Good luck. FWIW - financial security trumps a kitchen every day that ends in "y." When I read what you write, redoing your kitchen is a want, not a need. If you can afford it - go for it. But, I don't hear that in your words.

What are the comps in your area? Will your home be a tear down candidate in 11 years? Can you move now to downsize and start the retirement slide?

When we were looking at older homes, someone's "upgraded" 10 year old kitchen meant nothing to us. But, if you think a nice kitchen is worth 5-10K/year as you inch towards selling and retirement, go for it.

If you go forward - I vote induction....

ETA -- Congrats on the new job! And, as mentioned by others -- a kitchen redo is very stressful and costly. As you haven't started the new job, you might be wise to wait and see how it goes for a bit. Also, in a prior house, we did a "refresh" that was just what we needed. It cost about 20K and we did most of the work ourselves. We could have done it for less, but added some fun bells and whistles. We kept the same footprint, but upgraded appliances and countertops and door hardware. Also, ended up having to rewire the whole thing - yikes and wasn't planned $$$.

Again -- good luck and posting your floor plan always helps.

I would settle into the job first, at least for a few months, then think about the kitchen. Doing both at once would cause a lot of unnecessary stress.

I would suggest settling into your job for a few months first. Take that time to decide your budget Without touching home equity.

Write down and figure out what your dream kitchen means IN DETAIL. Is it storage? Looks? Appliances?

Draw out a plan and post it here. What are the must do stuff. With cabinets falling apart it sounds like a need. With planning, shopping and some DIY you can do a kitchen for much less than you think.

Planning every detail before starting is the best way to save money. Last minute change orders or decisions can break your budget by 10-40%.

Nightowl, downsizing now is something I've thought about, but decided against. It would make more financial sense to wait until husband retires and we move someplace cheaper (outside Washington DC metro area). Our location is a good tradeoff between the cost of housing nearer our jobs, and the cost of the commute.

This is not a teardown neighborhood, at least, not yet, and I don't see it anytime soon. Someone with more imagination, energy, and cash might fiddle with the floor plan, but I've decided to stick with the existing floor plan.

Scone and Beach, waiting a few months makes sense. I'm just antsy, waiting for the new job to start, wandering around the house, looking for things to do. Part of what's motivating me is that I just had cataract surgery and can see clearly how horrible everything is. But, you're right, nothing NEEDS to be done. It's all in working order, if you don't think about the broken drawers. If only I could do something about that darned tile. Not sure if I've told this story before, but we bought the house from a woman whose ex was obligated to remodel the kitchen as part of the divorce settlement, and it shows. Raw broken edges at every end. Either he was totally incompetent or vindictive. I cringe every time I look at it. Cleaning it makes me feel like crying.

People here love to play - post your floor plan and wants/needs. You can dream...look for some deals...

The time that you have before the job starts is perfect for planning. You said you have been dreaming of your dream kitchen for years then get the details down now.

Make a document with everything you want and need for functionality. Make sure it has inspiration pictures of the details and for each cabinet.

Measure and clean through your kitchen stuff so you know exactly what you're keeping and plan for storing it. Purge now while everything is in place. Research into cabinet mfrs and your preference.

There's plenty of work for weeks.

Sorry to hear about the layoff but glad you found another job. We used Kraftmaid cabinets from HD and bought them during one of their spend more, save more sales. They frequently offer deal for spacing out payments without interest. The cabinets and labor will be the major expenses. Our splurge was Cambria quartz countertops but many quartz options if you don't want granite. Moving or adding plumbing or electric can add to the cost. If you don't need to tear down walls or do drywalling you can save there too. Good luck with your project. We are all here to help and support you through it.

I'm completing my 4th kitchen remodel(I own rentals). This one was a complete tear out. I find everything on sale, but quality, name brands and get what I want. I'm here to tell you ..."YOU CAN DO THIS".

I found a place that ships cabinets flat, you assemble them. They're tongue n' groove & plywood boxes. Lucky for me they're an hour away and have a warehouse with dinged or misordered cabs I can get further discounts from. I order a LOT online. DH & I do the work ourselves......but if you at least acted as your own GC, you'd save a bundle.

Your story is similar to mine. I knew my kitchen measurements and when I found a beautiful used kitchen for around $2000 on Craigslist I bought it. It is beautiful I paid for a great installer and had to buy some new countertops because my configuration was significantly different than the house I bought the cabinets from.

Financial peace of mind takes precedence over darn near everything. I would not start on the kitchen (unless you have to) until you have at least six months on the new job and if anything doesn't feel right at work, I'd continue to hold.

I like what you say about not wanting fancy but good. If you're selling the house in eleven years that makes a lot of sense. If you stick with a simple, classic look but choose good quality, in eleven years your kitchen won't look completely out dated. Don't worry about what realtors are advising now, because who knows what they'll be advising in eleven years. Get what you will be happy living with for the next eleven years. As others have pointed out, there are many ways to get good quality without paying full retail price. Good luck! :-)

looks like a nice space to work with...if the dining room is to be kept, the kitchen could offer seating for day to day...with garage entry, laundry and powder room all right there, I'd go for a space with seating...island or banquette/? Obviously it is likely not quite time to start the actual project with a new job......wait and get your "orientation" and adjustment to all of that. Make a list or folder of medium sized kitchens with seating from Houzz.....In your area, you must have wonderful kitchen showrooms.....just browse and poke around. You might encounter a designer that you really click with as well, while just in the casual looking phase. Then when your 3-6 months or whatever of job adjustment is through, you'll have inspiration pics and perhaps a designer to work with. Wash DC area ??....you shouldn't lower the bar too much...get your budget and aim high...then pare back if need. If you are both working , there is a case to be made for finding a designer who plans and coordinates it all....in your area there's a lot to choose from.....I would get my inspiration of how to deal with the space ,the style I want...and be willing [ probably] to let a designer be involved with quite a bit of this.... I have to imagine your home will increase in value substantially in that geographic area, and a better than average kitchen will compound that. There are times when ready to assemble, or buying used cabs, or strenuously cutting costs to make a low budget are valued .....but I would be heavily interested in my work commitments and adjustments,with this good paying job in DC, after a layoff. It sometimes can be about saving your time and energy and letting others help us who have the skill set and expertise.

Something I'd keep in mind is that in eleven years just about anything you do today will be in need of an "upgrade" , "refresh" or replacement from the buyers perspective , and that's assuming they aren't put off by your aesthetic choices anyway.

Get what you want and can afford now and forget about what the market might want in a decade.

Lost income! Check! DH got sick and I already was sick. :( I say, as everyone else does, wait until the job dust settles, before kicking up any major reno dust!

Cracked tiles! Check! Mine were yellow and black. Around the sink it was a germ capital. I tore it out and used large squares of tile to replace it. Finally I have a permanent counter in but those tiles worked very well for a decade. :( / :) For the BS I used cheap mirror I took off the frame to bounce the light off it. We did it all DIY. You might consider cheap or 2nd hand as suggested above temporarily.

You can do a lot with Ikea cabinets.The $ saved could go into appliances, labor, and trades.

Good advice here already, especially to use your down time -- what you don't need for preparing for the new job -- to start planning. A part of planning is to go browsing, to see what is available at what price points.... keep notes and take pictures.

Talk to the planners at Home Depot, Lowes, or whatever other similar stores you have in the area. Definitely visit Ikea to look at cabinets, organizers and counter options! Look at Barker Cabinets and CabinetJoint online. Check out Home Depot's countertop planner online. Look at Amazon for sinks and faucets also. Don't be afraid of things with slight dings and nicks at a discount.

Perhaps refacing cabinets with new drawers and doors would be good enough, if you like your layout now and the frames are solid. Find your local Habitat Re-Store and start stopping in regularly-- you might find cabinets, flooring, or tile that is just right.

Put some money aside now (if you can) to be able to take advantage of any fabulous deals -- like when I found my vent and flooring on clearance a full 7 months before starting the kitchen (but be sure that you WILL use it! otherwise you might get stuck with something you can't re-sell quickly)

Make that list of anything that really doesn't work in your current layout, and anything new or additional that would really be important to you. Think about what style of faucet, sink, oven you want. Do you need a microwave? Would you really use and can afford a second (prep) sink or second oven?

Based on my experience re-doing a 12.5x9.5 space, the labor, cabinets and counter were the 3 biggest expenses (labor included all rewiring, plumbing, moving the gas line, repairing walls and floor, and installation of all but the counter). My original budget was shooting for 15k and came in about 19 because I added some things, chose a more expensive counter, replaced all appliances instead of just 1 etc. So you will have to be on the alert for budget creep! And, the hardest part was finding the labor that would do a solid job at a moderate price -- most of the contractors that I contacted initially were far about what I could pay -- but I did succeed in that, by not going with one that specialized in kitchens or remodeling but was more of a general "home services" type of firm.

I can understand the fear of economic uncertainty and am all in favor of doing the most with the least. It sounds like fixing the space is not unreasonable; we all know that you don't get all your expense back when you sell, but a kitchen in good repair will sell the house more easily -- so it is an worthwhile investment IMO.

I hope some of our design mavens will start working on a plan for you, but be sure to give us that list of "needs changing/ want to keep/ want to add".

I just completed a budget DIY kitchen. I had a floor plan in mind, and started trolling craigslist for used cabinets and materials. I ended up buying really lovely used granite, which worked in the space and drove many other decisions.

I would have used IKEA cabinets, but settled for Diamond. They were particleboard, but well constructed and look great. My granite came with a 4" backsplash. I would have loved a tile backsplash, but the granite one works. If I'd gone with tile, I'd have opted for something inexpensive from HD or Lowes from a distance. I used an inexpensive 4" square AO tile in my bathroom and it looks great, very classic.

I also purchased some of the appliances off CL. A used Bosch DW, brand new, is on my local CL right now for $250 -- the buyer did not measure and it won't fit. I've seen amazing deals -- recently a gorgeous, never used Thermador double wall oven sold for less than $400. Right now you have time to look around and start accumulating materials. More than once I have seen brand new appliances listed due to plan changes or mis measuring.

No one who saw my kitchen guessed the granite was secondhand. It is in a rental home and I had a waitlist for a pretty expensive rent. Good Luck!

just doing the prelim work will take a lot of time. time during which you can also settle into the new job and see how it goes. Then a yr or so from now if all goes well, maybe it'll be time to move forward on it. many here have worked the LO for many, many yrs and there were still bumps in the road.

it'll also give you time to decide on which things you want to put the larger amounts of $s toward. what is really important to you.

Good comments, all. Maybe for now, just remove and replace the hideous tile backsplash, get a handyman to fix the broken drawers, a new coat of paint, and wait.