Kitchen cabinets: paint, reface, or buy new... oh my!
allijanelewis
6 years ago
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Buying New Appliances---Oh My!
Comments (10)In complete agreement with the answers posted here. "Cavimum, what appliances did you end up getting? How are they doing so far? Where did you buy---big store, local appliance, online?" Below, I hope to answer your questions adequately. These were the best, most thoughtful decisions for us, keeping budget, our age, needs, and future resale value of our home in mind, with some minor splurging. YMMV ;o) VENDOR - I chose a local non-chain-non-big-box-store because the independent carried the Thermador Induction cook-tops. Prices were the same as online and the local stores have installers. I could not be bothered with shopping online, having to find an installer, and wondering about who to call if potential "lemon" problems. KISS (Keep It Simple, 'Silly' is my motto) All appliances were purchased from one store, instead of juggling installation from various stores. ('KISS' again for us) A complete (gutted to the walls) renovation was enough for me without complicating it with appliances purchased from multiple stores or out-of-state online vendors. COOK-TOP - Our decision for Thermador over Bosch induction cooktop came down to aesthetic layout of the controls. Bosch has the "pot sense" that Thermador does not, which is awesome and I wish the Thermador had, but controls layout was more important to both Hubby and me. Personal preference, and all that. :-) Bosch, who owns and makes Thermador, is also less expensive. Difficult decisions. ALL brands of induction get good ratings at CR magazine. I went and physically looked at various brands (several times) before I could decide. It really helps to see them in person. Some brands have 'square' elements and I could not overcome the aesthetics of that look. My 60 y/o brain kept saying "burners should be round." Round burner design visually softens and provides a nice balance against all the square corners of the cooktop, raised panels in the cabinet doors, etc.. Again, it all really comes down to personal preference. I seriously considered location of the largest burner/element in brand decision. First, it made more sense to me to have the largest burner toward the back of the cooktop, where the telescoping downdraft is located. Second, I could not see any practical sense of having to reach over a large/wide boiling/frying pot/skillet, in order to stir a smaller pot located right behind it. That seems counter-intuitive to me, a skin burn waiting to happen, no matter what type ventilation system is used. DOWNDRAFT - We had a 26 y/o Jenn-Air w/downdraft (probably like yours) in an island and bedroom upstairs over it. No chance at all of a vent hood. We went with telescoping downdraft and these are N0T CHEAP!. (However, the current line of Jenn-Air downdraft cook-tops did not appeal to me; IMO they look cheap) I chose Thermador mostly because it raises up higher than some other brands. The difference in price from the Bosch (who makes Thermador) was not a big one, so I stayed with the same brand as the cooktop. DISHWASHER - decision was really, really, reeeally difficult between the two finalists, Bosch and KA. Both are good DWs. I splurged for the 3rd (cutlery) rack on our Bosch 800 Plus series DW and I really like it for spatulas, steak knives, and small items. Only drawback is remembering the rack even exists when I unload the DW. Duh. Forty years of no 3rd rack . . . this old dog has some new tricks to learn. OVEN - single Elux wall oven due to good CR rating, good reputation here on GW forum, and the easy-glide pull-out racks factored into decision. Separate cubby for disposable microwave. A dead m'wave in the combo oven set off the whole domino chain of renovation. Newer m'waves don't last as long. Disposable (sad, isn't it?) counter-top style in a cubby was the best option for us. REFRIGERATOR - current one is 12 y/o and in good shape. We did not replace it. I had some minor repair work done to it recently, and asked the repair guy if there is a brand out there that is worth buying. His answer was 'no', which was the feeling I got from reading the forums here. I'll cross that bridge when I have to, and not a day before. Everything was installed a month ago, and so far, so good. Hubby and I both love the induction cooktop, which I had never, ever, heard of before I started reading this forum here at GW! These forums are a goldmine of info....See MoreRefacing cabinets? Is it cheaper to just buy cabinets?
Comments (15)I gel stained my bathroom cabinets 8 months ago (Probably not as long as you are looking for but I will give you my insights). I also did the handrail down our stairs. I used the java stain. The one bathroom that 3 teenagers use has gotten a few nicks. I've just reapplied some stain over them with a q-tip and it covered fine without being able to tell that it was patched. The hand rail gets used by 5 people everyday and I haven't had any problems. I just wipe it down every so often with a wet cloth. I also did a mirror that must be in a dusty location because it gets dusty very quickly and you can really see it on the java stain. Hopefully that wouldn't be a problem with the walnut stain because if you have a lot of cabinets I would be a pain to have to dust them all of the time. Hope this helps. On another note, I've been researching replacement cabinet doors for our kitchen. Barker Doors has gotten a few good reviews on here and it would cost me around $2000 to redo our cabinets and drawer fronts. We were looking at painted white doors though and planned to paint the cabinets ourselves. Maybe you could buy unfinished doors and then stain everything the color that you wanted? A lot cheaper than totally refacing everything. Cabinetdoorsdepot was the cheapest at around $1000 for everything, but I couldn't find any reviews on here. Where did you get your estimate? If you live near a large city you should be able to find a better deal than the big box stores....See MoreRefinishing kitchen cabinets -lacquer vs paint and reface or not
Comments (25)$1750 is a hack. Not a Pro. It’s not even half of what a good job should cost. 7-9K is average, from someone that knows what they are doing spraying a conversion varnish. Lacquer is a 10 minute finish for cabinets because it does not hold up to moisture. House paint belongs on houses, not cabinets. It won’t be durable enough. Read about the KCMA testing that all cabinet manufacturers undergo for a factory finish. That is the kind of durability that you are giving up. For chips, runs, and drips, and bugs and dust. https://www.kcma.org/certifications/ansi-kcma-certification DEMAND a finished door sample to do your own testing. You will end up in the same boat as these people. The tide has turned on white cabinets. Wood cabinets are coming back strong. And those are ahead of the game. When white cabinets are the new avocado green, you’ll wish you had your old wood ones back....See MoreKitchen Cabinets Refaced and now New Paint color
Comments (10)I hope you will check out the new paint color. Our kitchen looks brighter. Unfortunately, our house faces north so we don't get a lot of light. So, I persuaded my husband that our house should only be pastels and not jewel tones (as my grandmother would say). So some of the tchotchkes might be a little dark but I happy with them....See Moreallijanelewis
6 years agoallijanelewis
6 years ago
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