Okay. Update on removing countertop(s). We took the first (of 2) countertops off. Abbisgram, you were correct, and there were only a few screws attaching the top. All came out easily except one which was impossible to get to without disassembling the whole cabinet, so we got out the sawzall and took care of that one. Decided for several reasons not to special order countertops. We bought a sheet of 3/4" plywood (4x8), had it cut in half lengthwise, and that will do all the new countertops. Got the first one on and will need to put the tiles and edging on. Regarding the comment from the guy at Lowes: He was correct in the sense that the cabinet was very flimsy; however, it didn't 'fall apart'. The front (where the doors are attached) is pretty standard, however the sides of the cabinet are 1/8" (at most) luan, and there is no back piece at all, just a 1x2 strip fastened to the bottom of the (old) countertop, then screwed to the wall. Thankfully, the shelf inside the cabinet seemed to help keep it all together til we got the new top on it. Once the new plywood was on though, it is as sturdy as it was before ... lol. Not sure if I mentioned that this is not our full-time home, it's a mobile home that we purchased in a resort town, so we are not there to work on it every day. Hoping to go back next week and remove/replace the 2nd countertop, then cover them. Bottom line is that it wasn't nearly as scary as the Lowe's guy made it sound. And thanks, abbisgram, for the encouragement. :) As a side note, the finished countertops will end up costing under $100 for approx. 13-14 feet of countertops. I'm not the best at taking pictures, but will try to post some when we finish. This post was edited by danandcarol on Sat, Sep 27, 14 at 22:44

desert, I plan to get out to some showrooms this week to see what's there and I'm really hoping that will help move me forward a lot more. When we built this house, we hooked up a trailer and drove to Dalton GA and came back with all the flooring needed to do the entire house. It was easier to make choices when we were looking at the entire roll and not just small samples. We got terrific deals and then just paid the labor to have everything installed by a friend of DH. For the majority of other items we spent hours at Lowes. lanval, I plan to give the island a new top along with whatever we choose for the countertops and I know that will help spruce it up more. Originally we were told there was no room for an island at all, but our cabinet guy designed the funky shape to fit one in. I wish we had space to redesign it to allow more of a rectangle shape with an overhang to fit a couple of stools, but there is just not enough space around the u-design of my current layout. Anne, DH is assigned the reno to his brother. He doesn't have time to get involved in the work itself. That's probably a good thing since we end up disagreeing on details most of the time. I've learned we just see things from different perspectives because I'm considering details he thinks are not important. And since the kitchen is not really his domain, I don't want to get into a power struggle over the choices I make. I tried to discuss the timing with him yesterday and he sees no problem moving ahead with the April schedule. I pointed out the events coming up that will coincide with the time the kitchen is torn apart, and his basic outlook/comment is "it's no big deal"...he's just a 'get'r done' kinda guy. I tried to remind him this is not one of his empty houses that is unoccupied and the fact there is more involved than just slapping on a countertop and being done. Maybe I'm just thinking too hard, but I can see the entire kitchen torn apart and me being stressed enough over that while trying to juggle our spring busy season and my DD's precious time left living at home knowing the activities associated with that. Plus the responsibilities of finishing up our eoy business details is difficult enough alone, and now I'm sposed to be doing research/legwork to plan a kitchen reno. I'm sorry if I'm rambling, but when I say 'overwhelmed' I'm not exaggerating. If I could just put everything else in my life on hold right now, it might be no problem, but everything else is not going to just stop. I'm glad you see what I'm feeling about the timing of my DD last days at home. Just last year when she wanted to have her after-prom party here, I had some mini meltdowns feeling overwhelmed with my regular daily workload and then adding more to it. This year isn't looking much better... Anyway, to clarify some of the questions you asked: I broke the measurements into 2 sections since the bar seems to separate it into 2 areas. The nook area is 13'x9'8". The kitchen area is 9'5"x13'2" but that is only the actual floor space. The cabinets are 25" deep so you could add that to the width of 9.5 for a size of the actual room. The garage is on the other end of the house. There is door to the backyard patio in the nook area. The original plan called for columns and a more open floorplan. DH chose to change it to large c.o. I posted pics from different angles to try to show this. I measured everything you asked to help clarify; fridge is 35"Dx35"W - cab depth is 25" - MW cab is 29"D - raised bar is 12"D. I checked the face frame of cabs and it appears the only ones sharing is the section to the right of the sink where the raised bar is. The rest are chopped up due to the DW, stove, and corner that leads to the MW cab. I'm trying to visualize the changes you suggested...I guess I need to sketch it out to understand it completely. Since his brother is doing the reno, it actually gives me more comfort b/c I know is fully capable of any little details I bring up. At this point...right now...I'm in panic mode after talking with DH last night and he totally doesn't get my lack of enthusiasm about the schedule. He makes it sound so easy. The ct can be done in one day, the floor can be done in one day... what's the problem??? Arrggh!! happy, Glad to hear of your wp sucess, painted and stripped. I hung every bit of the paper in this house and have 3 baths of wp also facing stripping.

I read your post in the kitchen forum also .... Yes, I think you are definitely on the right track with updating. Even if a buyer can't afford the new builds, it definitely makes an impression on them. And most people really don't want to completely renovate a kitchen. As someone who has just updated a late 1980's kitchen with oak cabinets/laminate myself, here is what I would do: (1) Consider replacing the light over the table if it's brass or obviously dated. The overhead light boxes aren't the best, but I can't tell if you have popcorn ceilings or not. If you do, I'd leave them alone. If not, it might be worth replacing the light boxes too. I chose oil-rubbed bronze for my new light fixtures, because that is what most of the new builds in my area/price range feature. (2) Don't bother giving the cabinet a dark stain. Instead, look for Howard's Restor-A-Finish (I bought at Home Depot). It smells a bit like paint thinner going on but isn't sticky or gummy. You apply it over clean cabinets and it basically evens out and refreshes your old finish, including water spots. I used the Walnut color on mine because it most closely matched the existing color. In a few areas I used a furniture stain marker. My cabinets now look fresh, clean and the finish is evenly colored. (3) Get some new hardware for the doors and drawer fronts. Stainless is popular on dark cabinets, but lighter oak cabinets can really benefit from a darker color (especially if there are dark spots in the granite). I used a blackish/bronze handle available in-store from Lowes. (4) Your ideas on new granite, backsplash and tile flooring are good. Just choose colors that coordinate with the refreshed cabinets, instead of gel-stained ones. Do make sure, though, not to do a granite backsplash; run your backsplash tile straight down to the countertop. If they will throw in a new sink with the granite, choose an undermount style. The fact that you already have stainless-steel appliances is a huge money saver. Those were the bulk of what our "kitchen update" money was spent on. Above all, make sure that your updates are "transitional" rather than too modern. Good luck! You will probably love what the new kitchen looks like (and so will buyers), and will kick yourself for not making the changes sooner so you could enjoy them!

Well, I know it has been a while, but I realized I forgot to post an update! We finished everything in Dec '11, and have really enjoyed it. The house went on the market this weekend, so we got a little over a year in our 'new' kitchen. We got a full price offer today, and our home is priced higher than anything in our neighborhood (the house 2 doors down in 500 sf larger, and priced $5k cheaper). I think it was worth it - total cost was right around $7K. Granite: NVG light Gel Stain: Java (General) - 3 coats Tile: Home Depot Backsplash: Home Depot Here is a link that might be useful: More Kitchen Remodel Pics This post was edited by leightx on Tue, Apr 23, 13 at 12:40