Kitchen remodel products help/advice

[Gretchen]

We want to remodel our kitchen, can anyone recommend or steer me away from certain products or brands?

I generally like the Ikea look, modern with clean lines. Laminate counter is OK, it's just that I am not a do it yourselfer. I feel a little intimidated about measuring and ordering all the components from Ikea.

Looked into using Home Depot, a bit more traditional but seems like they offer more services. I like their Corian and Quartz counter tops, for some reason I do not like granite, even though it is so popular. I have a super sunny bright kitchen and feel the granite looks heavy.

My husband likes this place that sells wood cabinets made in China and has very inexpensive granite. I've read internet postings, warning about Chinese cabinets and their formaldehyde content, any truth to this?

We also looked into Costco - although good quality, seemed expensive. We have a townhome and don't want to for top of line stuff. Also with our GSD who does not like intruders/contractors in the home, getting advice on how to get stuff installed quickly would be helpful.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by Gretchen

We want to remodel our kitchen, can anyone recommend or steer me away from certain products or brands?

I generally like the Ikea look, modern with clean lines. Laminate counter is OK, it's just that I am not a do it yourselfer. I feel a little intimidated about measuring and ordering all the components from Ikea.

Looked into using Home Depot, a bit more traditional but seems like they offer more services. I like their Corian and Quartz counter tops, for some reason I do not like granite, even though it is so popular. I have a super sunny bright kitchen and feel the granite looks heavy.

My husband likes this place that sells wood cabinets made in China and has very inexpensive granite. I've read internet postings, warning about Chinese cabinets and their formaldehyde content, any truth to this?

We also looked into Costco - although good quality, seemed expensive. We have a townhome and don't want to for top of line stuff. Also with our GSD who does not like intruders/contractors in the home, getting advice on how to get stuff installed quickly would be helpful.

We put concrete countertops in ours. It sounds really strange, but you can add mica/dye/whatever to get the look you want. Google search "concrete countertops" and you'll see what I mean. It's a lot cheaper than granite, too.

[mwiacek10]

I have quartz and love them. Home depot or Lowes will assist you with measurements and direct you with what you'll need. They were quite helpful. Here's a picture of my new kitchen.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by mwiacek10

I have quartz and love them. Home depot or Lowes will assist you with measurements and direct you with what you'll need. They were quite helpful. Here's a picture of my new kitchen.

It's so pretty I love your cabinets!

[kiya]

We just remodeled our kitchen. The granite countertop was our xmas present. We had gotten a price from homedepot but a granite/stone place beat it and they had a 3 day turnaround plus a lot of stones to choose from. My hubby is a do it yourselfer, construction his whole life. We had the counter top installed, small kitchen 1 piece no seam. Aprox 70" x 40" (ish) that alone was almost $1,800 worth every penny. Faucet was homedepot & tile was lowes.
Just be careful with Homedepot because they usually sell "builder grade" material.
We watch HGTV way too much, when it comes to resale value go for the granite.

[bocron]

I have quartz in most of my kitchen and butcher block on the island. My kitchen is now almost 15 years old and still looks good. Those countertops have held up very well. I also did a very simple cabinet style so I wouldn't feel like it had to be changed too soon.

Here are a few pics, we have since replaced the fridge, microwave and dishwasher with stainless.

[Gretchen]

LoveEcho - concrete sounds interesting.

mwiacek10 - very elegant kitchen! Looks like tile backsplash is the way to go.

[Gretchen]

bocron - your style and colors would be great in my home. Good to hear the quartz holds up well. Lovely!

[Liesje]

I'm going with Silestone quartz when I redo mine! I'm with you Gretchen, I can't stand granite and it's not the quality or maintenance I'm looking for. I'd take concrete or soapstone over granite any day but quartz is the best as far as durability and no maintenance. We already have really nice ceiling height cabinets thanks to the previous homeowners. I'll either leave them as-is (I'm OK with the type of wood and the finish) or paint them but I'm hesitant to paint perfectly good wood. The floor will probably get changed to tile. Right now it looks like hardwood but the floor in our kitchen and back hall is actually finished subflooring according to my dad, so if you get it wet and look at it in the sunlight you can see the damage the dogs are doing. I don't like our current backsplash, would like to change it to subway tile or mosaic glass (though the latter might be a bit too "busy" in the space, very very small kitchen which is more like an alcove with some appliances). My appliances will be white. I'm not a cook and don't particularly like the look of stainless steel, not worth the expense to me. Again in such a small space and Michigan being so dark and dreary Oct-May I can't do anything really dark or industrial looking and I'm not really into ultra modern or anything that's the going fad. I'm undecided on my sink, it's a cool white porcelain double sink, I like the look and don't mind the porcelain but ideally I'd like a sink that is set under the countertop.

[bocron]

Originally Posted by Gretchen

bocron - your style and colors would be great in my home. Good to hear the quartz holds up well. Lovely!

Thanks, this is house was our 3rd try at a house we could build on this lot. I ended up getting a plan from Southern Living and modified the kitchen. (the original houseplan was based on a Captain's house in New England). In my first house I had a very formal kitchen, because it suited the house. For this house we decided to try to make the interior complement the house style, which is really casual and cozy.
Of course now that we've been in the house for 15 years it's time to start changing stuff LOL.