apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Josh,

I just started a kitchen remodel of my own---the folks at ikeafans dot com are Great!
They will help you plan and give great suggestions. They have been a big help to me so far.
But I agree with the above--painting the cabinets and a new counter would also be better. You can also replace the fridge with a counter depth one--it won't stick out as far.

If you don't want to go with undercounter fridge, another option is a counter-depth fridge -- they are not hard to find, give a "full fridge" feeling but are much less obtrusive.

You should check out the winner of the smallest kitchen contest on the at kitchen website: Phoebe's Crisp Organic.

She was able to move the fridge and install new cabinetry. Looks amazing and was done very affordably.

Not sure I'd replace the fridge, but I'd certainly get rid of the magnets.

replace the light; add undercabinet lights (probably the best thing I ever did in my kitchen).

Not sure what the step-stool is for, but a nicer looking folding model to be taken out when needed might be a less cluttering choice.

Also not sure how much of that clutter is necessary, but I'd try some sort of reorganizing/decluttering. It's difficult to tell from the photograph, but I do wonder where there's enough space to prep.

Also, is there a chance you could just move the refrigerator to another (preferably adjacent) room? If you have a large utility closet you could convert or a laundry room.

Hi Everyone,

I'm also looking into updating our kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts and am planning on replacing them with flat mdf fronts. Any ideas where I can get the mdf doors cut to size? There's some places online but not having actual addresses makes me a bit uncomfortable about ordering from them. If anyone has had any luck please let me know thanks.

Think before you change to an under-counter fridge they don't hold very much food. Unless you shop every day for fresh stuff you will soon find that a few bottles of wine or juice and any sauces or mustards you have will soon fill the fridge up.

Hi Josh,
I am curious to know what do you have in the corner where the picture was taken. Maybe you can find a solution using this space. Would you like to have an open space linking kitchen and dinning area? Is it possible? If not, what would you think about moving your refrigerator to the place of the range? A nice handyman would do that for you. If you want that these changes last more than a couple of years I think a nice and careful plan now would help you save good money in the future. Good luck and congrats for your new home!

have you ever seen the trading spaces when they spray painted the fridge? that was a little strange, not suggesting that you do that...just wondered if you saw the final effect--not so nice.

depending on how much time you spend in your kitchen daily...i would suggest start small. try painting your cabinets, putting on new knobs (ikea does have great hardware) and try to tile the floor. there is no reason why you have to do everything at once.

in my experience you need pace yourself and plan ahead or at least have enough of an idea of what your family needs to function within a kitchen. not everyone needs granite and hardwood, if you catch my drift.

Flip the fridge with the range - replace the range with a cooktop and small under-counter oven and get thee to Ikea...

You're going to need to decide what you intend to do with the kitchen. One excellent suggestion I have heard is to live with a space for a year before commencing on renovations. The time allows you to better contemplate changes before committing. If you're not going to gut it soon, then pursue painting the cabinets, changing door/drawer pulls, replacing light fixtures, and other small projects which will make the space more livable, for now.

As for changes, I would start by placing your refrigerator closer to the wall. Although the refrigerator must set 2-4 inches out from the wall for proper ventilation, your photograph indicates it's sitting well into the floor. Purchasing organizers to store items now parked on your countertops in your drawers and cabinets will help open up your space. Installing undercabinet lighting would make your food prep areas more efficient.

As for shopping for replacement kitchens, always start at the top of the line and work down. Visit the fanciest most expensive kitchen showrooms you can find and note their innovations and design. (Downsview Kitchens is a great showroom) Carefully examine high-end kitchens in the various magazines, especially European publications as they specialize in small-space kitchen design. Then adapt those ideas, equipment, and concepts to your own kitchen by reproducing them in less expensive, (Ikea, Home Depot, Lowe's) cabinetry.

This advice:

"always start at the top of the line and work down (...) then adapt those ideas, equipment, and concepts ..."

from John H is really great advice for any remodel.

Congratulations on your new home!

When you say this is a new home do you mean a small house? If it is a house you have a ton of flexibility when it comes to rearranging anything. Gas, electric and plumbing can be diverted and walls can be removed.

My first thought is that I wish I knew what is on the other side of the refrigerator wall. It would be nice to open the kitchen up by removing a wall to accommodate your return with seating. An Ikea makeover would very simple and affordable here and you can accessorize it with appliances and surfaces that fit your budget. I would also tear out the linoleum right now! Do it before you get used to it.

I actually don't think the cabinets are that much of a problem - although a bit dark they are relatively simple - but the clashing butcherblock definitely is, along with the floor (particularly if it's linoleum, it's hard for me to tell from the pics).

If you are going to remodel in a year and just want to make the place livable, I would start by repainting the almond-colored paint with white. Also replace the cabinet hardware with something lighter (Ikea stainless steel handles would be fine.) Then resurface the counter (one of my friends did this and said it was not too expensive but I have no idea what is involved) or tile over it. I tiled over a previous kitchen counter by smashing basic white Home Depot bathroom tiles and making a kind of mosaic; it was cheap and looked cool but got very dirty fast, still it was OK for a year.

Next, think about covering over the floor as well. FLOR tiles would be a good choice here, you can resell them in a year when you do your remodel. (I had a much smaller galley kitchen and just covered it with a long Chilewich mat.) You can also replace your appliances now if you know what you want, then keep them when you gut in a year.

My kitchen was a lot smaller and even older - think 50's formica with gold sparkles and quite a few stains - so covering stuff up was more important and also easier/cheaper to do given the small space. But spending a few hundred dollars definitely made it a lot easier to live with until I did the whole reno, and some of the things I invested in (like the knobs and the Chilewich mats) are still being used in a completely different apartment, so it wasn'y wasted.

One of the winners of last year color contest, I think her name was Becka, had an amazing kitchen with Ikea cabinets she painted. What I remember most about her place was the way she separated the kitchen from the rest of the place with glass and wood(?) translucent frames. That would hide the refrigerator.

I think that if you DO like the idea of an under-counter fridge, but you're worried about capacity, then get 2 of them! because you have such a big kitchen that you could actually put cabinetry all the way to the ceiling, if you're worried about, then, losing storage space with a 2nd one of them.

But seriously, generally, I think that people with large fridges often fill them up (I'm sorry, but it's true -- my folks are the WORST about this) with leftovers that never do get eaten.

First you make a rue. In this case that's a budget. It all begins there Josh.

Josh: Don't do anything major, but paint. Paint out all the unattractive features of the kitchen - maybe white on the walls, rustoleum white on the frig (works great), a slightly darker neutral on the cabinets and live with the butcher block which will add a little warmth to a neutral scheme and maybe a cascading plantover the side of the frig. Add that under-counter lighting (from Ikea) ASAP or you will never want to prepare any food there and get organized for heaven's sake! Then give yourself some time -a year or too while you save more money to think everything through. Lucky you to have a little money left over after buying your first house!

What's your style? How do you want the room to feel? Start collecting tearsheets from magazines of rooms or pictures you love. Then try to come up with some ideas based on a few design ideas that really appeal to you.

A new light fixture would be an easy start to spiffing it up.

What's on the right, on the other side of the fridge?

The fridge and dishwasher are white & the stove is black, so it doesn't look pulled together. For the short term, get some nice dishtowels in a great color and maybe a poster or other wall decoration just to cheer it up. I agree about living with it before you make drastic changes.

Great point on cabinet shopping John-H.
After visiting as many showrooms as possible you will have seen just about every design possibility and you will be comfortable in knowing exactly how everything is priced. To me it seems to go high-end which would be the European showrooms and the fewer American ones like Henrybuilt, then the middle to higher end ones like Kraftmaid and local cabinet makers, then low end which would include such choices as Home Depot stock cabinetry and Ikea.

OMG I seriously thought this was a photo of the kitchen in my former house for a second. The cabinets, floor and countertop are dead ringers for what I had.

I would experiment first if you're thinking of painting the cabinets. I wanted to do that with mine but aborted on the idea after doing the inside of one door as a test because the graininess of the wood made it look yuck.

The cabinets really aren't too bad, IMO. I think changing the cabinet hardware, the flooring and the countertops would make a HUGE difference if you don't want to replace the cabinets.
In lieu of changing your entire layout which I wouldn't do unless you plan a total demo remodel, I would consider putting up a partition/wall to box in the fridge on the side that we see. If a new fridge is in your budget, the counter depth fridge suggestion is a good one too.
Definitely get rid of that over the range microwave. Replace it with a regular hood and get a small countertop microwave.
Take down the chair rail.
Declutter and then paint. Those two things alone will make a big difference.

this is hopelessly pedantic, but that's a roux.

Wow, first I am surprised that our question was posted and the large response is awesome! Want to clear up a few things:

1) We didnt actually move in yet, all that is there is the sellers stuff that they are moving out. All the appliances are staying though and that is the problem. There is no microwave, that is a 70's dual oven where the lower doesnt work and neither does the dishwasher so they are coming out.

2) I wont have a step stool :)

3) The wall behind the frig is the wall which leads to the dinning room. I would love to knock it down and open that up but I couldnt figure out where to put the fridge. To the right of the fridge is also the entrance to the kitchen. What you cant see is to the left, a large window, and the space where the photo is taken from is the eat-in section of the kitchen.

4) Would it be best to make the kitchen take up the whole area including the eat-in place so that we could blow out that wall into the formal DR or would that detract from the resale value?

5) This is our first home, a townhouse. I still have to check to see if there are any association restrictions with removing that wall. I do not believe there are. It has that horrible popcorn stuff on the other side of it. Anyone know how to remove that in case we keep the wall?

6) Can someone explain IKEA cabinets to me? Is there only one brand with multiple finishes? How do you get the toe-kick to look right? All the pics I have seen make it look like there is always a really bad seam.

I have to remember to keep my excitement in check as we are saving money for the wedding too. We both really appreciate all your input and suggestions. Does anyone know good resources for electrical wiring information, etc? I am good with remodeling (mostly tile, decking, framing, etc.) but have never added recessed lighting where there was not already a fixture. - Thats the next project, the living room.

Thanks again!!!!

Josh

Hire a kitchen designer if you can.

Undercounter refrigerations. Um, no. Expensive and little space.

We just did an Ikea kitchen. Great rated cabinets by Consumer Reports ... We actually found an inexpensive, imporated granite place to do counters ... A thousand less that Corian ... We mixed the glass Ikea doors and had the doors painted ...

Appliances. Watch for a Sear sale. We saved 20% on them. We have also used a discount, damaged appliance place.

Finally suggestion, take your time ...

IKEA cabinets: The carcasses and every other part from hinges to interior fittings and doors, are sold individually, so you can configure and dress them however you choose.
Toekick is available to match any of their doorstyles, or you can choose from a couple of different styles of metal legs instead.
I'm not sure what you mean about a bad seam. The toekick material is sold in ~8' strips and clips onto the legs. Like most projects, IKEA kitchens can look as good or as crappy as the install.

Check with your condo board about taking out walls (we are going to ask ours about the exact same issue!), as well, talk to your realtor who sold you the place. They see tons of homes, and a heck of a lot of bad remodel jobs - they would be able to tell you what would decrease or increase the value of the home.

It's really hard to design a kitchen verbally...I can tell you that you have at least 5 options in terms of a floor plan, especially if you open up that wall. There is no substitute for sitting down with a kitchen designer with weeks of quality time to carefully go over each choice and see how it impacts on the next. It's a critical thing to do, as most people do a kitchen only once, so every decision is super important. Also, for purposes of resale, the kitchen should be planned well.

One thing I would not do over again is repeat the wall cabinets wrapping around the space, it only makes it look smaller. I'd also try to get a built in refrigerator, and I've had lots of success recessing the refrigerator between the studs, you gain 3 1/2" that way which makes a lot of difference.

A nice look too is to have sort of floating sections of wall cabinets or base cabinets for that matter that are not connected. It gives your eye a space to rest. Have fun....kitchens are so much fun to plan.

I would just suggest that you think long and hard before completely opening up the kitchen into the dining room. While open kitchens are quite common in smaller NYC apartments (typically inhabited by singles or couples who rarely if ever cook) I suspect it will be a big problem in a house.

Try making a cutout in the wall and installing a breakfast bar, then getting a counter depth (NOT counter height) fridge that can stay where your current fridge is. (You can also remove the cabinets above and get a taller fridge if you need the storage space.) This will create some openness but also allow you to close off the opening with curtains, etc. for more formal dining.

I do like the idea of swapping range with fridge, but...

That puts the most-used appliance deep in the depths of the kitchen, creating traffic past the stove. Could be a pain in the range for the head chef of the house...

It also potentially means moving gas and/or water lines, which ups the remodel price considerably.

Josh, I'm excited to hear that the wall is shared with the dining room. This gives you great flexibility. You will have no problem altering that wall as it should not be load bearing.

If you choose to remove the wall in the dining room it can be redone so that it doesn't necessarily make your kitchen feel as if it is an open kitchen. With a nice countertop and a couple of stools it will provide enough of a division between the dining room and the kitchen. It will make working in the kitchen feel more comfortable as well.

With this being a townhome it may be a little bit of a hassle to move the plumbing. But it looks like you don't have gas? If that is the case you have flexibility as to where you can put your stove and oven because the 220 outlet can be moved. You can have a built in stovetop and an undercounter oven to conserve space.

I'm just throwing out suggestions but the point I'm trying to make is to not be afraid of visualizing the space as bare walls with pipes sticking out for water, electricity for cooking and a nice view into the dining room. You guys can draw simple sketches with rough dimensions pointing out your plumbing, walls, etc. (field drawing), grab an Ikea kitchen planning guide and come up with different scenarios. I mention Ikea because you can then use those plans and dimensions as a guide for any other cabinets you would like. Many of the cabinet showrooms use the same design software as Ikea does if download their kitchen planner.

If you are comfortable with decking, framing etc. you will save yourself tons of money by demoing the space yourself, reframing the opening to the dining room, should you choose to do so and installing the cabinets. Like Splatgirl said, Ikea cabs will look their best if they are installed well.

If you can, gather some info on counter depth refrigerators from this site. Counter depth pretty much means 24". I believe the Summit got a lot of very positive comments for its size and price. There is also a Spanish company called Fagor and they are mid-priced but have a nice modern looking model with the freezer on the bottom.

Have fun with it guys! Don't be afraid to ask any questions along the way, there is so much information on this site and the people are so friendly and eager to share their experiences with shaping up their spaces.

Get rid of the magnets. Done.

Buy a new refrigerator. You won't believe how much better it will look and how much longer your food will stay fresh. Do not get an undercounter fridge unless you don't cook much and/or don't plan on/have kids. I know Maxwell is a big fan of them but I think they are stupid for everyone but models and people who live in shoeboxes. You have room for a real refrigerator.