Depends on the materials and the use. The porcelain cast iron sink we put in 33 years ago has one tiny chip but still looks good. The tile (same age) is mostly fine but the grout is awful. The wood butcher block has been resanded and oiled many times but still looks fine. Have had three dishwashers along the way but am still with the 33 year old electric oven. Works but looks awful. The cabinets are the original gumwood, circa 1927! They're not merely old, they've prevailed to the point of being antique. Some things look better with age, and some things look tired, and grungy (grout). So I guess the message is that it is good to pick things that age well and look good with a little patina on them if you want a kitchen that lasts a long time.

We are in process with our kitchen remodel, but I am hoping that it lasts FOREVER! Cabinets are wood and, while I know the finish will wear and the insides will get cruddy, i am hopeful that next remodel will involve painting cabs, replacing inner shelves, that sort of thing. Regrouting, sanding floors, replacing dead appliances this stuff is par for the course in "updating" but, at least in my lifetime, there is no plan for a major overhaul again.

i'm not sure ...we did a complete gut job/reno to the kitchen in our last home and it looked as pristine seven years later when we moved. i realize that's not a long time, but i figure if it looked brand new after seven years it has a way to go before it appears looking "old". hopefully our new kitchen will last my lifetime because i don't think my dh will want to shell out this kind of money again!

Seven years does not sound nearly long enough for payback time on a kitchen remodel. IMHO, it should last longer than that. We are starting our first major kitchen remodel since it was built in 1982. Cabs, sink, and countertops are original, though we painted the cabinets a few years ago to get a little more life out of them. They are below builder grade crap. We put down a new sheet vinyl floor 15 years ago, now in bad shape. We've replaced DW, fridge, and oven over the years as they died. So when we embark on our reno in a few weeks, appliances are staying, but we will be getting all new cabinets, counters, sink, floor. This old kitchen is just so worn out and ugly, it's long past time.

In 1989 we gut-remodeled our starter-neighborhood cottage. Mid-range Kraftmaid frameless cabs in laminate-covered particleboard, laminate counters (we ran out of money at the end), mid-priced standard appliances (pro-style not available outside of Wolf, Viking and Sub-zero), sheet vinyl flooring.

$$$ were spent on: 1) wall of picture windows, 2) vaulting the ceilings to 15', and 3) replacing all the systems, including foundation, sewer, electrical, plumbing.

In 2003 we replaced the counters as one corner seam was starting to fail (poor installation, probably - it was never completely level). The cabinets remain solid and honestly if I could take them with me when I sell this house, I would. They are the easiest cabs to clean imaginable, both inside and out. I put my dishes away wet all the time without worrying about it.

We also had a coating put on those picture windows at that time. The sun badly faded the vinyl floor, gradually destroying it (it gets brittle and starts to crack, even though it was very high quality sheet vinyl).

We replaced the flooring with glue-down solid vinyl tiles in slate-look, as the UV coating on the windows now prevents that kind of sun damage. It was actually fortunate I did select laminate cabs, as the 14 yrs of UV damage would have seriously streaked any wood cabs. The wood trim surrounding my cab doors sustained UV damage and I had to re-stain some of it which had bleached to almost white. This is something we tend to forget in our current bent towards as much natural light as possible, so it was a lesson for us.

The counters were replaced with Swanstone, as was the Kohler porcelain sink. The Kohler was still in great shape despite heavy abuse, but it was a double and we desperately wished to go back to a single bowl sink.

The 1989 refrig was also victim of UV stress and it was replaced in 2002 with an Amana that has much heavier door insulation. Our utility bills dropped an immediate $20/mo upon replacement.

The 1989 stove was given away in 2005 to my niece who needed one. Its 2005 replacement has been a much poorer performer and I've replaced the circuit board twice, to a total almost the cost of an entirely new mid-range stove.

The 1989 DW refused to die although it couldn't clean dishes. I finally discovered hairline cracks in the plastic tub last year and promptly bought a SS-tub replacement. We purchased an extended warranty on this DW as I don't believe any appliance that uses heat/steam/computers together will have a long life.

My kitchen's appearance is far from fashionable, but it will easily last in its current iteration, exclusive of appliances, for many decades more.

Gosh, we haven't lived in one place long enough to see how long kitchens last, but my parents did their kitchen in the mid to late 70's and by the mid 90's it was beginning to show wear. They replaced appliances, counter tops, and linoleum. They refinished the cabinets. That same job needs to be done now and it will be next owners who do that, but I bet they could save the cabinets!

Suz

We built the house 32 years ago & I spent time (& money) on the design & equipment. The dark cherry cabinets look new--hardly a mark on them. We've had several DW--the last this past December. I replaced my 45 y.o. GE drawer frig w/ another GE CD FD 2 years ago. 6 years ago, I replaced the still like new Mannington brick pattern inlay w/ on site finished red oak, installed an electric wall oven and warming drawer, replaced the gas range which had an oven on top & below with a DCS gas range and Broan Best exhaust (SS). The countertops are the original white matte leather textured Formica with not a mark on it, and the island's maple butcher block top is still beautiful. People always admire this kitchen but, I must admit, there have been no children in it, altho we had a big Labrador for a few years.
So the answer as to how many years is, it depends.

I'm always looking around at homes for sale and now that I have done my remodel and have found GW, I look at the kitchen's with much more knowledge. And I probably only have 1/2 the devotion as many of those on GW.
It seems like there are several factors that "age" a kitchen. Higher quality of materials, well kept kitchen, would help to not age a kitchen, I think.
My MIL has a very old kitchen with white painted cabinets and marble countertop. The countertop is stained and etched and I find the kitchen endearing. It is ageless to me.
Good "bones" to a kitchen, meaning a great functional layout probably makes a kitchen. Solid, well made cabinets next, and then everything else can be changed to update without the major major expense.

I forgot to add that my MIL's kitchen was "new" to her in 1960. It has not been updated. She does take very good care of the kitchen and is meticulous about cleanliness.

Ooooh Fleur, if you could one day photograph the kitchen and start a thread with pics, especially of the counters, I know many of us would be grateful to see "old" marble countertops!

My kitchen still has the cabinets, counter and backsplash that were installed in 1950 when the house was built.

The cabinets are solid wood, were painted when we bought the house in 1989 and I repainted them in the early '90s. They are still functional although the the drawers have no glides so sawdust now sprinkles the pots and pans below. No dishwasher of course and there are corner cabinets that are a real annoyance in terms of layout.

The countertop and backsplash are tile. Some chips but still in decent shape. The grout however is tragic. Stained, chipped in places, impossible to clean.

Here is a picture. Everything on the right is original except the drawer/cabinet pulls. Well, and the mess:

I'm hoping to demo at the beginning of August...RIP elderly kitchen.

Sabjimata, my MIL lives in Europe. I do hope to visit next summer. What a great idea to photograph the patina! I will surely still be lurking and commenting here a year from now!

Fleur, it would be a great addition to the internet if you took and posted those pics! I will be waiting ;)

It's just like a top model. If the bone structure is there, then they look good at all stages of their life. Lauren Hutton is still as gorgeous today as she was when she was on the cover of every fashion mag. So is Christie Brinkley.

If the layout is sound, and the materials are quality, a kitchen can show a few "lifelines" and still look wonderful 50 years later. If the structure isn't sound, and you try to gloss over that, then you end up with enough "facelifts" and a Phyllis Diller!

Live-wire -
what a great analogy! Really made me laugh...

It can be a subtle thing - dated or vintage can be in the eye of the beholder making it even harder to pin down. It reminds me of a funny quote from a kitchen remodel show where the owner says "the cabinets are so dated they are probably retro now, but since we aren't into retro they are just UGLY"

I do agree that how a kitchen is maintained helps a lot. A clean, organized kitchen always looks better even if the finishes and styles aren't brand new.

Wow...great thread...makes me think about the TLC I need to give my kitchen to give it longevity.

If the style of the kitchen doesn't match the style of the house, time will probably make it stand out for the worse.

I think some things age faster than others.

I'm very suspicious personally of pre-aged finishes like dark glazes on cabinets. It's probably because of too many years spent with those gold/avocado/copper appliances that had the darkened borders. It's hard to get fake aging right, and it doesn't always work. Sometimes it just ages things in the wrong way. Instead of 'patina', you get 'beat-up'.

Anything that isn't authentic ages faster. Wood, tile, stone, plaster, metal - you can't beat it. I'd rather see plastic that shouts out it's plasticness than plastic that tries to imitate wood or tile. Most plastic can't be repaired or kept up once it ages.

Thanks for everyone's opinion. I don't want to spend all this money when we're eventually ready to do the kitchen, to then have to fix things later I too think 7 years isn't very long for my friend's cabinets and counter - I know things will get chipped and some wear, but I wouldn't expect peeling paint. A little yes, and you'll need to do some touch-ups over the years.

It's something to keep in mind - need surfaces/finishes that will last and wear well, and put the TLC in to keep things looking good. Spend time on getting the right layout, so when yo do want to re-do things, you've still got good cabinets to work with. MIL's refinished cabinets look amazing