/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.508429]

My wife and I are in the process of closing on a new house. This is the kitchen.

I'd love to hear some design ideas. Right now we're spitballing the following:

-Distress the way too shiny cabinets
-The fridge isn't included; put a much smaller black unit it it's place
-Rip out the current backsplash and put in a new one, maybe white subway tile with black grout, maybe even all the way up to the ceiling
-Replace the linoleum with laminate, probably a reddish mahogony
-Replace the light fixture above the sink

Any suggestions?

[Anonymous No.508440]

>>508429
I like it how it is, with smaller fridge, and wooden floor. Don't mind me, I'm a girly girl.

[Anonymous No.508454]

2" crown molding on top of the cabinets with some hidden rope lighting to light up the ceiling. Lighting under the cabinets as well. Tile floors, a under cabinet mountedend microwave to get rid of that shelf. Ummm

[Anonymous No.508491]

A grenade might help.

[Anonymous No.508492]

>>508440
Hmmmm idk...it may be hard to tell from the picture but that backsplash has these horrible little old lady flowery designs that have to go.

>>508454
Crown molding might look great...not sure if the ceilings are tall enough though. Rope lighting might be great, thanks for the idea.

[Anonymous No.508495]

Kitchen designer here. Replace the contour doors with flat ones. Remove wall tiling and replace with large glass tiles or glass splash back.

Uplighters and crown moulding would help but go with rgb flex led so you can accent the lighting and brighten/dim it.

Laminate flooring in a kitchen is a very bad idea - the slightest amount of spilt water will cause the joins to blow and 'tent' upwards - seen it many times. Go with solid wood flooring or lini/tile in a wood effect - some excellent ones out there now.

[Anonymous No.508497]

lino* as in vinyl flooring

[Anonymous No.508499]

Oh you can also paint the tiles if you prefer.

[Anonymous No.508520]

>>508429

Cabinetmaker here...If your looking to tone the door sheen down a bit (they do look kinda glossy), you can have them relaquered at a lower sheen. I usually use a 40 gloss, it's more of a semi-gloss.
Distress the doors? Like knock em around a bit? Or make them look somewhat 'aged'.
If aged is what your looking for...use a finishing glaze. It's kinda thick and you don't need much. More wipe on/ wipe off kinda thing. Put on too much? Methel hydrate will wipe it clean off.
Replace the lights. All 3 of them.

[Anonymous No.508532]

54 Division Road Limerick, ME 04048

For anyone who wants to murder and rape OP's family.

[Anonymous No.508567]

Get rid those shitty ass light fixtures. If the house is a 1 story then much easier to add some recessed lighting in there. You have black appliances so maybe relaminate the tops with something a little darker. Look at Wilsonart for ideas. Redo the backsplash to add some color, and of course yeah taking the gloss out of the cabinets.

[Anonymous No.508600]

>>508495
I'd definitely prefer that but actually buying new cabinets isn't in the budget for a while. The backsplash is a definite. I'll look into the leds. I had no idea about the laminate in the kitchen; thanks for the tip.

>>508520
Yeah we're thinking about sanding them down to get some parts bare, then using antique finishing glaze to give it an antique look. Thoughts?

>>508532
Your reverse google image search skills are extremely impressive, but I'm afraid you're just too edgy for this board.

>>508567
It's a 2 story and recessed lighting is more than we're looking to get into right now. The fixtures definitely have to go. I would redo the tops but we're thinking that in a year or two we might replace with poured concrete.

Do you guys think a colored backsplash would work better than a white subway tile with black grout? Kinda thinking the black/white monochrome look might be nice and would go with anything.

[Anonymous No.508604]

>>508520
>>508567

Oh yeah, for the fixture on the far right, there's actually two of those on either side of the stove and I think they actually look quite nice in tandem, so we'll keep those and replace the other two.

[Anonymous No.508612]

Wood floors look great with white cabinets, but red mahogany may be too create a contrast. If you want something more durable than laminate, go for cork.

Add some molding, and replace the handles, to create a classic look.

Also, with one central overhead light, you are going to be working in your own shadow. Add some low-voltage under-cabinet lights.

[Anonymous No.508628]

>>508612

So much white...can't take...the blandness...augh...

[Anonymous No.508631]

>>508495
Why would you recommend real wood vs. laminate?

As a flooring guy, I'm surprised you don't know that wood has the same flaws laminate does only to a slightly more durable degree.

Still, wood in general is a shitty choice for a kitchen.

If you want a wood look, they sell vinyl wood strips that work a lot better and still keep it looking good. It looks a lot like laminate, it's thicker than sheet vinyl, and will have more resistance to moisture.

I personally would rather have a rubber backed sheet vinyl that I can always rip out and replace once a year if I get bored of how it looks. That or ceramic.

[Anonymous No.508632]

>>508631
Foam-backed.**

[Anonymous No.508640]

>>508631

Do you think they make quality vinyl? I saw some in stores and it just looked so...cheap. It looked like a low resolution picture of hardwood.

Do some companies make really convincing ones?

[Anonymous No.508647]

>>508640
It depends on the price. There is some nice vinyl (I have foam-backed wood immitation vinyl in my house) that is good quality but costs a bit more than you'd expect for something so simple. I'll take a picture and upload it in a second from my phone.

I think I paid about $400 for the materials to do my 12x20 livingroom and 14x16 kitchen. It doesn't sound like a whole lot, but considering it was dealer price...

[Anonymous No.508650]

>>508647

[Anonymous No.508651]

>>508650
Obviously it doesn't look exactly like real wood, but it doesn't look bad and it's:

>cheaper
>won't lift
>can be changed out easily
>installs quickly and simply with nothing more than a few cheap tools and some glue

[Anonymous No.508659]

Sell floors for a living, have installed them occasionally.

Wood in a kitchen isn't a big deal as long as you clean up your spills. This is usually only an issue with children. I disagree with Kitchen Designer - laminate can work fine as long as you follow the same rules. Use a thicker, higher grade laminate and use a tongue-and-groove adhesive when installing it to help seal the cracks. An anti-microbial pad helps, and are available at better stores.

Another option is strand bamboo. It's generally sealed all the way around, so you don't have to stress moisture much. Just remember that nothing but tile and vinyl are 100% water-proof. Even your cork's usually have an HFB core.

If you're interested in vinyl, go for thicker, usually click-lock version. The sticky-back options are often shit.

Also, oak is not the strongest wood. I don't know why everyone thinks this.

[Anonymous No.508674]

>>508659
OP here:

This is fairly close to the design choices we'd like to make for our kitchen. Note the high contrast grout around the subway tiles and the floor color choice. We'd end up going with all black hardware to match our black appliances.

>>508651
That looks a lot better than the vinyl I've seen...might be something to consider

>>508659
How does a good 12 mm thick laminate w/adhesive stack up against bamboo or cork? I really prefer the look of wood in a kitchen over tile.

[Anonymous No.508675]

>>508631
Agreed but wood also settles back once it dries out again - the laminate flooring stays tented. Agreed that some laminate flooring is better than others and agreed with the other poster that sealing the joins helps a lot but in general, wood or laminate is not a good choice for a kitchen.

Ceramic is perfect and I've seen ceramic tiles that look amazingly wood floor like. A lot of the new vinyl strip is also excellent but you have to pay out for the good and thick stuff.

[Anonymous No.508676]

>>508675
>you have to pay out for the good and thick stuff
That's the name of the game with flooring unfortunately. The higher quality stuff takes more money to make, therefore costs more.

[Anonymous No.508691]

> Rip out the current backsplash and put in a new one, maybe white subway tile with black grout, maybe even all the way up to the ceiling.

+1. You have a big enough kitchen and a centered enough sink/window for that kind of block not to look out of place, I think it would look mad all the way to the roof. I picture something like pic related for the tile (maybe not as dark, deffo not as pronounced), just for the contrast, but I don't know if they are a good idea for a splashback. They would be annoying to clean for starters.

[Anonymous No.508695]

>>508691
Mad in a good or bad way? lol

I've seen that type of tile in stores...I do like it, but it would be a huge pain in the ass to clean and I think i might prefer the subway tile. I think it does a good job of towing the line between modern and classic.

[Anonymous No.508696]

OP here

While we're on the subject, what's the best place to get flooring/backsplash stuff? I really don't know much about the different brands, and I don't want to get rooked by big box stores. Is lumber liquidators a good place to look?

[Anonymous No.508699]

>>508696
I'd go to a retail store, not lowes/homedepot/etc.

A lot of people I sell to try to compare the prices, but the material isn't the same. When I purchase from the manufacturers, I buy first quality zero defect or things that are sell outs due to discontinued patterns. A lot of the big box stores buy second runs and then have issues. Also, most of the installers are going to be the ones that have shitty reputations with the retail guys.

You'll spend a little more, but you'll be able to hold them accountable as a business should there be any issues.

>I also offer free re-stretches for the life of the product on all carpets I install, etc.

[Anonymous No.508700]

>>508699
Give me an example of a flooring retailer that isn't a big box store. Not being sarcastic, I really just don't know what you mean.

[Anonymous No.508701]

>>508700
Retail stores are mom-n-pop shops. Check your yellow pages.

[Anonymous No.508726]

>>508701
Check yo head, son.

[Zombi No.508748]

Look at USFloors Coretec. It's a luxury vinyl tile or plank that has a cork back, plasticized composite core and commercial grade vinyl top. It clicks together like laminate so it's easier to install yourself if that is your goal. It generally prices no more than an upper grade of sheet vinyl, but you get a lot tougher product. It's also completely waterproof. If you flood the kitchen somehow you can pull this stuff out, let it dry and put it back in. Not that anyone is actually going to do that.

[Anonymous No.508759]

>>508726
Do you understand the difference between retail selling and wholesale, little boy?

[Anonymous No.508832]

I redo a lot of kitchens for my job, what I'm seeing people want a lot nowadays is the cabinets themselves in white or cream and the doors in strong colours, I think red, green and blue are the most popular. It's a pretty nice look. Might not tie in well with the black appliances though, idk. I like your idea for the splashback, that could end up looking really classy.

[Anonymous No.508842]

>>508832
I've never seen that and I can't find any pictures on google. Got any examples?

[Anonymous No.509195]

>>508696

Well, I work for Lumber Liquidators... generally, yes, your price will be lower than Home Depot and Lowes for basically the same material. I've seen them charge $7 for an engineered bamboo that we carry at $4 or less, so yeah...

That said, I'm not going to be the team cheerleader - we hire a ton of fuckwits - used car salesmen that know how to sell but don't know a thing about flooring, or big-box dropouts that only know what their installer buddies have told them and think oak is "the best wood."

Some people genuinely try - I'd like to think I do - but I can't guarantee you won't get a shitty crew in your local store, so do your own research.

What I will say is that brand names mean nothing, and few companies actually write their warranties in a way that will ever help you if you have an issue. I used to the think the length of the warranty was at least an rough indicator of how much a mill believes in their product, but even the "life-time warranties" expire if you use anything other than a specific brand of approved cleaner. When assessing durability, refer to the Jenka hardness scale and check the listed scratch-coat - you want Aluminum Oxide over polyurethane, and you can basically ignore how many "coats" it has, as some companies thin out their multiple coats to be pointless.

[Anonymous No.509198]

>>509195
Cont.

As far as tile vs. bamboo vs. cork - depends on your lifestyle.

I can't say much about tile because I've only laid a little of it in my own house.

Cork is basically waterproof - but it does have an HDF or MDF core, so heavy water and flooding can still kill it. Most cork I've seen lately has been quick-lock, so you should follow the same advice about laminate and use an adhesive in the joints. Glue-down cork is available, but it's usually thinner and more commonly used for soundproofing in studios and whatnot. In any case, it's kind on the feet, absorbs sound, and retains heat so no cold tile in the morning. However, it doesn't handle heavy traffic and animals well. It tends to gouge rather than scratch, and I've seen kitchens where it's worn quickly in front of the sink, oven, fridge, or anywhere you linger for a while.

I'm a big fan of bamboo, but there are several kinds. Horizontal or Vertical is what most people assume bamboo looks like - you'll see the individual shoots laminated together. Avoid this. It'll be cheap, but it'll also dent the first time you drop something. Strand or woven bamboo is basically the same thing, chopped up and mixed with binders and epoxies, and reformed to be crazy durable. This is quickly becoming the standard for bamboo, and the only thing I'd recommend. It's also generally sealed all the way around so it tends to be more moisture resistant, but it is hardly waterproof.

A lot of places carry strand bamboo, but check what you're getting. Some only carry engineered - a veneer on top of MDF or plywood, some carry 3/8th and very thin stuff, but most should be around 1/2, 5/8, or 9/16 thick, but if you're paying more than $4-5, you're being ripped off.

[Anonymous No.509216]

range hood, ceiling fan.

[Anonymous No.509297]

>build a damn soffit

cabinets look like shit when there's empty space above them

[Anonymous No.509703]

>>509198

Thanks, this was super helpful. I think we'd shoot to do the install ourselves, but the rest of the info on the different types of flooring was great.