Kitchen renovators: What do you wish you'd gotten? What are you really glad you did?

truegrid said:

Anyone switch from a range to cooktop and wall oven - love it, hate it?

Thanks!

We went the other way -- gas cooktop and double wall over to big gas range. Although it's a PITA to keep the top clean, it's a million times better. My old oven couldn't handle full sized cookie sheets.

I would love to have double wall ovens and a separate cooktop.

truegrid said:

Sounds like wall oven, if have both, still gravitate to the oven with the range - interesting. I loved the idea of having pots/pans under the cooktop...so still looking for feedback if happy with cooktop/wall oven, and why?

Anyone can share expected cost (install and ongoing) for radiant heat? Since we are pulling up floors to the sub floor, its a possibility.

Does anyone have pull outs for cutting boards, or spice rack vertical pull out next to stove?

We prefer our oven and range -- use the drawer underneath for sheet storage. We have two big drawers for pots and pans that we use for tupperware and kids' dishes, two big lower cabinets that we ACTUALLY use for pots and pans, and a corner lazy susan for pots/pans/bowls/steamers/salad spinners.

We have ceramic tile that looks like wood and we love it. No radiant heating (we're in LA) but if I was back in the Northeast, heat under those tiles would be awesome.

We have one pull out that we use for cutting boards. In our house in NJ we had one for spices but it was hard to see the labels, so I prefer the vertical storage.

Pictures, people, where are the pictures!?

TigerLilly said:

Question about white cabinets - I love the look, but I'm worried about it getting dirty/greasy too easily. Over time, how do your white cabinets hold up?

We've had white in two kitchens and it has held up very well. On our current kitchen every once in awhile I wipe it down with water or some sort of cleanser and it looks almost as fresh as when I painted them almost 10 years ago.

In another house there were maple cabinets that somehow accumulated visible dirt around the pulls and handles. They were on the older side, however.

Once, with our first house, we had a dog/house sitter stay for about 10 days and when we returned were appalled at the filth that had accumulated on those white cabinets in those 10 days. I guess what that means is that how much shows depends not only on the finish of the cabinets but also on the "mess factor" of a specific family. (Just saying that a family with three boys under the age of 6 (or teens!) might have see more dirt and grease than a family with one girl child)

jasper said:

Pictures, people, where are the pictures!?

Srsly!

APIWATW

The things I did right: Deep drawers instead of low cabinets for pots and pans. In drawer microwave. Counter top garage with slide out shelf for mixer. Separate counter top garage next to breakfast bar for coffee & toaster.

What I wish I'd added: Vertical storage for trays and racks, a second oven. better quality under cabinet lighting (it's florescent and I couldn't find the right color light, it's too green), more outlets/recharging station.

I chose an warm white cabinet the manufacturer called vanilla. Dirt shows, but it's easy to clean. I'd rather see the dirt and be able to clean it than not know it's there.

jasper said:

APIWATW

I know, right?

I love the color of our off-white cabinets (called "almond" by the manufacturer). The smudges are visible to me long before anyone else would begin to notice. They are easy to clean, usually just use a soapy sponge.

This is not my kitchen, but the cabinet color is similar. The wood on the table is also very similar to the top on our island (ours is walnut)

mjh said:

I love the color of our off-white cabinets (called "almond" by the manufacturer). The smudges are visible to me long before anyone else would begin to notice. They are easy to clean, usually just use a soapy sponge.

This is not my kitchen, but the cabinet color is similar. The wood on the table is also very similar to the top on our island (ours is walnut)

Glad it's not your kitchen... I was going to have to kill myself for the view alone... :-D

knowlton said:

afa,
Is your wood countertop next to your sink? How is it holding up?

Holding up great! I'm a bit obsessive about wiping up around the sink after I do the dishes, though, so I'm sure that helps.

.

a lot of my favorites have been said before but one thing I haven't seen is :

speakers and a sonos sound system!

Do it while everything is opened up and wires and speakers can easily be installed. It is fantastic to be able to listen to NPR or music while I am cooking or we are hanging out in the kitchen. And it all runs off an app so our iphones and ipads are the controllers.

also love my:
radiant heat
drawer microwave
giant island
big pull out drawers under the stove for pots and pans
spice rack in upper cabinet
knife rack inset for drawer (like to keep as much off the counters as possible)
special cabinet in the adjoining mudroom for vacuum and other cleaning supplies

Thanks everyone, very helpful

Has anyone looked into sourcing the cabinets from Amish craftsmen in PA? A couple that I saw had wonderful workmanship.

shanabana said:

I do NOT recommend getting BOSCH dishwasher, nor do I recommend a HAIER fridge.

Disagree on Bosch dishwashers but agree on Haier fridges.

A bazillion outlets.

Six burners.

Second oven on the wall rather than under the range. This means under-range oven is ginormous but daily use oven does not require too much bending down.

Big sink for washing up. Small, seperate sink at prep area.

Powerful vent fan in large hood.

If I were doing it today, I would have twin USB ports rather than phone jacks, but I bet in another 10 years those USB ports will be as obsolete as my phone & DSL jacks are now! ;-))

Vertical pan and board storage.

Undercounter lights.

Soft floor (we used Marmoleum).

The only thing I really regret is my range. The oven is fine, but the cooktop has all the same size burners (I need a small one for the Moka pot and a bigger one for soup) and the igniters are crap. But there is a much better selection out there now to choose from.

.

I hate my tablet sometimes.

since I am in the midst of and close to wrapping up my kitchen renovation, I wish I hadn't read this thread.

Just starting our reno process, and this thread is great. Any thoughts on Soap Stone sinks or Marble Counter tops, issues, maintenance, or overall look/patina over time.

rbrooks1281 said:

Just starting our reno process, and this thread is great. Any thoughts on Soap Stone sinks or Marble Counter tops, issues, maintenance, or overall look/patina over time.

Marble is beautiful but it does scratch and stain easily so keep that in mind. It has to be sealed often and you may need to periodically polish it to remove the scratches. If you plan on really cooking in this kitchen you may want to consider something that looks like marble but it is a bit more robust. Some granites look like marble for example.

White cabinets - Had these in a previous house, and I really liked them. They had a smooth but not glossy melamine (?) surface that was very easy to keep clean, no moldings to catch drips and dust. It never stained, everything wiped off, BUT over 10+ years it did get chipped in a couple of places, and we didn't find a good invisible fix.

Under-cabinet lights: love them! Look around online or at specialty store (is there a Batteries + nearby?) for better light color. Since our cabinets do not go to the ceiling, DH also put LED lights up there, and it makes a huge difference to the sense of space in our current darkish kitchen.

When we were looking for a new house, I fell in love with an antique (1740) home in Coventry, CT. They had redone the kitchen, but it was still in keeping with the colonial period, and I adored it. The cabinets were painted a subtle sage green, and the countertops and sink were black soapstone with a subtle white vein here and there. I want very much to replicate that in our new house, which is a colonial replica built in the 80s. The kitchen is a good size and layout, but the cabinets need freshening up, and the countertop is a bland tan Corian. It will do for now, but we have PLANS.

Here's a question: is it even possible to fully strip and/or repaint existing cabinets (after molding gaps are filled, new base moldings added, etc as a result of settlement/use over time)? Ours are of good quality, but the stain (palest French yellow with a burnt orange aging applied along seams/insets--hard to describe, actually) is getting worn in high-use spots and we're also a bit tired of it. Don't want the cost of starting all over again if we can avoid it. Tha pale sage green mantioned above would work quite well, just not sure how to get from what we have to that.

Yes, refinishing good quality cabinets is a great idea.

Love: cork floors, butcher block counters, splurging on a gorgeous backsplash. We painted lower cabs a dark color and upper ones a lighter one, which looked great.

Don't like: double oven and cooktop. Wish I had a big ol range/oven.

Wish I had: lights under the top cabs to illuminate the counter space.

We also put in a very small breakfast bar that everyone loved (2 seats).

And +1000 for sonos! We have our first speakers in the living room and they are awesome.

Deborah, it's pretty easy to put in the lights, iirc.

deiscane said:

Yes, refinishing good quality cabinets is a great idea.

Emphasis on "good quality." The cabinets in our next house don't appear to be wonderful quality, and they are also pretty tired looking. I would love to repaint the old dark oak finish, but am not sure the boxes are worth it. Decisions, decisions...