Thinking about a kitchen renovation, but baffled about where to splurge and where to save? Leave it to the shopping pros at Consumer Reports to break down the kitchen into the high end choices, as well as their best money saving counterparts.
APPLIANCES
High: KitchenAid, Jenn-Air.
A pro-style, 36-inch range with high-Btu burners, a built-in refrigerator with panels that match the surrounding cabinetry, and whisper-quiet dishwashers are expected in today's luxury homes.Low:
Many mainstream brands have upped their styling with "faux pro" features, including beefy controls and a stainless-steel finish. And they equal or surpass their pricey counterparts when it comes to cooking and reliability. GE's $1,500 Profile PGB910SEM has sleek styling, and it's our top-performing gas range. Or consider an induction range or cooktop (such as Samsung FTQ307NWGX, $1,700), which uses electromagnetism to deliver pinpoint heating and control. Among refrigerators, cabinet-depth models offer the streamlined look of built-ins for thousands less.
FLOORING
High: Wood and antique wood, but:
even the most durable wood floors are no match for heavy traffic, especially if it includes sandy shoes and dog claws. Durable stones such as granite and quartzite offer more protection and a sense of permanence.Low: Engineered wood flooring, ceramic tile or vinyl.
COUNTERTOPS
High: Wavy marble, such as Carrara.
Low: Quartz, granite remnants or laminate.
Laminate, the most affordable countertop option by far, has come a long way. The latest printing technologies result in faux patterns that look like real stone, or you can choose a solid white that's suited to contemporary kitchens. Formica has even eliminated the unsightly black line along the edge of the countertop that used to be laminate's telltale sign.
CABINETS
High: Custom cabinets, built to the precise dimensions of the room.
Low: Refinish or reface (replace doors and drawers, apply veneers to frames) existing cabinets, or install semi-custom or stock units such as Ikea.
The trick is finding a skilled installer who knows the tricks for making the units look built-in. That might include applying a toe kick to base cabinets or a valance to upper cabinets to conceal the undercabinet lighting.
Read More: Consumer Reports' latest issue, July 2012, is full of tons more kitchen renovation tips, appliance, flooring and sink ratings, and the best places to shop. Check it out online or on newsstands.
MORE LOW & HIGH KITCHEN RESOURCES ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Modern Kitchens: High and Low
• Good Questions: Mid-range Modern Kitchen Source?
• High and Low: Kitchen Carts
• High/Low: Kitchen Drawer Organization
• Best Water-Saving Kitchen Faucets: 10 Models from High to Low
• High To Low: 10 Small, Cool Apartment-Sized Refrigerators
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I read the article (it was particularly interesting as we are finishing up our kitchen) and disagreed with where they ranked butcherblock. And they overpriced it--we paid about $300 in material and another $500 for removal of our old + install of our new countertop. Overall a good article though, we used consumer reports to help buy our new stove
I looked at a high end luxury condo recently and the appliances were Viking and Subzero. I would consider Jennair to be a step up from standard but for really high end I would look towards brands like Viking, Wolf and AGA.
One of the important things to keep in mind is that low and high will differ depending on sources. Butcher block can be as inexpensive as Ikea or as expensive as the high end stuff. I priced butcher block at about $1,500 for my kitchen on the high end and about $400 for the low end at Ikea. Huge difference!
I'm just beginning to research sources for a kitchen facelift. I bought my first condo a few months ago, and it boasts your typical 80s condo kitchen...orangey-brown cabinets, white ceramic tile counters and white tile floors, with random appliances that don't match. Because of my budget (and the fact that I really only see myself living in it for 5 years tops), I'm trying to just give it a facelift while keeping the budget as low as possible.
So far, after a few weeks of googling, it seems as though options for affordable counters are as follows:
1. Laminate - Although laminate has come a long way from what it used to be, it seems as though the "faux stone" finishes are still on the pricey side. Plus, and this is my opinion only, but I'd feel a little cheesy buying fake marble or fake granite.
2. Granite Tiles - I've heard that this option can be amongst the most affordable, but then you find yourself dealing with grout again. Sure, it's technically granite...but I feel as though getting granite tile is, in a way, "faking the funk." If I'm installing something brand new, I'd rather do away with grout alltogether. Light grout will stain over time and won't ever look clean again. Dark grount will always reveal the tiniest food particles (bread crumbs, salt grains, etc.) and probably drive you crazy.
3. Butcher Block - This will probably be what I end up going with. It's a groutless, solid surface and it's not pretending to be something it's not. It has a classic look to it and wears fairly well, as long as you take care of it.
I'm seriously considering the butcher block from IKEA. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm interested to see how it stands the test of time. It's amazingly affordable, at $59 for a 97" x 25" block.
As far as cabinets, the ones I have are solid wood, so I'll be refinishing them in a bright white, inside and out. I'll also probably add hardware from IKEA to give them a more modern look. Any input on any of the above or tips/pointers would be much appreciated. I won't be doing this until I get my tax return in 2013, so I have about 8-10 months to make all my selections.
@TRNST...We upgraded our countertops last year to butcher block and LOVE it. We were going to buy from Ikea, however they were out of stock and weren't going to be in for months. And I am glad that happened! We ended up buying buying ours from Lumber Liquidators and couldn't be happier. They arrived in one week after ordering and they had great customer service. I believe they are thicker than Ikea and had longer lengths which we needed. I highly recommend comparison shopping with them. Oh, we installed them ourselves too.
@username26 -- Good to know! My kitchen is fairly tiny as well, not a whole lot of counter space. $350 is not bad at all, compared to the price tags on some other counter materials. Thank you for the input!
@angliaamy -- So glad to hear that. I was a little tentative at first, as I've never had butcher block in any of my kitchens and it's quite a drastic departure from today's "standard" materials. Wow, Lumber Liquidators...I never would have thought to look there for counters. I always think of them as strictly a flooring outlet. Thank you so much for the tip, I'll make sure to get a quote from them as well!
@TRNST--I always felt granite was overrated and thought we should give butcher block a whirl. No regrets either. Our kitchen is really small and it has really warmed it up. I love how they wear too. We put a food grade oil conditioner on them every month just to keep them looking their best, but that is all the fuss involved! But I like how they age over time. I hope your project works out too! (Yes, I also thought of LL as strictly flooring too!)
we just installed ikea butcherblock and love it so far ( http://www.lifeonchurchill.com/2012/06/cleaning-up-kitchen.html ) I really think a lot of it has to do with how you protect the wood after installation.
I want those new expensive soft laminate wood strip floors, they are super durable and beautiful....but pricey
@TRNST we installed ikea butcher block as a stop gap, but will be replacing it soon. Our new house needed revision due to a bad design, but we weren't ready to tackle the whole thing yet. I like the butcher block, but have two problems with it. First, it requires oiling, and if you don't mind the maintenance it will continue to look nice. We were good at first, but after a few years, we dont oil it like we should and have some discoloration by the sink. Second, our kitchen ended up with mismatched wood colors. We ended up resurfacing the cabinets because they were a light oak and hoped it would be better, but with a separate ikea island, the kitchen table and the counters, it just doesnt work. If you install butcher block I highly recommend an undermount sink. We might install a new one when I replace the counters with quartz next month. We will leave the island butcher block though, because it really is a nice surface if you take care of it.
Oh, also we refinished our cabinets using the rustoleum kit "cabinet transformations". It takes a while but is totally worth it. I think the kit was around $300 but you really would never be able to tell that the color was added, they just look like that's the way they were made.
We're just wrapping up a total kitchen renovation, and we were able to get a viking double oven, cooktop and hood from Craigslist for one quarter the price of new- it seems with all the foreclosures in our area, some high-end kitchens were getting parted out. We wanted to get a built-in fridge, but too nervous to buy a used refrigerator, we bought a separate refrigerator and freezer from Frigidaire professional. You can buy a trim kit for a built-in look, for the price of a large counter-depth refrigerator/freezer. You have to have a large kitchen to do this though- the freezer and fridge are almost 6 feet across!