I see what you mean ... it's tidy and workable, but not ideal. I've lived with much worse for much longer! I do have to question if your $15,000 budget for a complete redo is reasonable, even doing it yourself. That number seems very low. If it were me, I would spend a bit more time going over the budget and pinning down all the costs involved.

Can you post a dimensional layout for the space? With the many constraints that it has, I'm not sure that you could actually improve the layout even if you were to spend 50K (the average kitchen remodel amount) to do so. 15K will NOT touch a complete redo in that kitchen unless you are talking builder grade products.

Really, you have a nice sized prep zone between the sink and range, even if the DW is in the middle of it. Unless you could close off that window, the range has to stay where it is, or swap with the fridge. If it swapped with the fridge, you wouldn't have enough prep space unless you were willing to move the sink away from the window.

Sometimes the bones of the space make getting "better" not possible without significant expenditure. I think your space might be one of those. But, without an overhead layout of the space, (and the adjacent space), it's hard to tell what can actually be done. I'd probably just live with it as is for at least a year before I decided to do anything.

I'm not a brown person, myself, but I could deal with that kitchen as is. It has lots of work space and windows, which are my big musts. You really don't sound as if you want to at all, though.

Assuming money weren't that much much of an issue, why does the fact that this stuff you don't like, in a layout you don't like, is technically only 6-7 years old, instead of 12-13, or 21-22, make such a difference? Those cabinets and counter could easily be twice as old, or more, and just seldom used. The lack of drawers in itself is a serious functional obsolescence. Crouching to stare back into shelves and clean them out, may be good exercise, but that would be scant comfort for someone accustomed to full-extension drawers.

In 1-2 years, assuming you haven't developed a fondness for it, my recommendation would be to disregard how many decades this kitchen could continue to serve you well enough (several by today's standards) and redo it the way you want.

Whatever your finances, I don't think you should go for the little quickie job. It wouldn't fix what you don't like, and even appliances you purchased now might be something you'd want to upgrade when you decided a new backsplash just wasn't doing it for you. New options come along every year, after all.

Thanks jellytoast. The $15k is really just an estimate. We did our last kitchen with new floor/cabs/granite for about $8k, but that was 1/2 the size of this kitchen. With Ikea cabs, mid-range appliances, quartz & subway tile, we could probably keep it $15-20K.

It would be a nice upgrade, and more our style, but I feel sort of guilty about gutting this kitchen. Really, if it were laid out more sensibly, it would be such an easy decision!

Would removing those stray cabinets and putting in a rolling worktable help any? You could shove in next to that peninsula when you didn't need it.

It's clean and workable,but not ideal. I'd live with it, after painting it

Thanks @GreenDesigns- No top-view layout yet. I might work on that this weekend. I think $15-20k is very reasonable considering we would do it ourselves. We like simple, clean lines with a more modern design. It wouldn't be an ornate $50k kitchen with design flourishes everywhere. Those are plenty pretty, just not our thing. The space at present is really only constrained by the acres of brown granite. We could easily move anything around if we did a full re-do, but we would likely just move the gas line.

If we were to re-do the entire space, we would go galley-style. Move the range to where the DW currently resides. Shrink the fridge & move it over to where the stove resides now (a 36" fridge is ridiculous for 2 people!). The DW would go roughly where the fridge is now. All drawer bottom cabs & 3 or 4 wall cabs against the back wall.

Thanks @rosie. All good points. Yes, there is plenty of prep space now. And it's bright! But the cabinets are all pretty terrible. Very few drawers and the lower cabinets are cavernous with no organization. And due to the poor design, there are gaps & filler galore. Really, we could build a nice custom piece of furniture with all the filler they used!

@lazygardens- No more counter space!! Haha. We somehow have too much counter space right now yet no good storage. Those weird wall cabinets on the floor hold all our snacks/cereals/etc. Without those we would only have 2 other wall cabinets for food. And then we can only reach the bottom 1/2 of those wall cabinets!

If it were me I'd change out the pulls (to me black square pulls would look good), add roll out drawers where needed, paint the walls something more attractive, add more interesting window coverings, change out the white toe kick and call it good. I'm not a tile back splash person but that would be an option.

Life is short, use your time having fun rather than sweating the kitchen. I think once you've personalized it you will think it is just fine and rather pretty.

xand, I understand how you feel about not wanting to tear out what's there. I'm very much a "reduce, reuse, recycle" kind of gal. We just gutted our 24-yr-old poorly-functioning kitchen, and even though the cabinets were cheapo builder grade, I tried hard to find new homes for all the pieces (except the falling apart lasy susans). I wasn't going to get new appliances, since mine worked. I only changed my mind about that when I found people who could use my old fridge and range.

That said, I agree with Rosie. It doesn't matter how old or new the cabinets are - they don't work very well. Do you have a garage or basement where they might be useful? Our old cabinets went to the laundry room, our garage, the neighbor's garage, and the other neighbor's furnace room.

There are lots and lots of possibilities for your space, depending on what you were willing to do. Can you take out the half wall, and put in an island with a sink? Do you have access to move the plumbing lines?

Immediately, get yourself a nice folding step stool, and tuck it in next to the fridge - my new cabs go to the ceiling,a nd I'm only 5'4", so I use my stool a lot!

Another way to better use your existing upper cabinets is to change the shelf locations, so shorter things are on the bottom, and you can reach another shelf. I ordered extra shelves for several of my upper cabinets, so I could put more things in without stacking.

You could try to sell the kitchen whole. The cabinets, counters, appliances, etc. OR separate the cabinets/counters from the appliances.

If you plan on staying for a while, I'd save up for making it what you want. Carefully remove the cabinets and donate them. You will honestly make someone's day when they find them!

In the meantime, post a plan here. Investigate moving the range and sink if needed, see how much that might be so you can let us know if that's a possibility. My guess is the labor in your market is high, so anything you need to hire out, like plumbing, or tiling, might jack up your budget.

I wouldn't spend anything now EXCEPT to vent the microwave hood. Most OTR miicrowaves have the option to vent or recirculate. If it doesn't have that option, a new venting OTR microwave can be had for less than $200. And then think long and hard about your proposed layout change. Moving the range to where the dishwasher is leaves no prep area between the range and sink, which is where you want it. The refrigerator at the far end means everyone trekking through the work zone to reach it. Posting your proposed layout and getting responses to it might help clarify the choices for you.

We did a complete redo of a kitchen for under $15,000 with kraftmaid stained maple cabinets, quatrtz, and mid range appliances. We didn't do a backsplash but our budget would have supported it. All this to say that it can be done. But, we kept the same basic layout, and didn't need to move plumbing or electrical (no gas). We did however have to replace all the plumbing, and update some of the electrical. If you truly can DIY it might be doable.

For comparison, we are in new england, cost of living here is quite high.

Here's what I would do.

1. Make a plan for a galley kitchen. Post it on the forum so you can get help perfecting it.

2. Price it out and get a real budget. Would you have to replace the floor?

3. Decide if it's worth it.

The kitchen would work better as a galley, but I would leave the refrigerator size and location as it is now. You might not want a 36" refrigerator, but just about anybody buying the house would. The smaller space where the range currently is might be an awesome place for a pantry.

Good luck!

When we bought our home, it was only 4 yrs. old. That was just over 7 yrs. ago. My new kitchen was completed just about a yr. ago. The cabs were the cheapest builder grade and the layout functioned terribly for me and my DH. I pretty much started visiting this forum (as a lurker) within 6 months of living in the house.

We finished the basement right away and it was an expensive professional job. That depleted what little savings we had left after the move, so we just waited and planned until we were financially ready and couldn't stand it any longer. Had a plan, had drawings had a contractor and my mom ended up in the hospital with a cancerous brain tumor... project put on hold for one more year. But, now, we have the kitchen of our dreams.

The plan was to donate the cabs to our local Habitat for Humanity Re-store, but the HVAC subcontractor offered to do his work in exchange for them. Figured, why not! So they didn't just get trashed. There are lots of options, even just selling on Craig's List.

So, obviously, I'd start measuring and drawing and lurking here and planning. When you are confident you have the money for the kitchen (and anything else adjacent, possibly) that you want. Go for it!

I lived with my weird kitchen for seven years before making changes. In the meantime, I became we. So we decided to make major changes and move the kitchen.

My kitchen wasn't great, but it worked. When the time came to make changes, we got what we wanted (within reason) and had the money aside to do it.

Your kitchen isn't awful. I would live with it for a while.

I would not do a quick fix. It sounds like you are handy and will be able to tackle this....but even if you DIY this, I would pay a KD to help with a new layout. A good one will come up with ideas you may not have thought of and it will be $ well spent. The most awkward thing for me is that stove up against the wall. I might be tempted to move the DW there and move the sink under the other window and put the stove where the DW is now. Without seeing the adjacent spaces, it's hard to know if another layout utilizing those areas or parts of them could work.

I'd definitely live with it for at least a year before thinking seriously about big changes. On first glance though, the only thing about that kitchen that would bother me lack of elbow room and landing to the left of the range. Everything else looks pretty darn functional and nice to me.

If it were me, and I was going to live there a good while, and since I like Ikea, I would change it out to a functional Ikea kitchen galley style. Its hard to resist the functionality that Ikea offers.

If you plan on being in the house long term, I would plan on a new kitchen - get what suits you both in terms of aesthetic and function.

You could almost certainly resell or donate what you have - they appear to be in very good condition...so that helps minimize the guilt factor of getting rid of "serviceable" stuff being wasted.

I would post a layout on here to see if we could start to give ideas on improving the layout. One of the things that I could see happening that would take the price up is that your sink might very possibly be moved and that may not be something that you can DIY.

Also, with the big fridge thing, it's just two of us and we've got one that size...but, if you don't need one that size now, not certain where you are in life, if you might have little ones in a few years, you may find that the larger fridge may come in handy.

Donate those materials and re-do it the way you want. :)

I see why you aren't in love with it. As someone who is the in the middle of a DIY kitchen remodel I think your budget may be on the low side. Just to be safe, I would say run the numbers again.

For now, I agree with cat builder - vent that microwave (or buy one that will) to the outside.

Check out "Rev a Shelf" they have some great cabinet inserts that will add pull out drawers into lower cabinets for pots/pans, trash, etc. This may address some of your concerns about the cave live storage.

Do you have a basement or garage, where you could use these cabinets? If you are a DIY type, they would be great to store tools and materials.

Since you just bought the house this year and it is functional, I would say live with it for a little while and see what you really hate/like about it, then contact a builder/designer and see what your options are and the projected costs. Take your time now and then love your long-term kitchen.

Live with it for a while, especially since IKEA will change to a new kitchen system that's incompatible with the old. Then, either go with the new system, or buy the old one for peanuts.

Thanks for all your help so far! My day is packed, so no time for a floor plan just yet. I'll try tomorrow. I have to paint the dining room for some brunch guests coming tomorrow. And the place is a wreck!

I think if we do choose to gut the kitchen, we wouldn't want to make any structural changes or move around the plumbing. And we would donate the existing everything. The basement is finished and there is already a kitchen down there.

But to those asking for some other pictures of the kitchen & surrounding areas, here you go. Today's not such a pretty/bright day, but you get the idea.

It's a charming home!

And I noticed how well your Corgi matches the floors! (I have a corgi too).

How do you feel about the laundry in the kitchen?

Please install some fireproofing on your wall next to your stove before you cook another thing. This installation violates the stove manufacturer's installation instructions in addition to putting pot handles in your way.

I would be inclined to scrap everything and start over.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Tue, Feb 18, 14 at 13:21

I understand the kitchen is not something you would pick but, honestly, it looks like a pretty nice kitchen to me, with lots of prep space. Thinking of larger kitchens, it doesn't seem all that long a hike to the refrigerator, imo. How many feet is it?

That's a good point about placing a gas range next to the wall. I can't remember the distance required but I think it was only something like 3 inches; electric could be flush. What is the clearance there? I don't like cooking directly next to a wall, myself, but sometimes it allows for more, adequate, counter space.

I agree to personalize it, live with it, plan and save for what you really want. Maybe you just need to adjust from your old layout.

P.S. Looking at a Maytag unit, specs say 3 inches from wall or other combustible material. Code here is manufacturer specs.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Sat, Oct 19, 13 at 14:12

What is in the 6" or so to the right of the range? If nothing else, I'd pull that out and move the range over. We have 9" to the right of our range and, while not ideal, it's enough to allow my wok's and largest saute pan's handles to swing freely. I also feel better not having the flame so close to a wall! Code here is 6" I believe. Then you could install a proper hood. I know you'd have to mess with the granite, but...

You must miss your "small cool kitchen"!!! I loved your use of 70 square feet in that one :-)

I would wait and live with it for a little while. As you live with it, think about the flaws and what you would change.

The existing cabinets look like they are in good shape. If you cannot use them see if you can donate them. If you have a Habitats for Humanity near you and if they have deconstruction services, that might be an option. Habitats removed and hauled away almost my entire kitchen for $150., plus, I got a big tax write off. Just a thought.

I think you're asking if it would be worth it.

Partly, I'm going to say read a book. Specifically, The Motion Minded Kitchen by Sam Clark.

Partly, I'd give you the same suggestion to wait until about a year has gone by and then give yourself about 6 months to plan if you decide to go forward. Even if you do a small scale renovation, it's going to cost more than you think and take longer than you want - so it's best to get it right and do it only once. That may mean that you take some time to accumulate funds to do the right thing.

Partly, I'm going to say something you'll hate - which is the function of a kitchen is ALL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS. How many steps to the ref, to the dry food storage, to the water, to the oven, to the space for cooling cookies, to a cutting surface, to the mixer and to the trash. If you won't agree to move anything, you won't get much out of a cabinet replacement.

You would get something out of doing it - there's a lotta filler in that layout, so you would get about another 18" of cabinet space. If you also went with frameless cabinets, you could maybe add another 6". You might be able to move around some of the specialty storage so some things would be stored closer to the point of first use. That's the maximum function benefit you could get for a straight up cabinet replacement (plus likely the sink and counters).

So, the best thing I feel I can say is read the book, live in your space for a while and see what you feel like after another couple of months.

How about pitting a range top in front of the window and double ovens under the counter? You could put a microwave on the counter or in an appliance garage. Another thought would be to do a range in the opening into the living room, that would put it closer to the frig. Put one in the corner?

My parents had their stove next to the right wall. It was okay for me because I am left-handed. Don't know how my mother did it with being right-handed and it was a 24 inch stove to boot.

I know several people who put a range in front of the window.

Karen

I agree with those who say live with it for 6-12 months, and save up for a real reno, rather than little cosmetic fixes.

No way would I be comfortable with a stove, gas or electric, next to a wall like that. Sometimes pans catch on fire. There's no room for handles to get out of the way of things to their right. Scares me, code or no code.

I work in a small kitchen with a sweet prep space between my sink and stove. I think the distance between your sink and stove is way worse than your fridge. I usually access my fridge twice in a cooking session (getting everything out, then putting it away). But I'm in and out of the sink ALL the time.

Yes, wait until you can plan out what will best work in the space...that includes appliances...don't buy now, wait for the reno. I would be tempted to get rid of the wall separating the kitchen and dining room and make it either a usable island or peninsula and maybe relocate the sink there with stove and fridge on back wall. You may even be able to put in a pantry. Nice house!

Ok, so no floor plan. Brunch turned into a 6 hour mimosa-drowning. No complaints, but productivity suffered!

The more I think about it, the more new paint and window treatments would greatly help. We would like to swap-out some of the appliances like the DW & OTR pretty soon, as they are not so great. The DW sounds like it’s trying to escape when it’s washing and the OTR is visibly cracked on the front. Oh, and the timer doesn’t work when the microwave is heating. It’s amazing I haven’t taken it out with a baseball bat yet. I’m unsure whether to vent this unit (or a replacement) as the future kitchen would certainly have a vented unit. How many holes do I need to cut out of the house?

Really, with some new appliances & new paint, I think we could get by for a few years. And then knock it all down & re-use the appliances in a new kitchen. Maybe with the new Ikea kitchen line. Fun!

Some tidbit responses (and thanks so much for the advice everyone!):

-The 6” to the right of the range is just filler. It’s totally an empty space under the granite. We could move the current range over, but then a granite fabricator would have to come & chop it off & move it over. That sounds tedious.

-The range is *pretty* close to that side wall, but not touching. There is something like 2” of space. I could easily mount a piece of glass on the wall as a precaution, but I don’t really fear the wall will go up in flames.

@joaniepoanie - Thanks! I think we’d like to keep the breakfast bar even after a reno. We plan to buy some stools and like that guests really use that space while we are in the kitchen. But I like the idea of a pantry. That would be amazing.

@mic111 - I hadn’t considered changing the pulls. Everything in the house is ORB, so if they are dark brown circles or squares, I’m not sure it really matters. But I could be wrong. I will say that working on the house is something we really enjoy, so sweating a kitchen remodel is really no sweat. It’s just a question of money and true need.

@annkh - Wanda the corgi loves to photo-bomb. Does yours do that too? And she does match the floors! But of course, that doesn’t mean the tumbleweeds are invisible ;) Laundry in the kitchen is no biggie. It’s plenty convenient. We had a combo washer/dryer in the old condo, so the size of these units still astounds me. Just have to keep that washer door open. Mold/Mildew City! Also, good tip about the step-stool. We’ll get that stat.

-@cluelessincolorado- Thanks for the shout-out! We do miss that small, cool kitchen! It was nothing fancy & it was a tight space. But it was a fun project and the functionality gained was glorious. Really, that one 30” cabinet of Ikea drawers held more than all the base cabinets in our new/big kitchen. Pics of the old kitchen:

Love your "old" kitchen. What are the cabinets/doors?

Thanks @nosoccermom. They were Adel white on the top and Solar Beech (on closeout!) for the bottoms.

If your microwave door is damaged or cracked don't use it. It could be leaking microwaves.

For our front load washer we used the velcro roll that you can buy at Lowes or Home depot to make a strap that holds the door partially open. The rolls have self stick backing so you can cut a small piece of the opposite velcro to put on the washer and the washer door. Not sure if there is room in your laundry closet for the door to be slightly open but if so it might be a way to hold it open and close the bifold doors.

I think your house is really pretty. The larger pictures put everything in context.

Great corgi! She should photo bomb all the pics!