If you have remodeled your kitchen what did you get rid of and what did you add?

[AnnieW625]

We are going to be remodeling our kitchen in the next couple of months. It is a small galley kitchen (I don’t know the measurements off hand, but can measure when we I get home), and we aren’t removing walls. So what did you add to your kitchen and what did you get rid of? Appliance recommendations or non recommendations welcome as well. We are moving in 18 months though so we probably won’t go very high end on appliances so no professional range, or built in fridge. I would love a Thermador gas cooktop, but will probably end up with a GE or the like model for between $500 and $800 vs. the $1600 Thermador.

What we want to add:
*Larger refrigerator space (our current space only allows for a 30” wide side by side)
*Standard size dishwasher (right now we have an 18” apartment size)
*four to five burner gas cook top w/storage underneath
*microwave/single wall oven combo unit
*wood look tile floor (we have left over from our bathroom....as long as we can get the same one)
*white subway tile for backsplash (we have leftover from our bathroom)
*some kind of food pantry storage, but I am not sure this is possible.
*all new cabinets

What we are getting rid of:
*vinyl flooring
*crappy mix of Home Depot cabinets, and Home Depot cabinet fronts on original cabinets (or from a prior remodel at some point....our house was built in 1950).
*small 18” dishwasher
*stainless steel sink....I can’t stand it and find it hard to keep clean. Not sure what we will replace it with, single or double, but probably would prefer cast iron, and love the farmhouse look. I do love the double sink though, but think I am in the minority.
*backsplash that only covers the wall behind the stove.
*slide in gas range (unless we can’t get the micro/wall unit to work)

Thanks in advance!

ETA: kitchen is 13.6’ long x 9 ‘ deep

ETA2: photos of our space

ETA 3: added laundry room, and bathroom photo to post #49
(laundry area off kitchen)
(view of kitchen from laundry)





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[SnuggleBuggles]

If you’re moving, start looking around at houses selling in your neighborhood now so you hit the right mark on what amount to redo. Since you won’t really get to enjoy it, make it more appealing to potential buyers.


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[legaleagle]

If you’re moving, start looking around at houses selling in your neighborhood now so you hit the right mark on what amount to redo. Since you won’t really get to enjoy it, make it more appealing to potential buyers.


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Agreed. I would much prefer a stainless steel sink to other options. I’m curious why you find yours hard to clean? Is it drop in or under mount?

[AnnieW625]

If you’re moving, start looking around at houses selling in your neighborhood now so you hit the right mark on what amount to redo. Since you won’t really get to enjoy it, make it more appealing to potential buyers.


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Oh yes for sure we are doing that. We will be there for about a year once the work is done and I still want to enjoy it, but thankfully I like a lot of the modern styles I am seeing in homes these days.

Agreed. I would much prefer a stainless steel sink to other options. I’m curious why you find yours hard to clean? Is it drop in or under mount?

I just think it looks dirty all of the time and I am constantly scrubbing it and using commercial grade stainless cleaner. It is an under mount sink.

We are going to be working with a designer so we will see what she says trend wise.

I am also one of the few who still likes white appliances in the kitchen and like white in general vs. stainless, but will go with stainless because it is what sells so yes we could end up with a stainless sink again if it is what sells. I do see both here though in new houses and houses for sale.


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[twowhat?]

Are you doing new countertops?

Think about what the larger fridge will do to counter space and the scale of your kitchen - it might make sense to just get a new smaller counter depth fridge to make the kitchen look larger overall (and then put a chest freezer or a small spare fridge in the garage).

We had to keep our existing countertops, but also wanted double ovens so we replaced our cooktop and over-the-cooktop microwave with a slide-in 30 inch gas range and proper vent hood, and then on the wall we did a microwave over a single 27 inch oven. The style of the slide-in that we got makes it look built in. I LOVE still having double ovens, and the flexibility of having one smaller and one larger oven.

We replaced our trash compactor with a pull-out trash bin. Love it.

Definitely agree with you to replace with a full-sized dishwasher.

Don't put so many cabinets up that it blocks light if you have a nice window.

Consider white cabinets above and a color below (I have been loving navy or deep green lower cabinets!)

[bisous]

Are you doing new countertops?

Think about what the larger fridge will do to counter space and the scale of your kitchen - it might make sense to just get a new smaller counter depth fridge to make the kitchen look larger overall (and then put a chest freezer or a small spare fridge in the garage).

We had to keep our existing countertops, but also wanted double ovens so we replaced our cooktop and over-the-cooktop microwave with a slide-in 30 inch gas range and proper vent hood, and then on the wall we did a microwave over a single 27 inch oven. The style of the slide-in that we got makes it look built in. I LOVE still having double ovens, and the flexibility of having one smaller and one larger oven.

We replaced our trash compactor with a pull-out trash bin. Love it.

Definitely agree with you to replace with a full-sized dishwasher.

Don't put so many cabinets up that it blocks light if you have a nice window.

Consider white cabinets above and a color below (I have been loving navy or deep green lower cabinets!)

I agree with everything you just said!

[essnce629]

Ooo, I want to see before and the after pics! I have a small galley kitchen too and would love to just bulldoze it! We have a window and door in our space that takes up a lot of room.

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[robinsmommy]

I guess I need to know how “small” small is. We have a small galley. One 13’ run with the centered sink under a big window, 18” dw, and various cabinets, then opposite a 30” fridge, 12” lower and the stove with a micro above it. There is no way we could fit what you are talking about in ours, but maybe my “small” is different from yours.

We have an old house with a nook and 3 doors in the kitchen, which is limiting, but I would not want to lose the nook.

[bcafe]

I don't think I would put much into a kitchen remodel if you are selling in 18 months. Why not just take the kitchen into consideration when pricing the home? A remodel will not get you the money back, even in pricey CA.

[AnnieW625]

Are you doing new countertops?

Think about what the larger fridge will do to counter space and the scale of your kitchen - it might make sense to just get a new smaller counter depth fridge to make the kitchen look larger overall (and then put a chest freezer or a small spare fridge in the garage).

We had to keep our existing countertops, but also wanted double ovens so we replaced our cooktop and over-the-cooktop microwave with a slide-in 30 inch gas range and proper vent hood, and then on the wall we did a microwave over a single 27 inch oven. The style of the slide-in that we got makes it look built in. I LOVE still having double ovens, and the flexibility of having one smaller and one larger oven.

We replaced our trash compactor with a pull-out trash bin. Love it.

Definitely agree with you to replace with a full-sized dishwasher.

Don't put so many cabinets up that it blocks light if you have a nice window.

Consider white cabinets above and a color below (I have been loving navy or deep green lower cabinets!)

Our current fridge sticks out of the space so I definitely see the pluses of having a counter depth fridge and I looked at a few in 2014 when we bought our fridge but I really wanted space over looks then knowing that we would eventually be remodeling. We have a detached garage and we have a 10 cu. ft. upright freezer in there now. We will probably move the current fridge out there until we move and decide if we really want to keep it or not.

The slide in double oven with a microwave over the oven is still definitely an option because I don’t know how expensive it will be to put in the wall oven/micro unit in the one open wall we have in our kitchen. Which brand do you have?

Most likely yes unless we can salvage the current ones, which are black granite and tbh I love them (the old owners spent oodles on this granite....it was the best thing they put in the kitchen), but I will not be surprised if we have to get new counters.

We have two windows, one above the sink and one on the west facing wall.

I have no idea what we will be doing cabinet wise, but it will most likely not be too trendy.

Ooo, I want to see before and the after pics! I have a small galley kitchen too and would love to just bulldoze it! We have a window and door in our space that takes up a lot of room.

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For sure! I will take photos this weekend and post them as we meet with our designer on Monday so the kitchen will be cleaned.

I guess I need to know how “small” small is. We have a small galley. One 13’ run with the centered sink under a big window, 18” dw, and various cabinets, then opposite a 30” fridge, 12” lower and the stove with a micro above it. There is no way we could fit what you are talking about in ours, but maybe my “small” is different from yours.

We have an old house with a nook and 3 doors in the kitchen, which is limiting, but I would not want to lose the nook.

The kitchen measures 13.6’ long and 9’ deep, so 122 sq. feet. We can fit in a full size dishwasher for sure but we will be giving up some storage space, which is currently drawer space; hence the reason I really want the built in oven/micro combo to work. A co worker of mine suggested the dishwasher drawers as well so that could be an option to save space.

I don't think I would put much into a kitchen remodel if you are selling in 18 months. Why not just take the kitchen into consideration when pricing the home? A remodel will not get you the money back, even in pricey CA.

I live in SoCal where I am pretty sure the value of a remodeled kitchen goes a long way. Even though the market has cooled off a bit now houses are still selling like crazy. My 1100 sq. ft. 3 bed 1 bath house on a 5,200 sq. ft. lot just appraised for $600k with a drive by appraisal (no inside measurements taken and no inspection of the backyard). I was not expecting that and it gives me hope that we will get our money back on our investment. I am 8 miles from the beach and my city is still considered one of the best bargains in the LB/South Bay Area.


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