New to Kitchens? Read Me First!
Welcome!
If you are new to the Kitchens Forum, you may find the following information and links helpful. The FAQs will help you navigate the world of kitchen remodeling and, in the process, introduce you to ideas that you may not have thought of or seriously considered. We will begin by helping you come up with a "Mission Statement" or "Goal" for your future kitchen and continue through the planning, implementation, and, finally, the unveiling of your final kitchen and the enjoyment of working in a kitchen that YOU helped come to pass!
The FAQ articles on Kitchens contain helpful information about how to navigate this site as well as the world of kitchen renovations. The FAQs include, but are not limited to, such topics as how to ask for help with a layout, how to plan for storage, etc. Even more information can be found by doing a search on the forum.
The Finished Kitchens Blog has pictures and information about many GW members' finished kitchens. Not only can you see them alphabetically, but there is also a category list if you're looking for specific things like a kitchen with a Beverage Center or a kitchen with a mix of dark and light cabinets. Access the FKB Categories Page via a link in the navigation panel on the right of any FKB page. Additionally, there is also a link to "In-Progress Kitchens" for those members' kitchens that are not quite ready for the FKB. There is also a link to "Coming Soon Kitchens" for those kitchens that are ready for the FKB but have not yet been added. To access the "In-Progress Kitchens", the "Coming Soon Kitchens", and the "FKB Categories", see the links in the navigation panel that is on the right side of each main FKB page.
The Appliances Forum is very useful when you have questions specific to appliances.
To start off the kitchen remodel process itself, take the Sweeby Test. Once you have an idea of what your "vision" is, start thinking about budget and layout. The Kitchens FAQs have topics that will be useful for understanding kitchen design as well as asking for help. Some of the topics:
* How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?
* Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others
* Kitchen work zones, what are they?
* How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where?
[Continued below in Comments]

+++++ Welcome to Kitchens Continued +++++
When asking questions (e.g., asking for layout help), please keep in mind that everyone here is trying to help, not criticize maliciously. Some of us can be blunt, but no one is out to deliberately insult or hurt anyone. When your kitchen is done, we want you to have a kitchen that functions wonderfully well and looks nice overall - but the process will take time and will entail comments that often you don't want to hear (e.g., when a layout is dysfunctional.) We strongly recommend you "keep listening" to what others have to say but, in the end, you don't have to take any advice given here. It is your kitchen and you are the one who will make the final decisions!
Again, welcome and good luck! The journey is wild, sometimes bumpy, but fun and very rewarding in the end!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FAQ Topics: Note that these are in the process of being fixed. When migrated over to Houzz, most FAQs were truncated mid-sentence and, in some cases, Subjects were also truncated.
In addition, some of the instructions have changed and functionality has been removed. Please bear with me as I work through each FAQ to restore it and, if needed, update it.
Updates will be in the Comments as I am no longer allowed to update the FAQs themselves.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Link to Kitchens FAQs: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchens-faq
It is recommended the FAQs be read in the following order:
+++++ KITCHENS FORUM BASICS +++++
Navigating the Kitchens Forum basics [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2828527/navigating-the-kitchens-forum-basics]
How do I post pictures? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767029/how-do-i-post-pictures]
How do I post a Link? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767034/how-do-i-post-a-link]
.
+++++ DESIGNING YOUR KITCHEN AND RELATED TOPICS +++++
How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information?n=2]
Kitchen work zones, what are they? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767031/kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they]
Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, an [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767035/aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs?n=2]
How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767036/how-do-i-plan-for-storage-types-of-storage]
.
+++++ MISCELLANEOUS OTHER ITEMS +++++
How do I get more responses to my posts? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767043/how-do-i-get-more-responses-to-my-posts]
How do I get emails sent to me? How do I get followups sent to me? (or not sent to me) [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767037/how-do-i-get-emails-sent-to-me-how-do-i]
I want to email a GW member privately, how do I do that? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767039/i-want-to-email-a-gw-member-privately-how]
How do I seal my natural stone countertops? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767041/how-do-i-seal-my-natural-stone-countertops]
How do I Gel Stain my cabinets? [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767042/how-do-i-gel-stain-my-cabinets]
Other Items of Interest [http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767040/other-items-of-interest]
Bump
Thanks may_flower. I saw your post where I bumped the wrong post! True blonde!! I went back & deleted my Bump!
We can all bump this every time and the good info will be drowned in bumps, or they could pin it.
Perhaps they could post it up where they discuss last year's flood, if they haven't adopted ancient, forum technology of pinning threads.
Again, like other things discussed in these suggestion threads, this is (italicized) not a new function. If GW and every other board upon which I've ever participated can do it, Houzz could figure it out.
CEFreeman, I understand your concern, but the bottom line is that we do not have a sticky at this time. Until we do, bumping works - as it did a few years ago on GW.
All the info is in the original post and the first three comments. When someone goes to the thread, the first thing they will see is the pertinent information - it's not "drowned in bumps".
Bump
Bump!
Bump
Up you go...
The "How do I post pictures?" link does not bring up a discussion on posting pictures.
It does, but it's the GW instructions. I'm working on updating it.
When I click on it, it brings me to houzz.com / discussions (spaces so it doesn't link to anything).
Hmmm....both your link and mine work fine for me - no spaces. Anyone else having issues?
Here's the link: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767029/how-do-i-post-pictures. I added the URLs for all the FAQs in the above message.
I will say that I have noticed links/actions are inconsistent on Houzz...sometimes you get to where you want to go and sometimes you don't. Now that I think about it, the first few times I tried the FAQ links they didn't work for me either. Since they all work for me now, I assumed Houzz had fixed the issues.
BTW...I've updated the Posting a Photo FAQ with the information I have right now.
I get a main houzz discussion page having nothing to do with posting pictures. I am on a Mac (just in case that has anything to do with it).
Also the "How do I ask for Layout Help...." and "Kitchen Work Zones..." both go to the Kitchen Work Zones page.
Tea4All - I've since fixed that link.
I've found that links aren't always created properly. They sometimes just disappear, the link text/label changes to the URL, they "join" a previous or subsequent link, the links don't work, etc.
It seems every day I find another problem! *sigh*
Thanks Buehl for working on this. I appreciate your time and effort invested in this. The information is invaluable.
Bump.
bump
Bump.
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Thank you for all your hard work, buehl. Here's a heads up...
I don't know if you have access to fix it, or if Houzz will have to change it for you. The page below about posting links includes a green link that simply says "description". It now leads to an adult web site (don't click it, folks.)
How do I post a link?
"I get a main houzz discussion page having nothing to do with posting pictures. I am on a Mac (just in case that has anything to do with it)."
Yes, that is what happens to me to and I am on a Macbook. If you watch the url closely, it first rise to go to the correct link, but then it changes and just goes to the general Houzz discussions.
I redid the link - but it was working fine for me. It took me to the right place - as did yours. I don't know why yours took you to an adult site.
Just a thought, but when was the last time you ran a virus check?
buehl, I run virus checks often, although that's a logical thought. Right now when I click on the link I posted above ("how do I post a link") it just takes me to the main Houzz Advice page, so I can't double check it.
But earlier, when I clicked on the word "Description" on that page, it took me to a site that was (www) then (xxx) then (dot com.) An adult site. I clicked the back arrow, and saw that when I hovered over the green single word "description" link, the URL location in the bottom left corner of my screen confirmed the link was sending me to the location described above.
I thought maybe that (www) (xxx) copy used in the previous GW page didn't used to be a live link, but somehow the conversion to Houzz turned it into a live link. Just my guess though.
The version of the page I was looking at was from 2013, and I can't get it to come up now. But here is a snip from the 2011 cached version of the same page to show you the text I thought was causing the problem. The text was somewhat similar with that troublesome combination that somehow turned into a live URL for me.
Later in the day I did flag that page, because I thought perhaps this was something you could no longer correct. Maybe Houzz corrected the problem and that's why it was working fine for you...?
Edited to say, I hope I have not sent you on a rabbit hunt. Sorry if I did!
Oh! You mean the old/original text - I can't fix that! Houzz will need to fix it! They should just replace it with my Comment - or at least replace it with "See below". It's not supposed to be an active link and wasn't in the original FAQ. We need to email Tamara directly about it.
I emailed Tamara.
Thanks buehl, and thanks again for all your work to rewrite the important FAQ information that was truncated and lost in the conversion.
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"The Finished Kitchens Blog has pictures and information about many GW members' finished kitchens....."
I must be missing something obvious in the new format, but could you please show me how to get the finished Kitchen blog/ pictures post the Houzz merger?
Thanks
For me, "Finished Kitchens Blog" is a live (green) link in the sentence you posted, so you should be able to click on it. But in case the link isn't working for you for some reason, here it is again:
The Finished Kitchens Blog
bumping up
Thank you mudhouse. That link does work for me now.
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Big GW bump!
Bump.
Bump again to get to page 1.
bump...
Bump please.
Things that go bump in the night.
Sunday morning bump.
bumped my head when I fell out of bed...
Bump rides again.
The Return of Bump.
Simple bump. I am too pressed for time to be creative.
Bump bump!
bump
"Know your lines, and don't bump into the furniture." - Spencer Tracy
(Hey, bold and italics work now. Hooray!)
bump
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humpday bump
also did anyone notice that the times (on the bottom right) are in Pacific time?
Yes...times used to be in ET, now it's PT.
and...bump!
bumped...
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Big bump please.
Bump!
Oh my, pg 3 will never do! This needs a bump, bump, and bump to get to pg 1.
bumpidity-bump!
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Bump
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Up you go.
And go to the advanced settings of MY HOUZZ to change and allow you to receive emails. Yay. there's a thread currently about this
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almost ice day! bump
bump...!
Bump. Buehl I love your bump pictures!
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Bump please.
It's time for spring!
Yes, please bump Spring here!
Bump. Hi tea!
Bump back to you. Hi enduring!
oops, pg 2 again. Bump.
Bump, with a spring bloom.
Bump needed. When can we get this to be a sticky??
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Bump.
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Bump! It's hard to keep it on pg 1.
Deleted my previous bumping post - again bumping. Ad infinatum till it is made a sticky.
Yes Gemcap, ad infinatum! Bump !
Bump! Sticky! We need a sticky. Please!
Bump again. Does Houzz even do stickies?
I don't know Tea4All. I had emailed Tamara about redoing the old GW sticky a month or two b/f the takeover - I haven't heard if she plans to do another one (or if Houzz has that function). If we do a sticky, I may have to update the content - I'll try to look at it this weekend.
Bump.
Bump again.
BuMpEd!!
Bump!
bump...
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Bump.
Bump again. It is too far down pg 2.
bumped again...
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~Bump~
bump
Bump.
Bump.
Bump please. This thread slips to pg 2 mighty fast.
Is there anyway to make this valuable thread a sticky?
Bump
Bump this thread on this lovely Spring day.
bump!
Back to Page 1
Up, up, and away.
bumpppp
Bump! pg 3 will never do!
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I was looking for this! Where's the sticky option? :)
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Bump
Return to page 1, ye helpful post!
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Excuse me. Just what is a "sticky" and have you asked Houzz support if this "sticky" is available? :)
A "sticky" is a thread that stays at the top of the list of threads. Therefore it is always available for readers to reference without having to go hunt for it. Because this thread has a compilation of important information it should be the very first one in the list--always.
Buehl has been communicating with "the powers that be" on Houzz in hopes that they will make this into a sticky and we will not have to continually bump this thread trying to keep it on page 1.
Ahhh, yes makes sense. Thanks for info. I can think of several threads this would be helpful on. Hope Houzz can figure out and implement.
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Good morning all. Bump!
Good afternoon here now. Bump.
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Back to page one you go.
Sunday bump.
Sunday early evening bump!
Bump.
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Morning bump.
Bump it BiG please..
Bump : )
Bump! Good morning Enduring!
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Bump!
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Hi there Tea4all! BUMP
Bump, jump! Feels like we are playing Leap Frog to keep this on pg 1.
bumped up...
and another bump up...
Easter Bunny Bump Up!
In the old days this 150th post would have required Buehl to repost this information. One good thing about the new GW on Houzz.
Happy Easter all! Bump.
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bump...
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bump....
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Scat!
Bump it. Endlessly. Oh for a "sticky" so we wouldn't have to hunt this up daily.
Bumped...it snuck away to page 3...
Bump again. Page 2 will never do!
Bumpity bump off pg 2 again.
Oh no--page 3. Bump.
another little bump.
Bump on Sunday.
Back to page one.
OK I understand what the bump does, but I just bookmark the page. :)
Yup, bookmarking is good. We're all just hoping that this can be made a sticky (hello, Houzz?) so it stays at the top of page one, since it needs to be easily found by folks who are new to the forum.
bump back to page one.
Monday bump to page one...
Bump again to get it off page 2.
bumped up from page 3...
Just stopped in to copy the url.
bump to get off page 2.
Bump! Page 2 does not do.
Please help keep this on page 1 for newbies. Bump.
Please help keep this on page one for newbies...bump!
Here we go again!
And again! Friday Bump.
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Good morning Saturday bump.
Saturday afternoon bump!
Way too early Sunday bump.
Beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon bump...
Bump again off page 2.
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Bedtime bump.
Bookmark and bump
Page 3 will not do. Bump!
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Bump...
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Friday evening bump. Enjoy the weekend
Bump. So glad it is the weekend! Have a good one everyone.
Thanks, keagle and tea4all.
Back up to page 1!
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back to page one again!
Up you go!
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bumped!
Bump.
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Whoa page 3 is too far for this thread to fall. Bump!
Back from page 3...too far indeed! Bump!
bumped from page 3...
Bump!
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bump.
bumped...hope all are having a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Monday morning bump!
Uh-oh page 3 again. Bump!
Uh-oh again. Page 3 will never help newbies. Bump!
bumpidy-boop
Back to the top you go...
Bump off page 2 please.
Bumpity bump.
time to rise to the top!
Agreed raee_gw! Bump yet again.
Sat nite bump
Let's get this precious one back to page 1
Bumped, to help newcomers...
Bumped, so newcomers will find all this good info!
Bump. Newbies check this thread out. Great info!
Bumped, so newcomers can read this helpful info!
Bumped for newcomers.
Bumped up again! Newbies, this is a great place to start reading!
Fri nite bump
Bump
^..^
My first fist bump! I'm usually to late. :-)
...another boot to the top! (fist bumps back to rebunky.)
Monday nite bump
Tuesday lunch bump
bump!
Bump.
Rainy Thursday bump.
Friday bump.
Bump
Bump.. We need a sticky please!
Bump, yes, a sticky would be so helpful...
Memorial Day bump. Thank you, to all who served.
Bump!
Bump.
Hump day, bump day
Bumping up again, for newcomers to the Kitchens Forum...
Bump from pg 2.
Bump time
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Sunday bump
Monday morning bump
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Me again. :)
my turn!
Bump!
bump
Happy weekend bump!
Back to page 1
Bump for Sunday night!
Bump!
Rainy night bump.
Bump!
Oh no on page 3 again. Bump!
Bumping!
Bump!
Happy Day Before Flag Day!
Great thread for newcomers to read! Bump to pg 1 please.
Tuesday bump.
Move on up the line.
bump to first page :)
Hump day bump!
Bump again to get to pg 1.
Friday bump!
Another rainy Saturday.
bump
Fathers Day bump!
Monday bump
Bump again.
bump back to one...
Needs another bump to get to pg 1.
Rainy night bump...
Bumpity bump
bump
Bump once again.
Newcomers, this is a must read. Bump.
Sunday morning bump
Please bump off pg 3.
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Weekly Wed bump
Page 3? Oh my, that just won't do...
Big bump off pg 4 please!
A goodnight bump.
bump
Bump.
Bumping for the 2015 Women's World Cup Champions!!
I second oldbat's bump! Yea!
Bump this because it is some of the best info for newcomers to read.
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Page 3 bump!
Saturday Night bump.
Bump for newcomers.
Bump
Bump.
Bastille Day bump.
Bumping off page 3
bumpity bump bump
bump
Bump. Oh for a "sticky" to keep this on page 1!
Sunday bump.
Bump.
Bump in honor of all past GW'ers. This one is for AngieDIY!
Be sure to play the whole video for an incredible Prince performance.
Wow enduring! What a fantastic bump!
Plain old bump.
I know this is a really old post but I would love to read ALL of it.. However, none of the links work. Anybody know how to access it?