@Home Reborn there's no need to take offense to my comment. You can have your own opinion about the look if you like. This is just my opinion on their products. I think the holes stand out on IKEA cabinets for a few reasons:

1) The interiors are white, whereas most conventional cabinets (I've seen at least) have a wood finish interior. White contrasts much more to the shadow cast within the holes.

2) The holes used in IKEA cabinet boxes are considerably larger diameter than conventional cabinets. I noticed that this weekend with the cabinets at '75 Cabinets' and it was also true for our cabinets at our old house in Baltimore...both of which use philips head screws to attach the brackets that hold the shelves instead of cheap plastic peg snap-in brackets.

3) The plastic/linoleum veneer on the cabinet boxes draws the eyes to the to the cabinet wall when light shines on it.

4) There seems to be a lot more holes in the boxes of IKEA cabinets than in any other cabinet I've ever seen. I didn't count the holes, so maybe its just my mind playing tricks on me.

You see the holes the second you open the cabinet doors. Or if you have glass fronts, you can see them without opening the doors. If you're the type of person that's content with it looking good when the cabinet doors are shut and when you stand only at certain angles in the kitchen, then that's on you. But that isn't me. It would drive me nuts every time I opened the cabinet and saw those holes glaring at me. On another note, the back of the IKEA doors have their own host of issues, but if I go the IKEA route I most likely will be going third-party fronts anyway.

Never had wood interior cabinets. Have lived in multiple homes. Always white inside

@WestCoast Hopeful you see, I think that's actually super officey. These completely flat faced fronts are apparently trendy now, even in the regular cabinet showrooms. And I just think it looks like I walked into an office from 1985...

What style of cabinet do you like? Even on our main floor we have flat panel cabinets. We paid a pretty penny more than ikea as we felt we needed to for the home price point overall and I find the quality very meh. This is our upstairs kitchen. There are many different styles. Having come from cabinets that had ridges I’m so thankful for our smooth surfaces!

@WestCoast Hopeful I'm guessing these are probably completely out of style now, but I just thing they look so much more sophisticated and refined. This isn't necessarily my top pick by any means, but here's one I think looks pretty nice. This was incredibly difficult to find on Google by the way. I had to sort through a million photos of cabinets with not a single bevel on any edge before finding this. I love detailed bevels, and my wife and I think we like these inset cabinets best but we aren't dead set on them. The inset cabinets seem like they might help keep doors more aligned in the long run too...not sure if that's really the case or not. Just a thought.

Everyone has different tastes. Our home is modern open concept so our cabinets work for the style of house we have and what we like. Many people enjoy a more traditional kitchen and you should be able to find plenty that fit your style

That's fine-looking inset-style cabinetry, but circling back to your original post where you mentioned a budget of $100K for a "full remodel," a custom kitchen in that style will pretty much eat up your entire budget.

And also circling back to your original question, I would endorse hiring a KD for a 25x18 kitchen. Most of the projects I work on are a great deal smaller than that, and are consequently much easier to design (as the placement options for sink/stove/fridge/cabinets are usually so much more limited in small spaces).

But be open-minded about cabinetry styles that a KD might suggest. Bear in mind that future buyers may have a different perspective on what looks "sophisticated and refined." Personally, I find a flat slab kitchen like West Coast Hopeful's fits those two adjectives much better than traditional-style inset cabinetry. Especially if you are in a younger and/or more urban market.

@Home Reborn Couple things to note on that:

I was originally estimating the kitchen dimensions of 25x18, because the listing didn't have any dimensions. I was trying to err on the conservative side. I brought my laser distance measuring tool to the inspection this past Saturday and got all the room measurements. The kitchen is exactly 20'-0"L x 15'-9"W x 8'-11"H.

I was looking more into appliances, and I think some of the people above in earlier posts are being completely unrealistic about appliance costs, like $40k for appliances? On what planet? Ive found full sets of high end appliances for half that price online. Thermador, for example, has a great deal on sets of their appliances. I put together a 36" fridge column, 24" freezer column, gas cooktop, double convection wall oven, saphire dishwasher, and range hood for a little over $25k on Thermador's website. And that was with some upgrades we really didnt even need at all. There are comparable packages available from Jenn-air, Dacor, Viking, etc. The only company I can't get packages for is Sub-Zero/Wolf, because every place I go is either out of stock or says they don't ship outside of a 150 mile radius of IL for some odd reason. Either way, I'm leaning towards Thermador a lot more now anyway (if I can swing it in the budget) because their fridges, dishwashers, and cooktops always seem be much higher rated. So I guess in a roundabout way, I'm trying to say I dont think the numbers thrown around previously were very accurate. Whether or not $100k would be sufficient, I can't say since Ive never remodeled a kitchen before. But it seems I would have more money available to put towards cabinets than was previously thought. If I could find a style like this for front on IKEA boxes, I'm sure I could figure a way to cover the box holes. I'm assuming inset is out the window with IKEA boxes, but the panel style and beveling is still nice.

I would be open-minded to a KD's suggestions to styles to a degree, but this is still our kitchen. It's not the KD's kitchen, and it's not some future homeowner's kitchen. Designing a kitchen for the future sale of the home is a fool's game, that is... unless you have a very eclectic style. But of course as you can see we have a traditional style that is sure to be acceptable in any decade. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on those flat faced cabinets falling out of favor far quicker than the cabinets we selected. Trends and fads are just not something I would ever design for. I design for my own taste, form, and function. And honestly, chances are the kitchen will need another remodel before I even sell the house anyway.

We are in the suburban market. Houses in the area are typically around $600k - $1M.

A good KD makes function in your kitchen her first concern. Even an independent KD usually has preferred cabinet source, contractor, installer of cabinetry.

You are confusing the material and aesthetics with that aspect. This is why you go to any KD with a specific wish list for appliances, Kitchens, before anything else, are appliance driven. Which ones, their specis. No cabinetry and storage can be planned until you know what you want. What you need. Yes a dw is 24 inches.......but fridge selection is a different animal. Are you cladding or you want stainless. The devil is in the details.

There are always appliance "packages". ..................usually smart to avoid. Buy the best you can afford in each category. Subzero excels in cooling, Bosch in dishwasher. Range or cook top depends what you are looking for,.

There is all above, and the "interior design " aspect of a kitchen . The flavor so to speak. That is a function of cabinet style, counters, flooring, lighting , tile, hardware.

Best of all worlds? An interior designer with a great KD in her pocket and an excellent contractor and cabinet installer. Each one brings something to the party. I will lay out a kitchen for a client, help them through an appliance maze and every possible aspect of that style flavor. I DO NOT.......create a cabinet order. This is one of the most exacting and time consuming aspects in any home. There is far too much opportunity for error.

That combination of help, gets you a kitchen that you love, one that generally relates to the overall feel in your home.With function, beauty all in tandem. If the house is new to you, it can be your best route to a great result..........all through your home. Kitchen included.

You can get a kitchen "designed" In any shop that sells cabinets. ......................not the same thing. AT ALL.

Another option for quality cabinetry in your area can be Amish cabinetmakers. And they do the installation.

I agree with Jan Moyer. I think it could possibly be helpful to have a skilled interior designer on your team. In theory, a KD should be able to cover all the bases of a nice kitchen design - a design that is functional and a design that also coordinates with your home and tastes. But it would have to be the right KD. Just like it would have to be the right interior designer. There is really no one answer to your question, because in all cases, it really just depends on the people you assemble. But if you had a KD from a certain cabinet vendor as well as an independent interior designer, you get a couple of perspectives, and that might be helpful.

Are the current cabinets wood? Wood for cabinetry is very much en vogue right now - plus is classic. White painted cabinets are not going away, but they are not quite the panacea that they were, in terms of design trends. But if you want white painted cabinets, that is what you want. Are the current cabinets in good condition? Have you considered just refacing?

As far as cabinetry: Mention was made that you are in PA. This company ships narionwide, but they are actually in PA. https://www.houzz.com/pro/freestanding-kitchen_furniture/amish-loft

Joe Angelo Kitchen · More Info

@jan moyer I figured that appliances controlled kitchen designed pretty earlier on, so I was thinking I might try to secure those in advance since so many people were talking about long lead times on appliances. Though now that doesn't seem to be the case from what I'm seeing. Who knows if these stores are actually telling the truth though. I also pride myself in hunting down some of the best brands and models available with things like this. I'm just starting out with appliances, so I'm still refining my choices. The decision to go with a package deal is basically solely for the massive savings. I realize were likely to be stuck with 1-2 pretty crappy appliances that way, but a crappy thermador microwave is much cheaper to replace than a crappy Miele fridge. The big ticket thermador fridge, freezer, double oven, range, cooktop and dishwasher I selected are all very good models. Of course we have yet to check any of these appliances out in a show room, and by no means are we dead set on this thermador set either. It was just an example. In an ideal world, I'd mix and match brands of appliances, but that is very $$$. It seems pretty clear that the packages are the way to go if buying new. And with that said, I'm not necessarily opposed to buying open box or discontinued models, so long as they're warrantied. Minor dents & dings are no big deal, especially if we decide to go panel ready. I don't think we want used though. I'm not sure i understand why you are suggesting we use an interior designer. That seems counter to what everyone else is suggesting here. The theme here seems to be to stay away from IDs and get a dedicated KD.

dan1888 I just noticed your comment.👌 I was writing my looooong post. Funny on the timing. Yes. I included one local company, And there are also others, of course.

@dan1888 yeah, the amish make very high quality furniture. I have to imagine their cabinets are equality as high quality. I also saw a couple quaker cabinet makers in the area during a search. I haven't checked either out, but I have to imagine they're rather expensive. The market must dictate their price, and there's no way the Amish or quakers would compromise on quality.

@freedomplace1 the house is a production build, and the existing cabinets are very low quality and in pretty poor condition at this time. Even if they were in better condition, we wouldn't want to reuse the boxes. I think we're going to need to shift the kitchen window a little or perhaps resize the window, because the previous homeowner split the window with a wall of the Florida room they added. So half the window looks into the Florida room and half the window looks outside lol. It looks ridiculous lol. And if we move the window, we need to move the sink and cabinets too. I also think we're likely to go with a double wall oven and separate cooktop, instead of a cooktop and oven in one like is currently there. So needless to say the cabinet layout needs to change quite a bit. Obviously I'd like to keep utilities in their same locations as much as is feasible to keep costs down. We'll check out that Amish cabinet maker. Thanks for the link. My wife actually wants gray cabinets, not white. I just grabbed the photo off Google. We're thinking a solid light gray painted cabinet. Not sure on counter color/design, but it's most likely going to be quartz due to low maintenance and durability.

Although I am an interior designer/decorator, I am NOT a kitchen designer. I've renovated my kitchens in several homes over many years, and each time I've used a kitchen designer. I know my limitations, and as has been said throughout this discussion, kitchen design is an exacting science. The first time I used an independent kitchen designer and my kitchen was beautiful and functional. It lasted many years and the cabinets have been repurposed in someone else's kitchen. For the second and third I used two different high end design/build firms who had certified kitchen designers on staff. The firms offered a variety of cabinet companies at several price points, but all very good quality. It helps to narrow down the selection as all the cabinet manufacturers offer a large number of door styles, wood species and paint colors. In both cases the GCs were awesome--efficient, great workmanship, courteous, neat. That's a big part of the process, as you will be living with these people for several months. Design/build firms also have relationships with appliance companies that are only open to the trade. In my case I made an appointment and selected the appliances from a vast showroom that offered discounts you cannot get from the big box stores or local retailers. I got very good prices and service on GE Monogram, Bosch and Subzero.

You stated that you're in Bucks County, which is a very nice area of the country. I'm sure homes in your area have high quality amenities, which includes kitchens and baths. I'm also sure you can find very good kitchen and bath showrooms with excellent designers on staff. Many of them will also take charge of the entire project. However, you will pay a high price for them, as I did, but they are worth the price if you can swing it. I'm in the NY metro area and I paid about $150K for a full gut job in 2014, which included all new windows/doors/flooring/lighting/appliances/cabinetry/tile, and a new concrete crawl space and structural support. As we all know, prices have soared since then, and the lead times are very long.

I would recommend living in the home for as long as you can in order to both plan out the project and save enough money to do a quality job and plan for overages and contingencies (at least 10-15%).

Good luck in your new home!

@Diana Bier Interiors, LLC thank you. I know it's always best to live in the house for a period of time, and we may end up doing that still. It's just that the kitchen is pretty rough right now, so that's hard to deal with for one. And we're also TTC, so I think my wife just wants this kitchen ready ASAP so she can use it when she needs it. We don't want to be stuck ordering takeout every night, because our appliance from 1988 broke down. Another part of it is the lead times. Everyone's saying everything's taking forever right now, so we're trying to get a jump on things, fully expecting it's still going to be 6-12 months before our kitchen is completed anyway. If we wait a year, then it could be 24 months until it's finished. We would have a larger budget for sure, so that's one upside, but I just can't see my wife dealing with this kitchen for that long lol. I might have to at least replace the delaminating formica countertops in the interim. Perhaps some shelac on maple ply would suffice lol.

Diana just said what I said. The word "crappy" shouldn't even be your vocabulary for this., unless it applies to the kitchen you rip.

A 600k to million dollar home? Bucks County? How long will you be there? Ten years? You divide all by TEN. Meaning a Sub Zero fridge, will outlast any other by a factor of five times, hassle free. A monogram dual fuel range? Zero hassle, incredible function. Can you go cheaper? Sure! But. If you will be there ten years? You know math. ...........................

Ask yourself if that package is a long term success. It virtually never is. Each of these brands KNOW the area in which they excel. The package is the carrot on the stick - to take the other apps where they know the competition outshines them. The cognoscente also know : )

I totally understand @Ryan Fehr about "rough" kitchens. We lived with ours for four years before doing our first gut job. The appliances were from the 1960s or 70s, and the DW gave out on Thanksgiving Day one year. And we had three kids in a tiny kitchen. So it's up to you whether you want to wait or start now. My choice was to wait and not compromise, but it was a different time.

Or you could purchase new appliances as the old ones die, and then design the kitchen around the new ones, which is the order of operations anyway. Planning takes a lot of time so you're right, you won't get a new kitchen completed by next year at this time in any case.

(BTW, what is TTC?)

@Ryan Fehr

You are just beginning the process so there's probably many things you don't realize yet. One is the availability of contractors. There's a shortage of contractors and construction labor nationally and reputable contractors are busy and have waiting lists. Even dedicated kitchen renovation businesses will likely have waiting lists and will schedule you months down the road. You're likely not going to be able to snap your fingers and get a team working on you starting this September/October. Unless, of course, you pay big bucks.

Realistically, you will need to spend the next few months interviewing contractors, visiting kitchen design firms, checking out cabinet companies, looking at countertops, researching appliances. And that's before you trigger the bullet and then they will schedule you at their convenience, not your convenience. It's likely the only way you could start earlier is if you anticipate doing a lot of the work yourself.

As frustrating as your current kitchen may be, patience is a virtue. Six months will go by in a blink. It always does.

Regarding your budget, I don't think 100k will be enough if the scope involves removing/replacing windows along with a gut remodel, luxury appliances and high quality cabinets. Countertops will cost more than you imagine right now. Especially quartz ones. Labor costs are soaring. Moving appliances around means rerouting plumbing/electricity, which adds to the cost.

Having said that, you can get a pretty nice kitchen for 100k. Just be realistic about what you need and can afford. Do you really need a subzero versus other appliances that do the job pretty well? A 5k stove versus a $2500 stove? (dirty secret, the more expensive stove won't cook better for most practical purposes). Plenty of people with premium luxury stoves have had major repair bills (ouch). Maybe a subzero fridge will last 20 years instead of the typical 10 for a midrange fridge, but will you be in the house for 10 years?

Even consider going the premium RTA route to save costs. Here's another dirty secret. Some of the luxury cabinetmakers order the boxes for their cabinets from Conestoga (also in Pennsylvania). They make their own frames, but the boxes are the same as Conestoga's RTA line, CabinetJoint. And Conestoga's face frames are pretty d*mn good too. "Amish" cabinetmakers aren't inherently great cabinetmakers by virtue of being Amish, they can be, but odds are pretty good they're sourcing many if not most parts from Conestoga too, they just deliver you an assembled product at a markup.

You should start by interviewing local contractors/kitchen renovation firms. Odds are what they tell you will provide the clarity we can't. And good luck!

@Ryan Fehr We also live in the Philadelphia suburbs (Mainline) and had done numerous renovations to our 100+ old house. All were very expensive. We recently moved into a house built in 1984 which needs a new kitchen, bath and laundry. Our existing kitchen is totally dysfunctional but it's surprising what you can get used to. Be prepared for sticker shock. Your zipcode alone will add 20% to any quote you get, If and when you can get someone to take a look at your project.

We did our first kitchen with MDF cabinets that had Wilsonart laminate clad doors (we had just moved back from Germany and loved the Euro look/function). When we removed them 15 years later, they looked and worked as well as they did the day they were installed. They were happily reused by someone else. We were a family of four and used the kitchen hard.

Our next kitchen was a period kitchen built by Kennebec Company (in Maine). The cabinets were quartersawn white oak, inset, painted interiors, all drawers and looked like fine furniture. They were $50K and it was a small kitchen! I'm not sure it was worth it but it was a gorgeous kitchen and even at 12 years old, it helped sell the house.

We put a Brookhaven kitchen in our beach house 3 years ago. The kitchen is large and the cabinets were $45K with all drawer bases, appliance panels, end panels etc. I'm very, very happy with the quality of these cabinets and felt they were good value. They are painted shaker with a small detail in the panel recess.

For our new kitchen, we're back to the Euro style and laminate doors. We've been quoted $45-55K for ArtCraft cabinets, 15% more to upgrade to SieMatic. The kitchen is the same size as yours. I'd have done Brookhaven again but the spouse just loves those German cabinets.

All of these cabinets have lines of holes in the interiors for adjustable shelves. Your kitchen simply won't function without them. None of them were solid wood. The boxes were plywood or MDF. The Brookhaven doors are MDF to prevent the paint cracking. The laminate and veneered slab doors we're now considering are on MDF to prevent warping.

Folks on this forum love, love, love Ikea. The boxes and hardware are fine if you can make them fit in your layout. My relatives in the UK have them and they're great. But I'm not willing to design around their limited sizes nor can I DIY the boxes so I've never considered them.

I know you're not in the market for Subzero/Wolf but it's worth a trip to the showroom in the Navy Yard to look at the cabinet displays. They are all local companies, high end and very beautiful! A great appliance showroom is Kieffers in Lansdale. They have more on the floor than anywhere else in the area.

I have not been successful at finding an independent KD in our area.

One last note. I had Thermador columns in my last house with no problems so installed them again in my beach house. The Thermador induction top lasted less than a year before the board went and the new freezer has been repaired three times. Now the ice maker isn't working. I had a 30" Subzero in my first kitchen and it operated flawlessly for 15 years. Sold it when we remodeled. There is a 48" Subzero in the new house that's 20 years old and it works perfectly. If it weren't such a beast to move, I'm sure someone would happily take it for free when we remodel. I don't know if the new ones will be as reliable or not. It's frustrating.

There are members on this forum who have used Amish craftsmen for their kitchen remodels. And the pricing was much better than you think because of the lack of middlemen. They build it. They deliver it and install it. Your area is one of the core locations for available craftsmen. Don't overlook them. I'd recommend frameless cabs for longevity and usable space. All lowers could be drawers with wide 36-48" boxes where possible.

@diana bier we're not necessarily committing to any particular plan at this point. I was just saying i know my wife, so that's probably going to be her response. She always just wants to get things done ASAP. I tend to want to think and plan things out much more than she does. TTC = trying to conceive.

@cheri127 that's not good news that you were unable to find an independent KD in this area. How long did you look? What about it was unsuccessful - their style? their willingness to work with your brands?

Regarding appliances, Kieffers is pretty close to where we're at now in blue bell. I wanted to stop in there on Sunday, but they're closed on Sundays. What I was saying in my earlier post is that it's not just the brand that matters, it's also the model. Every brand in ever industry releases duds, some moreso than others. Some companies excel in a particular area. Bosch for example excels at making dishwashers. Thermador is made by Bosch, so it's no surprise why Thermador dishwashers consistently rank as stome of the best on the market. But that's not to say there might not be some models that were riddled with issues. The Germans don't exactly have the best reputation for electronics and electrical engineering *cough* VW, BMW, Bosch tools *cough* 😂😂 So it doesn't surprise me to hear you say you had an issue with the circuit board. That said, the service history on Thermador appliances is some of the lowest of the high end brands from the information I can find. I wouldn't disagree with you that Sub-Zero is superior, but they seem unattainable at this point due to price and availability. Though I am still open to sourcing open box or discontinued sub-zero and wolf appliances. I've heard so little about the dishwasher line, so I'm a bit hesitant on that. I'd probably rather just get a Bosch.

@dan1888 i will look into the amish cabinet makers. Thanks. If they make their cabinets like they make their donuts, I'll have the nicest cabinets in the country!

I found that most cabinet, plumbing and to some degree lighting vendors are open only M - F and close at 5 or 6. Hard for most working people to make those hours.

In my area, most of those stores have Saturday hours....either 9-noon or 9-2. My store is open on Saturdays to help with people that can't take off from work. My store is closed Sundays and Mondays....which ticks off my contractors sometimes, but we are small with only 4 employees and you can't please everyone.

Regarding the Amish? I'm sure there are some good ones around....but it's mostly become a marketing strategy. And I've said it many times here over the years, there is some odd mystique that people associate with "Amish cabinetry". They are usually just "amish assembled"....sometimes "finished and assembled". They buy a lot of the already factory made stuff and finish and assemble them. That's what most cabinet makers do these days. I had an acquaintance, once, at a party tell me with pride, "I have AMISH cabinets in my kitchen!" I told him they were probably just parts assembled. He got mad and didn't believe me. I just said, "call and ask him" and changed the subject. A few weeks later, I run in to him and he apologizes. He said he got so mad at me for saying that...that he contacted his carpenter and asked him. The guy confirmed what I had told him.

Click this BELOW to read more......

AMISH MISCONCEPTIONS

@tozmo1 certainly not ideal hours for me, but I could work from home if need be with some advanced notice. My wife works 100% from home.

@the kitchen place I imagine some people probably try to capitalize on the amish name and perhaps there are partnerships with the amish for assembling different parts of the cabinets as you described. But if "Amish cabinet makers" exist that provide a quality product, do the install, and come in at the very reasonable price point, then who cares if it's 100% made by the Amish, right? At least I wouldn't care. I know those guys aren't sitting out in their fields with hand saws and planers anymore; they use electricity like the rest of us lol. But they still turn out some nice furniture, expensive, but nice.

two words: the finish

I get what you're saying....if they provide a quality product with a great finish with a competitive price, who cares. You're absolutely right.

However, most of the locally finished products aren't that great. I saw one where they spray painted the finish ONSITE with INSET cabinets like you want. There were drips everywhere and the beaded part had globs in it.

Like I asked that acquaintance friend of mine. He's really in to collecting cars. "Look at it this way, you like your cars, right? Would you rather have your Mercedes painted by Mercedes in their state of the art, clean, dust-free factory? Or would you hire a local guy to paint it in his dusty garage?"

I don't know why someone hasn't suggested this yet, but two things:

1. This forum is a fantastic source of good design advice. If you work up a layout (free with your local Lowes or HD) and post it here, you'll get tons of excellent input, and I'd put this collective up against the best KDs (and this collective includes some great pro's as well as experienced amateurs).

Read this thread to get started on your design, and post here iteratively until you've fleshed out the details.

2. Why in the world would you not consider DIY? I would disagree with your premise that a kitchen is too complicated for you. I consider bathrooms to be more complicated than kitchens, as they involved waterproofing that needs to be done to exactness. If you're comfortable doing a bathroom, you should have no problem doing a kitchen. I should clarify: kitchens are more complex to design, but not more complex to install.

A kitchen is plumbing, electrical (both of which you said you can do), flooring, and cabinets. Hire a fabricator for the counters.

Flooring is likely tile or wood, and all are DIY-able.

Cabinets are the easy/fast part. Go watch a few youtube videos on installing cabinets to demystify the process. It's basically taking a bunch of pre-made wood boxes, shimming them level, and screwing them to the wall and to each other. The finish trim can take some finesse (crown, light rail), but again, some youtube videos and an engineer's detail orientation should give you the confidence that you can do it.

If you want some more inspiration, have a look at this thread, which is a play by play of a kitchen remodel that Mr. Weedy and I DIY-ed in a week, albeit one with very long days. :-) We've done 2 more kitchens since then in our own houses, and 3 for others. If we can do it, so can you.

And DIY solves the problem of finding a good contractor and getting on their waitlist.

So, nothing against KDs, but you can totally do this without spending $100K on it if you don't have to hire labor. It'll take some self-education, but I don't sense that you're opposed to that. Start with the link above and get going on it already!

Rayn, maybe all of this means that you shouldn't buy this particular house. Your TIME is exceedingly valuable and irreplaceable and limited. You don't know how much of it you have. Peace of mind is priceless, stress is soul-sucking. You have a choice, you can walk away from this deal.

@cupofkindnessgw lol I'm not going to walk away from the home sale over a kitchen remodel. That's crazy. I'm just trying to figure out my options right now. I'm in the very early stages of planning. Worst case scenario, we just deal with the crappy old kitchen until we have plenty of money saved up to buy anything we want for kitchen of our dreams.

Gotcha!

and hopefully your wife won't mind that 'gray' is overdone and will soon be considered 'out of date'.

My suggestion is to seek out interior designers in your area who showcase kitchen remodels in their portfolios. Even if they do not engineer the cabinets personally, they can help to guide you to qualified resources and select the finishes for you. A designer stakes their reputation on the products and contractors they recommend, so their referrals often have value.

The average kitchen remodel in my market is about $80k. Once you remove walls or add to the scope (refinishing floors, staircases, etc.), you will most definitely be over $100k. If you want inset cabinets and professional appliances, you may want to set your budget a little higher. Do not try to find a cheaper contractor to offset the cost of the materials. I'm currently working with one who is causing a lot of damage to my client's new cabinets.

Be prepared to not start construction on this until 2022. Designers, contractors and materials are in high demand and there is generally a waitlist for qualified professionals and backorders for quality products. Spend the rest of the year finding the best team and working on the plan and design. This is a large investment and not something that should be rushed if at all possible. Remodeling right now requires patience and flexibility.

On the appliance front, you also might want to think about an induction cook top. Good luck!

As Kristin above. Make time an ally......not an enemy. Get the pro help.

"" Worst case scenario, we just deal with the crappy old kitchen until we have plenty of money saved up to buy anything we want for kitchen of our dreams.

Change one word " The first one. : )

I lived with my 1960 all original kitchen for 8 looonnnggg months! The oven didnt work, the cooktop and countertops were original. We had planed to remodel while we still owned and lived in our previuos home unfortunatly when covid hit we had to quickly sell our other home and move into this one with only half the house remodeled. We demod the kitchen end of April it should be complelty done by end of August/first of september. Will you be living in the home as you remodel? Its hard to do If its a complete gut job. I wanted to buy a travel trailer to live in but we didnt.

@Ryan Fehr Not a question of style, just couldn't find a KD that didn't sell cabinets. I have recently been looking at ID websites that showcase kitchens so, as someone said above, that may be the way to go. You can always post their layout here and get lots of good advice.

My point on the appliances is that things just aren't what they used to be. They're so complicated now that it's not unusual for electronics to fail. We were very happy with our Thermadors bought 12 years ago. Not so much with the ones bought 3 years ago. (I know all about the quirky German electronics. Had a VW Passat for two years and took a loss trading it in for a Toyota that I had for 12 years with no problems. LOL)

I looked at Amish cabinets before heading to Maine. They're overrated in my opinion. Take a look at Brookhaven. They're made in PA and they do not disappoint. There are lots of dealers in our area. Good luck with the new house! :)

A great kitchen is a lot more than replacing cabinetry and appliances. We don't even know what the existing layout looks like, The op isn't in the house yet.

The only point here is one: A fairly new homeowner ( his second ) .........Of a home built in 1994.

Yes, 1994.

Hardly new certainly, but hardly the same as 1960.

My suggestion to the op is stop fretting about procuring appliances, cabinetry, or anything else. Get in the house, look at the flooring, the kitchen, all of it. In the meantime. collect images of the dream kitchen.

In other words, chill. If you have fire, water, and cooling of any type, anywhere? You shall not starve. Don't put the buggy in front of the horse.

I'm really curious as to how the op defines "rough". Falling apart? Or a style/finish worn and somewhat or a lot tired? Big difference, folks.

Further, for all we know we could be talking about a dark cherry kitchen with worn cabinets, white appliances and a stained corian sink, or a drop in sink or who knows what? Still not going to starve in that kitchen, either. Pretty common....in 1994.btw.

One more _ as a poster mentioned, it IS hard to find a KD who doesn't make their living by also selling product. This is part and parcel of the interior designer/kd combination. If NOT that combination? The homeowner is much more a "designer" to the extent it is helpful to have researched carefully, the look, and feel you desire. The finishes, basically. The needs for storage, how you cook and entertain in a clear wish list. That puts the KD/seller.....in the still very helpful ad most important technical aspects of efficiency and layout options.

It's a lot more than item for item replacement .............to get too a "dream" There really is no " I just want to" in design. Of anything. "Just" is not a good word in design. I cringe when I hear I. just. want. to. : )

Every kitchen/bath below ? Designed by me. I did NOT write a single cabinet order.......for any, and never will.

Interior Design Work · More Info

LAKE HOMEInterior Design Work · More Info

In general · More Info

In general · More Info

LAKE SIDE · More Info

Kitchen redo with butler · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

elmwood master suite · More Info

Interior Design Work · More Info

Jan Moyer: Beautiful work❣️You must have some very happy clients❣️

Jan some people want to dive in and remodel. That’s their choice. We did and I don’t regret it for one moment. I wanted to spend zero days cooking in the kitchen of our old home. People can do whatever they want.

@jan moyer this isn't a blog about what you would do if this was your house or what assumptions you think might be true about my situation. What i choose to do is completely on me, whether that's trying to remodel the kitchen asap or not . These snarky comments are getting really obnoxious already.

Congratulations on the new home! This may be a repeat as I didn't read all the posts but... using a kitchen designer will porobably save you money. Maybe not in the materials, but definitely in knowing all the little things you would never think of. Also, there are some designers that will work with IKEA, just look for someone not affiliated with a particular brand. I would not use Lowe's or HD as they can make mistakes (well, anyone can but an experieced designer will probably make fewer errors). A kitchen doesn't need to be completely custom made to be very nice. Stock or semi-custom cabinets can be really nice and includ all the bells and whistles you want. My other advice is go with the studiest cabinets you can. We used Cabico years ago and they still look great (I don't live in the house anymore but know the cabinets have held up). Then, if in the future you want to update, you can just have them professionally painted. Good luck!

: ) Of course one can "DIVE in"

Or .....as the saw goes:" Design /decorate in haste......repent at your leisure."

That;s not snark,, But after thirty years I can't tell you many would agree. I never said it wasn't your house. Have at it!

@JAN MOYER that is good advice about living with the space for about a year but it's not always possible. A house can be only a few years old but still in bad shape. Was it left empty? Was there water or animal damage? We bought a house with a kitchen that was about 25 years old, solid wood, and ugly. At the time I refused to " live with it" and had it redone. As they were tearing it out they found several squiirrel and other vament nests. You never know. There were things I would have changed but overall I loved that kitchen. Currently redoing a kitchen (another house) that I wanted to redo ASAP but decided to "live with it" (after checking for signs of wildlife 😁) and am glad I did as the layout is great but just needs a few updates. I'm rambling but I'm sure they are making a decision that is best for them at this time.

@new-beginning, this makes me sad as grey is one of my favorite colors (shades??) since I was a teen. I was in heaven when I started to see it in more nicer household items.

@spagano do what you love. Our house is grey, our walls are light grey, our kitchen is dark grey and white. I’ve not regretted it for one second. I love it.

@WestCoast Hopeful, oh I am! Our new countertops are marble look with grey veining quartz and our backsplash will be a pale to medium grey subway tile. Our walls throughtout most of our house are Sterling Grey from Benjamin Moore.