Comments on: Remodeling Our Kitchen

By: Monroe on a Budget

Monroe on a Budget — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:05:28 +0000

This idea may still be a bit pricey — but you can go to your home and kitchen store dealers and see if they are, or will sell, their outdated store displays at a discount.
One contractor in my area has that information on his web site!

By: harper

harper — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:41:25 +0000

Just my 2-cents worth, but I don’t think glass-top stoves are a good purchase for the avid cook. My father put one in when he remodeled his kitchen, and he has spent more time cleaning it than cooking on it. Even the steam that gets moved around by the hood stains it. And if you don’t clean it right, it gets scratched.

They sure look great in the store, but I think they are impractical in the home.

Otherwise, I think your remodel sounds great!

By: FrugalBabe

FrugalBabe — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:13:13 +0000

Tamara - My absolute favorite store is a Habitat for Humanity Thrift store about a 15 mintue walk from our house. I got there first for just about everything. They have a good size home remodel section, and that’s where we’ll be getting the window we’re going to need to replace in our kitchen. We’re also hoping to get a sink and faucets at another Habitat thrift store, and we’ve been browsing their cabinets for weeks now. Love that place!!!

By: SC

SC — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:23:26 +0000

I think you guys can accomplish it. I’d go for the HD card for that 10% or look for coupons. Amex briefly was offering coupons for HD–I think 15% off but it was extremely limited to first come first serve. Also sometimes in the address change/moving packets at the post office they have HD or Lowe’s coupons inside of them.

By: kim

kim — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:36:40 +0000

Good call on the laminate flooring. I have tile and I really dislike it. I go back and forth about a kitchen remodel too, mine priced out at 7K for everything.

By: Bellen

Bellen — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:46:42 +0000

Love your ideas for redoing your kitchen.

One comment on glass top stove - I, too, love to cook and particularly like cast iron. But, cast iron is a NO NO for glass top - it scratches. Also, copper bottomed pots & aluminum pots are not to be used. Stainless steel and flat bottomed pots are required. You should probably read the instruction booklet first, then decide.

Granite countertops require more work than most people think. Need to be sealed every two years and they can chip which requires professional repair.

Good wishes for a swift completion.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:41:38 +0000

My husband and I have been looking to buy our first home, and a lot of the places we have seen will need some kind of improvements on the kitchen. But if you’re handy and creative (and it looks like you guys are!) then a kitchen remodel can be done nicely but at low cost. See if you have a “Restore” anywhere in your local area. We have one in our town that’s run by Habitat for Humanity. I’ve seen some great cabinets that, with some paint and a new counter, could be really great. Light fixtures and lots of other items can be found there too. They also had loads of great tile you could use, and laying tile is not that hard. Though I have to say, with all the great laminate floors out there, I would probably go for that. I think the wood laminates can really add a warmth and richness that tile wouldn’t. Though a tile backsplash could look great.

And plan for the things that will really set your kitchen off. New lighting? Paint colors? How about a great pot rack? I love searching our local secondhand stores for out of the ordinary items that, with a bit of clean up, become amazing pieces in the home.

Just my 2cents! Good luck, and I really hope you document the process — with pics too if you can. I’d love to see it all unfold!

By: DivaJean

DivaJean — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:46:27 +0000

A timely article for our family! My partner and I are in the beginning stages of planning our kitchen remodeling. Our kitchen hadn’t been touched since the 70’s- and the stove is literally falling apart on us. The former owners had it encased somehow into the lower cupboards and its been slipping down- the stovetop is being pulled off by kitchen countertop as the bottom of the stove slips down. The floors are 70’s gold linoleum- etc etc. We are likely only replacing the stove and sink as our dishwasher and refrigerator are new (within the past 4 years). Our cupboards are all in good shape- just dark, dark stain on them. We are debating whether to paint or sand and restain lighter. We are debating a built in booth for a table versus bigger kitchen table (our family has increased 3 fold in the past 9 years- from two to 6!) or a combination of benches and chairs. We see the biggest expense as likely being the flooring. We would like to go to tile. Our changes and plans will mostly be done ourselves- we renovated a kitchen in our first house and aren’t scared. Its odd to me the thousands of dollars that people throw towards having the kitchen redone rather than taking it on themselves. Its not that hard.

Once we get our tax return, we will be ready to roll.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:16:54 +0000

If you live anywhere near an Ikea, their clearance store is a great place to buy kitchen cabinet doors. You just have to keep going back frequently to snatch up the doors you want in the model and color you want. But yesterday I saw a door that normally retails for 20â‚¬ marked down to 3â‚¬, and it was in perfect shape.

And no, power saws and sleeping babies don’t go together well!