Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Mar 18, 2010 2:05 pm Hi gang, Me and my partner recently purchased a new unit. (3 bedroom, double garage, about 11sq without garage) We are in the process of doing some renovations. Small summary 1. upgrade parts of kitchen 2. full paint - neutral colours 3. replace internal doors 4. upgrade all fixtures (door handles, lighting, etc..) 5. Replace wardrobes with sliding wardrobes 6. Relaka skirting 7. Take out carpet & polish floor boards. So.... The kitchen!!!!!!! At the moment this is the current state: Current Kitchen Picture Proposed Improvements: Proposed Kitchen Picture The idea give the kitchen a face lift but minimize costs (the kitchen is in excellent condition for its age): 1. change bench top - Laminex eagle marble (flat)(not real marble) 2. upgrade rangehood, cook top - Blanco 3. Sand and re-vanish all cupboards - change to chocolate colour 4. upgrade handles 5. Upgrade splash back. Re tile 6. Upgrade lights The following is my effort to Photoshop the original image: Please see and let me know your thoughts! (please not this is photoshoped so it just provides a concept! The only additional item (which i haven't told my partner about) is the proposed laminex to cover the old kitchen bar in the original photo. We are removing this and i though that perhaps the wood might look a bit old or funny and thought it would be great opportunity to put something in front of it that can break up the kitchen area from the dinning area.. Please note that this is a MAN's perspective LOL. So feel free to provide some advice. Personally i don't think i am that bad at this stuff. Your advice and support would be appreciated! Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 2Mar 18, 2010 2:25 pm Hi Dragon, Like your plans for the kitchen (it is in very good condition, considering its age!). One thing I would suggest however, is the top cupboards may look better in a lighter solid colour rather than using the woodlook laminate over the whole kitchen. Just a thought Never argue with an idiot they drag you down to their level & then beat you with experience - Dilbert View Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=19733 Contract signed 14Sept Slab 30Sept Bricks laid 1Dec Lock up 26Feb Keys 10Jun Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 3Mar 18, 2010 5:34 pm At least you have a practical layout to work with, so a facelift should work well for you - no need to move appliances etc. Sanding and painting or staining the existing cabinets and doors should work well, given that they're timber (although the end panels and trims may be veneer....?) I agree that you'll need a new back panel on the breakfast bar though. Your ideas sound good to me and will make an enormous difference. Please get rid of the frilly curtain thingie though.... Colours; not sure. Maybe get some input from Michelle? Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 4Mar 18, 2010 7:02 pm My opinion is to paint those doors a gloss white as it would really modernise that kitchen. I like wood but only if it has a more modern design. I also like that stripey laminate and if you went white, then you could add a more modern feature tile in your splash back and even a bit of colour. Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 6Mar 18, 2010 7:51 pm Hi guys, thanks for the feedback! I will have to chat to my partner about painting the cubboards white! any other support would be great. If i can get some input from Michelle would be ace! Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 7Mar 18, 2010 9:08 pm g'day dragan, I agree blind dates it a bit. I'm not keen on a border tile, they can date so fast, but if you've seen one somewhere and you love it, then go for it. I would have thought neutral colour tile. When I reno'd my last kitchen in a unit, I actually chose a marble look creamish/grey (more creamish) and I had the same laminate as the spashback, so no tiles needed. Looked great, but it was tad more pricey, but heaps less fuss (no tiler needed). Appliances are dated, but can easily be updated when you can afford it I guess... I think the dark timber idea is ok, in fact I think it will look great. I just wonder if a black benchtop will be too dark for that room??? if it were me, I'd def be going lighter if a dark timber door. ss handles. and I think you will need to cover veneer backing, you can't try to paint it first??? A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 8Mar 19, 2010 6:17 am Post your colour query in Michelle's lounge forum and she'll get to you with some advice..... Mango's suggestion of gloss white could look really good - I'm not a fan of the cupboard door profile; I think it dates them, but if painted a soild colour, it would be less obvious. Do you have a paint colour in mind for walls yet? What about furniture in adjoining rooms? Those need to be considered too, so that you can pull the whole thing together. Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 9Mar 19, 2010 8:40 am Hi guys, the walls are going to be an off-white colour. We are going to try to stick to neutral colours as much as possible. We have bought some furniture in the dinning room and it is a montrose colour table and chairs. I will post in Michelle's area for some colour advice. We are actually changing the appliances to new stainless steal appliances In terms of the bench top colour. We probably need to look into this. The hard decision is we don't have access to the house yet so its hard to try to visualize everything. The reason why i choose a dark bench top is that the room has a lot of light comming in. (we have big windows) But you might be right in terms of once the doors are perhaps re stained a darker brown it might be too dark In terms of the veneer backing i just picked this up the other day. So looking at either painting it or putting something over it. Any further advice would be great! Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 10Mar 19, 2010 2:47 pm Hi all, Has any one had experience with sand and stain of doors or 2pac? If there are any recommendations on the approach would greatly appreciate any one who has done it before Re: 19yr old Kitchen budget upgrade. Pics & advice! 11Mar 19, 2010 3:04 pm I've sanded and stained furniture, not cabinet doors though. It's not all that hard, but a really professional finish isn't as easy as it seems. I'd prefer to paint than stain and varnish any day. We had solid timber doors in our old kitchen and I remember asking the cabinet maker about refurbishing if they got a bit battered down the track. He said that they could strip and refinish them, but the cost would be more than getting new doors. If you go for a gloss paint, you'd end up with a nice finish - and if it's timber laminate on your trims etc, you should be able to paint that too, although I wouldn't go crazy with the sanding. Coming back to your old stomping grounds, huh? Renovations on a budget can be quite the journey. It's like giving your house a new lease on life. The twist of not knowing… 1 3475 Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 17243 I was being kind to the builder. With the amount charged for the upgrade the builder is probably charging closer to 100% margin. There are a few variables as I… 5 14306 |