Kitchen and bathroom remodel advice

A tip - never cheap out on kitchen hardware/pulls. So many times I see a house online for sale that states new kitchen or renovated kitchen or thousands spent on new kitchen only to see kitchen pulls on the cabinet that appear to have come from Walmart. Yes, great hardware can start be over $500 but it makes a difference in the long run.
 
Don't compromise - it will drive you nuts in the long run. When we did our remodel we wanted an apron sink. The cabinet lady either didn't know or didn't care, and talked us into a regular sink because she had already done her plans and ordered materials based on that. Well, the granite has to have a seam somewhere, and it ended up in the middle of the sink. i see that seam every day and think, you know, with an apron sink, there would be no seam (grr!). It would cost a fortune to change it now - we've looked into it multiple times.
 
for the kitchen-pullouts in the cabinets, if you go with granite counter tops then get a compressed granite sink (love mine-no stains like porcelain and no water spots like stainless steel). for bathroom-consider having an outlet installed INSIDE the medicine cabinet. great for electric shaver or toothbrush to keep it off the counter.

My father is a retired carpenter/project manager/kitchen designer. When we remodeled our bathrooms, he suggested putting an outlet on the wall below the countertop so I can keep a hairdryer plugged in without the cord all over the countertop. I just pull it out of the drawer to dry my hair and put it back. I never would have thought of that and it was a great idea. In the summer (humidity) I keep a straightener plugged in too. I'm very careful to turn it off but it has auto shut off after so many minutes which is good because I wouldn't ever want to risk starting a fire with hot electrical appliances shoved in a drawer.

This may not be following code in all areas but a contractor should know.
 
Something the designer our Kitchen Remodeling Contractor had on staff suggested something we never would have thought of was NOT putting the microwave over the stove. We have a drawer microwave next to the stove under the counter. This way one person can be working on the stove/oven while another is using the microwave without getting in each other's way. We really love it.
 
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We remodeled 3 upstairs bathrooms, down to the studs. Did not move plumbing. I wouldn't skimp on cabinets or countertops. Cabinets are usually either solid wood, plywood, or MDF (medium density fiberboard). In the bathroom you want something that stands up to the moisture, humidity and water. I used three 2 different countertops: Marble in the master bathroom (a neutral called diane reale marble) with ivory painted cabinets, carrara marble in the guest bedroom (the classic grey and white) and a quartz (gray and whites) in the jack & jill bathroom. Quartz is the most popular right now. Very durable and easy to clean and take care of. There are many quartz pieces that look like marble (with the gray veining and beige veining) that are very popular and look beautiful. I went with porcelain tile for it's durability, ease of cleaning. At some stores, a PEI will be associated with it. A PEI measure durability and how it holds up to foot traffic, usually on a scale of 1-5. When we were in process of the remodel, we took out the steam functions of the steam shower and the heat flooring. The steam shower was not up to code and very costly to replace. We were considering putting in a new one but found that finding someone to come out and look at it is not so easy. The guy said they only last 5 years if you're lucky and it cost $300 just for him to come to the house. We did rip out the large step up garden style tub and put in a free standing glass slipper style tube. Very happy with that decision. So pretty and really updates the room. Changed out the fans in the shower and where the toilet is and updated and added more recessed lighting and put a chandelier over my glass slipper tub. I did not go with the "free sinks" that the cabinet guy offered. Did not know who made them. I purchased my sinks, tub, bath/tub/sink fixtures/ and toilet from a plumbing showroom and it was all delivered to my house. Splurged on shower (Hansgrohe). There's a place near me that you can go in and literally try the bathroom shower stuff, just bring your bathing suit. My husband did it. All the other fixtures were Kohler. I would recommend research, research, research. Go online, google what you're interested in to get ideas and research the places you plan on buying your materials from. I handled all that. I picked them out, paid for them and had them delivered. Many contractors will charge extra for that. I would also make sure that what you want to buy is in stock and on site BEFORE you project begins. Especially in the uncertain times when it takes longer to get things and many things are not in stock. And a big tip I have, whatever tile you decide on...buy EXTRA. Just in case you run short, or some are broken in the box and mostly because tiles get discontinued all the time. You never know.
 
I picked them out, paid for them and had them delivered. Many contractors will charge extra for that.
THIS! We had a great Kitchen and Bath Company that made it clear from the outset that they added 40% to the price of items they bought. And they added that if we used suppliers from their list, those suppliers would deliver any items we bought to the contractors warehouse for free, and the contractor would store those items until they were needed.
And even the big names in fixtures often make identical appearing faucets for example in three materials with different prices. The most expensive being brass. Middle of the line in zinc. Contractor/Apartment grade in plastic. The brass version of our bath faucets were $180. The plastic version $16
 
We used a kitchen designer and one of the best things which was done was to have the dish washer directly across where all the dished go (we have an kitchen island). This save so much time. Just open the dish washer, open the draw for the dishes, and just unload. No walking around.
 


We cook a lot, and had outlets put below our sinks for touchless faucets. Our plumber didn't like them, said they cause problems. Most of the problems are because they are not installed correctly. 6 years later not one issue with them (Kohler). They work great when installed correctly. We went with the Kohler, b/c at the time they were the only true touchless. Others, you had to tap the metal.
 
Thanks for this info! We are just starting out with a kitchen remodel and I would not have thought of this! (Though I did ask the designer to figure in a garbage disposal so maybe that would have given us the option!).

We put a new kitchen in a prior condo and we have redone 3 bathrooms here.

Things I recommend:
- use drawers and not cabinets for anything that makes sense.
- we prefer non-porous hard countertops (quartz, glass etc)
- get deep sinks

For flooring..my feedback is that tile floors are COLD and things break/shatter easily on them. We considered heating them but it seemed like an added expense...sort of wish we had done it in the upstairs bathrooms.

Our friends have just completed their Reno and they SWEAR by the addition of the spice drawer near their stove. Life Changing was the word used! We don’t have one yet - but we will in the fall!

For the prior remodels - I have generally left plumbing where it was, some might call it a face lift ...we did convert the kids bathroom to a double sink And the condo kitchen got an island - but nothing major.

For our upcoming kitchen effort - in our forever home - I have opted to go with a kitchen designer. It’s costing us $1500 (which will be applied to the price of the cabinets should we purchase from them). We have met twice and we will be meeting next Friday to review 3 totally different design options. The kitchen designer really understands how to make the kitchen function. Can you easily put the dishes away from the dishwasher? Is there enough prep space? What goes in each cabinet or pantry space? If you use that cool space saver lift up cabinet - what happens when you are blocking the cabinet above it? For me - having help making a truly functioning kitchen is going to be money well spent. Sounds like you are aiming more for a kitchen facelift - but just throwing it out there!
 
Thanks for this info! We are just starting out with a kitchen remodel and I would not have thought of this! (Though I did ask the designer to figure in a garbage disposal so maybe that would have given us the option!).

We put a new kitchen in a prior condo and we have redone 3 bathrooms here.

Things I recommend:
- use drawers and not cabinets for anything that makes sense.
- we prefer non-porous hard countertops (quartz, glass etc)
- get deep sinks

For flooring..my feedback is that tile floors are COLD and things break/shatter easily on them. We considered heating them but it seemed like an added expense...sort of wish we had done it in the upstairs bathrooms.

Our friends have just completed their Reno and they SWEAR by the addition of the spice drawer near their stove. Life Changing was the word used! We don’t have one yet - but we will in the fall!

For the prior remodels - I have generally left plumbing where it was, some might call it a face lift ...we did convert the kids bathroom to a double sink And the condo kitchen got an island - but nothing major.

For our upcoming kitchen effort - in our forever home - I have opted to go with a kitchen designer. It’s costing us $1500 (which will be applied to the price of the cabinets should we purchase from them). We have met twice and we will be meeting next Friday to review 3 totally different design options. The kitchen designer really understands how to make the kitchen function. Can you easily put the dishes away from the dishwasher? Is there enough prep space? What goes in each cabinet or pantry space? If you use that cool space saver lift up cabinet - what happens when you are blocking the cabinet above it? For me - having help making a truly functioning kitchen is going to be money well spent. Sounds like you are aiming more for a kitchen facelift - but just throwing it out there!
Yes. It's basically a facelift but also the new design will provide me with another 4 ft of counter space and more storage. I'm no moving walls nor plumbing to save money.
 
In the bathroom, we love our smart control on our shower faucet. We can set it for a certain temperature and know exactly how hot the water is before stepping in.

We love our cheap bidet accessory for our toilet. We use a lot less toilet paper.

Get a quiet fan that has an automatic humidity control. It will turn itself on and off when it detects the humidity is at a certain level. Panasonic and Broan make them. Other may also.

I'd build in automatic towel warmer / dryer to keep towels cleaner longer.

I'd install some kind of drying bar in the shower for drying swimwear and hand washed items. They are so hard to deal with without a place for them to drip dry. A built in cubbie to hold shampoo and soap are all the rage now. Use a glass shower enclosure, not a shower curtain if in the budget.

In the kitchen, soft close cabinets are wonderful.

Stick with quartz counters for longevity and durability.

Get a large refrigerator. I think stocking up may be important in the future. Make sure the designer allows enough space for the doors to open completely. It amazes me how many put the fridge near a wall so the door can only open 90 degrees.

Make sure to have room on the counter for an air fryer, bread maker, sous vide setup and other new appliances that may be used more often in the future.

We have a combo microwave / convection oven that gets used far more than our larger oven. It is best not to install them over the cooktop.

Invest in a quiet dishwasher that cleans without prewashing dishes.

We have two bins in our cabinet next to the sink, one for garbage and one for recycling that hides all of our trash.

If you plan on grilling inside the house, make sure to have adequate ventilation so the house does not fill up with smoke. Make sure there is an allowance for make up air if you put in a powerful exhaust fan. Most designers do not engineer this properly.

Use the new LED light fixtures whenever possible. Some of the new ones allow you to choose the color spectrum of the light, from harsh blue light to soft warm light by adjusting a setting in the fixture. It is amazing technology. Halo has them.

If possible, talk to more than one designer. We had two do up plans. One was terrible, and one was amazing.
 
In the bathroom, we love our smart control on our shower faucet. We can set it for a certain temperature and know exactly how hot the water is before stepping in.

We love our cheap bidet accessory for our toilet. We use a lot less toilet paper.
In the bathroom, we love our smart control on our shower faucet. We can set it for a certain temperature and know exactly how hot the water is before stepping in.

We love our cheap bidet accessory for our toilet. We use a lot less toilet paper.

Get a quiet fan that has an automatic humidity control. It will turn itself on and off when it detects the humidity is at a certain level. Panasonic and Broan make them. Other may also.

I'd build in automatic towel warmer / dryer to keep towels cleaner longer.

I'd install some kind of drying bar in the shower for drying swimwear and hand washed items. They are so hard to deal with without a place for them to drip dry. A built in cubbie to hold shampoo and soap are all the rage now. Use a glass shower enclosure, not a shower curtain if in the budget.

In the kitchen, soft close cabinets are wonderful.

Stick with quartz counters for longevity and durability.

Get a large refrigerator. I think stocking up may be important in the future. Make sure the designer allows enough space for the doors to open completely. It amazes me how many put the fridge near a wall so the door can only open 90 degrees.

Make sure to have room on the counter for an air fryer, bread maker, sous vide setup and other new appliances that may be used more often in the future.

We have a combo microwave / convection oven that gets used far more than our larger oven. It is best not to install them over the cooktop.

Invest in a quiet dishwasher that cleans without prewashing dishes.

We have two bins in our cabinet next to the sink, one for garbage and one for recycling that hides all of our trash.

If you plan on grilling inside the house, make sure to have adequate ventilation so the house does not fill up with smoke. Make sure there is an allowance for make up air if you put in a powerful exhaust fan. Most designers do not engineer this properly.

Use the new LED light fixtures whenever possible. Some of the new ones allow you to choose the color spectrum of the light, from harsh blue light to soft warm light by adjusting a setting in the fixture. It is amazing technology. Halo has them.

If possible, talk to more than one designer. We had two do up plans. One was terrible, and one was amazing.

Get a quiet fan that has an automatic humidity control. It will turn itself on and off when it detects the humidity is at a certain level. Panasonic and Broan make them. Other may also.

I'd build in automatic towel warmer / dryer to keep towels cleaner longer.

I'd install some kind of drying bar in the shower for drying swimwear and hand washed items. They are so hard to deal with without a place for them to drip dry. A built in cubbie to hold shampoo and soap are all the rage now. Use a glass shower enclosure, not a shower curtain if in the budget.

In the kitchen, soft close cabinets are wonderful.

Stick with quartz counters for longevity and durability.

Get a large refrigerator. I think stocking up may be important in the future. Make sure the designer allows enough space for the doors to open completely. It amazes me how many put the fridge near a wall so the door can only open 90 degrees.

Make sure to have room on the counter for an air fryer, bread maker, sous vide setup and other new appliances that may be used more often in the future.

We have a combo microwave / convection oven that gets used far more than our larger oven. It is best not to install them over the cooktop.

Invest in a quiet dishwasher that cleans without prewashing dishes.

We have two bins in our cabinet next to the sink, one for garbage and one for recycling that hides all of our trash.

If you plan on grilling inside the house, make sure to have adequate ventilation so the house does not fill up with smoke. Make sure there is an allowance for make up air if you put in a powerful exhaust fan. Most designers do not engineer this properly.

Use the new LED light fixtures whenever possible. Some of the new ones allow you to choose the color spectrum of the light, from harsh blue light to soft warm light by adjusting a setting in the fixture. It is amazing technology. Halo has them.

If possible, talk to more than one designer. We had two do up plans. One was terrible, and one was amazing.

Some really excellent ideas! I love the automatic fan idea. I didn't even know that existed.
 
A few other things that we really like about our new kitchen:

Our garbage can pulls out from the island. Very neat, and the spoiled pup can't get into the trash! On the down side, visitors never can find it.

DH does the dishes, so I let him choose the new dishwasher. It's a Bosch, and it's so quiet, I've opened it while it was running. Repeatedly. But, I'll take that over a noisy dishwasher, any day of the week.

I also let Dh pick the faucet. It's the type where you pull it towards you for cold, away from you for hot. I hate that part. But, it also has the spray thingie that you pull out of the main faucet, which is nice. And we like the soap dispenser.

The only other thing I suggest is, really think about what you want and what you'll use in your kitchen. While house-hunting, I saw a couple kitchens where the people clearly didn't cook. Nothing wrong with that, but our kitchen gets constant use--they simply wouldn't work for our family. I have a stash of cookbooks, so open shelves for them was important to me (I'm not personally a fan of open shelving for dishes--maybe I'd like it more if my dish collection wasn't so ratty. Oops, I mean, "eclectic".)

If you like air frying, consider a convection oven (same thing). Especially if counter space is at a premium. I like a big pantry. I buy a lot of staples, but if you have a smaller family, you could use the space to store less-used items (Kitchenaid? bread machine?)
 
DH does the dishes, so I let him choose the new dishwasher. It's a Bosch, and it's so quiet, I've opened it while it was running. Repeatedly. But, I'll take that over a noisy dishwasher, any day of the week.
Our Kitchen contractor sent us to a specialty appliance store that had all the dishwashers set up so you could see and hear them. The sales rep pointed out every dishwasher today is quiet. We were replacing a very troublesome Bosch. It was quiet but broke a lot, and parts could take weeks to get. One thing that surprised me, having the Bosch with a stainless steel tub, the rep pointed out that most plastic tubbed dishwashers are warranted for life against cracking, and he had never seen a plastic tub crack.
We ended up with a Whirlpool. Almost 7 years later it is going strong, something the Bosch it replaced did not do.
 
We've redone kitchens (old house and new house). Both times we went with a midrange solid wood Thomasville cabinet. I was very happy with the quality when we did the first house so I used them on the second one. We live on a lake and I wanted a "beachy" feel so we went with a white shaker style cabinet. I think they're really classic and stand the test of time. That was what was there originally when the house was built in 1950. We went with vinyl plank flooring. It looks like wood, but is water resistant. We did our kitchen 3 years ago and I still love it.
 
We've redone kitchens (old house and new house). Both times we went with a midrange solid wood Thomasville cabinet. I was very happy with the quality when we did the first house so I used them on the second one. We live on a lake and I wanted a "beachy" feel so we went with a white shaker style cabinet. I think they're really classic and stand the test of time. That was what was there originally when the house was built in 1950. We went with vinyl plank flooring. It looks like wood, but is water resistant. We did our kitchen 3 years ago and I still love it.
That's the flooring we have in our kitchen, as well. Much as we love real wood, we needed something kid-and pet-proof. If you haven't looked at fake wood flooring lately, give it a chance--the advances in looks and quality have come a long way.

In our bathroom, we used tile that looks like gray wood planks. Again, didn't want real wood, due to the moisture. We also live in a coastal town, so we wanted a coastal feel, but not overly "beachy".
 
We used a kitchen designer and one of the best things which was done was to have the dish washer directly across where all the dished go (we have an kitchen island). This save so much time. Just open the dish washer, open the draw for the dishes, and just unload. No walking around.
This is a detail that many home designers (mainly men) miss. Having the dishwasher underneath the cabinet where dishes will go is very important. We looked at a model house that had the dishwasher on the other side of the kitchen from where the cabinets are and I asked about moving the dishwasher. I guess I'm the only person that ever asked because they were shocked I mentioned it. :rolleyes:
 
Another detail for the bathroom ~ a light in the shower. I had them installed during our bathroom renos and we love them.
 
I finally bit the bullet (after almost 3 years of waffling) and hired a contractor. Now I have to pick fixtures, cabinets and floors, etc. I need advice. I like the "coastal look: with either white or gray cabinets and hardwood floors. DH likes a light wood cabinet, like something oak or maple and a tile floor. And most importantly, and to fit the budget board, it has to be something that will not look awfully dated in 10-15 years when I plan to sell my house. Also, budget-wise, there are a ton of cabinet choices in different quality levels. What's important to spend on and what is fluff?
We live in a house that was flipped in 2014 or so with IKEA cabinets in the kitchen and cabinets from a cabinet company in the bathroom. The kitchen cabinets have held up really well (except under the sink where we had a slow leak that we didn’t notice for days :( ), while the laminate in the vanity in the master bath is peeling and puckered from the humidity in the room. So IKEA can be a good budget choice, especially if you put in some of the assembly work yourself.

As for design choices, I think white cabinets are timeless and versatile especially paired with hardwood or hardwood-look floors and a subtle backsplash. It makes it easy to change up the look and feel of your space with paint, art, and accessories.
 
Another detail for the bathroom ~ a light in the shower. I had them installed during our bathroom renos and we love them.

I did that, too...once you are getting an electrician (which we were doing for the extra outlet), it pays to just do all the electrical, b/c getting one in and permitted costs a set minimum, but after you hit that number, the extra projects for them become cheap...
 

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