Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Oct 19, 2009 8:39 pm Hi guys! Been a while between visits. My kitchen renovation has been permanently shelved (probably moving house!) so we're just looking at a quick and dirty update, if it's worth doing! This is a picture of the existing kitchen: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/ ... tchen1.jpg We need to replace the oven, so were thinking that it might be worth replacing the cooktop as well and getting stainless steel. It will cost an extra $400 installed over just getting a replacement white oven - do you think it's worth it and will add value? Also, do you think replacing the knobs with something a little less 90s/more in keeping with the door style is worth it? I was thinking something like this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/ ... ilaspx.jpg may work, but please tell me if you think it's a waste, or if another style would look better. Thanks in advance! Nic Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 2Oct 19, 2009 8:56 pm Sorry Nicolletta, I dont understand why you are changing anything, kitchen looks perfectly fine as is to me, even the planned new door handles, other than being gold instead of white, dont look very different to the present ones, and I think someone buying an established house would be quite happy with kitchen as is. It is a good neutral style which will appeal to most buyers and if they really want to change anything to their own colour tastes, they can do so afterwards - buyers' tastes are not always the same as your own and I think it is unneccesary to change anything in that kitchen for re-sale. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 3Oct 19, 2009 9:01 pm Thanks for the reply Helyn. So the theme continues of everyone thinking the kitchen is fine except me Oh, and those knobs look silver on my monitor! I was thinking of brushed stainless steel. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 4Oct 19, 2009 9:02 pm I agree i wouldnt change anything, i think i like the door handles you have now better than gold ones. If i was buying the house the only thing "I" would want to change would be the bench top but thats cause im not into green, another person may love the green. Im sure my mum or aunty would love it the way it is. V Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 6Oct 19, 2009 9:43 pm I like the idea of the stainless handles but since your selling you need to weigh up the cost. How much to upgrade all the handles? I would only bother changing the oven if it didnt work. It all looks in good condition. If i were selling and depending on the walls, a coat of paint is always nice, and a cheap spruce up. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 7Oct 19, 2009 9:47 pm Mango - unfortunately the oven has stopped working, and as a mad-keen baker, i'm going crazy without it! I'd really like to go with a stainless steel oven and get the cooktop as well, but the man holding the purse strings is reluctant to spend the extra. So hard to know if it's worth it!! Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 8Oct 19, 2009 9:51 pm Ah but the question now is not whether you like gold (or brushed silver or whatever) handles etc - but whether it makes more difference than the capital outlay to the value or 'sellability' of house. My advice would be to replace the oven if it does not work - if white is cheaper and matches the cook top I would do white. You have to be ruthlessly objective when thinking of renovating to sell, as oppossed to renovating for yourself Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 9Oct 19, 2009 9:58 pm Ok i didnt read the post properly, oops. If it was me i would shop around and try and get a cheaper stainless oven. There are some bargains out there and really do look much better in my opinion than the white ovens but like helyn said you do have to weigh up the cost. $400 is a lot. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 10Oct 19, 2009 10:12 pm It's so hard to be objective when you stare at something day in day out (i'm currently a stay at home Mum!). I'd had my heart set on gutting this kitchen, so it's tricky to step back and just see it as renovating to sell! This is the costs we're weighing up now: Oven ----- White oven $605 (may be able to find a cheaper one if i look harder!! any suggestions in Melb?) -OR- S/S oven $499 Installation: $150 Cooktop -------- S/S cooktop $280 Installation $230 So: The stainless steel option = $1159 The white option = $755 So $404 more to go stainless steel oven and cooktop. As you can see we're going bottom of the barrel either way, so i don't think anyone will exactly be wowed by the designer appliances Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 11Oct 20, 2009 9:28 am As for the knobs, here is a test-drive of some i stole from our Ikea Hemnes chest: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/ ... G_2724.jpg Would cost $84 to replace all 23 of them. Do you think they're more in keeping with the style of door? Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 13Oct 20, 2009 12:00 pm One of the inputs to your decision has to be the 'sellability' of the house - as Helyn put it. You may not necessarily get an additional $404 for the price of the house if you go with the brand new s/s oven and s/s cooktop upgrade - however, it may just be enough to sway a potential buyer (one less thing they will have to do after moving in). It may also depend on how much you need to spend elsewhere on the house to bring it up to the point of being able to maximise your 'sellability'. I wouldn't touch the rest of the kitchen as your taste/choices (in door handles and benchtops) will differ from a potential buyers - and they appear to be in good condition. But installing a new working oven and cooktop should be enough to lift the look of the kitchen. Make sure to move your microwave and fridge into the garage for open inspections as that will create an extra sense of spaciousness in that kitchen. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 14Oct 20, 2009 12:11 pm I would definitely spend the extra $400. If it were me I could live with that kitchen with some silver handles and stainless appliances, so for me it might be the differences between seeing a kitchen that doesn't need any work and one that does. So personally I'd spend the $500, I think it will be worth it. It's a small price to pay for an up to date looking kitchen. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 15Oct 21, 2009 5:10 pm The kitchen really is fine.... apart from the non-working oven, that is. If it was my place and I was staying, I'd go for the stainless appliances. For selling though ....probably not. Have you asked for advice from any real estate agents? They can usually give you a good idea what's worth doing and what won't make a difference. When we sold our house, we asked our agent his opinion before spending a cent. Then we gave the place a good clean, de-cluttered and touched up any scratches and scuffs in paintwork. Apart from that, we did a cheap and cheerful renovation of our ensuite, not because we thought we'd be really adding value to the place, but because it was so horrible that it would definitely have put off prospective buyers. A white oven is hardly in that league. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 16Nov 11, 2009 7:57 pm Well, after much procrastination, our new stainless steel oven and cooktop are on order. Thanks so much for everyone's input Now we're just umming and ahhing about handles. We tried a satin chrome tapered bow handle, and that looked good, so we'd like to go with those. Only trouble is getting knobs that will work with them for the drawers. We don't want to have to bother with backplates or filling in the holes if we used handles. Can anyone suggest a style of knob that will coordinate with handles like these?: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 17Nov 13, 2009 9:38 pm I would change the splashback, the benchtops, the appliances and the door handles. It won't cost a fortune but will make it look a lot more modern. There isn't anything intrinsically wrong with the kitchen, it just looks a little dated. If you have a very tight budget I'd recommend a squareform laminex benchtop, and a glass splashback. Glass is really quite cheap, it's just a bit of a PIA to get the existing tiles off. You can get simple little brushed stainless-look finger pull knobs from Bunnings, they are only a couple of bucks each. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 18Nov 13, 2009 9:42 pm Nicoletta Well, after much procrastination, our new stainless steel oven and cooktop are on order. Thanks so much for everyone's input Now we're just umming and ahhing about handles. We tried a satin chrome tapered bow handle, and that looked good, so we'd like to go with those. Only trouble is getting knobs that will work with them for the drawers. We don't want to have to bother with backplates or filling in the holes if we used handles. Can anyone suggest a style of knob that will coordinate with handles like these?: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ All of the handles have to match, if the existing fitting are knobs, just get new knobs, stainless steel finish, but all the same, no mixing handles and knobs. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 19Nov 14, 2009 1:35 pm I would love this kitchen, with a working over of course! I love the suggested darker handles Sharon..... frustrated interior decorator, I have always wanted to do this for a living.. Re: Updating the look of my kitchen 20Nov 16, 2009 1:46 pm Hi Nicoletta, This is my first posting to this board. I can see what you mean about updating your kitchen. If I may suggest here. I agree with your colour scheme that being basically silver. I would take my cues for colour from the stainless steel sink and I see in your pic the coffee maker. Those two objects are close in shades of silver. From the angle where you took your shot from, if you go from the silver sink to the coffee maker, it looks real classy and then you move your eye to the right, you go oh oh ..ummm.. hmmm. I think your choices for updating the stove and such are on the mark. However you then start to see the fridge and go hmmmm. I think you know what I mean. Putting in new handles would make the space pop again and make the kitchen look quite modern. No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 11569 Interested in getting either the Polytec Boston Oak or Palace Peak for kitchen cabinets. Looking at the Boston Oak ones, it appears that the colour varies significantly… 0 9159 No. It's not original. Circa early to mid 90s would be my guess and maybe even as late as early 2000s 1 6626 |