First Step To Redo our Kitchen

[Claki]

I think 2013 will finally be the year we upgrade our countertop and cabinets in the kitchen. Also we need some new appliances. This isn't our forever home, we just need to fix it up to help resell value and appeal.

I'm having trouble with the first step. It takes us forever to figure out this kind of thing and DH doesn't really trust anyone, but doesn't have the best DIY skills either.

So... do we call someone for an estimate? Measure something? I'm thinking about IKEA... do they come to your house or do I have to measure everything first?

We're having trouble making the first step...

[hillview]

wahoo! I had 2 contractors come and give estimates. You can take exact measurements to IKEA and they will do a layout for you.

[vludmilla]

You can also have an IKEA contractor do the measuring for a small fee and I think that they credit you that money if you buy cabinets through them. We were at IKEA yesterday and it seems like a fantastic price for cabinets. I think we will probably use them for cabs and then put the rest of the money towards other things (really nice counters, fixtures, etc).

[poppy]

If it's just for resale value, you could refurbish what you already have, have painters come in and stain it or paint it, get new knobs from Lowes and have them install it. It can look very nice if done well.

[azzeps]

We did a kitchen update after we moved in to our home in 2007. Unless you have an unlimited budget, I would start there. Figure out what you want to or can afford to spend. Once you have that number, make a wish list of what you want done. Do you want to do a complete remodel and rip everything out and perhaps change the layout of the kitchen (and do you have the budget for that)? Or do you want to just update some things and not others? The contractor should be able to give you ideas for what will fit within your budget and what won't.

Here's the contractor we used (they are friends of ours). http://www.reiersonconstruction.com/

If you go to the Gallery, you can see a slideshow of their work. Our kitchen is the one with the white appliances and oak cabinets in the "Before" shot. We basically updated the appliances to stainless, had the cabinets painted, had a cabinet made to house a bigger double oven, and had marble and granite tile counter tops installed. Oh, and they did put in a new island, which had a bit of a bigger foot print than the one that was there. It looks a lot less "early 90s" than it did when we moved in. We figured that at some point we would be doing a complete remodel, so it didn't make sense for us to spend the major $$ on slab granite, plus the cabinetry was still in good shape, so that saved us money not ripping it all out.

Good luck with your project!

[crl]

The kitchen forum on Gardenweb is a great resource.

I loved our Ikea cabinets in our last house. You can download their kitchen planner and do a layout on it and get a price that way. If you decide to use Ikea cabinets, the Ikeafans forum is super helpful with layout etc. We did our own layout with their help and it was a wonderfully functional kitchen.

We did all the planning and purchasing of materials ourselves. We hired a carpenter who was willing to do demo, put the cabinets together, install them and install our butcher block counter tops. We hired a plumber and an electrician for those bits. We GCed it ourselves. It worked out okay, but definitely took longer because we had to coordinate their schedules and we were not necessarily their highest priority.

I would start by trying to define the work you want done (just replace cabinets and counters or will you be moving things around? New lighting? Taking down a wall?). Then I would try to get an idea of what cabinets and countertops you want. Then I would contact three or so general contractors and ask them to come and talk with you and ask them for bids. That's how I would approach it.

Catherine

[swissair81]

We did our kitchen at Home Depot. They sent someone out to measure our kitchen and then they drew up preliminary plans. We met with them a few times until it was exactly the way we wanted it.
(ETA: We kept all our old appliances since they were mostly new. It was a little interesting for us designing a kitchen around our existing appliances- especially since they were in storage while we were building.)

[KrisM]

We are doing our kitchen this year as well. It's our 'for a really long time' house :). Our cabinets are fine, but need new doors and I'd like to change doors into drawers. I found one place that does that type of stuff. I'm calling them to come over. I'm also going to Home Depot to have them come measure and do an estimate. I figure those are good places to start and I can go from there.

We are not the fastest decision makers either, so it should be an interesting year.

[brittone2]

I have not done a kitchen remodel, but have nosed around the ikeafans site and gardenweb through the years. Both are great resources. The gardenweb folks trend toward upscale appliances and so forth, which isn't always the best fit for everyone, so YMMV on that. But still lots of great ideas and feedback. Ikeafans is not associated directly with Ikea, but most people are doing Ikea kitchens there and have lots of good info, assuming that site is still up.

[Twoboos]

We are also doing a kitchen reno this year. (No, really! I know I've been talking about it for months but it is truly happening!)

Gardenweb is a great reference. Houzz.com is amazing for ideas, you can make your own ideabook of styles you like. Be warned, both are horrible time-sucks. ;)

You should also start looking at appliances. Your cabinet layout will change if for example you want a 36in fridge vs a 48in fridge. AJMadison.com is a good place to start, they seem to have everything. And I think you can price match them to Home Depot, and maybe Lowes too.

Good luck!

[Claki]

Thanks everyone! I don't know why we're so scared to make the first step. I think I will start calling for some estimates.

[KrisM]

Thanks everyone! I don't know why we're so scared to make the first step. I think I will start calling for some estimates.

I am too. For me, I think it's because I don't really know what I want. I know I don't want my hunter green laminate countertop :). Other than that, I'm not sure we even need knew cabinets! I'm worried about not knowing and wasting someone's time.

[Twoboos]

It is completely overwhelming, that's why it's so hard to make the first step! All these expensive decisions (and what if they're the "wrong" decision?!) and your "kitchen" is a toaster and a microwave for a couple of months, people in your house all the time...

Well, maybe that's me. I really REALLY need to get this kitchen done, but I've been dragging my feet for 9mos. I'm paralyzed.

Also, something we've learned. For some kitchen design places, you'll have to pay to have them do measurements and draw up plans. You won't get to keep these plans unless you sign with them. We paid one place that we knew would be high priced but they ended up so out of our league it was laughable. For us, in the long run it's better to lose that $$ than be out more than 20x that much. We got plans from a second place, and the kitchen will be just as nice for tens of thousands less.

[westwoodmom04]

If you are fixing up the kitchen mostly to sell, why not even an experienced realtor over to give you some ideas? They would know what buyers are looking for in your market, and might be able to suggest only the bare minium necessary to make it easier to sell your place.

[123LuckyMom]

My best advice would be to plan EVERYTHING before starting work. Know exactly which tile, cabinets, countertops, paint colors, knobs, fixtures, appliances, etc. you are going to use, and order them all so that the install can go smoothly and in the right order. Where you run into the most unforeseen expense is when you have changes made on the fly or workers waiting to get to do their jobs.

[niccig]

If you are fixing up the kitchen mostly to sell, why not even an experienced realtor over to give you some ideas? They would know what buyers are looking for in your market, and might be able to suggest only the bare minium necessary to make it easier to sell your place.

:yeahthat: We had our house appraised a couple of times while refinancing, so I got to know the appraiser pretty well. On his last visit I asked about updating the kitchen and bathrooms as those are the 2 things that currently add value to your house.

His advice was to update but if it's just for appraisal to not go crazy. When he appraises a house, an updated countertop is updated regardless if it's the cheapest granite or the most expensive recycled glass countertops that is 10 times more expensive. It doesn't make a difference for his appraisal.