I might sell in 5 years or more if I need to relocate for some reason, but not very soon, so I want the upgrades for my own personal enjoyment for now. The upgrades should also make the house stand out against others if there is a lot of otherwise similar homes on the market at the resale time. I don't have any compelling reason to get something bigger than this "tiny house" right now. In fact, I was considering moving from here to a high rise condo that was actually smaller, but I may stay and upgrade this place instead since the neighborhood is fantastic and I have condo-like experience without sharing walls with neighbors. Paying for a gardner and health club membership is much cheaper than $500 a month HOA fees at the new high-rise condo building with free fitness center and no yard.
The small mirrors are laid down on the top of the wall cabinets, to reflect the hidden lamps upward. The mirrors are not visible while standing on the floor. Again, I never mentioned anything at all about stainless. Brass hardware is an upgrade in most areas as tract homes either do routed finger pulls or the cheap white plastic knobs. Price brass knobs the next time you're at the borg. When you increase the depth of the sink you also reduce the space in the cabinet below the sink which can cause clearance problems for disposals, instant hots, filters, OR's and slideout trashcans as well as cleaning products storage.
________________________ This room appears small and cluttered. Lose the tile on the counters and backspash, install a white solid surface (SS) on the counter and a 4" SS backsplash, maybe a tile mural behind the range. Paint the walls white. Lay some mirrors on the top of the wall cabines and add some tubelights (mood light and ambience). Put some uncomplicated silk plants on top of the wall cabinets. No crown molding, it will increase the cluttered look. Yank the cabinet doors and install glass inserted ones, add brass knobs on all doors and drawers. Install a ceiling fan/light combo. Using lighter colors and less lines the room will more spacious and airy. The cabinets themselves are dark and therefore make the room seem small but cabinets are expensive to replace. Point: make the entire room seem less cluttered and in a small room less is more.
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I'm assuming "SS" is "stainless steel". So enlighten me - what is "SS"? And, unless you're talking about a nearly-black brass, brass-colored knobs, well, I just don't see it with the rest of your desription (although I do understand about upgrading what's there - personally, I'm springing for some craftsman-style hammered almost-black copper pulls to contrast with natural maple). I'd go with brushed nickel with your description.
I admit I misunderstood about the mirrors. And I also admit I was to a large extent funning you. Exaggerating my response for humor. Should have semaphored that with smileys, I guess. Some readers need that.
The look you describe is extremely modern and clean. I can understand its appeal. And I understand that someone with a really good eye and flair can use all that to set off a pallete of colors with accessories. If you love it, go for it. But it's a really *cold* look that doesn't have wide appeal. Especially with those white walls. (I'd set off your solid white surfaces with cool blue or green, but that's me.) But the discussion was on resale from a guy asking about that. Needs something more conventional than what you describe for wide appeal. And that's my opinion.
Cheers, Banty (oh, and I try not to shop at the Borg. If my time were taken up with the garden club and browsing through Kuntry Kurtains catalogs, mebbe I'd have to shop at the Borg since they have more hours. But it's not.)
I have to agree with Banty on this one. A lot of what Don has suggested makes no sense.
Like solid white countertops? IfRex wants a home that will have more appeal and stand out, I would not rip out white tile countertops only to replace it with white solid surface.
And the suggestion to just replace the existing cabinet doors with see through glass makes no sense. The glass doored cabinets that are attractive and add value do so because the whole cabinet, including the inside, is designed to be seen. The wood inside is finished and usually made of the same wood as the exterior. Putting glass doors on existing builder cabinets will simply make the insides, which are usually ugly, visible.
As for mirrors and mood lights, well that sort of speaks for itself!
I've seen it. Don't let the name fool you into thinking this stuff looks anything like granite (except maybe a real low-end granite). OTOH, the engineered stones (which the Granite Transformations stuff is one of many) have a lot of nice properties, if you like the look.
I looked at these pics, as well as the later ones you posted.
Other than the fact that the recessed lights seem to be illuminating the tops of the cabinets, rather than your workspace, the area most in need of renovation is the floor.
I renovated (brought back from the dead, actually) a property using the exact same neutral color scheme except I tiled the floor and laminated the countertops, and I got the highest price ever paid in that particular neighborhood.
So if resale is important to you (personally I prefer to live in a house
*I* like, and to hell with the next owners) just change the floor to tile. Don't do wood, as it will probably be water damaged long before you resell it.
I may be the only one who's already sick of granite countertops, and thinks they'll be as outdated as those hideous pink pickled oak cabinets I saw everywhere a few years ago.
Another person that has had zero exposure to anything more than a double wide. You've never seen cabinet doors with glass inserts? Just about ALL of the major cabinet makers have that option. As far as your suggestion there may be something seedy about ambient light, well, that says more about YOUR lifestyle than anything else. When you've lived your entire life with that rusty old round flourescent fixture in the middle of the kitchen ceiling its completely understandable why you haven't the slightest notion as to the meaning of the THREE types of lighting in residential applications. And no that doesn't mean 1) candle, 2) exposed lightbulb, 3) exposed lightbulb with a string. Hint: Put on your sunday-go-to-church duds and go preview some of the PERMANENT model homes in your area if any exist and observe whats going on in the real world. You'll know if its a permanent one if it isn't sitting on wheels and the car in the yard is missing its wheels......
Yes, I hope you are insulted because that is exactly what you attempted to do with your post about me. Thanks alot.
I agree Bob, and I believe the current trend in stainless appliances will pass soon as well. Trends change all the time. Frankly, I think the stainless stuff looks cheap, like something you'd see in an old greasy diner or something. I hear it from my clients all the time that they did the stainless thing and now its time to move on.
my cupboards are about the same style and wood colors as yours and I have wood flooring.....one thing I can advise is not to paint the walls yellow......you would be surprised as how much yellow is the woods itself it just washes each other out. A nice mossy green is what I ended up with. Attended the home show. There is a company that makes a silestone product that can go right over existing tiles. They come out measure everything so its one solid piece. My daugher has their card so will the info on it over the holiday. Prefer my formica countertops over the tiles...which is what my bathroom has ....yuck yuck and more yuck.
I didn't like the oak cabinets, and I don't buy into this stainless steel look. I don't buy into the see-through cabinet doors either, for that matter. And why everyone seems to be putting wood on the kitchen floors now is beyond me! But, I've always admired the look of stone. My practical sense had me considering a solid surface manmade counter material, but I went with the granite. To *not* do something just because it's the style is to be just as much a slave to fashion as it is to do something *because* it's the style. And I only live once ;-)
Looks very warm, comfortable, and nice. Although I would have changed out the sink for a stainless double sink. The taupey wall paint and copper sun add a lot.
If you're still thinking resale, it's look that will hold up and have wide appeal. But since you say you're going to stay at least five years and possibly much longer, I'd say just do what you really want.
So - what - no one here can have a different taste from yours? If they're not into your ultra-contemporary look, they must be trailer trash?
Consider that people aren't even criticizing your *style* necessarily (personally I think it is slick, if done right), it's that you're putting it forth as a widely-appealing style that Rex should do up his tract-house kitchen in, and that's what bears some discussion. And without getting so defensive.
It hardly seems something to get so prickly about. Although I did amuse some friends recounting how some men really can get into pissing contests over kitchen decor. So thanks.
You can have whatever taste you want and it won't bother me at all, nor will I down talk your choices or insult you, as you have done to me. I offered the OP some suggestions and right away you jumped on me and you lied about it to boot. That silliness about solid surface meaning stainless steel. I mean really. You like stainless steel sinks, I don't - I think they look cheap. But I didn't jump on you for your opinion. Do unto others as you would like done to you.
This kitchen looks much more impressive than the previous photo's I saw. Love the white sink in the dark countertops and the contrast between the wall color and cabinet color. In the previous photo's with the oak cabinets, I think I'd want to choose an accent color to paint the walls in, something darker than the oak cabinets and white countertops. Something to set off the whole room, as before it kind of all blended in together. I also prefer the white or almond appliances over the stainless. Although stainless might be in *in* thing right now, over the long run I think the white or almond appliances retain their appearance much better.
As for the floors, I prefer stone in the kitchen area. I'm hovering back and forth between the stone and hardwoods *only* because my area is a kitchen/breakfast room. I have one long area, kitchen on one end, dining area on the other, separated by a large open archway. We have taken out the wall between the breakfast room and living room in our remodel. I am putting hardwoods throughout the rest of this open area. The hallway, living room, dining area. This area, now that we have ripped the wall out separating off the living room from the original kitchen/breakfast room area, will all be open. I really would prefer stone tile in the actual 'working end' of the kitchen, ending the hardwoods at that archway that spearates working end of kitchen from dining end. I'm just afraid having that change in flooring will make the room *feel* smaller, more choppy, than running the hardwoods straight through. Anybody have any opinions on that?
Um - it's a new tract house. That's kinda what you expect. Houses of similar if not the same plan, in a subdivision.
Yeah I agree, I'm going with a green to offset the natural maple cabinets and giallo veneziano granite (which goes toward peach and black).
White is classic. Almond and 'bisque' has the problem of mismatch when appliances are replaced. Right now, the look is really 'out', although I do like it when it matches.
I agree about stainless. I spent part of my youth working in a fancy German restaurant kitchen. I don't want a commercial-looking kitchen at all.
I don't think that will look bad to have the flooring change at the archway. I'm breaking down a wall between the kitchen and an addition, and the addition floor isn't quite stiff enough for tile, so I'm going with a nice simple berber that will meet up nicely with the tile. Similar to what I have there already, but what's there already is 10 years old and there will be some later work in that room.
Or consider tiling the whole area, using area rugs to soften and absorb sound in the living and dining areas.
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