hshiau

I'll take one before and one after!

My numbers include labor (although I haven't done a kitchen in 8 years and I'm not sure what a lot of things cost today). Note that if you go to a high end place like Poggenpohl - the cost of the cabinets should include installation (although you will have to make sure that your space is configured to accept the cabinet installation - including things like walls that will hold the cabinets). The people who supply the appliances should take care of their installation - although you will probably need a plumber and an electrician to take care of plumbing/electrical connections. The flooring contractor will take care of the flooring - and you'll need an electrician for the lighting. The counters are probably a separate contract. A lot of this depends on how comfortable you are dealing with various kitchen people. On my part - last time I did a kitchen (I've done 3) I was building a house. Had a general contractor who knew less about kitchens than I did. So the GC built the shell - and I dealt directly with the other people who did parts of the kitchen. If you don't feel comfortable dealing with outfits who do the various components - you'll want to find someone who'll coordinate everything for you. It's possible that a kitchen designer from a cabinet place will do this. But - not being from your neck of the woods - I can't say. You'll have to ask questions. At a minimum - you'll learn a lot just dropping in and chatting with the designers at the high end cabinet places (best to do this on a day when they're not busy). I was in Atlanta a few months ago - and spent an hour talking with the designer at the local Bulthaup showroom (it was a slow day for her - and a lazy day for me - and I may well use Bulthaup in my next kitchen). If you're interested in design - designers are interested in showing you what they have to offer. And don't be shy about asking questions - like what they think would work for you - and what various options cost. Worst that can happen is the quote knocks your socks off - and you thank the designer for his/her time (when I was much younger - I once went to the Pace Gallery and asked what a particular painting cost - it was Chuck Close - and it was about $450,000 - which was a bit more than I planned on spending - but the gallery person was more than willing to tell me everything about the artist even after I made it known that I couldn't possibly afford the piece - I was interested in learning and that was all that mattered). Robyn Not having done this before, I probably would have a hard time dealing with all the different people and making sure I've got bases covered. The questions is how much a coordinator, an architect, a general contractor, and an electrician would cost. This is before we even look at the materials. We'll definitely take your advice and drop by Poggenpohl to see if they have advice/information. At the very least, I'll get a better idea about the cost. Thanks. Howard

That sounds great. In fact, we're planning on starting with some kitchen places this weekend to check out cabinets. However, your figures don't include labor, do they?

Given your formula, our budget is $25,000. Play away!!!

Omigod! Oxtails are SOOO good. But you have to be ok with things that FEEL a little funny. I go a local spanish place to have oxtail stew.

I don't like pickles either but I'm not embarrassed about it. Should we be making a distinction between what we're embarrassed about or not embarrassed about? I'm sure there are lots of things I don't like that don't bother me at all.

Caviar. Only place where it didn't totally wierd me out was Per Se. Didn't taste as fishy.

Shows how much I know...pull out shelves? Sounds interesting but wouldn't that decrease the space you can put things within the cabinet?

You mean you wouldn't keep them if you owned your place? My wife absolutely hates these cabinets. Even if we replaced the doors, she would still hate the way they look inside as well as the configuration. I think we have the same problem with our brackets. They've snapped and the spring no longer works to keep the doors closed.

Hey, maybe we live in the same building! So does the hardware on your cabinets work? I've had failures on 4 doors already.

She definitely wouldn't settle for the cheapest Home Depot kitchen but some of the better stuff there may do. I don't think we need to pay $100K to get $100K's worth of value on the apartment. I do think a $100K kitchen will probably buy us even more. A more basic renovation will go a long way to getting a better price. Actually, we're not looking to sell right now but we do know that if we're going to start replacing all the appliances, we might as well figure out how we would renovate the kitchen for max value whenever we do decide to sell.

A couple of things not visible...the hardware on the cabinetry is slowly falling apart. I've had to add magnets to several of the door so that they stay closed. The top oven does not work and the bottom oven sometimes does not stay hot. Otherwise, you're right. While it's not new and impressive, it is functional. Absolutely. However, we do have little enough counter space. Actually, we have potholders in 3 different places. Our drawers are full. Another reason we want to reorganize with new/taller cabinets is to maximize our storage. One other big reason is we are looking at resale value of the apartment. In NYC, renovating the kitchen can mean an extra $100,000 on the selling price. And last but most importantly.....the wife wants to redo the kitchen and this is the 3rd year of "so are we going to redo the kitchen?". I figure 3 strikes.... I'll post some of my ideas on what I'd like to see changed in a couple of days after I've gotten my head together.

Interesting. How does this compare to the Williams Sonoma stick blender?

I go for the kid memories here. I still have on occasion... white bread skippy's creamy peanut butter strawberry preserves (ok, i didn't have this when i was a kid) mmmmmm.......

Ok. Here's what my kitchen looks like right now. It's 23 yrs old and really needs a makeover.

I don't think we'll have to worry about this. We're not much in way of cooks and I've never even heard of an immersion blender.

I'm so jealous!!! It sounds like your bathroom is bigger thn my apartment!

We did that in our bathroom. Putnam Ladders...I think they are on Greene St. I'm sorry....in your bathroom?!?!? How big is your bathroom and what do you need to reach?

That's what the middle of the of floor is for, no? Actually, I was thinking how cool it would be to run a rail on the ceiling with a ladder attached like you see in the libraries and book stores.

Looks nice but given the size of our kitchen, it wouldn't make sense to break up the cooktop and oven so we're going to get a range.

My ceilings are 8' (I think. I got my kitchen dimensions wrong before). We'd like the cabinets to go to the ceiling. What do you mean by 'tower' in the corners? No washing machines are allowed in the units in our building. I'm assuming this is because you're tall. My wife is 5'2" so the standard units would be high enough. How much more would it be to customize the cabinet height?

Wow. I just figured out that my kitchen is 10' x 10', not 8' x 10'. I'm off to a bad start.

Speaker wire! How big do you think my apartment is? The living room is right next to the kitchen. You sure you're from NY? Now plastic laminate. How does that look? It doesn't sound real nice. I was thinking possibly of tile.

Oh! Did I say we cook?

We own the apartment. Funny...that's exactly the range we're looking at right now. As for changing things halfway, that's why I'm here. I don't know enough and want to try to make sure I have my bases covered. What do you mean by upgrade the electrics? All the wiring? Just the outlets, switches?