Kitchen - refinish, reface, replace? And What about those Soffits?
Just bought a home. Do not like the cabinets at all. Pink Washed, salmon(?) granite countertops, salmon backsplash - and those darn soffits. Ceilings are 8 foot, kitchen is square. The cabinets are in great shape and I think the layout is the best choice (unless you disagree). What is everyone's experience with refacing/refinishing? The soffits make the room look smaller, I realize, but are there any alternatives that would allow me to keep the soffits? (to save on the huge mess and expense)? The soffit also extends into the breakfast room area. Or if I remove soffits, any solution other than buying longer cabinets? Any help, comments, very much welcomed. If it's total redo - you won't hurt my feelings
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1. Extend the cooktop island to include an eating area, thus removing the 2nd bulky island. This would open up the space quite a bit. You'll have a straight shot from the cooking area to the table - without walking around the island.
2. For the cabs, if you were to replace them, you could use a high/low arrangement to give you visual interest - designate one cabinet an open shelf-type cabinet to display colorful pottery, etc. Add two glass front cabs to break up all the wood. These options would have to be strategically placed in the layout so it makes sense and looks right.
3. Large bank of cabinets on the fridge wall. Perhaps there's a better way to frame this area, because it's a lot of cabs.
I would definitely get 2-3 estimates with layout/price and compare apples to apples. That's not always easy to do because each designer will give you a different cabinet line and prices vary, so you need to take your time and think it through. With 3 offers, you'll find the one that really works for you.
Cheers.
The easy solution for ugly color is PAINT! Ugly pink cabinets are silently pleading with you to paint them a more pleasing color. Also, you can change the backsplash to a color you like that goes with the granite. I can't see the granite too well but I suspect once the pink cabs and tiles are gone, the granite won't look as pinkish.
It's easy to let kitchen remods snowball but in your case, I think we can keep this contained. Then live with the result a few years and you can decide on a major overhaul if needed.
What are the other colors in your home? I would combine your favorite accent color (like muted robins egg blue that is antiqued to bring out the panel details) for the island, and paint / reface all the others in a warm creamy white (old white). New stone tops in a warm carmel neutral mid-tone to echo the beautiful wood floor and for not much $ you will be truly passionate about your kitchen.
These are nice enough door profiles and may be very high end wood. Painting (the right time of year, sending doors and drawers to the shop for perfect conditions / temperature / drying time / poly) should work on these like a charm. There is one advantage to refacing when you go white - you get scrubable melamine / can switch door profiles / instead of scrubbing painted wood when they get dirty.
We've refaced kitchen cabinets in two of our homes, but in both cases the original doors were plain (poorly painted) builder-grade doors. The cabinets now have crisp,white melamine on them and new doors and drawer fronts. One is a 5-piece style like yours and the other is a Shaker style (see Before and After pix). They're super easy to clean and maintain, which is great because both of the homes are rentals.
Since your cabinets appear to be high-end wood and have a timeless design, I would paint your cabinets an antique white and replace the stainless steel pulls with an antique bronze metal to match the warm tones in your granite and backsplash. Adding glass to some of your upper cabinets will help break up the solid wood and it's a pretty inexpensive fix.
If you were to replace the backsplash tiles, I would remove the 5-inch granite backsplash as well. Replace it with a white subway tile or a tile you absolutely love and that will put your stamp on your kitchen.
If you keep the soffits, I'd suggest changing out the recessed lighting trims from black to white so that they disappear and blend in like your white ceiling fan. The dark recessed lights were the first thing I noticed in your pictures. The trim kits cost about $10 at Home Depot.
I'm not an interior designer, just a homeowner also searching for ideas. I have a 5" dropped ceiling in my 1981 kitchen that holds four fluorescent light fixtures. Once it's removed, I'll also have to decide what to do with the new five-inch gap above my cabinets. I'm thinking of having it framed out with wood and molding to make it appear as though the cabinets go all the way to the new ceiling.
I do believe you should live in your new home for at least a year before you make any major changes.
Good luck. I can't wait to see what you do.
Luvruies. The seller says its English ivy he planted himself. Lets hope he's not kidding. That would be a cruel joke.
Loves everyone's ideas. Thank you all. Any others surely welcome.