Kitchen Remodel, any suggestions?

[Jerome Morelos]

Hello BP! I'm in contract with my first property and wanted some suggestions on the kitchen. Is it a good idea to keep the cabinets/countertop and just repaint? or Should I just replace the whole thing? It looks like some type of open-shelving. Any suggestions? 

Note: I plan on turning this property into a rental when I move out. 

[Jill F.]

I've re-done more than 20 small apartment kitchens in the last 5 years and my best piece of advice is to start with graph paper and a floor plan of the existing kitchen. Then in a small closed in space, look at the adjacent spaces and see if there is an opportunity to open things up or even to 'steal' a little space *easily*. In the kitchen below we took out about 18" of a wall to allow space for a breakfast bar (we could not take out more due to duct work). If at all possible keep the plumbing where it is. We usually pay about $300 if we need to have a gas line moved for the stove. I have used the Lowes diamond cabinets (Windtucket in cloud grey and Arcadia white) and they are my favorite stock finished cabinets. However, we usually can't afford to do finished cabinets and our favorite unfinished are home depot unfinished beech cabinets; we really like the rustoleum cabinet transformations kits for finishing cabinets. If you are skilled enough to install cabinets, you are probably also skilled enough to diy build custom countertops with particle board this is the biggest money saver of all. We love daich spreadstone for finishing countertops. A custom countertop is key because it allows you to really make the layout of your kitchen work. When we need to do a narrow counter we use Ikea kallax cubes and build a base for them or Ikea 15" depth cabinets.  The absolute minimum you should ever have between counters(or an appliance and a counter) is 36", 42" is better. We aim for 52-60" when possible. Don't forget you need plinths in the corners for L or U kitchens (especially for frameless). We also like the tiny little ikea vadholma cubbies for allowing door opening space next to a fridge and for achieving a "built in" look next to a fridge. If you don't have to replace cabinets replacing older hinges with concealed hinges gives you a much more modern look. Also, most older apartment kitchens are severely under-lit. Add lumens.

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