Oh and here are the dimensions that I entered into the IKEA kitchen planner. I was just messing around with different layouts on IKEA, not considering IKEA cabinets at this time (had them in my last house - they are great).

It's interesting that your starting point was the oven. That is exactly what happened to us. We needed a new oven and couldn't find one to fit the existing cabinet. I researched and researched. We even tried to look at Euro models which are smaller but something was always off. Then I spent time with diagrams trying to replace as few cabinets as possible. I still have those diagrams. But it still didn't work, so we wound up totally remodeling the kitchen. Funny how those things work out.

Thank you, tinybluesparkles! I found a pic on Pinterest that used the Silestone you mentioned plus a green backsplash that is attractive to me.

dovetonsils - yes, it is spinning out of control with just a little oven issue, huh? LOL

You need to decide if you want to do a 20-30K tweak of the exsiting or a 50-70K remodel of the whole thing in a new more functional layout in a MCM style. Refinishing those old cabinets will be very expensive to have done. If you go that route, it needs to be a DIY labor of love.

You could have a great new space with all of your want list. And more. But not at a 40K budget. You’ve already listed 20K worth of wants without addressing any of the needs.

Sophie Wheeler - good point.

Here are the quotes that I have thus far.....

• Bluestar range is $6K including custom color according to local place. We don't live too far from where the ranges are made
• total flooring removal + install of checker Marmoleum is $3,500. Luckily, there is a new plywood subflooring underneath, so I think it is good to go. I don't think flooring is a priority, just a nice to have. The current flooring was installed in 1991 (I found a receipt from a local flooring company)
• new gas line won't be more than $1,000 as getting our generator line installed didn't even cost that much (which included disconnecting and moving it from our former house). The generator line will run parallel to the new kitchen gas line and is on that side of the house from where my other gas mechanicals are
• electrical should be minor as I recently had that brought up to code...let's say $500 to be safe.
• using new Bosch dishwasher and GE Artistry white fridge (when it dies I can get something new then). Hopefully use my sink and faucet too. I don't care too much
• Heath ceramics....I think that was $30/sq ft....I think I measured about 40 sq ft, so $1200....let's say $2,500 including install and grout (I have a tile guy that is reasonable)
• Gorgeous new vent. I have not gotten any exact quotes, but let's say $2,500. I recently checked the venting over the summer, so mechanically, I should be in good shape
• A quartz Silestone "White North" countertop that I saw at HD was $52/sq ft installed. This is only a rough idea. In the store, it looks very similar to my white glitter now. My rough math with a potential layout putting a range is 42 sq ft - a high estimate considering I kept in the range dimensions.....so $2,175. Rounding up is $3,000 for miscellaneous fees thrown in and if I get something more expensive. I want to check out tinybluesparkles' recommendation for her Silestone too. Also, this does not include an island...just perimeter countertops. I don't think I can do an island without removing the cabinets from the refrigerator wall
  

Total is $19,500 without cabinets, you were right, it is $20k there...yikes! Thank you for that reality check. Add another 20% to that and boom, $25K

In that case, unless I get a crazy awesome layout change from what I have been playing with on IKEA kitchen planner, I don't see any reason to change my cabinets. I like the stain well enough and may just buy a few more cabinets from a custom guy. I will get more joy from the vent at an appropriate height, new range, a little more space while using the range, and the gorgeous backsplash. I feel meh/not excited/just OK about new cabinets using a similar layout that I have now.

Any ideas on thoughts that could really turn all this on its head using my existing room dimensions?

I live in the midwest and cabinet refinishing is not as expensive here. Also, if you decide to refinish, it can be done later as the cabinets are in good shape and look good.

Only people who have never refinished anything think refinishing costs less than new cabinets. Weeks of of stripping and sanding takes both skill and time. That never comes cheap. Labor is the highest component of any refo.

Most cabinet makers that I know won’t even quote a refinishing job. They can’t charge enough. It’s not worth it. And most carpenters or painters are not qualified to do it, period. It can be DIY, but that’s 9 months of nights and weekend labor plus a bunch of new tools to do it properly.

There are you enough layout deficiencies with the kitchen having to be altered to fit a range and in the lack of drawer bases, and good quality glides and hinges, that it doesn’t really make any sense at all to pay someone more to deal with that than it would cost to have it make all new and better.

Where do all these doors go to?

Is this original kitchen style consistent with your decorating style through the house?

Yes, original style totally fits my decor throughout rest of home. I have collected many beautiful pieces over the years that fit the home's personality.

There are 5 doors unfortunately (ugh). I sketched out the details, but here is a little more.

• Door #1 next to the wall oven goes into the dining room. It is a pocket door. I believe the wall against the fridge may be load bearing as this beam runs the entire length in my attic. I like a closed kitchen anyway....I did open floor plan with a kitchen once....never again...just my preference.
• Door #2 directly next to fridge is a little pantry, which could be removed if absolutely needed
• Door #3 and #4 line a cinder block wall. Door 3 swings into the garage. Door 4 is my husband's office and has a pocket door.
• Final door #5 to the left of the sink heads to a screened in porch and is exterior door. It swings into the kitchen.
  
  
  Thanks!

We have started this process with our cabinets: http://www.midcenturyeveryday.com/2012/02/kitchen-clean-up-duty-in-moms-1950s-time-capsule-condo/

Our cabinets are in better shape that those in the blog, but boy Howard’s does amazing things! We work very slowly- a small section at a time (we have little kids so everything for us house wise moves at a turtles pace). The No Pattern Required blog is a great resource for vintage facelifts. Retro Renovation covers more heavy duty remodels, these are more low key.

Depending on the colors you like, the Stellar Snow has bits of aqua glass, and some blue. We’ve got a pastel rainbow color thing going so it works for us!

Sophie, my mother had her cabinets refinished for a reasonable price. The job was very well done. It has been 3 years and they look great. My sister used the same person before she sold her home. I do not know why this person does not charge an arm and a leg - but often in my area where the cost of living is much less than the coast, reasonable prices can be found. It does not hurt to check into it, get prices and check references.

I actually did refinish my own cabinets - and yes it is a ton of work. Mine were especially time consuming because they have raised panels - I spent days with a sewing needle making sure I got all the saw dust etc put of the space between the panel and the frame. The simple flat doors would take half the time.

Some of the doors from that time period are veneer - and that is almost impossible to refinish well. So, check to be sure the doors are a solid wood door.

jhmarie - good to know about refinishing. Kudos to you for doing the work. The prepping, sanding, resanding, resanding again (and again) is always the hardest part of a build. My kids are almost in school full-time next fall, so I would have time to do this. If I could find matching cabinets at Habitat ReStore to refinish to accommodate a layout change, I would totally go this route very slowly, as you describe.

I have also decent carpentry skills where I could make my own cabinets, but the hinges and drawers intimidate me. I have lots of tools from other carpentry projects. When I was at Home Depot a few days ago, their only "modern" door was a flat panel, which seemed like a joke to me because it is so easy to do from a carpentry perspective (other than the multiple steps of sanding). In fact, this reminded me that I did redo our previous bathroom with creating my own Shaker style cabinet door - painted in Hale Navy with a white zeus quartz countertop. My realtor thought I had bought a brand new vanity. Maybe I should not be so afraid of doing my own cabinets. However, I don't have a good layout to justify any new cabinet purchases or rebuilds right now.

I do agree with Sophie about the point at which it could become expensive if I hired out and I still don't have the bells and whistles of soft-close or even more drawers (which I did love in my IKEA kitchen).

tinybluesparkles - I am going to check out that Howard's from the blog you mentioned and do that now anyway. That may really help in some areas near the stove top (those are my worst case). Yes, with my Fiesta ware, I am really a rainbow of colors in my kitchen too. Thanks so much!

Your top finish might also be shellac; if it is, that means an easier job of renewing or restoring the finish.

http://www.askhlm.com/Articles/ArticleViewPage/tabid/75/ArticleId/16/Shellac-Repair.aspx

rantontoo - funny you mention that. I do have shellac in other parts of my house and potentially even the floors. Not sure. I will keep this in the back of my mind. Thanks!

Elizabeth, I was involved with a reinterpretation of a MCM home. They wanted to honor the home, but skew it a bit more modern. Take away the aluminum framed doors, and the incredibly complex carpentry for dealing with the built ins integrated into the windows, and you might find some take away from this. Like we moved the cooktop away from the oven, and they went to induction cooking so as not to have to deal with putting in a gas line.

There's a bar and a dining room buffet as well. We used Dynasty by Omega. Take away the expense of the aluminum, and the bar and buffet, and the cabinets would likely be in the 17-18K for the kitchen and kitchen buffet. They were all 100% custom sizes to work with the existing architecture.

I think you could do something similar with tweaking the layout to perform better and still keep a wall oven and cooktop. You could explore local cabinet makers to do something that does echo the the existing cabinets, but isn't 100% a duplication of the existing. My local cabinet maker that I've developed a relationship with would likely have been in the 15-16K range.

I love your kitchen--it's so out of date that it's back in style:). It does sound like your oven is unsafe. Can you swap your cooktop for a freestanding range and keep the wall oven for storage:)

Only you can decide what is the best use of your money. I would get an estimate and a sample from that cabinetmaker and take it from there. I would also look at local fabricators for countertops. From what I've seen here, it seems like Lowes and HD are a little overpriced for quartz and stone.

The Cook's Kitchen - thanks for the pictures from a client site. It looks great. The more and more that I think about it. New cabinets might in order, or at least doors, to modernize everything. I have been reading more and more about induction and perhaps that would be the way to go (I also already found that all pans/pots passed the magnet test except one, so I am good to go with cooking with my existing stuff that I love). Maybe I love how the Bluestar looks more than actually cooking with gas, if that makes sense. Maybe I should use that gas line $ for something else. I could always do something in the future too - but maybe that's not the biggest priority. Thanks for weighing in. Means a lot!

Jilly Belle - you are right. I already called one local cabinet maker and will find a couple more. My last kitchen I worked with Home Depot to get everything, but worked with a different designer (I think I paid him like $350-$400) to help me design everything. Thanks for your comment!

Update: yesterday was busy day. This may seem rash to some folks, but I could not take one more minute of the low hanging vent with decades of grease. It was impossible to clean, too low hanging and I was just done. I also wanted to see how I would feel having the cooktop there with all that additional headspace. I was able to disconnect the vent (I shudder to think how close it was to my food) and remove the wall cabinet. The 24" wall cabinet is a no-go anyway since it needs to be a minimum 30" clearance for the various cooktop/ranges that I am considering. So there's no way that it could stay. My plan is to either use the 12" length cabinet above my refrigerator or buy a cheap one at HD or ReStore this week and add new vent to "solve" this issue temporarily. I may also try my hand at building something since I need to cut into it anyway for the venting. This is just temporary and I am fine with living with this for the next 6 months (my approx timeline of designing, waiting for cabinet build, and the install). I just could not live with the low-hanging, gross vent another minute.

I am so happy with the result! It is so airy to be over there now and the wall oven right next to the cooktop is not as claustrophobic anymore. Also, a little disturbed by the wires coming up through the wall like that and will my electrician help me get that to code with my new vent in the next week or two. The circuit breaker for that is off.

A little bit of the Formica backsplash fell off during cabinet removal yesterday. I will try to clean that up, but there is glue on there that adhered to the cabinet itself.

In my demo yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my soffits are very easy to remove and the wall behind it was beautifully plastered back in the day. Other than the known electrical above the sink, I think the soffits are there for aesthetic, not function, based on my peeping behind the other cabinets through that hole. The demo will be quite easy, if needed.

My other update is that I played around on layouts all weekend and am considering a G layout. Below is a rough look. I still need major help on that fridge wall.