically, the healthiest people seem to have the longest period of decline.

Personally, If I live that long, I'd like to spend the declining period having fun, with the smallest number of chores and responsibilities I can get away with. In fact, I may not have enough marbles left to make the decision myself. Such is life. ;)

Good morning everyone! I hope you all have a zippity-doo-dah day!

OK, I'm gonna bring this thread back around to I'mhappy's original rant. I think we can all agree it's wise to plan for life's third act, and we can agree to disagree on the details. :-)

(Truman Capote said, "Life's a moderately good play with a poorly written third act.")

ANYWAY...I'mhappy, well done on your rant! I wrote a KF rant on this thread a few months ago. My complaint didn't directly deal with your issues, but was definitely related. I had three points: the KF is run by a small group of women who, although well-intended, (I believe they truly want to help people get nice kitchens) tend to: (a) not understand us who have "smaller homes," and often quite small kitchens that cannot be made bigger, (b) not realize that not everyone has $50,000 for a kitchen remodel (a number often quoted as what it takes to really do it right, and (c) tend to be myopic about what EVERY kitchen should be like and how EVERY kitchen should be laid out. I voiced these concerns on the KF when the OP of a thread was asking about window trim and instead got beat up for where on her counters she had placed her KitchenAid. I found out that apparently it used to be much worse! People couldn't even say "IKEA," haha! Then, from what I gather, some people revolted, haha, and things got a lot better and looser.

I bought a house in January and my daughter and I are completely refurbishing it from subfloor to roof. But not because we don't like the paint colors or anything else. It's a 1979 manufactured home that was previously owned by hoarders and is literally falling apart. But I got it almost free and fully furnished with the kitchen fully stocked. We believe very strongly in "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," and in doing everything in our power to reduce our environmental footprint. So we save this old house from the scrap heap. We'll be using as much reclaimed and recycled materials as we possibly can.

I'll never ever get out of this what I'm planning, Lord willing, to put into it, but that's OK. I'm going to age in place and when I'm called home to heaven the house will go to Joy, who hopes to age in place here too. It's very important to me that I die knowing my daughter will always have a roof over her head.

It's literally a ten year plan, because I don't believe in debt and, like I'mhappy, I will pay cash as I go. It will take ten years of doing one project at a time, and that includes landscaping the yard (all drought resistant, low or no maintenance), and a wrap-around, screened in, three season deck.

All this to say, as long as we're doing all this work, we're going to do it the way we like it, regardless of what anyone else thinks! :-) Within our budget, of course.

HGTV is one of the few chennels II'll watch other than the news (now that a TV has been foisted upon me, haha). While not every show is my cup of tea, some of the decor definitely is. And even when it's not, I often pick up valuable tips on organizing and creative storage.

On the various "House Hunters" shows, I enjoy watching people look through various homes and enjoy seeing how their thought process works. Sometimes Joy and I yell at them through the TV, haha! Like when a couple goes through a house with a beautiful, spacious kitchen and they say it's a total gut because they hate the particular granite and the floors and the cabinets!

And I like the renovation and decor shows. Yes, every designer has his or her preferred style and you'll see similar decor in all the houses they do. But I've gotten a lot of good ideas and inspiration, even from houses I end up hating. :-)

Paint is definitely the biggest bank for your updated look! Scone911 (great to see you Scone!) had a big house and hired professional painters, so hers was more. But, as Chris (AKA Shades of Idaho) said, wall color really can affect one's emotions for good or bad.

Since we won't be able to remodel the kitchen for at least ten years, we're doing a "refresh." New paint, new pictures, new curtains, maybe a new area rug for under the table (it's an eat-in kitchen), new towels/wash cloths, yay dollar store! Our budget is $150, but I'd like to shoot for under $100.

The house is dreary right now, and this will really perk it up! I like bright, cheery colors so we're going with that.

Two final thoughts. One, murraysmom, we have almost identical kitchens, right down to the stool in the corner! The only real difference is that my dishwasher is on the other side of the sink, next to the refrigerator. :-)

Two, yay for everyone who is not replacing stuff that is still functional!! The Earth thanks you!!

I once had a realtor, back in 1996 or so. She told me she and her DH, also a realtor) had all blank white walls, no pictures up because of nail holes in the wall, and plain off-white Berber carpets throughout, in order for protect resale value. I said, do you like your house that way? And she said, No, I hate it. It's a very depressing house with all neutral colors and not one single thing on any wall. But we have to protect resale value.

And on that note, I will bid you all good day! :-)

Debbie, I like a woman with a plan!! It should be quite satisfying to check each project off your list.

After owning my house for 10 years, I finally got the interior all painted in colors I picked and the way I wanted it and I have to say, I was reluctant to put pictures up for awhile. I just saw those smooth clean walls and couldn't do it. LOL But I got over it and now every wall has something hanging on it. I like it that way and if I have to sell, it will probably need painting at that time anyway. But who cares? I live in my house and I like the way it looks!

Wishing you lots of good thoughts as you move through your transition!

Debbie!! keep us posted as you go along! It's just as much fun to see someone else do it as doing it myself. I do wallpaper ;-) Can you hear them in the Kitchen?

I really, really, really want a big front porch - I live on a highly trafficked gravel road. But if it ever gets blacktopped............ I'll be here with my porch inspiration pictures to show everyone what I'm going to do!

Debbie your plan sounds great. You are a lot like me wanting to update a room for 100 or less. For me this is usually my limit too. Even the kitchen dinning room re-do with paint and building the china cabinet was under $100. The transformation has been amazing. So far most that come in rave over the look. In my case I could change it to some thing totally different in a half an hour or less just by changing the covers on pillows and couch. And the rug in dinning room. Whole new look for no money. Cause I already have the stuff from previous decor. It is why I am thrilled to have the loft in the shop so I can pick and choose from what I already have to put together to make a totally new look. I am loving what I have in the dinning room right now so it will stay for awhile but I am sure the time will come when I get restless and feel the need for a visual change. But I WILL say the paint is staying the same until it needs re-painting from wear. My studio needs to be painted again. It has been 8 years now. Hoping a good wash down and paint touch up will get me by for awhile longer. I have painted half the inside of the house in the last 6 or so months. UGH

PS Scone I did check on assisted living homes in the area and really there are only two. The highest cost is in the $4500 a month bracket for total care with bathing dressing medicating feeding etc. She said this is for a pretty unrully patient, HA that could be me. $2600 if you just need some assist and meals. Looks like living here is less costly than where you are. And here we have meals on wheels and also a senior buss to take those that can no longer drive to town I think it runs every two weeks and hits the most needed places of the people on the bus that day. I think it is 4 or 5 dollars for the round trip ride and that is 45 miles to where they go for shopping. We see the buss in town when we are down there. For now I am not going to worry about it and continue to live my life happy in my home with my colored walls. LOL This area is really geared to retired people. I have watched numerous older people live their lives out in their homes with others watching out for them. It is what this community does. I have a neighbor I would ask if she needed anything when we go to town. Plowed out there drive or shoveled a walk way for them. People just do that for each other around here. I guess when there is only 150 people in the city every one knows every one else and their business and know when they need help.

This was a great post. It made me feel so much better about my home! I like what I like!

Happy and know it ~ Yup. See what you mean. I used to wait for monthly magazines, mark pages or cut them out and think; "I like this look or I like the way that works." Now, with cable, tv on demand and blogs I think we can be as hooked into house reno as much as we want. That does tend to make us aware of all the "new" stuff. That being said, you're absolutely right to enjoy your home and make the changes you want. I think it means a conscious stepping away from the see it, want it gotta have it now mentality. Do you think younger home owners/renters trend that way more?

Most of the younger home owners/renters I know want top end--they feel like they have to have the granite and other trendy finishes. I think a lot of them skip the starter home and go straight for the mcmansion. They seem to like big mortgages and big home equity loans.

That's just my experience. I am still in my starter home almost 20 years later with my old laminate countertops and floor.

@Shades, wow, that's a really good deal. I doubt I could do that well in New England! I guess I'm in a different "head space" as we used to say, since my cancer and my husband's aortic dissection and operations. The uncertainty of life has been brought home to me forcibly. To be frank, my cancer doesn't have good odds.

Also, almost all my relatives are dead, and DH's peeps are overseas, so I can't expect help there. And my new community is very nice, but most of the folks there are getting older themselves, so I don't like to impose. Given all that, I feel I have to think about the future. And I'm just a planner by nature. It gives me an illusory sense of security. ;)

OTOH, if the best case scenario comes to pass, and we don't have to spend as much on assisted living, we can leave more savings to charity, which gives me the warm fuzzies when I contemplate the possibilities!

Anyway, moving on to the fun, and segue-ing awkwardly back to the original rant...

@Debbie, I'm kind of turned off to the KF too. There is a lot of social pressure to spend big bucks, it has become normative, and assumptions are made about a person's net worth (and personal worth?) based on their spending plans! The idea that one might deliberately choose to be frugal is not part of the groupthink.

I can't see the point. A house is just a house. Kitchens get dinged up, scratched, stained, and chipped-- if they really get used, so why agonize over it? And that's one room where you have to repaint, etc. more frequently anyway, so might as well experiment. Pink formica, anyone? :)

I like the content over at Apartment Therapy. There's a lot of genuine creativity and ingenuity in those pics, especially the kitchens, which tend to be smaller, with un-fancy finishes, maybe even a little grunge here and there. The imperfections and signs of life really appeal to me.

I gave up on the kitchens and decorating forums a long time ago. There are some wonderful people there but not of my mind set at all. My New=3 1/2 years ago kitchen faucet was $72.00 and still not leaking and I love it. It was exactly what I wanted and even the more expensive were not what I wanted and I am the one that does the dishes. HA by HAND by CHOICE. I would be scorned for that at kitchens.

Scone that is a great idea to check out Apartment Therapy. I have been getting a news letter in my email for years of the same name. Not sure if they are connected in any way. Even though we do not live in an apartment the use of smaller space is always interesting to me. When hubby is gone, from his cancer , I have plans to re-do the arrangement of the whole house, every room. Well except the kitchen and bathrooms. There is not much to arrange in them. Already made the changes to the master bath I wanted to do for years. Love it now.

Frugal is my motto. What cracks me in many that talk about kitchen remodels do not even cook. I have been cooking for over 60 years and never once had a prep sink, unless you would have considered the big laundry tub in my laundry room at two houses I had that I would put the garden vegetables in to give a good scrubbing. I also used the laundry room spaces as my milking kitchen when I still had the cow. The big pails gallon jugs and canning kettle for cheese making and all the other equipment needed to process milk need a deep sink for washing. And decorating I have bought new futon, love seat because I was in a hurry to get one, and recliners new. The rest of my furniture I have bought well used and many times not well cared for needing a lot of work to make it usable. Always on the cheep. I will say I splurged on some funky new glasses just because I loved them last night. Woo $65 dollars.

Shades, Wow! How did you build the cabinet and paint for under $100? That's amazing. Don't you love it when you swing deals like that? Talk about not cooking, that's what our hood, double oven and cook top looked like when we bought it from the habitat restore about 8 years ago. S/S, looked great, worked and sooooo clean! It's funny to me that people will spend so much money on nice appliances but rarely cook at home. Guess it's the lifestyle.

Anneg, I have to say.... when I looked at colleges seven years ago I was amazed at the newer dorms for students, the huge selection of food on the dining plan and they had maid service!! (This was a state school) our tour group of moms looked at each other and said, "We want to live here!!!!" So, I guess the grads and young workers come out of school and want nice stuff the newer dorms offered. I think the developers feed into that. Ask more $$ and step up the builder grade.

Scone I like Apt Therapy, too. Their articles seem a bit more realistic although to be sure they have showcased some beautiful places.

Wordie the cabinet is build of bifold doors I got free from the dump. BUT I bought 8 more after I built this cabinet for 20 dollars so they are around to be had on the cheep. No solid plans for them yet. I am working on it.

The wood for shelves and glass for the cabinet was $42.00 and the paint was less than $5.00 I used craft paint mixed with some more dump shopped paint. We have a free area at our local dumps to keep good things out of the landfill when possible.

The paint for the kitchen and dinning room was $16.00 on sale. It took one gallon to do the dinning room kitchen. About 1/4 cup left over. A $3.50 bottle of dye for the rugs on the couch, I had them for years and they were pink, and some doilies. Table Cloth was $2.00 at a yard sale. The other things I used to make pillow covers are neck Scarves I had in the closet I never wore. I paid $1.50 for two of them on close out and a third one was a gift to me as a dresser scarf. Lamp was another free dump shop and shade I already had. I had the rug but did paint it too so maybe another $5.00 paint. I had all the pillows.

AND all of this wild color on the little couch comes off if I choose and the couch goes back to off white. Or I could do it in some other color that contrasts with the cabinet and table top. Turquoise would be great.

I do have plans to do the base boards in kitchen and dinning room in tile with my glass bling strips. A box of 100 tiles is $16.00. The glass bits would be another 5 dollars.All adding up to $97.50. SO I guess I will still have $2.50 left over. Silicone to attach the tiles and we will call it an even $100.00 or dang close. And of course I did all the work by myself. It took me a week. And I still need to do the base. I was tired. I will do it next time the kitchen dinning room needs a big deep clean.

As far as not cooking I think my stove came from the same kind of house hold. It was almost brand new and spotless. It did have a broken glass on the front door which we replaced and seller discounted in the sale. It is black and white and fridge is all white. I do not really care. I wanted the all glass top. I know many hate them. I like them. Easier for me to clean.

A lot of the cheap stuff I like is kind of a nostalgia trip, I associate it with that "cozy cottage" shabby chic thing. Or maybe the Eisenhower years and early TV kitchens of my childhood. Things like VCT checkerboard floors, jadeite, glass cabinet knobs, and butcher block counters. Chintz may be involved.

At the same time, I cut my teeth on the Conran books from the 70s, especially those kitchen pictures, which in my memory where very white and streamlined, but inserted into an old house or loft, so not too slick.

And lately I've been looking at pictures of New England cottages, like the ones on Nantucket. They tend to be very small, and intensely cozy. Not cheap these days, though the original fishermen who built them likely didn't have a spare penny to bless themselves with.

The Scandinavians have a lot of ingenious small spaces, they certainly know how to make good use of resources. As do the Mexicans-- I still like Saltillo tile and those Talavera blue and white ceramics.

So, lots of inspiration out there, even here on houzz. I certainly waste a lot of time looking at "cottage" pictures here, and on Pinterest. ;)

I just re-read this whole thread and it confirmed for me that I'm doing the right thing here. I'm almost done with my kitchen "facelift."

What you all confirmed in my heart is a) a home is meant to be LIVED in and b) I will go on living if the KF and HD folks hate it (which they will, haha!).

My home is a 1979 manufactured home. Even if I manage to refurbish it from the subfloor up, as I hope to do, Lord willing, it will still be a 1979 manufactured home. It will never be a $1 million showpiece. That doesn't mean I won't do my best to create a beautiful, peaceful home! It means that I Live, Work, and yes, COOK in my home and my design revolves around the practical needs of a functioning house and the emotions/feelings I want my home to evoke. It will not be a museum or a place where people are afraid to sit down or move around, or--heaven forbid!--spill something!! Hahaha!

One person on the KF, several months ago, told me I should move everything in my kitchen to the opposite wall! WHY??!? I would still have the same square footage, and it would cost thousands in plumbing and electrical work. My layout, as it is now, even follows exactly their "correct" placement of ice, water, rock, fire (although the counters aren't "rock," they're laminate, lol).

That comment showed me they have no idea what to do with a small kitchen and cannot conceive of a small budget.

Joy and I decided that Washington has long, gray winters and we want a kitchen that cheers us up! We aren't replacing any appliances, countertops, or cabinets right now. And yes, one of the two colors is white. Well, a subtly off-white, Light Navajo White, to be exact. Its description says, "A warm white with a shadow of natural brown." The other color is definitely a bold choice! Very

And when I do remodel, it will be what I want, and Joy too, but not what I'm "supposed" to do. The basic footprint will not change because it doesn't need to. I'll get new appliances because these are on their last legs. But I'm not above the ding and dent center, REstore, CL, or anywhere I can get a bargain.

Granite countertops? Not in a million years! I'd ideally like walnut, but we'll see what kind of reclaimed materials I can find. Uppers are going away, but NOT because it's trendy! It's because Joy and I are both really short and we can't use them. I'm open to the idea of some open shelving if it's necessary. Lowers will be IKEA unless I can find something at REstore or CL.

The other side of the kitchen will change more dramatically. I'm strongly considering banquette seating under the big window, keep the small pedestal table and get 2 chairs. Since we're losing storage with the uppers, we can do a banquette where the seat opens up for storage.

The big thing will be knocking out the built-in china cabinet with the pass-through. That will open up the floor plan and make a great room with LR, and eat-in kitchen. NO, I don't have a separate formal dining room, haha! This is a 900 sq ft home. That's why making a great room will be so nice. It makes a small space seem much more open and roomy.

Where the built in was, we want to put in a peninsula. I know, that takes away some of the openness we just achieved by knocking out the built in. But we have almost no counter space, and we don't have a pantry.

Right now, the built in faces the LR. The uppers are glass front and that is where we keep all our dinnerware. The lower cabs serve as our pantry. Not ideal, but we've made it work. The proposed peninsula will face the kitchen and the cabs will again be our pantry. It's either that, or go back to what the previous owners did and bring in free standing shelving. NOT HAPPENING! Haha! Kitchen is way too small for any additional anything!

Here are some "before" photos. Not way before, when the hoard was here, but after Joy and I cleaned it.

Here's a straight on view from the living room. Refridge is to left of dishwasher. The one thing I will change someday is I'll move the range over to the right so it doesn't open right into the under sink cabs. All the uppers will go, eventually.

Here's a good shot of this side of the kitchen. Again, the uppers will go, and if I can afford it, I'd like to enlarge that window. I'd also like a single bowl farmhouse sink; IKEA's are very reasonable. Also, the little wall to the left of the fridge will go. Same flooring will go in LR and kitchen, unifying the great room concept.

This is the area to the right of the range. The one extra thing I have out here is the little shelves I'm using for my spices, which were previously kept on the back top of the range. Other than under the sink, these are the ONLY lowers! 4 drawers and one cab. The bump out houses the furnace. The plan is to get a mini split, get rid of the furnace (that doesn't work) and convert that space into a utility closet.

Moving right along, here's the pedestal table on the opposite wall. Why would I move everything over to this wall??!?

Finally, a shot of the table showing the backside of the built in. My idea is to do banquette seating under the window and two chairs on the other side to seat four. Knock out built in upper and lower and replace lower with a peninsula. We have room to push it into the LR around 12"

Shot of built in from the living room.

Oh, I should mention, everything in the kitchen that is white now will be a different shade of white. Everything that's the blue-gray will be a bright, vibrant color!

To finish my thought...lol... I get sidetracked... I don't give a hoot about what anyone other than Joy thinks about my new kitchen theme/decor. Well, in a way. I'm really excited to show you all my reveal, and obviously I hope you like it. And, on the occasions that friends and family visit, naturally I hope they like it too. However, if they don't, that would not cause me to lose a minute's sleep, and the thought would never cross my mind to actually change it to others' liking.

Now, if y'all have constructive suggestions that would make my kitchen better, I'm all ears! Be honest. I've got a very thick skin. You'd have to try really, really hard to hurt my feelings or insult me. I'm not crazy about the spice storage solution. I first need to go through them again and toss what I don't use. Then I might have room for them elsewhere. Any suggestions are welcome!!

Whom I really, truly don't give a flying fig about are kitchen designers, interior decorators (even though I stage houses on occasion!), and anyone who thinks I need $50,000+ to have a nice kitchen. And those who think white and griege are the only acceptable colors, those who hate any countertop that's not real granite, and those, like I'mhappy noted, who actually do lose sleep over whether they have the latest trends, like a custom range shipped over from Italy (!), even though they never cook.

I completely get what scone911 is saying, and I agree. Sometimes you have to think about the next buyer, and sometimes you have to be ready to sell quick, and sometimes you have to do some remodeling before selling to get top dollar. And yes, everyone should have a plan for their future, no matter how it turns out. (Scone, I'm truly so sorry you're going through this cancer thing. That really sucks. My prayers are with you and your hubby too.)

When I discovered these gardenweb forums last October, I was planning to buy this house. I read every single post on the manufactured homes forum, and it was the best education I could have gotten! I know 1,000 times more about MH than I did before! (And I did a TON of other research.)

Then I found the Kitchen Forum. No way could I read every post because there are so many! But I read A LOT, and it was super helpful! There are people on there who have devoted an immense amount of their time to educate people like me about the purpose of the kitchen and how it can be most efficient and useful. As someone getting into the arena of home organizing, I now feel armed with the knowledge I need to help others organize their kitchens to fit their needs.

So, in that sense, I DO care what KD's and KF people think. There are definitely better and less good ways to organize a kitchen and that help has been extremely helpful to me.

My "not caring" about what "they" think has to do with three things: color, materials, and, to an extent, layout/organization. Since I'm not selling my house, I can have whatever colors I like. If the unexpected happened, I can paint it white/griege in three days and $50.

I don't "have" to have granite countertops, subway tile backsplash, Kohler sinks, custom cabinets, and real hardwood flooring. Other materials have been in kitchens for centuries and humankind has survived, lol!

I personally like the clean counter look, but I have had to give in and have a few things out. I don't need a $400 mixer! And layout should be flexible, to fit the needs of the person actually USING the kitchen! If it is more helpful for YOU to have the cooktop between the sink and the dishwasher, then you shouldn't be crucified for that. As Shades pointed out, not everyone needs a prep sink! Or a ginormous island! And the great hood debate rages on, haha! As does the great banquette seating debate! (Apparently, you "can't" have banquette seating as your only eating space. You "must" have a separate area for formal dining, lol!)

So I guess my point is, life is to be LIVED in one's home. YES, by all means, make it beautiful! For I'mhappy, that means floral curtains and carpet. For Shades, that means glass lizards on the wall and a super cool purple bathroom. For me, it's vibrant color that makes me feel positive and happy!

And, if I'm really trying to be non-judgmental, if what makes you happy and comfortable in your home and kitchen is high end everything, the rarest granite from Namibia, a custom range from Italy, expensive backsplash, an island half the size of my house, and a formal dining room that seats twenty--then I shouldn't judge you, just as I hope you don't judge my comfy cozy cottage look with African art! :-)

I hope all this rambling makes some sense. I'm really going through personal transformations with this house project, figuring out who I am (always becoming) and what in life is important to me. I've done the whole McMansion, showpiece home thing. That's not who I am anymore.

Nor do I need to be. My ex is a banking lawyer and we had to live in a lifestyle congruent with his profession. So I get that. But now I'm in academia--I can be as eccentric as I want, hahaha!

Oh, almost forgot! I occasionally visit the decorating and bathroom forums, and others, but it was finding this SMALLER HOMES forum and all you wonderful, accepting, utterly delightful people!!! THANK YOU!! You have brought joy and laughter into my life, and I truly care about you.

:-)

Debbie your kitchen is darling. It would be perfect for me. I actually like the blue and I LOVE Navajo White. I painted a house Navajo White and Gray and it was really pretty. I would say our ceilings are very close to Navajo white as I remember it. I only repainted the ceiling in my studio bright white because it is a work space for me that needs the white ceiling.

When people come into our home they flop on the furniture and act right at home. They feel comfortable and I never freak if some one puts their feet on the coffee table, which is a trunk with mosaic top. I have slip covers on all the furniture so everything is washable and I do not worry about the dirty farmer friends coming in and sitting down. This house is soft and comfortable and inviting. Might be a bit wild and crazy here and there but so am I. We have been in this area 22 years and my friends know me by now and since they are still my friends they must not be offended by the way we live. LOL

I can't wait for your reveal.

I think a banquet would be perfect in your space.

Are you just taking the top off the built in china cabinet or do you have to rebuild a peninsula? I had upper cabinets over the peninsula between dinning room and kitchen and had hubby take them down. We put them in the laundry room. WOW He fussed about doing it but when he saw my vision after removing them it was such a dramatic wonderful difference. We had the regular counter so no change there. I was wondering if there is a way for now to just move the doors to the kitchen side and close up the side where the doors were. Just to save $$$ for now before the big remodel.

I have miles of counter space compared to many but I find I mostly use the 3+ foot counter to the right of my sink. I think we adapt to what we have.

I think i get KF as Kitchen Forum. What is KD?

Wow! Shades, that's a bargain! Good job! Debbieb your kitchen ideas sound practical and good looking: I can see the banquette under the window with the round table and open shelves will be less heavy looking storage adding a different texture to the kitchen. And don't you LOVE the different names they come up with for similar colors: Baby's Breath, Cloud nine, Stormy day, Scalloped edge, etc. I am not quite sure why KD would recommend switching sides unless it aided flow or something... Scone, I like looking at/for small house blogs, too. I think the scale will be more like my place. Have you tried Small Chic Home and Cozy Little House, the Inspired Room and Lime in the Coconut? I've started looking at h20bungalow: she has more sponsored articles. Not necessarily bad but different (for me).

Debbie, this looks like a very efficient use of the space at hand. Do you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore Store? I think that's what it's called. We have one here and they had lots of great kitchen cabinets, counters, the whole kitchen thing going on and it was very very reasonable.

Debbie WOW what a difference after you de-hoarded! I think you kitchen is cute now, I've no doubt it will be even lovelier as you make the changes you have planned.

For several years now, I have entertained myself by looking at small home plans on the internet and sketching out my own for my "dream cottage". In reality, I will probably never be able to afford the kind of house I envision. Your posts have recently got me to thinking more about buying a MH when the time comes. I think I might like a "dated" model in need of a bit of TLC, that I could make-over to my liking as funds allow. You are inspiring me Debbie, love your posts and your outlook on life.

Curious that someone on the KF suggested you move your kitchen to the opposite wall. Whatever for? Like you, I learned soooo much reading that forum. Most important though, it really made me think about how *I* use my kitchen. What my preferences are, and why they are my preferences. A few months ago I sat down and listed all the places I've lived since high school graduation, including short-term rentals the total...25. That's 25 different kitchens I've cooked in on a regular basis! Doing that list made me think about each kitchen - what I liked about it, and what I didn't.

I like my prep, clean up, and cooking zone being on the same run. I don't want to schlepp food and dirties back and forth across aisles. When I'm cooking, I'm focused on cooking. I don't want to be "part of the action", I don't want "helpers" getting in my way. Since I seldom use a dishwasher, and never while I'm prepping, it's placement is not the most critical design element for me. I could live without one actually. I've been totally fine having my trash can under the sink for decades, I'm not impressed by separate trash pullouts - I could find a better use for that cabinet space. And I can't see myself spending $1000+ on a drawer microwave to heat my leftovers, when a $100 non-drawer micro does the same job.

I still drop in on the KF from time to time to look for small kitchen threads, but I've realized I will never be one of the TKO. ;)

Chris, KD=kitchen designer, something I'll never have, haha!

murraysmom, yes, we have a Restore here in Spokane. I'll definitely be visiting often when the time comes!

Chris, that's a wonderful thought to relocate the top half of the built in cabinets. I'm going to think on that. It probably isn't possible to save the bottom half, at least not in this house. I would like a bigger countertop and I'm not sure these cabinets could hold the weight. The doors open on the LR side, which is not convenient as we use those cabs as our pantry. I wouldn't want to throw any of it away; that would be pretty wasteful. I'd offer it on CL or freecycle or donate it to Restore.

Hahaha, wordie! Yeah, every paint company has to come up with their own color names. Light Navajo White is a Clark and Kensington color; I think that's an Ace hardware brand. We used Valspar paint, so they just mixed it up to be exactly the same color.

wordie, I'll check out those sites you mentioned. Thanks!

llucy, I have no idea why this person suggested flipping my entire kitchen! But she's the same person who, when a person asked for kitchen design help and her only thing that couldn't be moved was the staircase to the basement, just relentlessly pounded her to move the staircase! Haha!

That is a good idea and something I should do: take a little time to think back to all the kitchens I've cooked in over the years and remind myself what I liked or didn't like about them.

The least expensive microwave drawer I've seen was on the Sears website for $1350. The microwave I have now I've had for years and I got it on sale at Target for $35. :-)

When I do the remodel and move the range over a bit, I want to get an OTR microwave instead of moving the hood. I am very leery of putting another hole in the roof (if I had to relocate the hood). Plus, Sears has one that doubles as a steamer. I steam veggies almost everyday. I like my steamer/rice cooker, it's an Oster I bought about 7-8 years ago, but it is a pain to clean every night!

I know the KF people are militantly again OTR micros instead of outside vented hoods, but for my kitchen I think it makes sense. My two kitchen windows are always open when I'm cooking and we always have a breeze blowing through. Between that and the OTR, I think I can save my kitchen from the total destruction the KF folks say will happen if I don't use an outside vented hood, haha!

It's quite the debate over on the KF, haha, because now there are people who want to locate their cooktop on their island and use one of those cool (expensive) down draft vents. Oh my! You'd think they just said they want to take a bottle of vegetable oil and throw it all over the entire kitchen, floor to ceiling! Haha!

Well, I don't have an island to locate a cooktop on, lol, which is highly discouraged over there, and I'm not ordering a custom wood hood from Sweden, haha, but I like the idea of the OTR (over the range) microwave that functions as a vent, micro, and steamer. So there! Haha! It will also free up counter space.

Chris, I'm just now thinking the ideal thing to recycle the china hutch would be to use them in my future imagined laundry room! The problem is where to store them if I knock them out before I get the laundry room, which is most likely. But, maybe by then I'll have a shed or garage!

I don't recall who suggested this and now of course I can't find it, but I like the idea of looking for a shed on CL or Freecycle!

llucy, I truly hope you get your dream cottage! I don't know you well, but I think you'd really enjoy getting a MH and fixing it up! The great thing about fixer upper MHs is they're really cheap and then you get to fix it up exactly how you want it! Within your budget, of course. But if you're frugal and don't mind recycling things like cabinets or really, almost anything, you can really do a lot on a shoestring budget. I don't know if you have a Fred's Appliance store near you, but here in Spokane they often have sales that beat the big box stores. Even better, they have a huge Ding and Dent Center here! Why would I care if a refrigerator has a dent on the side when it's pushed into the space and you can't even see it?

You all inspire ME! Now I have to get busy housecleaning--the garden party is nearly upon me!

:-)

Oh, just wanted to add, Chris, I totally see how folks would be very comfy and at home at your place! You have such beautiful art that you create, but your home is not a museum where people are afraid to touch anything. That's what I want for my home.

Debbie - have you had an OTR mw before? aren't you short? at about 5', I couldn't use one - I couldn't see IN it, it'd not be easy to put something UP into it or take something HOT out of it. I have a really good one sitting in my DR area, but I can't use it. It came from the same people that I got the stove and dw from. I looked it up online and like ones (but new) run around $400.00! it does have something besides just being mw, cause it has a metal rack for inside of it. But, no way could I use it being so short (without being dangerous). I plan to sell it and give the $s to those people. I did call the people at GE to see if I could use it on the counter but they said NO.

Debbie I agree with Steph. I think microwave OTR is a dangerous thing. Especially for us vertically challenged people. I moved mine to the laundry room you do not have yet. Cause I do not want to look at it. I had one up high on a shelf made for it and it was nice to have it out of the way but worried me everything I lifted a dish of hot food out of it down to the counter. Maybe you can build in a lower microwave shelf in your pantry created by the space when you remove your furnace.

Also I meant for you to remove the living room side doors of the bottom of your hutch cabinet and cur out the kitchen side for them. I think it can be done Then fill in the living room side solid. The upper cabinet just take down. Or leave it there until you get your laundry room. Moving the doors to the other side of that lower cabinet gives you kitchen access.

ORRRRRRRR Leave the doors and cut into the kitchen side and put curtains over the opening. This way when you do move it all onto your laundry room you do not have yet you still have a lovely intact cabinet. No one will see the cut out against the wall. Then you can set your microwave on the narrow counter top.

I lived in a condo at one time that had all appliances on one wall; opposite was 5-6 ft. peninsula. The mw was on one end of the peninsula against the wall. I found this an ideal placement - the counter height was easier to me than reaching up or bending down, but there was still plenty of counter space to work on. Just something for you to think about since you plan on a peninsula at some point. I'm also short and not comfortable with the idea of taking out a hot bowl of soup over my head - especially when I'm older. Or to have something bubbling on the stove and having to reach over that to use the mw.

About the spices; how long do you plan to keep the uppers around the range? Couldn't you store your spices on a lower shelf until they are removed? In one apt. I installed racks on the inside of cabinet doors and kept my spices there. When you remove the uppers, you could put up shelves or a decorative spice rack or a shallow closed cabinet.

In another home I didn't have room in the kitchen for my spices so I put them in a basket with a handle and kept them in a hall closet. When I was ready to cook I just picked up the basket and took it to the counter. Perhaps you have somewhere you could "hide" a basket?

Drawer space is usually premium in small kitchens, but if you can store stuff you have in a top drawer elsewhere you could use the drawer for your spices.

Debbie - think hard about what you will need to keep in that 'future' utility closet. if you can whittle it down, some of that space can be used for kitchen space. sweeper, dust mop/pick up, mop, bucket, cleaning stuff? with no carpet, you could do without a vacuum. and I've done away with most 'cleaners' - other than Dow. I do have a good sized utility room tho.

your furnace space by the kitchen is exactly where mine was in old place. no furnace there, I put in shelves for storage. but if I had been doing any 'remodeling' of the place, that space would have become part of the kitchen.