Counter top advice

[jrj512]

Thanks. We really like it.

[motorollow]

The kitchen is a great place to spend money. You will get to enjoy it and most likely get your investment back!

[jrj512]

Here is what it looked like when we bought the house. We had Peter and his crew in the house working for three weeks before we moved in so we could get rid of all of the wallpaper and ceiling popcorn.

[sxk122]

My kitchen is the twin to yours.

I pulled down the wallpaper and refloated the walls. Ripped up the Layers (3) of linoleum and installed tile. Replaced the plastic fluorescent fixture with a decorative fixture. Stove has been replaced and I have the new refrigerator picked out and the funds set aside. I am in the process of refinishing the cabinets at the moment, and once those are done I'm going to jump into refinishing the countertops. Then the new fridge can go in. Pricewise, even TCB can't beat me. Including any tools I've had to buy-- Under $100 to refinish the cabinets (although after working on it for 8 hours Monday and 13 today I want to kill myself) hoping to relaminate the counters for under $100, was able to tile for about $150. Stove was $400, Fridge will be about $600

[sxk122]

jrj..... strange question....

Where did you get the new hardware; I like your knobs.......

(heck, I like the whole kitchen, lol)

[jrj512]

Where did you get the new hardware; I like your knobs.

We bought a sample at Lowes and then once we knew that we liked them, we ordered all of them from Ace Hardware online. The previous owners had knobs on all of the cabinets in the house, so we had to buy a lot.


http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=38409510103

[SixAce]

Looks fantastic. Exactly what I was wanting for my cabinets. Same change, mine may be a bit lighter "before", but that's the "after" I am looking for. Thanks for the pics. I'll be looking for Peter at the next ax.
SA

[sxk122]

We bought a sample at Lowes and then once we knew that we liked them, we ordered all of them from Ace Hardware online. The previous owners had knobs on all of the cabinets in the house, so we had to buy a lot.


http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=38409510103

Not a bad price, and I'm digging the oil rubbed bronze finish....

My cabinets have no hardware at all and it bugs me. I'm going to have to dig around the ACE site. If you remember, how much less were they from ACE rather than Lowe's?

[jrj512]

If you remember, how much less were they from ACE rather than Lowe's?

I really do not remember.

[sxk122]

finished coat 3 on the cabinets today. time to go shopping for hardware this week, go see what lowes/ home depot/ elliots can do on price.

[Keifersmith]

Ok, now you guys have me thinking about redoing our kitchen cabinets. jrj512, the kitchen looks great. It's hard to tell from the pictures, were the cabinets stripped and restained a darker color or were they painted? We've got bleached oak cabinets and I think we'd like to restain to a darker shade.

Done!

Before:



After:



He even threw in a cat.

[jrj512]

It's hard to tell from the pictures, were the cabinets stripped and restained a darker color or were they painted?

I like my cabinets like l like my women -- stripped.

They were stripped and re-stained. It is a very dark stain, though.

[sxk122]

I'll have pics shortly of my cabinets; I sanded mine down and have painted them. I like white kitchen cabinets. Oil based enamel paint for the win.

[sxk122]

also jrj, does your kitchen 'feel' bigger now?

Mine feels bigger and brighter (white in my case). I'm wondering if the solid color is less distracting than the oak finish.......

[jrj512]

also jrj, does your kitchen 'feel' bigger now?

Mine feels bigger and brighter (white in my case). I'm wondering if the solid color is less distracting than the oak finish.......

No, but it feels much warmer and comfortable.

[Darron65]

No, but it feels much warmer and comfortable.

I'd expect those countertops were cold on bare skin.

[sxk122]

Well cabinets are done. counter tops are up in the next couple weeks.



Can't wait to get the new fridge and Spacemaker. Sorry about the crap quality of the pics.

[sxk122]

Well, it's been more than a couple weeks, but I installed the counters this past week. Also installed new faucets, re-plumbed the sink, and installed a new spacemaker microwave. As always, few things were as simple as I would have hoped... counters were a cinch, but the plumbing was giving me fits because it had been ghetto-rigged by the previous owner, and the old microwave did not want to budge.


A refresher... the kitchen when i bought the place....





A combination of sheet laminate flooring and shitty tile. School style fluorescent lighting fixture. 1982 almond stove in wonderfull condition. Yellow counters. Yellowish oak cabinets. Kinda hard to see, but beige floral wallpaper above the cabinets. But, the condo was where I wanted, at a price i was willing to pay.


Now--



1' square flooring tiles in a diamond orientation. Cabinets re-finished in a semi-gloss oil based enamel. hardware added to cabinets. New countertops in a faux granite laminate. (I decided against granite and corian due to cost- both would have to be profesionally installed, and would not increase the value of my place in the small quantity I was working with as Michael stated. Removed wallpaper and went with a smooth texture (never doing that again- smooth takes a lot of work). Crown moulding installed throughout the condo. Replaced the fluorescent fixture with a better looking model. New faucet to replace the generic crappy one that was in there. Parent's and sister bought me a stove last christmas, and my girlfriend bought a new spacemaker microvave to replace the old one.

The tile, crown moulding, light fixture, and walpaper-removal were completed 3 years ago before i moved in. The cabinets, counter-tops, and appliances have all been done this year. I'm officially a member of TCB.

INCLUDING any and all tools and materials purchased, the cabinets with handles cost me less than $125. The countertops came in at $175. The Faucet and plumbing supplies cost $150. The Samsung microwave ran $160 after a 10% discount coupon I had for Lowe's, but Sara bought that.

So under $450 for the cabinets, sink, and counters.... I'm rather pleased.

One thing I am noticing now in this photo is that the light fixture needs to be refinished.... either white to match the cabinets and moldings, or a dark almost blck faux stain like the 3 photo frames (which I also made, from scrap lumber and $9 of atwork from IKEA)

[jrj512]

Nice!

[sxk122]

thanks. it's not as nice as yours, and there are things that could have been done better, but overall it came out ok.