Swimpy's Kitchen Remodel Thread

Oh gosh, I was weeks without a kitchen until it finally
was finished, but I'm happy every since with it.

What kind of kitchen are you getting, tell us a bit about
the design and cabinets, countertop and so on. I love to
hear it!

Swimpy--

You have my sympathy, but please post every little snag and inconvenience (as well as the major problems) so I can identify and gloat.

Have you decided exactly what you want?

Wall oven? Pantry closet? Little built-in record keeping area? Drawer for spices?

What sort of floor? Pet feeding arrangements? Recycling station?

Please share and I will be wildly envious.

Well, like I said, it's not completely designed yet. It's going to be simple, galley kitchen...natural cherry cabinets in a Shaker style. The room is small so they are dinking around to try and put in an eating area. The countertops, I hope will be a Corian that looks like dark grey granite. I would like a wood floor, but I'm nervous about how it will hold up to the spills and splatters. When i get the new floorplan, I'll scan it so you can see it.

I'm keeping my currrent appliances because they are newish, less than 5 years old. They are stainless steel. I'll be getting a dishwasher for the first time in my life! I can't wait. This is the kind I want http://usa.fisherpaykel.com/kitchen/dishdrawers/dishdrawers.cfm I'd be interested if anyone has experience with this type of dishwasher.

I have no experience with this kind of dishwasher, but it sure looks beautiful.

What are the demisions of the room ?


Just redid ours a couple years ago and incorparated the eatting area into the countertop..sits 5 could squeeze a 6th if needed,
Our kitchen is more of a rectangle, maybe 12' wide by about 20' long.

Make sure you get the lighting done right !!!

Don, Mine is rectangular too. It's roughly 9.5' x 15.75'. Door and window placement make the room a challenge.

Don, Can you tell me how your kitchen is configured. Is it L-shaped or what? How did they fit the eating area in?

The F&P dishwasher is good if you do a lot of small loads of dishes. Each drawer works independent of the other so you can do two different loads at once. If you are considering a more traditional dishwasher check out Miele. They are in the same price range and I have never heard a quieter unit.

Make sure that your contractor knows that you are going with one of these because the dimensions are different from the American brands. With either of these the width should be 23 5/8". It is a common mistake with contractors to make the width 24" automatically and you end up with gaps on both sides. It doesn't sound like much but I see this everyday and the customer is invariably unhappy with it.

Good Luck and post any questions you have.

Oooh, exciting!

I'll want to follow the wood floor thing too because this house has a wood floor in the kitchen -- newish one, not original -- and I have to do some research on how to care for it properly. Wax seems to figure into the equation but I have to figure out exactly what to do and when to do it. The floor is about 9 years old though and looked great when we moved in, so there is a way to care for it that keeps it looking really good. (It's still fine but not the gleaming thing of beauty it was on moving day.)

I have Corian countertops and ADORE them. Wow. They're white/ cream -- eggshell maybe -- and nothing sticks. We have a little eating nook (pantry underneath) with the Corian, sozlet regularly draws up there and regularly draws off the edge of the paper, zippity all gone.

We have a smallish kitchen that was really nicely designed -- not quite enough cabinet space for my taste but amazingly functional and roomy for how little square footage there is. So with more details I might have some suggestions.

Natural cherry cabinets! That + stainless steel should be gorgeous.

Bookmarking this thread. We have been remodeling our house room by room since we moved in. When we're done with the bedrooms (removing yucky acoustic tile ceilings) we have to do the bathroom. I really want to do the kitchen because the layout sucks and the cabinets are too dark, but it will come last. I'm looking forward to living vicariously through swimpy. Maybe I'll get some ideas on how to solve some of my kitchen's problems.

Always wanted corian countertops...

Out of curiosity, why does everyone like corian so much? I have granite and would not change it for anything.

Granite's probably very cool, too. (Never had it.)

Compared to the standard-issue petroleum byproduct counters I've had 'til now (actually I have no idea what they were made of, but not tile, not wood, not granite), Corian is a) durable, b) easy to clean, c) nice looking, d) durable. I seem to remember that granite is more prone to chipping, but I'm not at all sure.

Absolutely no competition with the stuff I've had, though, which got stained, dented, dinged, etc.

I think, from when I looked into it, that Corian is the poor man's granite. I think it's cheaper than granite and I, like soz, have never had countertops that were anything but laminate -- and they all sucked. I would love to have nice durable countertops with a built-in undermount sink. That's my dream, anyway.

I see, its a more realistic choice not the best choice. The durability is what I love about my granite, I use the counter as a cutting board, you can take a pot off the stove and put it directly on the counter without worry.

countertop comparison

This may be of some help choosing countertops.

Thanks for the info on the dishwashers, sublime. I chose the FP just for that reason. I'm here alone four days out of the week, so I don't dirty very many dishes. I like the option of doing small loads, but having the capacity to have do a large one in two drawers.

I chose Corian because I can get the look of granite without the cost. My kitchen guy says that granite will pit, too. They also have a faux granite that is made up of stone chips in epoxy (I guess) that looks exactly like granite, but is less porous and doesn't pit. It's still too pricey for my budget.

Soz, If your wood floor is newer it probably has polyurethane. You don't need to wax it. The dullness may be due to soap build up. When we had our wood floors refinished, the refinisher said not to use soap or detergent on them. Just wipe with a damp mop.


Freeduck, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say THAT before. LOL

My kitchen counter is yellow pine. It took me three weeks to find the lumber, since I wanted some old lumber, and another two days work for the construction, but it is a hell of a counter.

I'll see if I can dig up a picture of something similar.

I have a wood counter as well, don't know if it's Pine though,
and I love it.
I had laminate, corian, tiles and granite in previous houses -
I like the wood best.

As for the Corian: I had a dark green one and it scratched
like hell.

I'll bet that's beautiful, Gus.