Kitchen Remodel

Here's the plan:

What do you think? Let us know if you have any suggestions for how we could improve the design.

We definitely plan on remodeling the kitchen, it's just a matter of obtaining the bucks, time and guts to do it. Currently the kitchen is a mix of the original late 60's motif and mid 70's bad remodeling. Here's a recent picture of Aaron in the kitchen (and no, his head is not velcroed to the cabinet!).

The kitchen as it currently is

There used to be a door into the dining room but it was closed off at some point and a pantry was put in. This is fine because access to the dining room is just to the left of where this picture was taken from. The original laminate countertop was covered with tile at some point but now there are numerous cracked tiles and the 1/4 inch brown grout has degraded so that more and more of it comes off with each wipe of the sponge.

The cabinets are original. They're large but pretty inefficient. Most of them are just cavernous boxes that are hard to get to. For example, the most substantial cabinet space can't be accessed with the dishwasher door open. There are a total of three drawers, two of which measure about 11 inches across and one that is only about 5 inches across. On the right of the picture you can see that we had to improvise for drawer space. We removed a shelf in one of the big lower cabinets and put a rack of sliding baskets inside it.

The oven is original and provides very uneven cooking - the back corner of everything gets burned. The previous owners installed a beautiful $400 electric cooktop but decided to leave the original, coconut oil splattered vent. Frankly the electric cooktop isn't all that great. There's very little counterspace on either side of it and since the surface is flat, the cooktop often doubles as a countertop. Bad idea if a burner is still hot! There is a light that says the cooktop is still hot but it doesn't tell you which burner is still hot. We have a new Maytag self-cleaning gas range sitting in its carton in the garage. We look forward to using it.

We replaced the dishwasher last year. That was a wonderful improvement. The original KitchenAid may have been a remarkable machine in its day but you couldn't carry on a conversation or watch TV with it running and you practially had to wash the dishes before you loaded them. Our new Bosch (which we got for a great price at a parking lot sale at Sears) uses a lot less water and detergent, heats its own water and is so quiet we don't know that it's on.

The Plan

Layout
The plan for the new kitchen is drawn up. We will extend the counter space into what is now the small eating area and build a breakfast bar. Our rationale is that there's a perfectly good (non-carpeted) dining room so we might as well use it. The eating area was only large enough for a small table and chairs anyway. The rest of the kitchen is not too much different than the current layout. The range will replace the wall-oven and cooktop and since it is gas we'll have to put in the gas line for it. The refrigerator will move to a more accessable location - right now the door hits the counter across from it and if someone has the door open, no one can get into or out of the kitchen. The sink and dishwasher will move down so the plumbing will have to be reworked but that has to be redone anyway because there's a small leak in it now.

Cabinets
We plan to use Kraftmaid or American Pride stock cabinets. Originally we were going to use Mill Pride but now we feel we can afford to upgrade. That's one benefit to waiting so long to start this! We put a Mills Pride vanity cabinet in the bathroom and it looks pretty good but the other manufacturers' cabinets are sturdier and have more cabinet options. One option I would like to have is the lift platform for the mixer. We're still considering a natural maple finish in a basic Shaker style.

Countertop and Floor
The countertop is one area of indecision. We've narrowed the choices to 12x12 granite tile, solid granite or solid surface (Corian). The flooring will most likely be 12x12 tile that either continues out into the entryway or transitions into a mixture of the 12x12 tile with similar 6x12 and 6x6 tiles.

Lighting
We plan to use a combination of recessed can lights, halogen under-cabinet lights and pendant lights over the breakfast bar.

See, we have a plan, now we just have to get to it!!!

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