Updating kitchen a little at a time due to finances - clashing?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Sis and I bought a beach condo that needs some updating. We don't have the funds to do it all at once, so it will be a little at the the time. The living room and kitchen are all open. These are pics from another unit in our complex so you can see the layout:

Since it's all open, we will paint it all the same color, leaning towards a beachy blue, nothing too cool (currently the whole condo is basic builder off white, including trim and doors). Our cabinets are the same as the pics; we will eventually paint them probably a creamy white color. Our appliances are a lot older than the pics; they are the originals from when they built the condo, 1988, and work fine other than the oven heating hotter than the dial says. They look dated, not vintage :). The stove is black glass w/ stainless top, knobs on the front; fridge is almond; DW is almond/black. Our countertops are currently cream laminate w/ a wood edge, and they HAVE to go!!! Not sure what we'll be going with for that, possibly some kind of solid-surface material. Backsplash is some kind of plastic/melamine beige material I assume was attached to the drywall (clicks when you drum your nails on it). We may just paint it because they said on on the Kitchen board that it probably wouldn't support the weight of tile/mortar, and I don't want to try removing it. Kitchen floor is boring beige-y sheet vinyl that needs replacing. LR has practically new carpet (installed October 2014), and sis wants to keep it. Thinking of painting the fireplace, but that's a separate post. :)

So, all that to say we can't afford to do it all at once. I was hoping to paint the walls and do the countertop first this fall, then a little later paint the cabinets (DIY, ate winter), hold off on the floor until we can afford to re-do the two bathroom floors and replace the toilets (original beige water hogs!) hopefully Fall 2017, and them maybe the appliances sometime in 2018. We've got stuff in other rooms to do (paint the whole condo, blinds/shutters, replace the glass in a couple of windows, busted seals, window screen repair/replace, replace a couple of light fixtures).

So if you don't have the money to do everything in the kitchen would you do it piecemeal like I listed, or do you wait and do it all at once? The colors we will choose will probably clash with the appliances. Could you live with it for a couple of years?

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Comments (5)

cawaps
7 years ago
Is this a vacation condo for you or full-time residence? If vacation, will you be renting it out when you're not there?

I would be seriously thinking about taking out the angled part of the peninsula, and the cabinets above the peninsula, if you don't need the storage. The problem is that that turns the update into a bit more of a project, since you would probably need to update kitchen flooring, at least, and maybe the LR rug, to make that work.

If you don't care about the layout, I think your piecemeal plan is fine. If you do want to change the layout (mostly the peninsula--the rest looks functional for a kitchen of its size), then doing the counters before the layout is a waste of money (and painting cabinets you are going to take out is a waste of effort).
straitlover thanked cawaps
straitlover
Original Author
7 years ago
Right now it is a second residence (weekends and any other time we can get down there). It won't be rented out, but we may let people use it occasionally. It may become a full-time residence for at least awhile after one or both of us retire in a few years (might sell it at that point for something bigger or two smaller units [we need our own space apart from time to time LOL] closer to the beach if we can afford it at that time; this place is a few miles from the water).

I would like to take those upper cabinets out, but I don't think we can afford to lose the storage (we use them for food storage and dinnerware). Without them, all that's left on uppers is the one big cabinet over the DW (glassware/cups), and a few tiny ones for various other kitchen stuffs (spices/oils, pool cups, toaster, foil/ziplocs, etc). If we leave those cabinets, it would look weird if we changed the bottom cabinet, right? We can't just get rid of the peninsula part because there's very little other countertop. I thought about replacing the cabinet and making it straight, but I thought that would look weird w/ the angled uppers.
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ah, ok. so you have the quartz. hmmm,, I really like the Ikea option w/the decor in your house. I think it would be perfect. you may be able to lift off the countertop that's there and preserve it to go atop new cabs. sometimes the adhesive isn't down very well. But, if not, and you want the new tile, I'd go for something a bit more modern looking. Here's my pick. I like the chevron mosaic, new knobs, and the darker paint color (mentioned below) the other tile on here is a warm gray/tan frosted glass tile. (Tilebar) if you want subway, do something thinner and in a stacked pattern. I'd also switch out your hardware to something nicer looking, and think about painting the walls around the cabinet w/something w/contrast. Maybe Kendall Charcoal? I think it would look nice above the cabs and around the window. it's one of the colors in that floor tile Here's Kendall Charcoal with white and a very light gray. Or, try Revere Pewter or Chelsea if Kendall is too dark. the key is to get one of those warmer gray colors from the flooring or the counter, and use it for contrast above the cabs. how about a warmer gray glass tile? try some knobs like these
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just_terrilynn
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
This is what I would do...don't do anything untill you have a "for future" plan. By that I mean, do a floor plan with measurements that include changing the kitchen ( go to kitchen form for help) . Get the big picture first. From there you can still paint but all other monies with be spent on getting everything up to scratch with plumbing, electric, sliders or Windows, ceilings and removing ceiling sofits if they do not need to be there.

Now tackle an area at a time. When the kitchen is done you can run the same flooring throughout the open plan.

Pretend that you and sis could over extend and lose the condo. If you fix what's broken first ( and or update sliders/Windows you will always be able to pass inspections and sell well. However, on the flip side with fixing what's broken first each individual remodel portion will help keep you in budget with less surprises and at the end a very professional re-do.

Edited: If you decide during the fix what's broken stage that you want to have that sofit thing above kitchen island checked to see if it is there for a reason ...if it's not, take that and upper island cabinets out. Put a pretty Craigslist cabinet on that near wall for temporary storage or add shelves on that island wall until the kitchen remodel. Hire someone to fix and blend ceiling . Doing that will make the future kitchen remodel less daunting .

When prepping sons condo for future kitchen remodel and removing sofits/repairing ceiling ect...we bought this cheap IKEA Applaro shelf thingy for wall storage near the island. It can be modified to remove legs. Price, $50

It comes with two shelves but extras are only $10.
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Adding to justerrilynn's post, once you have a plan post it on the kitchen forum and let them tell you the pecking order you should work in. We didn't think things out thoroughly enough and ended up replacing items more than once (stainless sink for Silgranite) and getting granite installed a bit prematurely.

There really is no reason why you can't take it slow and do a little at a time. That's what we did for our masterbath. Gutted it and it took the next year to put it back together again; we paid cash as we went.
Fun2BHere
7 years ago
I can live with anything as long as I have a plan to work to change it. How much time do you spend staring at the kitchen when you are at the beach anyway?

Updating kitchen a little at a time due to finances - clashing?

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cawaps

straitlover
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Updating kitchen a little at a time due to finances - clashing?

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cawaps

straitloverOriginal Author

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just_terrilynn

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straitlover
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