How-To-Decide Guide: Kitchen Refresh or Renovation?

Deciding whether to refresh or replace your kitchen cabinets is the first step in kitchen remodel planning.

Part 1: WORKING THROUGH THE DECISION PROCESS

One of the biggest question homeowners face today is “How to update their kitchen?” It’s difficult to decide which big-ticket items will have the most impact, not only living for today – but for possible resale value in the future. It’s one of the areas of the home I am most often asked to consult upon. Although not all kitchens are created equal I’ve put together a few simple questions to consider that will help make your decisions more clear. Here’s the process I walk my client’s through. Since I am my client’s advocate and guide, I don’t try to lead them in any particular direction, I simply want to make sure they are happy with the final results!

CABINETS

“Should we invest in new cabinets or reface/refinish the old ones?” As the cost can be surprisingly similar for these different options, here’s what I think are the most important things to consider:

Does the existing cabinet layout work functionally for your lifestyle?

• Take the time to really ponder the main elements of a functional kitchen cabinet layout and ask yourself;

• Are the sizes of my current appliances out-dated?

• Do I currently have the storage needs my family requires?

• Are my drawer glides and door hinges holding up to daily wear-and-tear?

• Is the traffic flow and work triangle (relationship between your sink, stove and refrigerator) the most functional I can get out of the space I have to work with?

• Of course there are many more points to ponder, but these are a great start.

  If the answer is NO to any of these questions, then you really should consider a new cabinet layout AND brand new cabinets since you will end up making concessions if you try to reuse the existing cabinets in a new layout.

  If you’ve answered YES, then let’s probe further;

  Are the existing cabinets well-made, but just dated looking?

• Often, especially in older homes, the cabinets may be well-made and of solid wood construction, but the finish (ie golden-oak), or the style (ie cathedral doors), or other details, especially exposed hinges, give the kitchen a dated look.

  If the answer is NO and the existing cabinets are not structurally sound, then you really should consider brand new cabinets, as there is little reward in spending good money on refreshing a poorly constructed cabinet. Even if your budget is tight.

  If the answer is YES and the existing cabinets at well-made, then you might consider either for following updates;

• Simply painting the existing cabinets (Benjamin Moore’s Advance Waterborne Acrylic paint is a good option.)
  (NOTE: It’s important to get this paint job right! Carefully consider prep involved, too!)

• Replacing the old exposed hinges with concealed hinges (this requires a door panel that is thick enough to handle this hinge). A good cabinet-maker should be able to retrofit most cabinet door styles; inset, partial-overlay, full-overlay, etc.

• It is also possible to replace drawer boxes and glides and re-using the existing cabinet boxes themselves.

• Or re-facing the cabinets with new doors and drawer fronts and/or veneer skins on the cabinet boxes.

If you are still on the fence as whether to refresh or replace, I suggest looking at the costs between new cabinets and refreshing costs. Depending on the refresh process you select the cost savings of can be minimal at best and you will be making compromises when you discover the limitations of the refreshing process. The cost involved using a company that replaces doors, drawers and veneers are surprisingly high. (For instance if you are looking to transition from a stained cabinet to a white cabinet you will need to apply a white veneer “skin” to the cabinet box. These “skins” will have a black edge that is difficult to conceal.) I work with talented craftsmen that have been able to offer better individualized solutions than these larger companies.

Soffits don’t have to feel dated. Often the conceal much needed infrastructure!

The dreaded “S” word! What about the soffits?

Soffits are actually the second most requested element clients want to address in their kitchen renovation. Here are a few points to ponder;

• Most soffits are concealing something - whether it is HVAC ductwork, plumbing or structural, most good contractors are able to rework it. But this will come at a cost and should be considered into your budget.

• It’s always a good idea to make a test hole in your soffit to ascertain the current situation. If you have recessed lighting in your soffit this is simple, just remove the existing housing. - - If, not make a small hole in the least conspicuous spot.
  (TIP: use your cell phone to take a video of whatever is inside the soffit – this works great. If possible have another cell phone act as a flashlight!.)

• If you have decided on new cabinets, then the soffits probably should go (unless this is cost-prohibitive.)

• But keep in mind, even if you take the new cabinets all the way to the ceiling you will typically only get an additional 6” of storage by going to a larger wall cabinet. (I generally leave 6” for crown molding.) So don’t just think you need to replace your cabinets because you have soffits.

• There have been several times that I have simply reduced the depth of a soffit and/or concealed the soffit with trim to give the appearance of taller cabinets without the expense of new ones! (See notes on labor costs below.)

Some final points to ponder on cabinets

Besides the actual cost of cabinet refreshing vs new cabinets here’s a couple of other points to consider;

• Labor cost of demo on removing the old cabinets.

• Are you a “green-minded” individual that loves the idea of refreshing your existing cabinets rather than having them end up in a landfill?

• Yes, if they are sturdy cabinets it is possible to donate them to your local Habitat for Humanity Restore or reuse them in a basement or garage, too! (We use both options with my kitchen projects all the time!)

Look at your ultimate functionality goal. This kitchen required we remove a wall, so new cabinets, too!

PART 2 – WHAT TO KEEP? vs WHAT TO CHANGE?

Since I’ve already reviewed the options of how to approach the biggest ticket item on the budget list – cabinets, let’s look at the other elements of a functional and beautiful kitchen. Some of you have been dreaming of this new kitchen for years – why skimp on planning now?!

Flow and Functionality

Now that we’ve addressed how to determine whether you are going to keep or replace your existing cabinets the next step is to ask the even harder questions;

• What do you like or dislike about your existing kitchen – what works great now?

• What could use improvement?

• And what has always bugged you about your kitchen?

Workflow

This can be broken into 2 parts; here are some sample questions to consider?

Meal Preparation:
What’s your normal cooking process? Gathering, chopping, portioning, cooking appliance placements – is the current layout working for you?

Clean-Up:
Is there a typical process of clearing plates and debris? Do you rinse before putting them into dishwasher or not? Do you hand-wash some items and use a dish drain?

Traffic Flow

This can be broken into 3 parts; here are some more sample questions to consider?

Daily Lifestyle:
How do I normally enter my kitchen? Who gets up first to make the coffee? Do you keep a night light on? Do you bump into each other when emptying the dishwasher or getting the milk out of the refrigerator?

Entertaining:
We all know that no matter how hard we try – our guests are going to end up in our kitchen! How can we create a better space for the main cook/host or hostess to control the show? How can we offer an inviting experience for our guests?

The Big Picture:
My experience as an interior designer AND as a kitchen and bath designer has paid off tremendously for my clients when considering the effects of a kitchen renovation on the adjacent rooms. As modern design trends embrace the open concept” floor plan – careful attention MUST be paid to how the kitchen relates to the rest of the home. When you begin to take down walls you change the dynamics of how our living spaces FLOW with one another!

Functionality

Of course functionality and flow go hand-in-hand. In my mind FLOW items are the ones where a whole body or multiple bodies moving are concerned and FUNCTIONALITY is the details of should a door hinge left or right or where am I going to store my plates as I take them out of the dishwasher? OMG – the questions can seem endless, right?!

Flooring is the second largest surface area in a kitchen and should be a main focus in your plans.

PART 3 – THINKING ABOUT REPLACING YOUR KITCHEN FLOORING?

Kitchen floors are the workhorse and backbone of your kitchen. Most clients cringe at the thought of replacing any type of flooring in their kitchen, and for good reason. But aside from your cabinets, your flooring takes up the largest visual space in the room in terms of pattern, texture and color. So changing it out can have a tremendous impact on your overall design and “freshness’’. When thinking about changing up your kitchen flooring there are a few things to keep in mind

• What is the flooring in the adjacent rooms? If you are trying to make your Kitchen look larger then choosing a flooring material similar, even in color tone alone, can create the desired effect. Or, how do you plan on transitioning into other areas? The height differential of different flooring surfaces can have a real impact on your decision-making.

• If your goal is to just refresh your home for resale? Perhaps a good steam cleaning or grout painting might provide the same visual results and save you money.

• Think about how much you are willing to spend. Most products are sold by the square foot. Think about the total square footage when determining your budget. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples - so include demo and installation into your cost comparison.

• Consider your existing flooring material; how it was installed and what is the underlying substrate material and can it be reused for the new flooring choice?

• Does your existing flooring go under your existing cabinets? This is important especially if you have an island. On a recent Kitchen refresh project we planned on reusing the existing cabinets and installing new flooring. But during demo of the existing vinyl floor we found that there were 3 layers of existing vinyl - each with its own subfloor. This created a height differential of 1.5” at the base of the existing cabinets! So we decided it was best to uninstall the existing base cabinets and tile the entire floor area - and then re-installed the cabinets on the new, lower tile floor. Fortunately we were already planning on replacing the countertops and backsplash - but if we weren’t this situation would have created a huge domino effect! Just a perfect example of how planning and preparation is paramount even in a simple refresh project!

PART 4: WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DECIDE?

I address the cabinets and the flooring first because these are typically the most costly elements to consider. But of course there are other aspects of your kitchen that you are going to want to refresh or replace. Here’s some additional points to consider in your decision-making process:

• Countertops – Many clients ask this question. Yes, they can sometimes be reused, but this is a difficult process and most contractors will not guarantee that these countertop materials will not break! The easiest area to reuse is an island, but even then you, the homeowner will need to take on the liability if something goes amiss in any stage of the removal or reinstallation!

• Appliances – I always recommend going for a standard size cabinet even if you are attempting to reuse an older, smaller appliance. Plan for the replacement size is my motto!

• Sinks - Like countertops, depending on the material can be reused if necessary, but again most contractors won’t take responsibility.

• Faucets – These can be reused, too, if needed, but unless you recently upgraded this fixtures, newer faucets with all their great features, are at least something to consider.

• Backsplash – These will need to be replaced if you are redoing any counter surface.

• Lighting - Always look for ways to improve your lighting no matter what version of a refresh you are considering – that’s a whole other blog guide! Kitchen remodels are considered one of the biggest renovations homeowners may ever attempt.

As you have seen in this guide, there are myriad questions and each answer has its pros and cons, not to mention it consequences. Consider using a non-biased professional to help guide you through this complicated journey. Having an advocate and guide can make all the difference in the outcome – not to mention making it much more enjoyable along the way!