First of all Starpooh and all others who helped...fabulous job! This is going to make looking for other kitchens to inspire and drool over really easy and wonderful. Thank you.

I just pretended to put in my kitchen and did find a few categories that I might have used (and would have found helpful when hunting for other kitchens while planning mine). My suggested additions (and please forgive if they are there, but I missed them):

Under design special features (or wherever is appropriate):
No upper cabinets. And maybe add to fireplace/hearth to make it fireplace/hearth/wood or other heating stove

Under shape...is there a G shaped option? I had a bit of a hard time figuring out which each option would be.

Under special features/ convenience...maybe blind-base-corner pull outs? and corner drawers? I guess some folks think of the Hafele magic corner as a type of lazy susan, but it wouldn't occur to me to call it that, and I remember searching for it.

Under cabinet special features, maybe wire or other nonglass insert?

Again, you've done a terrific job. Thank you SO much!

Starpooh- you are the best!!! things I noticed--

1. under the appliances section- could there be a hood category and a hood insert category? This would allow people to rate the inserts as well as the actual hoods used in other kitchens.
2. under 5j...should bev center be an option?

Looking good otherwise- I can't wait to add my kitchen!

thank you thank you Starpooh for taking on the even-more herculean task of updating the FKB! It's "even more" because, after the first FKB, you know now how much effort is required! and thanks to your testers too!!

would it be appropriate to have a choice for each as to whether the owner would buy it again eg "like"/"stay away"? you know, do they like their cabinets and floor and stove and lighting and so forth, or do they hate it and wouldn't want to wish it on anyone.

I guess though some won't have used the kitchen enough to know, before posting? or maybe FKB is only for categorizing, not opinionating :)

thank you again!

THANK YOU to Starpooh and all of you who have worked so hard on the FKB remodel! It will be an amazing site to browse and dream, which is so handy for those of us still (still!) at the design stage.

I have two requests.

For special features (page 1, I believe), could you add corner windows, please? You have a category for corner sink and they often go together but not always. See elizpiz' fabulous kitchen. Her wonderful set-up was the inspiration for one of my plans that would keep my corner windows but eliminate the angled cab and corner sink and go with a sink near the corner instead.

Could you add a check box for polished or honed/antiqued/brushed finishes for granite and marble counters?

Thanks, again. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this. You've earned countless brownie (the real kind made in real kitchens) points.

The FKB seems to be mainly for people who put in all new kitchens. It would be nice to be able to find all those kitchens where people didn't gut the whole space.

I'd like to see a category check-off under "Style" for "refresh/update keeping much of existing kitchen" and have a "kept existing" option for all components, and a "repainted existing" option for cabinets.

Hi Starpooh,
I have my 2003 kitchen up on the FKB (thanks!) and if I ever get warm weather so I may use my wet saw outside, I may get my finishing touches done and ask you to post my 2010 kitchen, too. I really like your new FKB, and here are some tweaks I would suggest:

Under Kitchen Design special features you may want to add:
Universal design

Under Cabinet Special Features you may want to add:
Reused (mine)
Recycled (someone else's)

Under Countertop, you may want to add "Tile"to the list of countertop types that have the fill in the blank feature. Tile can be stone or ceramic, or porcelain, it may be made to look like something else (mine is porcelain and looks like stone), and there are so many different sizes that the tile can be, too. Will the search feature be able to read the replies in the "Other" boxes so that someone could do a search for tiles of a certain size and see what they look like?

Under "Lighting," you may want to add a whole new section in which people tell you what kind of bulbs are used. Incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, LED and such. Doesn't California have a law that high efficiency must be used? This will give us a way to search for an efficient kind of bulb and see what others have done with it.

Under hardware, you may want to add "none" as a choice for both knobs and pulls. I have seen people asking how all knobs or all pulls look. My kitchen has neither knobs nor pulls, and someone may want to see how that looks, too.

Thanks for all your hard work!

Oh, Starpooh, it's amazing! Many thanks to you and all who've helped so far.

Here's my little list:

On the page giving instructions for putting your kitchen in (where you ask them to email you for psswrd): there ought to be a space after your email addy and before the next word, otherwise it looks like @gmail.comto

Re kitchen design category:
Perhaps under designer you might want a reference to plans worked over by GW KF?

Re kitchen shape: this is querying the shape of the plan or design not the room. I was befuddled because I was expecting to say rectangular, when I really have two parallel counter walls divided by an island and two aisles. Maybe it's clearer to everyone else?

Ceiling style: add barrel/arched or vaulted? (big in SW traditional kitchens)

Island size?

Seating: looked for option of selecting seating like a freestanding stool, easy chair or rocker. The kind of thing that is not associated with table seating, just an easy chair to sit in by itself.

Special features: Universal Design or Adaptive feature as a category

Countertop edge: marine edge (fairly common on metal counters)

Microwave position: under counter (but not in drawer)

Hardware features: universal design (usually large simple things for easy manipulation)

Convenience features: Two sided (i.e. pull through under island drawers). Saw that on FKB and shamelessly stole it.

Also: Canning and food preservation kitchen;
Kitchen laundry basket
Pet features (This is common, so maybe I missed it?)
Washing machine/dryer
Bulk food storage (maybe have additional section on pantries?)
Marble or stone cold shelves in pantry
Concealed flatware storage; or just lined flatware storage drawers
Extra dish storage adaptations for those dish-mavens

Walkout directly to terrace/deck or patio from kitchen (as opposed to just an entry door)

Did you have a category for old wide board pine floors? And painted/stenciled floors?

Overhead pot racks?

I agree with the poster above that it might be useful to have some category (not sure where to put the selection)that identifies small scale, partial projects. And it would also be inspiring to have a category that specifically references projects with design elements, features, materials, appliances, etc., that were reused, repurposed, recycled, scored off CL, snapped up at Habitat, or with sidewalk and trash night provenance. Those are usually very cool and fun kitchens, and also offer a point of entry for those TKO-ers who might feel themselves out of place or daunted in the face of fantastic, high-end, total gut makeovers.

And what about a category the notes particular sentimental connections or choices regarding items or features within the kitchen? When I encounter references to projects with these on KF, it often sparks useful ideas that spin off in my mind. It's usually something quite out of the ordinary, or used in an atypical way, and therefore a very...

Starpooh - so easy to use! Looks wonderful and you can see all the many hours of sweat you've poured into it! One suggestion - an area for special features.

Maybe under decor, wall color allow more than one choice. Some might have mostly white walls with one wall red or something like that. Also under flooring, give more choices for color, many are using different colored tiles or lino products with come in many different colors.

Thank you so much for doing this!

One more suggestion, asked submitters to include more close up photos. Thanks again for all your hard work on this!

Thank you, Starpooh and everyone. Off to give it a try...

Becky

Great job, Starpooh, and thank you! It looks great!

one suggestion: would it be possible to select more than one option for a category, e.g. could I select both wood and stainless countertops?

Starpooh, What a tremendous undertaking, thank you and all who helped!!!
:

Under 1a Design basics;Kitchen Seating add Table and chairs
2b Cabinet Base add less than 36in high
5e Wall Ovens add Double Wall both Convection
5g Microwave add built in
6b Faucet Type add Pull Down Spray
10b Convenience Spice storage are listed 2x
Maybe one should be pull out and one on door or
even a third drawer
Also tray dividers are listed 2x too.

I'm waiting for the GC to begin demolishing my garage and then building my new garage and the addition for our new kitchen and pantry but since finding this site I've changed my layout, design and dimensions of the kichen because of the wealth of knowledge and first hand experience from everyone on this site.

So thanks to all again!

Pevo

starpooh, you are awesome!

I know pretty much anything that any of us are suggesting can be addressed by using the "other" box, so don't feel like you have to include every little thing for everyone. here are my little things, and you can use or discard at will!

1a. Kitchen Style: Consider adding "modernist". I'm always torn when I see "modern" (not used here) or "contemporary" (on your list). Because my kitchen is definitely modern in that MCM-meets-Dwell kind of way, but the kitchens seen in such categories often aren't anything of the kind. They are usually shaker or even more traditional/transitional doors and granite with perhaps a mosaic tile backsplash. That's why I suggest using "modernist" because I don't think those folks would pick "modernist." Only the truly modern folks would, and it will be easier to find those few kitchens.

ceiling design - angled/sloped ceiling. That question seems to come up a lot.

2a. Cabinet Finish - maybe use "wood - light stain", etc. I'm worried folks will just check "brown" and not delineate wood/paint, etc.

3b Countertops Special Features - gabled/return to floor/waterfall (whatever they are calling it nowadays).

9a Flooring material - brick/pavers

Flooring Color - same as with the cabinets. Do "Wood - light stain" and "wood - medium stain", etc. Then as the other choices just include white/cream, medium tones, dark tones, and perhaps multicolor

Jakebedy, I don't think that anything can help the fact that style names often have a range of meaning. Even Art Deco which is generally narrower has European vs American takes on it. But I would put shaker cabinets under transitional. I think that it would be good to add modern to the list as it isn't quite the same as contemporary. Modern tends to be the more ultra sleek style.

Starpooh, I think most variations from what you have can be handled under other. But I'm not sure where to put special treatment of the electrical cover plates such as our granite ones. Perhaps under backsplash (at least for those in the backsplash)? Or under electrical? Or under decor? People with plugmold or outlets on that counter grommet thing might want a category for that under electrical.

I think the new site looks awesome! It's very user friendly, from what I can ascertain. My disclaimer is that I have no idea how to build a website. The fact that you all put your time into creating a free site to aid others is fabulous.

Thanks to all who have contributed their know how!

A vast improvement over the old site.

But under design I would add a category that involves family & function (can refine or add other items to this list):
--large family
--multiple cooks
--small children
--entertain frequently
--pet accommodations
--single person
--wheelchair accessible
--user-friendly for the elderly
--user-friendly for the disabled

Also:
---checkbox somewhere for green or eco-friendly renovation.
--maybe one for "quick reno for immediate resale."
--Is there still a box somewhere for the

I don't have any additional suggestions, I just wanted to thank you, starpooh, for all the work, time and effort that you are putting into this. I peeked at the test site and it looks like amazing!!

Thanks, Starpooh! It looks like you've put a lot of thought into this site. The user interface is easy to use and intuitive. The number of categories will surely allow us to do meaningful searches of finished kitchens.

My only suggestion relates to custom cabinets. I guess you don't want to allow for people to enter hundreds of custom cabinetry shops across the country. Could people who have custom cabinets enter their state so that others who are looking for custom solutions in a certain region might contact them for referrals? Perhaps there is a reason you don't want to do that, but I feel like it might have been helpful to me.

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. It's going to take me awhile to go through them all!

There are a few major points that I completely overlooked and will add new sections to the checklist. (Some I have already added):
- Island Size - how did I miss this?
- Countertop Finish
- Tile Countertop mfg
- Opinions - great idea mtnfever!
- Pantry
- Family and Function - another great idea. Thx warmfridge!

Still thinking of the best way to incorporate a kitchen "refresh" and electrical cover plates.

And some questions:
- learningguru - can you explain what you mean by "an area for special features"? Would that be something in addition to the "Special Features Other Information"?
- liriodendron - "If electrons could be worn out then there'd be a huge scrap pile of FKB particles in windrows under my computer desk...." LOL! Are you a physicist?

And some answers:
- nancy_in_mich - Yes, the search box will be able to find text in the write-in boxes and the OTHER boxes.
- clafouti - Unfortunately the search function won't let you select 2 entries in the same section. But you can select a single entry then use the Search Box to search for the other. (Does that makes sense?)
- warmfridge - The Basic entry form contains the budget question. It's broken down into only 4 categories. Super Low (- DreamweaverMAM - I was hoping that members would use the Cabinet Manfacturer Details section to include details about their custom cabinetry shop. It could be the name of the shop, location, etc. How else could I reword the text that explains the section?

And, as jakabedy pointed out, almost each section has an OTHER checkbox where more details can be listed in the OTHER INFORMATION section. So additional choices can be added. And if I've missed a popular choice then I can officially add it as a new choice in the section.

I made lots of updates over the weekend.
Is there anything else that should be included in the categories?

The only thing I *might* add is "classic" or "classical" under the category "style". That is the word I keep using to discribe what I want to do with my kitchen remodel. But maybe that is too broad. To me though, classic is different than traditional.

Wow Starpooh, you did an amazing job! The new site looks great!
A few thoughts I had:
Under the Design tab, design features can we add appliance garage and pantry-walk-in.
Under Cabinet Composition Doors, do you want to include glass. Also, I was going to suggest adding special features like lazy susan, knife drawers and all till I saw it on the other special features tab.
Under Backsplash, I've seen many questions about type of backsplash used specifically behind cook tops. Not sure how you'd add it.
Under Decor, do you want to include the paint name. Also maybe add a section on window treatments?

Thanks for all your hard work and listening to everyone's opinions!

Thanks roms and SoutherBelleKitchen!
I've added most of your suggestions but I'm having difficulty deciding which category some of these features should be in. Should appliance garage be included in Design, Cabinets or as a convenience item in Special Features? And the lazy susan and knife drawers... are they convenience items or should they be included in the cabinet section?
Once the new site goes "live" I won't be able to make any major category moves... so I want to get it right now.

Any other suggestions?

Here is a link that might be useful: Test FKB

bump

Just checked this site; one comment, the dropdown menu options are hiding behind the pictures. May be you want to look into it.