All Forum Posts by: Camilo Cornejo

I had a tight '70's style kitchen & removed the wall to the dining room & built this.

Home Depot cabinets, all granite $1700.

before..

after...

I'm with Ashly on this. The island is fine- you've got the classic "work triangle" between the sink, stove, fridge. That corner cabinet is weird, the room will feel better without it. The taller upper cabinets are more fashionable these days, so I might put those in, but leave the bottoms since they are solid and get them refaced. If the pantry door is a awkward as it is, you could use a bifold door which would make it feel less cramped

How much is your unit currently renting for?  I'm not familiar with your market, but usually unless there is low inventory in the area, a kitchen that awkward is going to have a  hard time deserving rent of $1,500.  So consider how much fixing up just the kitchen will raise your rent by.  $100?  $500?  I'd multiply that by 24 (2 years) and use that as my budget.  

If you're currently renting for $700 and want to get up to $1,500, you're probably going to have to make an investment.  Otherwise, go with the other poster's advice.  Can you move over the pantry door to take advantage of the wall space better?  If you could add 8" - 12" storage to that wall + increase the size of the island countertop, that might work.  

You might want to tour some of those $1,500 rentals and see what renters are expecting in that price range before you decide? 

Is there a separate dining room? I think you should just paint the cabinets and add some moulding to the top, replace the counters, leave the sink and DW where it is. Personally, I'd get rid of the cabinet in the corner by the door, it looks awkward and out of place, which would allow you to make the extension off the back side of the island a little bigger to accommodate more stools. 

What's your budget?  

If the cabinets are cheap, I'd rip them all out, probably move over the plumbing, and possibly tear down a wall - kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but if that wall with the interior door opens to a living room, then it can go.  The layout looks funky as-is.  An overview layout drawing might be more useful.    

You don't need to go high-end on the cabinets, but if they're old and cheap anyway then it's probably worth it just to replace.  If they're nice solid wood & your budget is tight then new paint + counters + appliances + faucet & sink is probably fine.  

What are you leaning towards? 

What exactly do you have in mind or are you thinking of a couple different options?  Are you concerned about price or quality?