Kitchen Makeover - Barker Cabinets, Silestone Lagoon, H-Line tile

5 years ago

I have finally finished my budget friendly kitchen makeover and wanted to post some "reviews" since I came here during the process for a lot of advice and ideas! From the pictures you can see that I went from (originally honey oak) painted white cabinets with a partial overlay to modern shaker cabinet doors from Barker. We went from dark brown, black and beige spotty granite to light quartz, and primarily went from a small kitchen table (top made from left over granite) to a huge eat-at island.

Here is my review of Barker Doors:

I decided to use Barker originally because the cost to completely replace my old cabinet doors with brand new prepainted shaker doors from Barker was actually comparable to the cost of just having my old cabinets painted with latex paint. It was really a no brainer. What you can't tell from the pictures is that the cabs were originally painted creamy white, which did not look good with the new counter and backsplash so it lead me down this road. I knew going into it, it would require a fair amount of research and work considering I am a 30-something female with zero experience. After watching all the videos and reading tutorials, measuring and remeasuring at least 4 times I was able to independently order and install 25+ cabinet/drawer doors going from a standard overlay to a full overlay. Install was actually easier than expected as those hinges allow for a lot of wiggle room with adjustments. I ordered both raw doors - which took paint amazingly well when sprayed, and the pure white doors which had a flawless finish. I did have 3 doors damaged in shipment which I was not too concerned about as they are being replaced. Damage in shipment can occur no matter what and my contractor friend told me he just had a project where 14 cabinets arrived damaged from a LOCAL company, so it's really something that can happen no matter what. Did they take a while to arrive? Yes, exactly as their lead time explained, not a surprise. I highly recommend Barker if you are able to be patient and willing to put in some work. You will not find a better price for the value.

Silestone Lagoon- I adore my countertops now, primarily b/c of what I went through. I had originally ordered Silestone Lusso through Lowes, and when it was delivered and installed, it looked nothing like the Lowes' sample, or the the sample pieces I had from the Silestone warehouse itself. After a long 6 weeks, Silestone (NOT LOWES) came through for us and replaced the counters with Lagoon. It probably wouldn't have been my first choice if I did everything over, but all things considered, I love it now. It does have some imperfections (black dots, weird brown squiggles) that under different circumstances may have warranted a replacement, but this was my second countertop in 6 weeks so I am living with it!

H-Line "Pumice" Subway tile - Really pretty light warm grey which was very hard to find - everything was dark or cool grey. I would highly recommend this tile, but definitely look around b/c prices varied widely!

Lowes- Nope, nope nope. Never again would I use them for countertops or anything again since it is a complete crapshoot when they subcontract everything out. They did literally nothing for me during my countertop dilemma and if it weren't for my persistence with the manufacturer, I would have been screwed. It is just too much to leave to chance.

Going from a small table to only and island- If your kitchen is small like mine, and you can't fit both an island and a table in the same space, I would just say, know your family. Adding the large island was the whole reason for our reno and has changed my life so much for the better! I love the extra counter space, the pull out trash can, the silverware right there...we have never once regretted losing the kitchen table. Plus, we have a gorgeous reclaimed wood farmhouse dining table in the room next door if needed!

Budget- So I did a ton of research and looking around before committing. If I would have gone with the first estimates I got for everything, this reno would have cost more than double what I paid. As with the cabinets, I did everything as far as measurements and hang them myself, but completely worth it! For a company to reface my cabinets, I would have paid 4x's what I did and still have super high quality (no laminate) doors. For a new custom island with the works (custom pull outs), new quartz counters, new subway tile, rip out and removable of old stuff, chandeliers and new electrical work, and new shaker wood cabinet doors, pre painted in a durable conversion varnish we spent just at 10k. I think that is pretty darn good!