Help me remodel my kitchen

9 years ago

I need help with suggestions on what to tackle with renovating the kitchen in my recently purchased home. I do not have too much to spend on the renovation so I might do a diy improvements myself. My initial thoughts are to paint the cabinets white. Should I reface or paint? Change the counter tops to a dark grey concrete tops. Concrete a good idea or should I use I am not sure whether to use hard woods or tiles for the floor. I will also like to vent outside and remove the microwave and replace it with a range hood. Also can I change the position of the island and make it longer. Please advice.

Featured Answer

steinhei

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Don't paint the cabinets white - with those white appliances it will look very, very 1992. It will also render the entire space cold and white. And remember, this is a kitchen. With time those painted cabinets will look shabby, miscoloured and patches of paint will inevitably fall off (this process will go faster if you have kids).

From what I can see you have enough counter space - just make sure there's no clutter on the counters. I assume the picture here is from a realtor, so those decorations won't be there in the actual kitchen. You have plenty of cabinet space above and below the counters, and you even have space above the cabinets.

One glaringly obvious thing is the kitchen celing lamp. Get rid of it. A modern light fixture will go a long way in improving the room.

Instead of focusing solely on the kitchen, maybe think about the surrounding areas. All the spaces are white, which makes the space look sterile and cold. Maybe you could add some paint? I like accent walls because they stand out, add colour and, perhaps most importantly: you only need to paint one wall...

Here's what I imagine the kitchen would look like if stained white. It will be difficult to find a shade that matches the appliances. This would look good with stainless steel appliances, but as you are on a budget I'm assuming that's out of the question.

I am, however, a big fan of dark, stained wood. It provides a good contrast to all the white and makes the kitchen look modern. Your current counter tops give it a warm look:

Also, consider changing the ceiling lamp in the foreground, it too looks quite dated.

These are just some initial thoughts I have, let me know what you think!

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Comments (8)

Steph
9 years ago
Your biggest issue is lack of counter space and stark white walls. Can we see the rest of the kitchen, from another angle? My first extinct is to tackle wall paint throughout and changing up the island. Maybe buy a big movable Island for more counter space. Is the flooring that bad? I would leave it until you are ready for bigger redo.
emmarene9
9 years ago
If you are going to bother with changing the countertop then take off that second level bar behind sink.
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jhmarie
9 years ago
I will leave it up to you as to whether you paint the cabinets or not. I pained my homes original cabinets, but I have kept my present ones wood. I prefer the warmth of the wood. If you paint your cabinets, you will not have any warm wood in the kitchen and it could look sterile unless you bring wood back in - perhaps in a wood floor and / or butcher block top for the island.

Many of the changes you mentioned are expensive - especially hardwood or tile flooring.

I did replace my metal range vent with a wood hood. I bought an unfinished hood and stained it to match my cabinets. Hood plus vent insert plus labor to install was $1000 - and that is about as cheap as it can be done unless you make the hood yourself and install the vent insert and hood yourself too.

Concrete is porous and stains. Do some homework on them. If you have never done concrete work before, countertops are probably not a good place to start. Having them done can be expensive. Personally, if the cabinets paint up well, a granite or quartz countertop would be in my opinion a better choice.

The white everywhere on the walls is also sterile unless that is the look you like. If you keep the cabinets wood, try a soft creamy beige with just enough color to set off the white trim. If you paint the cabinets, the wall color will depend on which direction you go with cabinet color.

My kitchen refresh of quartz on the perimeter (similar in size to yours), farmhouse sink (Kohler Whitehaven), faucet, subway tile backsplash (DIY install), and wood hood was about $6000. I have butcher block on the island and kept it - inexpensive piece from Menard's but it has held up great. My floors were already wood - so no expense there.

As to reface vs.paint: Refacing will cost quite a bit more but oak cabinets do not paint the best. Oak is not a paint grade wood and the texture of the grain shows through the paint. This bothers some and doesn't bother others.
kofibaron
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you all for the quick suggestions. One really important part I left out was that I am changing all the appliances to stainless steel and also was planning to get the stainless steel wall mounted range hood. I like @Jhmarie suggestions on painting the walls creamy beige or possibly in light lavender if I decide to stain the cabinets white. @steinhei if I replaced the white appliances with stainless steel appliances and choose dark quartz countertops will it be necessary to still stain the cabinets white, as I see most people don't encourage the white cabinet staining.
User
9 years ago
What is your DIY skill level? Have you done electrical before? What tools do you own? How much time do you have to work on the kitchen? What is your budget for changes?
kofibaron
Original Author
9 years ago
I am pretty handy, I might say I am a low to intermediate DIY'er. I often like to leave the electrical to professionals unless it's simple stuff like changing fixtures and hanging new appliances.

As for the budget I will like to spend no more than 5000 not including the cost of the new appliances
jhmarie
9 years ago
I personally like stained cabinets and I tend to discourage painting really nice wood cabinets unless the person is absolutely pining for a white kitchen and willing to pay for a professional paint job. However, you have ordinary oak cabinets and if you want to paint them I don't have a problem with it. Take your time with good prep, good primer like Zinsser 123 or Zinsser BIN and a good cabinet paint. This pic shows what I mean by the grain texture showing through the paint:

Also, no paint over previously stained cabinets will be as durable as a factory finish. But, if your cabinets have worn spots, the paint can only help. Also, wood moves with changes in temp and humidity which can crack the paints at the joints. Some of my laundry room cabinets show this. I could touch them up, but it would happen again. It is not terribly noticeable from a step back.

You can leave the cabinets wood and have a nice kitchen too. My kitchen cabinets are oak and my appliances are white. White appliances are not a problem if you like them. They brighten wood kitchens so you can save money by not replacing them till you really need to and even then you may want to keep them white.

Here is my refreshed kitchen with oak cabinets. This is done in a French Country cottage style. There are more contemporary looks with wood cabinets too.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~58830325
kofibaron thanked jhmarie
Steph
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
These are closeups of my DIY painted cabinets. I challenge anyone to say they look like cr@p.
They were previously stained and abused by renters for over a decade, before I bought the place. I've had no wear like jhmarie, even with the cabinets that surround the sink or dishwasher. The only issue is not putting slow close hinges on the cabinets directly below my sink, which causes me to bang them.

Having said that, might cabinets are not oak. More of a paint friendly cheap special. Painting your cabinets is the last thing I would do in your situation.

Kitchen Before · More Info

Kitchen almost After Painted cabinets BM Swiss Coffee, walls Thunder, ceiling St · More Info
kofibaron thanked Steph