question about kitchen remodeling?
December 14th, 2007 | by admin |zack’s mom 10*26*07 asked:
my husband and i just bought our first home (yay). it was built in 1978, and needs some cosmetic work. its in really good shape for the most part, just needs things like new carpet and a fresh coat of paint in every room. no big deal.
my husband and i just bought our first home (yay). it was built in 1978, and needs some cosmetic work. its in really good shape for the most part, just needs things like new carpet and a fresh coat of paint in every room. no big deal.
the kitchen is huge, and needs the most work. the floor is good, but the countertop needs replacing, and needs new cabinets.
anyone know of inexpensive ways to update the kitchn, where we are not spending thousands of dollars. my husband thiks it can wait a few years, but im seriously going to go insane with teeny tiny cabinets that have been there for 30 years and a cracked countertop.
i love granite, but know its pretty pricy. any ideas of a durable countertop thats less expensive? and cabinets that dont cost thousands?
thanks!
also, the kitchen has a brick backsplash, that has been painted white. anyone know if you can add a tile backsplash over the brick or does it need to be replaced first?
Question posted courtesy of: Ryan
6 Responses to “question about kitchen remodeling?”
By the truth as I see it, so it is on Dec 15, 2007 | Reply
find a cheapo deapo in your area or a place that sells factory seconds….
By midoriseito on Dec 18, 2007 | Reply
you save a lot of money if you go with unfinished cabinets. stain them yourself. or paint, i like stain.. for the top. look into composites. fake granite or marble.. some of them are really nice and are a lot cheaper.
By Nate on Dec 19, 2007 | Reply
a great place to start with cabinets is your local habitat store, there are also local people who offer countertop resurfacing options that can update colors and textures on counter tops. Good idea though starting in the kitchen though, than move to bathrooms, these are the big areas in any home. get these areas ready to go and the other rooms are easy.
By elle55407 on Dec 21, 2007 | Reply
Try Ikea for cabinets. They are inexpensive and I see them in European design magazines in high-end homes, all the time! I would also go for Corian counter tops. Granite is not really very great to work with if you do a lot of cooking. But if you like the look, go with a solid color Corian for the main cupboards, and a granite piece for the center island, or a work counter island. You can get remnant slabs on the cheap. But you still need to pay to get it installed.
Another option for you might be just to paint the cabinets using an oil based enamel…Impervo by Benjamin Moore is what the pro’s use. I can attest, it wears really well and it drives with a nice eggshell finish.
I was in the same boat as you when I bought my house. Could not afford to remodel the kitchen, but the cabinets were damn ugly! I painted them, added new silver-toned hinges, door knobs, pulls, and a new counter top. I also added some of those sliding space-saving drawers inside to create more space. And I am now in the postion to re-do if I wanted to, but I don’t! It looks so great and everyone loves my kitchen, especially me!! I have since added cork floors and a counter island I bought at IKEA then customized with my own paint!! LOOKS awesome!!
Congrats on your new home!
FYI - If the brick backsplash is just faux brick…which a backsplash from that era likely is…you can just remove it. It is likely only stuck on there with staples. But yes, you should remove it first.
By texastrublu on Dec 23, 2007 | Reply
Corian is less expensive and you can sand out scratches. Granite is labor intensive to install and requires sealants to be reapplied annually, which can be a pain. What you may want to do is consult a kitchen planner at Lowes or Home Depot. They can help you figure out what will work with your budget or how to break down a large project into steps. It may be that you can extend the length of the counters, resurface the cabinets and add some features like an appliance garage. If you have a large central space, you may want to consider putting in an island. There are some that you can get from IKEA that aren’t permanent but provide useful work and storage space.
By Sage on Dec 24, 2007 | Reply
To tile over the brick you will have to put up backer board and then put the tile on that. It will give you a nice smooth surface for the tile.