Kitchen renovation ideas and inspiration

[leigh]

thanks everyone

Where did you move to? How much did it cost all in? Tell us more! Ikea?

The apartment is in Berlin. We redid the whole apartment at once, so I can't remember exactly what the kitchen alone cost. The cabinets & counter are from Ikea. We'll see how they hold up!

 

[kuba]

I bet they will hold up fine, plus the 25 year warranty is a benefit. More and more properties are using base Ikea cabinets with custom everything else.

 

[kuba]

leigh because I'm a housing voyeur show us the rest of the pad?

 

[kyfe]

I have to quote this as well because I love love love this. Where did you move to? How much did it cost all in? Tell us more! Ikea? Wicked job!

My Favorite feature is the floors, many people struggle putting wood floors in the kitchen but those planks are perfect.

I'm w/ kuba more photos!

 

[leigh]

My Favorite feature is the floors, many people struggle putting wood floors in the kitchen but those planks are perfect.

The floors are original to the apartment and were in quite bad shape, but we just had them sanded and re-varnished and hopefully they'll last for a while longer. The crazy thing is, all 4 German contractors I spoke to said that we should lay tiles down OVER them. My insistence on saving the floor was incomprehensible to them.

Kuba and Kyfe, the rest of the apartment is a bit scattered. We only had a few months to pull it together and we didn't want to spend a lot of money on furnishings because someone else is using the apartment right now. But here you go...the photos are on my home exchange profile: http://www.homeexchange.com/show.php?id=344825

Alex, sorry for highjacking your tread!

 

[alexd]

I had two companies come over and take measurements of the kitchen for quotes today. They all say that the hinges will rust with a year down here, and it would be best to go with the more expensive cabinets (of course) because the cheaper ones won't last in the sea air.

The more I think about this, the more attractive the existing ones are seeming. They are solid wood except for the shelves, and they have brass hinges. If I could find someone to spray them white professionally, it might work out for the better to take them down and have them refinished.

Maybe Sharon, the woodworker friend with the insane biting mongoose could make solid wood shelves for them instead of the chipboard, some of which is flaky now...

Then I could spend the saved money on a better countertop and sink. It is a beach house after all so I have a lot more latitude designwise.... Everything doesn't have to be new and shiney looking. It is probably even better if it isn't! hmmmm

 

[mingster]

The crazy thing is, all 4 German contractors I spoke to said that we should lay tiles down OVER them.

that is crazy talk! good for you for keeping them. they're beautiful.

 

[coleridge]

I bet they will hold up fine, plus the 25 year warranty is a benefit. More and more properties are using base Ikea cabinets with custom everything else.

Yeah I wish my kitchen was Ikea cabinets. It was a brand new reno when we bought the house. The kitchen is all custom cabinets but the idiot didn't install proper doors that wouldn't warp. We didn't even think to check (learned that lesson now). Flash forward 5 years and all the cabinet doors are warped and we're probably going to have to replace them before we sell the house.

 

[lucky1]

we are putting a new kitchen in really soon! We have some higher end Home Depot custom cabinets, that are plywood boxes and solid maple doors, pretty nice and they look solid.

We are going with a granite sink (it is black) and will be installing brazilian soapstone counters.

Backsplash we haven't decided, I like the stainless steel subway tiles but they are $$!.

We are re-using the applianced that came with the place, until we save up, they are stainless, but have not been cared for the same way I looked after my appliances in the condo (they are scratched up etc)

The floors are currently hardwood, but they have water damage around the sink and fridge. Not sure we can do tiles as there is a hump in the middle of our floor. My husband and his father have leveled the house and fixed the steel I- beam supporting our main floor, but the house will take a while to settle back down. Floors need to stand up to water because we have a back door that leads straight to the kitchen and we park at the back so snow etc is brought in on shoes.

 

[kuba]

@coleridge hey

are they real wood? I had real wood doors as well-never ever again-which warped all the time.

check these guys out semihandmade - semihandmade - although not local, I'm sure you could source someone that is

 

[peko]

The more I think about this, the more attractive the existing ones are seeming. They are solid wood except for the shelves, and they have brass hinges. If I could find someone to spray them white professionally, it might work out for the better to take them down and have them refinished.

Maybe Sharon, the woodworker friend with the insane biting mongoose could make solid wood shelves for them instead of the chipboard, some of which is flaky now...

Then I could spend the saved money on a better countertop and sink. It is a beach house after all so I have a lot more latitude designwise.... Everything doesn't have to be new and shiney looking. It is probably even better if it isn't! hmmmm

Good idea!

Cityline did a segment on refinishing/repainting or staining cabinet doors, it's easy!

Take down cupboard doors > lightly sand down old stain or paint > repaint or restrain or use a pickled wash if you want to show the grain of the wood

(brush paint was used on the show, but spray paint could work too)

Cabinets > lightly sand > repaint, wash or stain with smaller brush

 

[lucky1]

if not solid wood doors, what kind of doors would you want? We wanted solid wood doors and went looking for them! In the condo we had the plastic covered particle board. they are a huge pain, you can't get them wet or they will peel, our tenant used a kettle on the counter and the steam ruined one door, they corners were a deficiency in my unit as they were all squished (like someone dropped a box on its edge) and we were waiting for new doors to be installed.

 

[coleridge]

@coleridge hey

are they real wood? I had real wood doors as well-never ever again-which warped all the time.

check these guys out semihandmade - semihandmade - although not local, I'm sure you could source someone that is

Yeah they are real wood painted white. They looked gorgeous new but have now all warped. In the end it won't be too bad to get new ones made. Something like $80 a door. But it's the fact that we have to do it which is so annoying.

 

[kyfe]

if not solid wood doors, what kind of doors would you want? We wanted solid wood doors and went looking for them! In the condo we had the plastic covered particle board. they are a huge pain, you can't get them wet or they will peel, our tenant used a kettle on the counter and the steam ruined one door, they corners were a deficiency in my unit as they were all squished (like someone dropped a box on its edge) and we were waiting for new doors to be installed.

thermofoil

 

[alexd]

A local artist is coming over today to look at my kitchen cupboards.

She does wood distressing with paints, washes, and paraffin wax melted into wood to seal it after. Her stuff looks amazing so I thought I would have her over to get her opinion on how to best make my cabinets look more 'beach house' and less 1980. It may be an alternative to having modern, expensive, and chipboard garbage installed that doesn't mesh with the vibe of the house.

I don't mind a bit of work, so if I can do it myself I will save the cabinet $ and put those into better counter surfaces.

 

[MoFo]

thermofoil

Seconded. I've banged pots and utensils into my cupboards a few times now and no scratches. I've also had things burn and a kettle accidentally steam this one side of a cupboard and it still looks brand new. And wood interiors looks so much better than shitty Ikea interiors. Thank the lord I didn't cheap out on that.

I too wish I had wood floors for the kitchen but Leigh's seem like they would look good with age. I've seen people with darker new wood floors that are new and they look a little bunged up for my tastes after wear and tear. Leigh, is that reclaimed wood or the original wood that's been refurbished?

Also, great job from me as well. Your kitchen is the kind of kitchen I was going for but mine ended up looking kinda sterile and less arty than yours. Such an awesome job. It has so much personality.

 

[MoFo]

Wait, where's the fridge?

 

[kuba]

Can you post your wood interior? Im curios what you mean.

 

[kyfe]

Can you post your wood interior? Im curios what you mean.

I think he's saying he used Maple if I recall correctly from when he did the kitchen.

 

[peko]

A local artist is coming over today to look at my kitchen cupboards.

She does wood distressing with paints, washes, and paraffin wax melted into wood to seal it after. Her stuff looks amazing so I thought I would have her over to get her opinion on how to best make my cabinets look more 'beach house' and less 1980. It may be an alternative to having modern, expensive, and chipboard garbage installed that doesn't mesh with the vibe of the house.

I don't mind a bit of work, so if I can do it myself I will save the cabinet $ and put those into better counter surfaces.

You better post pictures of your distressed, refinished cupboards! This sounds like an exciting project.

Kyfe is right. I believe MoFo invested in maple interior kitchen cupboards. I loved MoFo's skinny spice cupboard, that was a smart idea.

 

[peko]

I too wish I had wood floors for the kitchen but Leigh's seem like they would look good with age. I've seen people with darker new wood floors that are new and they look a little bunged up for my tastes after wear and tear. Leigh, is that reclaimed wood or the original wood that's been refurbished?.

They're original wood floors refurbished. I love them too.

 

[MoFo]

Ugh. Original floors? So nice. Leigh, I am so envious. So beautiful.

I wish I had the patience to even hire someone to do my place. I can't even imagine moving all my furniture into one room or rotating things around. It seems worth it but it just seems soooo daunting.

 

[MoFo]

Can you post your wood interior? Im curios what you mean.

Just went down to make some lunch and took some pics.

Interiors. Instead of the standard white scuffy stuff:

The brown spots are actually marks in the wood. You can see the grain in person.

Kitchen hasn't changed much. Just a little more lived in.

Wish I had those wood floors and a better layout. It's a bit of a try-hard kitchen but it looks much better than what I had before so I'm just thankful. Oh well. In my next life.

 

[kuba]

Yeah, it makes a difference but not one I'm willing to pay 75% more.

My Ikea quote is about $5500. Custom, $22,000. Wait, that's 400% more.

I'll go with white interiors and jazz the shit out of it.

 

[MoFo]

Oh. They just threw in the maple interiors for free on some of it when I was negotiating stuff. I ended up buying other stuff from them (counter, tile, contractor and pulls) so they threw me a bone. It's not real maple under the sink and in some cupboards. I chose stainless steel for the spice/oil cabinet. And I upgraded to a better textured thermofoil with a rift cut that actually looks like real wood. I still can't believe it's just a print.

I've had 2 friends now use them and they thought it was great. But a Triber used them last year and was not happy. A series of errors and appointment issues. So I feel bad for recommending them. But hey, nothing's perfect.

This kitchen itself cost me around $9300 total (includes labour) if I remember correctly. And I paid cash on the first half so I got the tax taken off.