I remodeled my kitchen this past summer. First answer: no I did not do it myself, I hired a contractor. Second answer, it took about four months, which was about six to eight weeks longer than expected. Final answer? Yes, I am very happy with the results.
My apartment kitchen is essentially a six-foot hallway with nooks on each side. Along the north edge is space for a small cooking range, sink, and cabinets; along the south, an angled wall and then space for a refrigerator and shelving.
I’ve lived here for over ten years, longing to replace the cabinets and make other improvements. When I moved in, I replaced the fridge and range, and added an adjustable baker’s shelf, but that was about it. The cabinets were OK, but I suffered a loose hinge and an even looser handle that would fall off without warning.
Here’s what the south edge looked like before the remodel:
I don’t have good pictures of the old north wall, but basically: a smaller sink, and the cabinets stopped short of the ceiling about a foot. I also did not have a wall-mounted microwave, and I had no dishwasher.
Notice how in the picture above, the butcher-block shelf does not extend out as far as the fridge.
My goals in this remodel were to 1) get more counter space, 2) get better lighting, and 3) refresh the cabinets.
Mission Accomplished.
First of all, from a similar angle: the new south countertop extends fully, givign me almost +3sf of counter space. Also, by adding the dishwasher, I no longer need to keep a dish rack in the space right of the sink – just a little flat towel for the occasional hand-wash item. Additionally, there was tile under the north edge, and old tile for the backsplash.
The new sink is wider by about 4 ” and quite a but deeper, and undermount. The countertops are quartz. In a perfect world I would have had more of an ebony black, but the mottling is nice, and altogether it breaks up what would otherwise be an all-white space.
The cabinets have an acrylic cover – the best way to get the modern slab look I wanted. Originally I wanted color cabinets and white tops, but reversing that scheme was an acceptable compromise.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time choosing a sink faucet. The array of choices are dazzling, and the range in costs quite wide, and I know nothing about design. In the end I went for something less baroque and more modern, and I’m happy with it.
We did have to angle the handle out though – if parallel with the wall, the “on” for cold could not extend fully back. I say it gives the sink character.
The cabinets now extend to the top, offering better storage for rarely used items. I also took the opportunity to relocate where things are kept – the baking dishes are now lower, in the bottom drawer of the south cabinet, and decorative/seasonal things are up high. The bread machine lives in the cabinet above the microwave.
Speaking of which: originally I just wanted a range fan. My old microwave, probably 15+ years old, was fine, but when I learned of combination range fans/microwaves, and searched for the most narrow one I could find, I settled on a Haier. It’s a GE brand I was able to get a discount on through work. It has fancy options I’ve only begun to explore.
I now have some cheap shelves to make up what the baker’s shelf provides, and these industrial Wall Control brand panels provide great customizable pegboard storage. Originally I was going to have 4×4, but with the outlets I split them, as you’ll see.
With that increased counterspace, I have room both for the toaster and cooking utensil bins, as well as room to prepare food.
The other Wall Control unit ended up becoming a pot rack in the little nook between the fridge and the angled wall. I also bought a lid holder. The pot fleet will clear up when some new cookware arrives is cleared up (it’s arrived!) but even at this level it is manageable, including the electric hand mixer.
Here’s the north edge, with the sink and counter in action. I have a roomy place now for both the food processor, which has hardly been used, and the coffee grinder, which has seen considerable user. Both are Cuisinarts, as is the toaster.
The under cabinet lighting has been desired for years, and its lack was a regular complaint by Mister Autoclast. The only downside to the work is that with a deeper sink, the sliding rack for trash and recycling would no longer fit, so I have to pull those cans out more manually.
In addition to the kitchen, I also had the window frame and radiator cover redone. My original idea was just to paint the radiator cover – the radiator lives in the wall – but my contractor suggested building out a wooden frame with shelves.
This picture is from before I put things away.
I also had Elfa closet organizers installed. I have to mention that I had a very good customer experience with Elfa. Basically the hall closet is slightly narrower that the bedroom closet, and the organizer I wanted for the former was too wide by about two inches. I called to ask about adding on items to the next smaller kit-size, and the rep said they could just trim the kit I wanted at the factory, at no extra cost. So yeah, if you’re looking for custom cabinet organizing, you could do worse.
This brings me to the only negative I had in the whole experience. Up until this time I was able to sleep in my apartment if I needed to, to do something in the city early the next day, for example. Even with no stove or sink, I could crash out even while I lived most of the time at David’s. To get the organizers installed, however, I had to dump everything out of the closets, to the only place left: my bed.
I thought they would get installed in a few days, and I could load everything back. Somehow, all work seemed to have stopped, so it was a month before I was motivated enough to say something firm enough to get the work done.
By that point, we were approaching Labor Day, and David and I were going on vacation. The very morning of vacation, I drove in early to go over some final details, and a week later, upon our return, almost everything was done. We just needed to add a couple of shelves and the pot lid holder.
Speaking of which, as I write this, my new cookware has arrived. I can’t wait to inaugurate it. The kitchen has worked well so far; in a way using proper pots and pans will make it feel official.