Yes! I love to go to open houses and see what's happening in the market around here. It kills me to walk into $1.5 million homes and see nice appliances slapped haphazardly in a dysfunctional layout with the only drawers being the ones just under the counter with cupboards below. We briefly flirted with the idea of moving, but we're so happy with our remodeled kitchen that it would be hard to make a move!

That's why we bought a house that hadn't been updated since it was built in 1949 rather than something a little more move-in ready. Why would I pay for someone else's layout and taste?

Unfortunately, this also extends to friends/family kitchens. I just want to fix them all up. It fades a bit once my own kitchen project is done, but never goes away entirely. Gardenweb has ruined me!

Yes, if I'm looking to buy. Before we built our last house we also looked at some newer existing homes, they were nice. But.... in every one of them I would of wanted to rip out and gut all the kitchens and bathrooms. Bad layouts, yucky tiles, nothing matched.

For the price of these homes and the cost of replacing almost new kitchens and bathrooms, it would of been such a waste. So we built again and I got to choose materials and layouts that worked for us.

Yes... yes I do.

I am completely the opposite ... I never want to re-do another kitchen again, mine or anyone else's!

That said, I think some of those kitchens you're seeing may have had at least a little thought and planning go into them, it's just that everyone's thought process and taste are different. For instance, I notice I am often the lone dissenter here on GW when it comes to drawers, drawers, and more drawers ... I actually LIKE lower cabinets! Some kitchens just can't accommodate those lovely wide drawer stacks, and my kitchen is one of them. When I was determining what I wanted in my kitchen, I had only one person in mind that I wanted to please ... ME. I have to agree with WindyCity, once you've gone through the remodeling process and lived with a kitchen that has been designed with YOU in mind, it's hard to think about living with anything else.

Yes, yes I do. If not actually redo, then at least judge and criticize. :)

Yes, with one exception. My friend has an awesome kitchen. She re-did hers a couple of years before I did mine, and so was an extremely valuable resource for me as well as a shopping buddy (granite slabs, hardware, etc!) : )

She had custom inset cabinets made with lots of snazzy details, just the way she wanted it. It's small but lovely and it suits her.

Everyone else, though, I'm thinking "you really could do......."

I always like to look at real estate, for my primary home and for potential investment properties. In an established neighborhood, it is next to impossible to find a finished home up to the GW standards, with the right look and location. Of course, design choices are always taste-specific. And often, those very issues that cause the PO to move are the things that may turn off a new buyer (dated finishes, layout issues, insufficient cabinetry, size, etc).

Like xc and windycity, we went through the remodel vs. move decision, with a preference on fixers. (Should have done this two years ago, however, when the choices for location were better)

I've noticed the drawer thing most in new builds and less expensive flips. I'm thinking it is a way to save money. I see some higher end flips and resale homes with more drawers and better layouts. I've noticed some of the most taste specific choices and inappropriate flips are the ones that are lingering on the market.

Yeah, but when I look at real estate, it's more "how trashed is this kitchen so that I can gut it without feeling bad" and I don't even consider how to salvage it.

Then once I move in it's "oh c*&% this kitchen has to be redone and I don't wanna and now I have a sucky kitchen for a few years until I have to remodel and I hate remodeling!".

Yes and no. Both my mother and my MIL had horrible kitchens. Awful layouts - how did they ever cook for large families in those rooms? I wish I could have changed those kitchens, but they were so horrible that I wouldn't have known where to start...and the houses have been sold anyway...

Before dh and I decided to build a new house, we were looking at the real estate listings online. I saw some kitchens that were wonderful - horrible house, but wonderful kitchen. Dh laughed at me when I kept yelling that I wanted *that* kitchen. It recently occurred to me that our new kitchen will be *that* kitchen, at least in appearance (different layout, I think). Distinctive, eye catching wood that is not at all "standard" in appearance.

At the least I'd like to paint them and add drawers.

Even spent some time thinking of how to redo the kitchen in the house we're moving out of... but I'd never get that past 'committee', lol.

I'm afraid that anyone I know who plans to build or remodel a kitchen will find me insufferable; I can hardly restrain my passion for work zones, deep counters and uppers, deep and tall drawers, tapmaster, prep sinks, real vents and outlet placement with regular (non-TKO) people.
I don't think we'll move from this house anytime soon, but if/when we do I'll want to buy a GWer's kitchen, or something that has to be gutted.

I might not actually want to go through the process of redoing them myself, but I find myself critiquing layouts silently in my mind all the time. "That island is such a barrier" "this is the most dysfunctional layout I have ever seen" "How do they even use the refrigerator in that location?" "This would work so much better with a prep sink" Etc. It's an ongoing internal commentary. I almost wish I knew how to turn it off....

Not all of them, but I was recently in one that was very upscale, yet the wall oven opened into the only hallway (and a fairly narrow one at that) that lead from the bedrooms to the front of the house, and there were no landing areas next to the fridge, double microwaves, or sink, other than the island across from those items. I kept trying to figure out the reasoning-- I am sure that there was some-- but I couldn't get it.

And, no, I am another who did not go for all drawers, although I have more of them than I do lower cupboards. I like a mix and do not always find that having drawers exclusively makes for the best ergonomics, as I have mentioned before.

Yes, yes I do. If not actually redo, then at least judge and criticize. :) - Linelle

LOL, too true! MIL has a terrible kitchen and every time I go to her house I'm twitching to do a rough sketch of her current layout and solicit suggestions here for changes. And whenever DH and I do the annual neighborhood house tours, I obsess over the kitchens; not so much aesthetics as layouts ("why did they put that there? Barrier island, barrier island! Where's the ventilation!?") A friend of a friend was lovely enough to show us her house, as we were considering her GC for our renovation. When we got to the kitchen, which is stunning, all I could see was her lousy pop-up downdraft vent hood.

I'm waaay too critical for my own good.

This thread is amazing, I find myself doing a lot of this stuff too! If/when we move, I also would prefer a place that had a kitchen that needed remodeling (ie broken, super old) BUT had potential. I always look for that potential ;-)

This thread is awesome. Lol linelle!!
And kksmama!

Ok so I'll look for a house that has the worst kitchen that must be redone immediately. One that not even my DH will want to live with.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this affliction!

debrak2008:

Your post only emphasizes the importance of good design, which unfortunately many here believe should be free.

I got a call to repair a small bath floor tile failure. I ended up ripping out floor sheathing and rotted floor and wall framing. While the waterproofing details weren't good, the real fault was the door-less shower design. All this mess in a 14-year-old home could have been avoided with proper design and still kept the shower door-free.

Those that design for themselves without at least checking with a professional, have only themselves to blame.

Trebrucket, I don't want this thread to go to far OT but I do appreciate your point. Unfortunately I think many of these kitchens did have pros involved. Perhaps after the holiday we can start a thread to discuss why many want free design work and free advise. I'm guilty!

All, I wasn't trying to pick on drawers just giving some examples. How about a kitchen where the sink is on one side of the room and the DW is on the other? For me there is no way that is going to work. And I'm not taking about small kitchens where you don't always get the ideal layout. I'm talking about kitchens where there is enough space.

If you share even a little of this affiction with others do they think you are the crazy one? While you really think they have lost their minds because their aisle widths are too tight? LOL

When I go to new developments or open houses yes- I am as critical as the next person. I bring the floor plans home and start imagining myself living there (even though we're not moving) and I start moving doors and windows to get the best floorplan and working kitchen that I can. One thing I don't do in my headcase scenarios is move outside walls. I don't allow that to be part of the exercise.

However, when I'm at friends or family I don't critique their kitchens, even in my head. That isn't fair to them.

edited to add:

I lived for 20 years with a horribly dysfunctional kitchen which we couldn't afford to renovate. We did a couple of minor cosmetic upgrades until we had the money to do a gut job. I would hope that a TKO person did not come into my kitchen and were critical of it. My MIL has a horrible kitchen but she would rather spend months in Hawaii and not do her kitchen. A functional kitchen means nothing to her and that' s her choice.

This post was edited by blfenton on Tue, Nov 26, 13 at 12:41

In a way, I was glad to buy our house and it had a "builder basic" kitchen. Cheap honey oak cabinets, few drawers, wasted space called a desk, small island, poor layout, poor lighting, and cheap appliances. We lived with it for a year and this past summer took everything out down to the drywall and started from scratch. We addressed all of issues. It was a ton of work and was not cheap, but we love our new kitchen and intend to enjoy it for several years to come.

In our last house, we didn't mind the kitchen cabinets, layout and the granite counters, but we still managed to do a lot of work to it. Stripped the wall paper, textured and painted the walls; upgraded all of the appliances; added cabinet hardware; and added a travertine backsplash.

My in-laws got the kitchen reno bug as well this summer. DW and I helped redo their kitchen. It wasn't a full redo, but it still was a good size project. Now my sister-in-law wants to do some kitchen upgrades and I'm sure that we will be helping with that project as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Final Reveal

One thing that really helped us be ok with the money we were going to spend on the reno was to look at real estate postings. We looked at all the fancy homes that were going for 3-6 times what our house would go for, and almost all of their kitchens were awful. It made us feel a lot better about what we were about to do.

Hi. My name's Whit and I'm an addict. I can't help it. We were in ATL for a long weekend and I mean EVERY house and condo we looked at all I could do is mentally tear the kitchen apart. Ok, maybe I made one or two side comments quietly to myself. Is this the support group?

Welcome Whit, the first step is admitting your problem.

Actually the whole kitchen forum is a support group. You can stay here and actually give advise to those with bad layouts. Then hopefully you can see the results with after photos. People here actually ASK for your advise. Those silly home builders never seem to ask us what WE think about the kitchens they are building.

Living vicariously is not always a bad thing.

texaspenny, ditto.

I have this reaction most strongly to ads for kitchen renovation companies. The most common thought that occurs to me is, whoever designed that kitchen has never cooked.
This picture is an "after", believe it or not.
It looks like you have to straddle the counter to cook on the cooktop:

For me the worst part of seeing all those new, poorly planned kitchens is when you hear afterwards that they ripped the whole thing out. What a waste! A few years ago a house was for sale for an absurd amount and it was a spec home built by a builder who clearly had no idea about the tastes and the styles of people in this area. The house sat on the market for a long time (by our RE standards), and it was on one of the best streets in town. When it was sold, at a HUGE discount from the original listing price, I found out that the owners ripped out the kitchen and all of the bathrooms--brand spanking new! Admittedly, I too would have done the same. The kitchen was poorly designed and the choices that they made were not pretty (peach marble for the bathrooms). It was awful that all that material went to waste.

I love to troll the RE listings and think about how I would change things! I think it's one of the perks of being a GW "student"....we've learned so much from eachother :)

I am currently in a crazy rental with black lacquered counters (yes wood that has been black lacquered!), and I always wonder what the original owners were thinking!!!

iroll, definitely one for the "what were they thinking?" thread!

Yes, both for:
A.) The homeowner wanting it
B.) The contractor putting it on their site as an example of their work!

My wife likes the television series "Sons of Anarchy" and every once in a while there is a scene in the kitchen of the protagonist's home. They've got a giant stainless steel refrigerator standing like a sentinel with no cabinets above or panels. It drives me crazy.

On our nearly finished remodel of our rental unit, there were several times when my would make a suggestion that would make it easier to get the job done, such as leaving the center of the ceiling light as the only light for the space, or a cabinet layout that didn't use the only 4-drawer cabinet we had to work with, or not having a ducted range vent fan.
Even though I am never going to live there, I couldn't do those things. I just couldn't intentionally make a poorly designed kitchen.

Re: bob_cville's comment: I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have a cottage on my property that's rented (to the same person for at least two owners). When I talk to folks about remodeling (the cottage hasn't been touched since it was built in the 50's) they assume I'm going to cut corners on the cottage. But I can't. I don't need the highest end stuff but I hate the idea of the place screaming "rental" when I walk in to it.

It's not out of the question that someday I'll move into the cottage. Seeing things I'd chosen "because it's only a rental" would bug me every freaking day.

Fortunately, I live in a university town with high demand from grad students and visiting scholars, so there's not a problem finding folks that will take reasonable care of things. I'd make different choices under different circumstances ...