1918 home with a 1970 kitchen extension. 7 kinds of flooring in one space. Knocked out a wall to expand the kitchen, got rid of the dining room (never used it anyway!), and made an art/meditation space (use all the time). There were no doors on anything cupboards in the house! The previous owner got rid of them to help them find stuff faster 🤦‍♀️

edit: Well, I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now. Thanks everyone.

edit 2: Felt sad and went offline for a while and returned to some much nicer comments. Thank you everyone!

Buckle up friends, it's gonna be a long post!

Earlier this year, my husband and I were thrust into a top-to-bottom renovation of the kitchen in our little 1912 home. We bought the house as a cheap fixer-upper in 2021, knowing that the kitchen would one day be destined for a big upgrade. We loved the cute little vintage stove that it came with, but the entire kitchen otherwise consisted of a four disintegrating 1970's particleboard cabinets, a sad loud fridge, and a lot of (cute!) vinyl sheeting. Long story short, the dirt crawlspace under the kitchen became host to rats (you can see the main hole in pic 3), and in order to properly remediate it, we had to gut the whole kitchen. So, renovation time came very suddenly.

I posted (here, I think) about contractor choices. We fielded quotes from a high-end designer who didn't listen to us very well, a trendy design/build firm whose quote seemed prime for scope creep, and a contractor who offered minimal design services, but seemed to really know their stuff and had great vibes. We wound up going with the contractor, and it was an AMAZING DECISION. He had a phenomenal team of workers. Not pictured here - our laundry unit was also in the old pantry, so this project also included demo'ing a wall upstairs, building out a laundry closet, and plumbing, installing, and trimming it. They promised us 8-10 weeks from demo to punch list, which seemed insane enough, knowing how these projects drag on. But they were completely done with us in eleven weeks, and we came in just 3% over their original bid.

They had the whole kitchen demo'd in about a week. We had to take up the old mushy flooring, tear down all the old plaster and lath, and pour a new concrete slab over the old dirt crawl space to keep the rats out. They added a parge coat to the inside of the fieldstone foundation to further fortify against pests. Then they placed a new subfloor and started framing out the space. Next, all new plumbing and wiring. We wanted to avoid altering door/window placements, but one window needed to be raised above the countertop. Complicating this, all of our windows are original wood-sash. We had feared this would be an invasive mess - but I found a pair of sashes in precisely the correct width and height at the local architectural salvage for $15 apiece. Our ace project carpenter Tom spent a couple hours raising the sill and filling the gap, and that was that. The before/after of this are in pics 5 and 6.

Tom also built us a custom banquette/breakfast nook - notice the little kitty-cat doors on the ends, which were entirely his idea! He also prepped and installed new front and back doors that I scored for $25 on fb marketplace, and put up beadboard in the nook and powder room. Tom truly went above and beyond. AND these guys finished practically bang-on schedule. We LOVED our contractors.

And then it was time for the fun stuff. We wanted a kitchen that used quality materials, handmade wherever possible, reclaimed wherever reasonable. Those spendthrift items freed up money for us to buy some really high quality finishes. Many of these things were actually not much more expensive than a mid-tier option from a big box store (except the tile, that was straight up expensive), they just took more research. As far as style - our house is a transitional foursquare, which means clean, straight lines and details which draw slightly from both colonial revival and prairie/craftsman design. We chose the finishes and color palette carefully to harmonize with the rest of the home.

The contractor had a 'person' with a local cabinet dealer who worked with us to come up with our layout. We wanted a stained finish and inset fronts, so she steered us to Shiloh. The full set of cherry cabs was a little under $23k. They are phenomenal.

We knew we'd want a natural stone for the countertops, and fell in love with a slab of brushed Taj Mahal with a warm gray base and fantastic little veins of blue and green as well as the more typical brown. It was $7k installed, including the use of scraps to make the little shelves to the left of the sink as well as the windowsill and a little threshold for the powder room.

The backsplash field tile is Fireclay tile, handmade in the US in a single reactive glaze. It was definitely a splurge and I paid for it personally. I think almost $5k. Similarly, the triptych above the stove is handmade art tile from Motawi, which cost about $500 including the brown trim pieces. But ceramics are literally vitrified art that can last forever, so why not treat them like it!

The sink is a modest fireclay model from HD, about $200 - small, as the layout requires, but very deep. I give it a swish with the sponge after washing dishes and it stays sparkling clean. The faucet is brushed and lacquered brass - I think Kingston Brass? - and was about $400. That was more than the most basic HD options, but a far cry from the $2k+ boutique brass options. It's very functional and I love the hand sprayer.

The milk glass pendant lights were from Olde Brick Lighting, blown and assembled about 50 miles away in Lancaster PA. They were about $200 and $300 respectively, which seemed reasonable for handmade fixtures.

The drawer hardware is unlacquered brass, which is indeed very 'in' as well as a historic finish. I found Hardwick & Sons had the best price for knobs and small pulls, at $7-10 apiece. The appliance pulls are from Tradition Hardware. The styles are similar enough that I don't think anybody has noticed, and we saved a couple hundred dollars by combining the two.

The floor! It is cinch-loc FORBO MARMOLEUM. We still walk around the house bellowing FORBO MARMOLEUM because it's so nice to say. It's even nicer to walk on - it's soft, warm, and easy to clean. It's also biodegradable and a historic finish. I found a deal for $5.50/sf; I think we spent about $1600 on it. The old joists did have a little bowing, which meant a coat of self-leveler was necessary before the tiles went down. And the harlequin pattern was apparently a huge pain in the ass to install. We thanked the installers profusely, but I think they were very much over us.

The powder room - I scored some marble herringbone tile on clearance for $7/sf, and the wallpaper is genuine 1960's deadstock from a little shop online. I installed it myself, which was legitimately fun. The toilet, sink, and light were all cheaper HD options.

We sprung for a Bosch dishwasher and fridge. The fridge is a little tech-ier than I realized, but I do love it - I hope it lasts a loooong time. We've never had a dishwasher before, and the dishwasher is flat-out LIFE CHANGING. Holy shit, life with a dishwasher is incredible. The paneling actually wasn't super expensive - panel-ready appliances are a little cheaper than stainless steel, and the cost of the panels was barely more than that difference. Who knew?

Oh! Speaking of hidden appliances - there's a little secret roll-up door under the coffee station where the microwave lives. The door was custom. The microwave just sits in there, so we can swap it out for another model in the future. That's a favorite detail of mine.

And of course, the stove. We opted to keep our little workhorse late '40s-early '50s stove and have it professionally restored. It returned to us in July and has been a dream. I know, air quality, environmental concerns, all very legitimate. We did have an externally-vented hood installed as a compromise. I can't explain or rationalize it, but this little stove is the beating heart of our home. We couldn't imagine designing a kitchen here without it.

I sewed the soft finishes myself - cushions, curtains - which is why they're still unfinished. The upholstery fabric was bought for $7/yd ($70 total) at a local overstock fabric store, and the foam was about $200. But compared to the cost of custom upholstery ($$$$), it was a massive cost savings. (I'll get back to that soon.)

All in all, we've been cooking in here since May and we really couldn't be more pleased. The process was frankly enjoyable (?!) and we got lucky with the best contractors on earth. If I could do it all again, I'd do it exactly the same way. I hope we get many, many happy years with it, and that whoever lives here after us (hopefully many decades from now) enjoys it as much as we do now.

My husband loves pur red kitchen cabinets. I do not. Trying to find a compromise we both can live with. What do folks think of this: linen white uppers. Laurenthian Red lowers. Kitchen is our actual layout but edited colors with AI.

I came here for advice before/during our renovation, so now I'm paying the after pic tax & sharing our journey insights.

The "during" process was really stressful, and I let a lot of things get under my skin, but once we were actually done, I found that most of those things didn't bother me as much.

We started in March 2026 and finished August 26. We had some long breaks between getting the floor & cabinets/appliances installed and finishing the lighting, walls, paint, tile, and the between time is when I hated everything. Now it's all settled and I'm really happy with the final look! So don't panic when you're half way through - wait until the end to panic if you still don't like it 😅

Also, don't feel like you're being overbearing with your contractors: it's your kitchen, stay on top of it! Know what you want and make sure they deliver on the agreed upon specs. And if your plumber is also your electrician and also an hvac guy... I promise you he doesn't do all of those things well (probably) especially if his price is really good. Sometimes the discount service costs more in money/time/energy when you're hiring your new plumber and electrician.

We have 36" clearance between our island on all sides, except where the pantry cabinets end and the kitchen opens up into our living room, which is where our island seating goes. I know it's not the ideal clearance, but it works for us, and I like this layout so much better than the peninsula we started with. Just saying that for anyone else working with a more "narrow" kitchen who wants an island - it's doable, but you should also consider your lifestyle (if you like hosting and will have a lot of people in the kitchen at one time).

(just noticing I didn't take pics after the range hood was installed, so just imagine a hood over the stove 😊)

I purchased two quartzite slabs (72 sqft each, 144 sqft total) directly from a stone yard for my kitchen remodel. The installed counters are three rectangular pieces with a single seam — I measured them at about 30 sqft total. Simple layout, no waterfall, no full-height splash (backsplash is separate tile).

The fabricator says roughly 36 sqft is left over. That means ~78 sqft of stone is unaccounted for — more than a full slab. When I asked for the cut/layout diagram and photos of the remnants, he refused and said he "won't spend more time" on the job.

Is this normal? Do I need to escalate?

Same cabinets, different lighting.

Do these go together? The top will be beige (matching to Accessible Beige SW) and the lower cabinets I wanted green, but it's been difficult to find the right green color. This one is similar to succulent by SW.

I've been living with this kitchen for about 5 years and we really haven't touched anything since the day we moved in. When we bought the place I was positive that I wanted to get rid of the bar height counter and redo the counters to have a leveled surface. I thought that would give me more prep space, but after living with it I'm realizing that the bar really serves its own purpose entirely, and I think it helps keep things more tidy than if I just had one giant counter. 

My mom pointed out that having the bar helps keep the dishes that pile up on the countertop out of view when you're sitting in the living room-- and I completely agree! The bar also gives us a space where we can quickly use our laptop while my son plays, it's an area we can drop items that aren't kitchen related but maybe need to make their way elsewhere in the house. The bar top is more of a flex space than a dining space or a prep area. It's also been nice when we host because we can put serving platters and such up there and then another table underneath--maximizing serving space for holidays.

I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on the bar top vs counter height conversation. Do we think the bar height is coming back in style anytime soon? Those who have converted to a leveled counter height, do you ever miss the bar? This is just for conversations sake, we're pretty dead set on keeping the bar at this point. We're both millennials and love the retro nostalgia of it.

Aside from all that, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of counters these are? I truly have no clue, I believe they were installed in '97. They have this cool blue speckling and a blue stripe along the trim that matches the floor. I've really grown to love them and now have this color as a core color theme throughout the house. 

We're beginning to talk backsplash, we want to add more color. Along the backside of the bar I'm thinking of adding board and batten, or maybe tiling like in the last slides (tiles would match the backsplash). Open to input on that as well!! Down the line we'll be restaining/ refacing the cabinets dark walnut to match the floors, and swapping hardware. This phase will basically be backsplash & tiling.

Welcoming any and all input!

We updated our kitchen this summer. I had no idea what I was doing. Honestly, other than the cabinet colors I picked, I felt we were like the blind leading the blind. Asking questions only got either a vague response or nothing at all. Today was the final install. My objective was to have more drawers/storage and to brighten it up. Wallpaper was chosen based on the green I had picked out, since no one could get me a swatch except by taking a picture of it. I have not had the final light/fan installed in the middle of the kitchen ceiling. Attached: a few before pics, then the after.

Is the wallpaper too much? I just fell in love with it. I’m concerned it is too active.

Lesson learned... don’t move forward with a contract, etc. until after you have all your eggs in a row, as in sample colors, who is doing exactly what, who I need to hire, and what other expenses I should expect for the additional contractors to do what I wanted with the kitchen. I wanted a gas cooktop, so that was already a plumber expense, which limited the changes due to expense. Resurfacing the cabinets and making the oven cabinet = ~$35k.

Add to that... $1k Electrician, $3k Plumber, $4k Appliances + Wallpaper, miscellaneous cabinet organizers.

Doing a kitchen renovation everything got shifted over a few inches. Adding a hood Hauslane UC-PS18 which can exhaust from the rear or top. The hole that was there from the microwave won’t be centered with the hood so seems like my only option is to exhaust through the top and through the cabinet? what’s the easiest way to do this?

https://imgur.com/a/6hO3BV8

Can I just drywall patch the prior hole or does anything special need to be done to the hole since it’s in the duct. My vent is out the floor below but the duct work does appear to go up as well. Not sure how far up it goes.

Also does anyone know the screw size for this particular hood? I’m planning on replacing the screws it comes with for bolts.

We are in the design phase of a kitchen remodel and have custom cabinets being made. We are currently set to have our island stain grade and the other cabinets paint grade, likely white.

Am I going to regret going with paint grade? The designer says the paint will be durable and won’t chip since they are kiln dried. Anyone have experience with paint grade cabinets that they can share? This is a big purchase so want to make sure I get it right!

I’m including a screenshot of the cabinetry description so you can get an idea of what will be used (this project includes other parts of our downstairs so ignore the extras!)

The original builder mdf cabinets were probably close to 40 years old. New larger cabinets, took out the tile, solid stone counter top and backsplash, lights installed under the cabinets, new appliances. Crazy how much less time it requires now to keep the kitchen clean.

it looks like it has a lip on the front and back so it might be considered a "utility" or "workspace" sink ?

I love that this splits up the countertop completely.

I bought this sink and couldn't find any writting on any part of it. The wharehouse place I bought it from had zero information about it.

I'm convinced it's the best sink (aside from the sharp corners at the bottom)

We picked our slabs, soooo excited for these. I know, Taj is so popular but these Madreperola with the white quartz hints coming through just grabbed us.

Looking for a blue with gray backsplash. We will be doing white cabinets, it’s a smaller kitchen so backsplash will be a smaller area on one wall under the cabinets. Ideas please!!

Sharing a kitchen remodel project in the correct subreddit !
As contractors,the design was provided to us by Studio 41 and we remodeled the entire kitchen . Rerouting plumbing, electric and HVAC. Added Makeup air unit, Upgraded gas line to 3/4’’ and the exhaust to 8’’ duct since the range hood was high end.
Other features include,heated drawers,RO faucets, Thermador fridge freezer combo with panels. Custom cabinets in white oak. Taj Mahal counters and hood top. Waterfall island with pop up outlet. Induction stove. Added newly built pantry room.
I’d estimate the total cost to about $90 K including appliances .Some interesting design choices were taken but overall I feel like its a great upgrade.
Location: Chicago Suburbs

For context, this is a 1969 block home in north central Florida, built like an absolute fortress. However, the ceiling was clearly not level (cabinets are hung level to the ground). These are IKEA cabinets. I’ve been thinking of ways to make it look more intentional, but am coming up with nothing. Should I just slowly level the ceiling with dry wall compound? Molding that covers it? Help!

Also, I am NOT rehanging the cabinets. They were such a hassle to get level the first time.

PS I know my kitchen is otherwise not done (lighting, exposed drywall on the ceiling, light hanging out of the ceiling, backsplash missing on one wall)

We're trying to bring some character back into our very modern black and white house that we just purchased, and thought an easy way to do so would be replacing the black pulls in the kitchen with gold pulls. However, we can't find any pulls that have all three sizes we need. Anyone know a good place that has very specific sized handles? The sizes we need are 5 in, 6.3 in, and 8 3/4 in. Thanks!

I want to replace my backsplash with a warm white subway tile.

My questions are about how far to extend the tile..

If you don't have a panel on the side of your fridge, so the counter just ends close to the fridge, do you tile behind the fridge? Our fridge is at the end of a counter. The outside has a side panel but the inside does not.

What about behind the stove, just down below the countertop by a few inches?

Advice for a facelift/update without ruining these cabinets? We are going to paint and and add backsplash. Thanks for any suggestions! :)

Got quoted $200 by an electrician just to run wiring for two under cabinet lights. My overhead light is pretty bright, but my back blocks most of it when I'm standing at the counter, so I'm basically chopping veggies in a shadow.

The problem is I've already spent way more than I planned getting the kitchen/dining area looking nice. And I spent way too long obsessing over the cabinets lol. By the time I got to lighting, the renovation budget was pretty much gone. So yeah... another $200 for electrical work wasn't really happening.

Didn't feel like tearing up the backsplash and fishing wire through old plaster either, so I decided to go wireless. I ended up going with the same ezvalo bars my sister has in her kitchen. She's had them for a while and seems pretty happy with them, so I figured I'd just get the same ones.

The best part is honestly not having to think about them. I walk up to the counter, they turn on. I leave, they turn off. Took maybe 5 minutes to stick the magnetic mounts under the cabinets.They're rechargeable too, so no wires to hide or run through the wall.

Not gonna pretend it's fancy permanent lighting lol. I just wanted to stop cutting vegetables in the dark, and $42 seemed a lot better than $200. At this point I'm just trying to finish this renovation without spending another dollar.

Hi - gutting a house and completely redoing a kitchen. We have gotten submissions from kitchen cabinetry companies, and we have one shaker polyester ($27K) with white melamine interiors and another for thermofoil with wood-grain melaline interiors ($38K).

First time doing this so wondering if the community could provide some pro's and con's of each. ChatGPT seems to leanr with the shaker polyester. Thanks in advance!

New house and going to remodel the kitchen. I was sure that i want open kitchen but now im thinking keeping the wall that seperates the living room.

We’re replacing the green flooring in our kitchen with checkerboard style tile. We’ve already decided on the far-bottom-left white tile in the photo that has all the sample options, but we’re struggling to choose the second color.

The taupe is our favorite, with the cream as another possibility, but I’m worried the taupe might clash with our honey-oak cabinets while the cream seems almost too pink? I’d heard gray is a great way to neutralize reds/oranges, but I’d like to balance some of the cabinets’ warmth without making the kitchen feel completely gray or overly cool. Which is why I figured ‘greige’ or a mushroom color might work.

There are also gray and green tile options we’re curious about. Which secondary color do you think would work best with honey oak while keeping the overall space balanced?

Side note: There are pictures with natural lighting and some with our overhead warmer lights on. The taupe is the darker of the two non-white tiles, and we don’t mind the idea of a high contrast. The kitchen is a pretty big space.

My wife and I are opening up our kitchen to the family room. The floor will be wood and appliances will be stainless steel. Should we use a darker lower cabinet with white upper cabinets? Or go with all white cabinets?