Kitchen and bathroom remodel advice

I have the same problem with my kitchen tile. One kid decided to take up juggling using billiard balls. I now have divots all over my kitchen tile (no, I didn't kill him but I did look into selling him on Etsy).

I love the luxury vinyl tile. We put it in our old house prior to selling to cover up some ugly ceramic tile. It felt soooooo good underfoot compared to the hard tile. Easy to install and, if you get tired of it easy to pull up and replace.

The one thing I'm going to do if we ever get around to reno-ing our current kitchen is copy what a friend did with her dishwasher. She had it installed 18" higher than normal so she wouldn't have to bend down to empty it. $75,000 kitchen reno and she will proudly tell you that is her absolute favorite thing of all. The older I get, the more I agree with her.
So she has an 18 inch bump in her countertop? My dishwasher goes from the floor to the bottom of my countertop.
 
The dishwasher is probably installed in a floor-to-ceiling section--you know, like a wall-mounted oven.

I'll see your billiard balls, and raise you a bagpiper.

We also have luxury vinyl in the kitchen. DH chose it because it was waterproof--we have 4 kids, a dog, and a pool. 'Nuff said.
 
So she has an 18 inch bump in her countertop? My dishwasher goes from the floor to the bottom of my countertop.
The dishwasher is probably installed in a floor-to-ceiling section--you know, like a wall-mounted oven.

I'll see your billiard balls, and raise you a bagpiper.

We also have luxury vinyl in the kitchen. DH chose it because it was waterproof--we have 4 kids, a dog, and a pool. 'Nuff said.

That's exactly how she has it, in a raised section like what you would put an oven in. Said she had to argue like crazy to get the contractor to do it, but he figured it out.

I love bagpipes - wanna trade?
 


So what's a good mix of cabinets to drawers? And what do you use the big drawers for?

I have drawers behind cabinet doors, use them for tupperware and dishes. Deep drawers in island for pots and pans. Also have drawers behind doors on each side of the deep drawers in the island, baking pans in each of them.
 
I have drawers behind cabinet doors, use them for tupperware and dishes. Deep drawers in island for pots and pans. Also have drawers behind doors on each side of the deep drawers in the island, baking pans in each of them.

There is no room in my kitchen for an island, so I can't have any deep drawers there. does it make sense to have a 3 drawer configuration (one small, two large) in two sets of lower cabinets. That realistically only leaves me with one lower cabinet with doors.
 
Oh, I forgot--I also have a thin cabinet--maybe 18" wide--next to the fridge, that has pull-out shelves (not really drawers--there's ~1 inch lip on each one). I use the shelves for my small appliances--crock pot, popcorn maker, bread machine--that I use sometimes (as opposed to daily). A lot of people have pull-out drawers/shelves in the pantry--we didn't go this way, because it seemed like a waste of space for us. I tend to have a full pantry, with high turnover (3 kids at home, 2 teens and a 23yo male--food goes fast!). This was custom-built by our cabinet guy. It includes taller space at the bottom for bigger items (ice cream maker), and there are two stainless pull-out drawers that are actually lined with canvas bags that you could take to the store, then put directly into the pantry. I don't use them like that, but it's nice that you could.

In our one corner, we have a lazy Susan below and just polygonal shelves in the cabinet above. You can also get specially designed drawers for such a space--we had them in one house, where the drawer would pull out, then you could rotate it to get to the stuff in the back. Not a bad idea for stowing little-used items, like your special Christmas pans or whatever.
 


There is no room in my kitchen for an island, so I can't have any deep drawers there. does it make sense to have a 3 drawer configuration (one small, two large) in two sets of lower cabinets. That realistically only leaves me with one lower cabinet with doors.
Would you store pots and pans in the large drawers? How wide are they? Honestly, in my next kitchen I will have only drawers and drawers behind doors. Attaching photos - master bath showing the tall cabinet as part of the vanity, another showing just the wood color with the wash, sink front and with it opened.. Other bathroom with same cainets, different color, doors with drawers behind.

Not sure why they're all sideways!

The other thing I would say is, if you can find cabinets which don't have pulls - those are one of the things that can date kitchens/baths quickly. Also, lesson learned, we used some cool squares in an antique white with dark wash kitchen for our son - now we are constantly straightening the squares! Use either round knobs or regular pulls!
 

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Oh, I forgot--I also have a thin cabinet--maybe 18" wide--next to the fridge, that has pull-out shelves (not really drawers--there's ~1 inch lip on each one). I use the shelves for my small appliances--crock pot, popcorn maker, bread machine--that I use sometimes (as opposed to daily). A lot of people have pull-out drawers/shelves in the pantry--we didn't go this way, because it seemed like a waste of space for us. I tend to have a full pantry, with high turnover (3 kids at home, 2 teens and a 23yo male--food goes fast!). This was custom-built by our cabinet guy. It includes taller space at the bottom for bigger items (ice cream maker), and there are two stainless pull-out drawers that are actually lined with canvas bags that you could take to the store, then put directly into the pantry. I don't use them like that, but it's nice that you could.

In our one corner, we have a lazy Susan below and just polygonal shelves in the cabinet above. You can also get specially designed drawers for such a space--we had them in one house, where the drawer would pull out, then you could rotate it to get to the stuff in the back. Not a bad idea for stowing little-used items, like your special Christmas pans or whatever.
Can you post a pic of the thin cabinet? That sounds interesting!
 
Would you store pots and pans in the large drawers? How wide are they? Honestly, in my next kitchen I will have only drawers and drawers behind doors. Attaching photos - master bath showing the tall cabinet as part of the vanity, another showing just the wood color with the wash, sink front and with it opened.. Other bathroom with same cainets, different color, doors with drawers behind.

Not sure why they're all sideways!

The other thing I would say is, if you can find cabinets which don't have pulls - those are one of the things that can date kitchens/baths quickly. Also, lesson learned, we used some cool squares in an antique white with dark wash kitchen for our son - now we are constantly straightening the squares! Use either round knobs or regular pulls!
I don't think my big soup pots would fit in a drawer. I'd probably store them in a pantry cabinet. How wide is your double sink? Do you like it? Is there enough room in one half to wash a big pot?
 
I don't think my big soup pots would fit in a drawer. I'd probably store them in a pantry cabinet. How wide is your double sink? Do you like it? Is there enough room in one half to wash a big pot?
The wider side is 15 inches wide and around 11 deep. Other is 12 inches wide. I like it, I so sometimes fill the bigger side with soapy water and use the disposable in the other side, then put those pots/dishes in the water. Couldn't do that if I had a single sink. I haven't found any of my pots too big to wash in there!

More drawer pics. This is my island. The center drawer holds my 12 pots/pans and lids. The drawers behind doors to the right and left of it are for my bigger pots (I have 2, I think), baking dishes, cake pans, etc.
 

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My thin cabinet is kind of like this:

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Like the one on the left. My DH is really paranoid about photos on the internet, so I'd rather not take pictures of my actual cabinet. Basically, we had this skinnt "dead" space--I had been envisioning a broom closet, but my artist cabinet guy went a different way.
 
Doors vs. drawers is largely a matter of personal preference and how you intend to store things. There isn't one solution that works for everyone. If you have very wide drawers, they need to be well made and with heavy duty hardware that will be sufficient for the weight of items you plan to store. Some budget cabinets use plastic fittings and glides which will tend to break under heavy loads.
 
Doors vs. drawers is largely a matter of personal preference and how you intend to store things. There isn't one solution that works for everyone. If you have very wide drawers, they need to be well made and with heavy duty hardware that will be sufficient for the weight of items you plan to store. Some budget cabinets use plastic fittings and glides which will tend to break under heavy loads.
Good point. I'm thinking one set of drawers would be 48 inches wide. I need to figure out if that makes sense.
 
There is no room in my kitchen for an island, so I can't have any deep drawers there. does it make sense to have a 3 drawer configuration (one small, two large) in two sets of lower cabinets. That realistically only leaves me with one lower cabinet with doors.

I don't have an island and we just put in new cabinets. I did 2 big drawers for pots and pans next to the stove, and next to that it's 2 cabinet doors that open up with soft close pullout drawers that I keep all my baking dishes and stuff in. I only have one lower cabinet that's just a regular cabinet. I'm happy with it.
 
Something too to be aware of if remodeling a bathroom or kitchen, the height of new counters and toilets may be greater than what you have now.
Our Remodeling contractor was surprised that our bathroom and kitchen counters were 34 inches given that our house was built in 1979 and by then the so called industry standard was 36 inches. Our new counters are 36 inches high.
And toilets, standard are 14 inches high, but the "new" standard seems to be now what is known as "comfort height" of 16 inches.
 
There are actually 2 standard toilet heights. We learned that from our builder recently during construction. Apparently the lower height is recommended for use by children and something like the master bath would use the taller model according to our builder.
 
We got a taller toilet when we redid the master bath. I had no idea why--now, I do.

In our kitchen, it wasn't the height of the countertops, it was the height of the upper cabinets. I didn't realize that they were hung a couple inches lower than standard--all I knew was that my Kitchenaid head couldn't go back all the way under them. Now, with my new cabinets, it can--but I can't reach stuff on the top shelves of my cabinets! Luckily, I have tall, handsome sons. Well, tall sons. Well, sons. (Actually, DS14 is already 6'2", and I don't think he's done yet.)
 
We got a taller toilet when we redid the master bath. I had no idea why--now, I do.

In our kitchen, it wasn't the height of the countertops, it was the height of the upper cabinets. I didn't realize that they were hung a couple inches lower than standard--all I knew was that my Kitchenaid head couldn't go back all the way under them. Now, with my new cabinets, it can--but I can't reach stuff on the top shelves of my cabinets! Luckily, I have tall, handsome sons. Well, tall sons. Well, sons. (Actually, DS14 is already 6'2", and I don't think he's done yet.)
I have a step-stool; no sons. Lol. I make do.
 
I prefer lower drawers instead of doors for two reasons:
1. The drawers are more ergonomic because you have to bend down less to see what's in them.
2. lower cabinets can be black holes where things get lost in the back. That's much less likely to happen with drawers.

My favorite kitchen had almost all lower drawers with a few exceptions such as the tall skinny cabinet that vertically stored cookie sheets and cutting boards.

I believe in investing in good quality cabinet boxes and hiring a kitchen designer to make sure the kitchen's flow and layout will work well over time since your kitchen needs can change as your family ages. For example, as your kids get older, you don't have to worry as much about safety and you have to worry more about having space for multiple people working on different dishes/meals at the same time. Yesterday, my younger son was making a sandwich while his brother was making nachos to put in the oven. Luckily, our kitchen has a flow that works well when different people are working on cooking different things. It's even possible for two people to cook on the cooktop at the same time without annoying each other. When you get older, good kitchen ergonomics will be very important.

If these items are addressed from the beginning then updating your kitchen can be as simple as changing the backsplash, painting your cabinets, changing out the doors or hardware, or changing the countertop instead of ripping everything out and starting from scratch.

I would like to update my kitchen but since the bones are good and the layout works, I'm only considering changing the countertop, the cabinet hardware and the ceiling lighting which is awful florescent lights. I even like the cabinet color (a creamy white).

My last piece of advice to make sure you stash away extra paint/stain, flooring, tiles, hardware, etc. Several years ago, we had a mold infestation in our master bath and we had to completely redo the master shower. The crew tried to rip out the shower without damaging the tile but they broke one in the process. I want to salvage the tile because it was really nice and tied in well to the rest of the bathroom tile. It was also discontinued so I couldn't get more. Unfortunately, the former homeowners didn't save any shower tile. If they had saved just one tile, I could have just reused the old tile.
 
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