Help me pick a kitchen.

[973beachbum]

So we are trying to plan for the new kitchen at the second house that DD lives in.  For some reason I was delusional and didn't think this would be so hard.  I spent a lot more on ours a few years ago with a lot less difficulty.

The house has required a bunch of things fixed that we didn't count on when we bought it like all new windows.  So we are trying to do this as cheaply as we can without going crazy or trash picking.  To start we aren't buying any appliances.  The house had a decent fridge and we got all the rest from a friend who was remodeling their kitchen. 

So far we have looked at Lowes, HD and Ikea.  Lowes and HD were very similar except that lowes has everything in stock and HD has to be ordered.  HD says they have things in stock but when we checked it is very limited.  Ikea seems much more modern that we prefer but it seems to be the easiest to do and install. 

So the bottom like is we wanted to do this for under $3K including all cabinets, countertops and sink, faucet type of things.   The Ikea kitchens we were looking at were the sketion and the doors are either the plain haggeby or if we can make the numbers seem to make sense the grimslov. 

Has anyone here used them to do their kitchen?  Do the cheap haggeby look as cheap as they do online?   And do the more expensive ones actually look more expensive?

PS plus any questions you can answer to questions I haven't thought of yet would be appreciated.

[Lizard Queen]

Do you have any Habitat for Humanity reStore's around, or resale shops for house fixtures?

[giramomma]

Oct 3, 2016 9:45:57 GMT -5 Lizard Queen said:

Do you have any Habitat for Humanity reStore's around, or resale shops for house fixtures?

Yes. Our reStore even had a granite counter top for like $65 bucks.

I'd also look at craigslist.

Someone was tearing down a house, but offered that others could come in and take flooring, etc out for free. The kitchen cabinets had already been taken...

[alabamagal]

Cabinets-to-go.  Don't know of anyone who has used them, but supposed to be cheaper than Lowes/HD

[bean29]

We put a full kitchen in our basement. We got our cabinets from a store called HOBO (Home Owner's Bargain Outlet) our upstairs tile is also from there. Downstairs tile is mostly from LOWES, purchased at this time of year, if I remember correctly. They change out their displays once a year, and if you hit the store on the right week you get a discount on the discontinued tile.

HOBO does a lot of kitchens, I think the guy told me they sell more cabinets than Home Depot in our area. They have a house brand, that is very inexpensive with a good variety of sizes in stock, then additional sizes available for special order. I picked that store in part, b/c I could get almost every cabinet I needed in stock. When your cabinets are delivered, make sure you check the cabinet sizes and styles against a master list. We did not do this well, and we really had to argue to get the cabinets that were mis-delivered corrected.  Luckily we had some extras to trade for the missing ones, or I think we would have been SOL.  This problem was created b/c you need a boat load of storage area to stage the cabinet delivery.  I think they were delivered to our garage, then moved to the basement, but, even in the basement they took up a lot of room.  The cabinet delivery included the sink base for the bathroom and the granite countertop for the bathroom.

there is a RESTORE close to my office, I have been in it a few times, but not sure I have ever seen something I could use in my house or a rental property.  They do have a lot of countertops and sinks, but be wary of used faucet, and if you have to cut down a laminate countertop, how would you finish the edges?  You might find a bathroom vanity/sink you can use.  The problem with kitchen cabinets is it is not very likely that you will be able to use the exact configuration that you find and you might have to fill areas/sizes that don't work for you. 

My MIL's kitchen is from LOWES.  We are happy with it.  I worked with the designer and was the go between from my MIL and DH and the store.  The designer was very good (Lowes recruited her from HD).  IMHO the designer knowing their stuff is very important.  You could get different results from different designers working for the same store.  I can pretty much tell who knows what they are doing after getting quotes from HD, Lowes, Menards and HOBO for MIL's house, then doing the same for my Basement.  The details you give the designer make a huge difference too.  I measured ceiling height, noted ceiling obstructions (HVAC Venting) Window positions including distance from the floor etc.  and plumbing locations.  HD and lowes are so big, it might be worth finding out which store does the most kitchen installs in your area, then go to that store and try to get their best designer.  When I was gathering my own quotes, I found the "best" from HD, but she was really trying to sell me special order cabinets and I did not want that expense - design was great, but 2nd kitchen in my basement did not need that much $$ invested in it.  (The cabinet companies give the top selling designers incentives and trips to sell their cabinets, so they kind of have ulterior motives to sell you the more expensive brands).

How many Lowes and HD stores do you have in your area, when HD says they don't have stuff in stock is it just that particular location or all the stores in your area?  I work across town from where I live and both locations have HD and Lowes convenient so, I often talk to personnel 2 different locations before I pull the trigger on a project.

I have been know to send DH for a scenic drive to put together enough tile to finish an area.  Our basement tile in one room came from 2-3 stores, one in another state, but less than 40 minutes from our house, and the tile from the great room in the basement came from 2 different stores.  (If you do this have the installer shuffle the tiles if they are different lots so the color variations are subtle). 

People on here have said IKEA deliveries can be an issue.  Is IKEA close to you?  We are getting one here in a year or so, otherwise it is about an hour from the house.  Did you look for on-line reviews from people who bought their cabinets? 

We bought the cabinets in my Laundry room Flat packed and DH had to assemble them.  It is only 3 cabinets, but DH said he wanted them pre-assembled for the basement.  Are the IKEA ones assembled?  Who is your installer, and are they experienced?  DH and his brother worked 2 weekends to install the basement cabinets and had a really hard time.  He could not get them leveled.  He finally went and found a retired carpenter who lived in our rental unit for a long time and paid him to install the cabinets.  DH did not take the time to level the basement floor before he installed the tile, and since basements usually slant to the drain in one central spot, the cabinets were not easy to level.

One of DH's  brothers installed the cabinets for his Mother, that brother is a Carpenter.  I know DH said he could not have done the Refrigerator Panel that was ordered (The kind that boxes the refrigerator opening with wood)  When MIL saw the crown molding on my basement cabinets, she decided she wanted that too.  Crown molding has to be miter cut, so it need a very skilled carpenter.  Our former tenant installed it for her.

[973beachbum]

They have some cabinets in stock at HD but not many.  The problem with a kitchen is the cabinets have to fit exactly.  When I look online at a cabinet it will show what I want but most will say not available for in store pickup.  Now some of the cabinet style will be but only a few select pieces.  If they were free it would be one thing but to pay good money to get cabinets that don't fit or lose a lot of space it just isn't worth it.  And I will say I have known a lot of people who had HD stuff delivered and all of them had issues with stuff being banged up or not what they ordered when the opened the boxes and not being able to get a replacement for weeks.

This was what we looked at at HD www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-24x34-5x24-in-Shaker-Drawer-Base-Cabinet-with-Ball-Bearing-Drawer-Glides-in-Satin-White-KDB24-SSW/205390914

www.homedepot.com/p/Hampton-Bay-Assembled-24x34-5x24-in-Stratford-Oak-Base-Cabinet-in-Unfinished-Wood-B24-MUO/206998340

their site doesn't make it easy to search things though!  If you ask for kitchen cabinets sorted by price I promise you the first 8 pages will be hinges and things, not actual cabinets.

I have never heard of the other stores mentioned here.  I will check online but I doubt any are around here.  I like a bargain so Craigslist sounds tempting but it is a small kitchen and has things like doorways and radiators so I hate to do something like waste even more space because I went with random things off craigslist. 

[973beachbum]

I just checked and if I went with the cheap HD ones I would have a choice of a grand total of 11 base cabinets.  My choice of sink cabinets would be 2 and the sizes are 36 and 60 inches.   If I put in the 60 I may as well just call it the sink room since that would be my only base other than the corner and the dishwasher would be out.  The other is a 36 inch and we wanted between 24 and 30.  I know I sound picky but I really didn't want the oven and sink right next to each other.

I checked out the hfh stores and it seems there are some in the greater area but they don't sell what I would call building materials.  It was more of a thrift store with things like old furniture and dishes.

I guess I have to check out more stuff to see if there is something I missed.  This is going to drive me to drink.

[saveinla]

I think Rukh O'Rorke did an Ikea kitchen. Maybe she can chime in.

[milee]

I did an Ikea kitchen 6-7 years ago and have been really happy with it.  When we looked, Ikea had the most flexibility and space saving choices for small or oddly shaped kitchens.  

[taz157]

I keep thinking this thread is "Help me pick a kitten". 




FWIW, these kitten pictures are from Petfinder located in Cape May, NJ area. 

[bean29]

973, maybe you could get a quote on made to fit cabinets? I didn't think it was an option, but the carpenter who ended up doing the install would have done it, and after we paid BIL to help DH do the install, then undid everything and hired the Carpenter, we probably should have just gone after hand made cabinets to begin with.

If you order "Stock" cabinets they can be returned. If most of your order is "stock" with just a few special orders, it will help control the cost of your project.

I have defeated myself needlessly every time I worried about lead time to receive items. If DH says he will be ready to do something in 2 weeks multiply by 3 or 4 to get a more accurate number.

[973beachbum]

We have a very tight timeline.  So once we get started we literally can't just send stuff back and wait a few weeks for the right stuff to come in.   

DH and I would be doing the installation.  We have done it before so that part is not a big deal.  I don't even mind the put together part.  The hardest part right now is finding cabinets in enough different sizes to fit the kitchen we have. 

I have one wall that is 9 feet and the other wall is 4.5 feet.  the other corner of the 9 ft wall has a closet at the end so that end is a dead stop.  It also has two openings that people have to walk through to get from one room to the other. 

So on top of that my restrictions are we have to have a range and a dishwasher and a sink in the cabinet line.  (The fridge will be on the other side of the closet)  No matter how tight it is I can't put the range right next to the sink and the range can't go next to the closet wall.

And trying to find out what works for us into the Ikea kitchen planner is so much fun!   I must be pathetic because every time I use it it randomly takes the cabinets and puts them somewhere better like outside the room.

[973beachbum]

                                 __________________________________
                                 l             CABINETS                           l
                                 l                                                     l__    
                                 l                                                        l
                                 l RANGE                                              l
                                 l                                                        l
                                                            
                                                                                        

So I suck at drawing and I can't put my stuff from Ikea on here from this computer but I think this gives the idea.  I can only have cabinets on the back wall and until where we put the range which is 5 feet including the range. 

If we move the range it gets more complicated since the wall dead ends on the other side and having a range up against a wall doesn't sound like a joy to cook on.  Not to mention my nerves if my DD has to cook on an electric range right next to a sink.

[Annie7]

Beach,

There was a store in Keyport called Home Surplus which had cabinets. I looked at them when doing my basement and later went with a north Jersey store. They had a good selection. They have a website you can go look at. 

Good luck.

[Chocolate Lover]

Oct 3, 2016 14:59:18 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

                                 __________________________________
                                 l             CABINETS                           l
                                 l                                                     l__    
                                 l                                                        l
                                 l RANGE                                              l
                                 l                                                        l
                                                            
                                                                                        

So I suck at drawing and I can't put my stuff from Ikea on here from this computer but I think this gives the idea.  I can only have cabinets on the back wall and until where we put the range which is 5 feet including the range. 

If we move the range it gets more complicated since the wall dead ends on the other side and having a range up against a wall doesn't sound like a joy to cook on.  Not to mention my nerves if my DD has to cook on an electric range right next to a sink.

It's not. It sucks a lot. I lived in a rental where the left side of the range had about 3 inches of "counter" and then the wall. The right side of the range was the door to the bathroom. I managed, but it sucked. 

I wish you luck in planning it out. 

[Deleted]

Lots of people upgrade ikea cabinets with Barker Doors.

IKEA is currently getting rid of their solid butcher block counter line. If you can find them in their clearance room near you, they are half off.

[Deleted]

Barker Doors actually has their own Barker Cabinets now too. I took a leap and ordered from there. Can't give feedback yet because lead time, painted and delivered was around 2 months I'll have them by early November.

What I liked was you could totally customize to the 1/4 inch. I could make adjustments myself and play around. Unlike the local quote I got for factory which required hand holding and hours to days to ask questions, explore changes, etc.

We shall see.

Eta: these are RTA, ready to assemble.

[zibazinski]

I've seen some that don't look modern and I've been to ikea a lot lately. You need to visit a store. It's amazing what they can do with little to no room.

[Deleted]

Just got an email ikea kitchen event going on now till November 20!

[thyme4change]

I spent a lot more on ours a few years ago with a lot less difficulty.

I didn't really understand the OP - maybe there is a backstory that I don't know.  But I find this statement pretty obvious.  It is pretty easy to spend a lot of money to get what you want.  The cheaper you want to do things, the more you have to hunt around and think.  That is why there are thousands of blogs on how to save money and do things cheaply - but not a whole lot that give you advice on how to spend a bunch of money to get what you want.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Oct 3, 2016 12:40:20 GMT -5 taz157 said:

I keep thinking this thread is "Help me pick a kitten". 

FWIW, these kitten pictures are from Petfinder located in Cape May, NJ area. 

Well, now you have me thinking the same thing.

Pick a kitten!! Pick a kitten!!  Kittens are way cuter than kitchens!!

[cael]

taz157 I thought the same thing! I'll pick both of those kittens

[debthaven]

We too have a new Ikea kitchen. We're very happy with it!

The cabinets are the same, but the doors are more or less expensive. We went with the lacquered doors which are more expensive (as did Rukh, although hers were the old line that was discontinued last year). But the cabinets are the same regardless of which doors you choose.

DS1 and his wife also went with Ikea for their first apt, but with cheaper doors, and a cheaper worktop. Their kitchen looks gorgeous too.

The good thing about Ikea IMO is the INSIDE, ie they have a lot of intelligent solutions for corners. If I were doing it for a second home / rental I'd definitely choose cheaper doors, but I'd get the corner solutions. I've been in this house for 30 years and it's life-changing to be able to see what's at the back of those corner cupboards. So much stuff would get lost or forgotten and then thrown out of our 32YO kitchen.

Also, if you go with the butcher block counter, varnish it. DS1 and his wife varnished theirs, DH refuses to, so we oil ours. I'm not thrilled with how ours is aging. DS1 and his wife are young, they entertain and have a lot of parties, and their counter top is aging better than ours.

I love the cabinets and our kitchen looks GREAT! But I definitely DON'T love the butcher block counter. But, it was super cheap. We found a solution: years ago DH insisted on buying a HUGE Ikea oak cutting board that has since been discontinued. So, now we keep it on our counter and I try to train the family to put things on the cutting board rather than on the counter itself. Definitely not practical.

[weltschmerz]

Oct 3, 2016 12:40:20 GMT -5 taz157 said:

I keep thinking this thread is "Help me pick a kitten". 




FWIW, these kitten pictures are from Petfinder located in Cape May, NJ area. 

Me too! Then I realise it's "kitchen", and I'm disappointed.

[Deleted]

Oct 5, 2016 16:14:03 GMT -5 debthaven said:

We too have a new Ikea kitchen. We're very happy with it!

The cabinets are the same, but the doors are more or less expensive. We went with the lacquered doors which are more expensive (as did Rukh, although hers were the old line that was discontinued last year). But the cabinets are the same regardless of which doors you choose.

DS1 and his wife also went with Ikea for their first apt, but with cheaper doors, and a cheaper worktop. Their kitchen looks gorgeous too.

The good thing about Ikea IMO is the INSIDE, ie they have a lot of intelligent solutions for corners. If I were doing it for a second home / rental I'd definitely choose cheaper doors, but I'd get the corner solutions. I've been in this house for 30 years and it's life-changing to be able to see what's at the back of those corner cupboards. So much stuff would get lost or forgotten and then thrown out of our 32YO kitchen.

Also, if you go with the butcher block counter, varnish it. DS1 and his wife varnished theirs, DH refuses to, so we oil ours. I'm not thrilled with how ours is aging. DS1 and his wife are young, they entertain and have a lot of parties, and their counter top is aging better than ours.

I love the cabinets and our kitchen looks GREAT! But I definitely DON'T love the butcher block counter. But, it was super cheap. We found a solution: years ago DH insisted on buying a HUGE Ikea oak cutting board that has since been discontinued. So, now we keep it on our counter and I try to train the family to put things on the cutting board rather than on the counter itself. Definitely not practical.

Do you mean put it in the board to cut?

[debthaven]

Either to cut or to cool, yes.

[Deleted]

Well, I wouldn't do that with a regular countertop, and can't if i varnish it, so I guess I don't see how it's any less practical in that sense? It's just probably best to think of them like any other counter and not a huge cutting board I guess? We did decide to go with butcher block for now. At 70$ for 8 linear ft (16 sq ft) it was an insanely cheap way to finish. We figure we can redo in a few years with something else if they don't hold up, and when I'm back to not bleeding money. I did plan to oil. 

[debthaven]

We had tile counters before and you could do anything to them.

[973beachbum]

So my take away from this thread is pick a kitten and it's better to be rich.

My basic layout is set pretty much.  We are sticking with the old appliances.  The counter tops probably will not be from Ikea even if we go with them which I am about 90% sure we will.  One of our requirements is going to be it has to have a back splash.  I have never seen a kitchen with no back splash that ended up going well.  I know I could tile the wall but we all know that isn't going to happen.   Tile on the floor I'm fine with.  Tile on the walls or counters is just not something I have ever liked.  It's just too high maintenance for me.

I am going back and forth on the doors.    It is between tingsryd and grimslov.  For those not playing the home game the tingsryd is the black plastic door that is a little woodish.  It is the cheapest we could fine other than the plain white plastic one.  That is really only a no go because it only comes in plain white.  All the appliances we are keeping are in bisque.  I just think that would look stupid.

The other door is the grimslov and it is off white and kind of a shaker look and IMO slightly less plasticky looking.

The difference in  price is $2263 for the grimslov and $1637 for the tingsryd. 

I could get it a little cheaper by changing the base cabinets from the 2 drawers to 1 and even skipping the corner wall cabinets altogether and just dead end on the wall or have shelves if we really wanted to cut it down. 

Anyone have any opinions on the look of those cabinets?  I'm guessing it is a little cheap for anyone here but do they look as plasticky in person as it does online?

[debthaven]

I could get it a little cheaper by changing the base cabinets from the 2 drawers to 1 and even skipping the corner wall cabinets altogether

I wouldn't do this, to me that's what so good about Ikea kitchens, that they're so functional.

Can you go look at both cabinet doors in person? My DS1 and his wife had their kitchen redone at the same time (well they bought an apt and had it all done). They went with a cheaper doors and butcher block (beech, ours is oak) but it looks great too. Not sure of the door model but I can try to find out.

ETA: I looked up the two you mention, I think they have the Grimslov. The other is too dark for me, personally.