re: New Year. New House. New Kitchen

let me know if the pictures show up in the first post now. switched to imgur

probably will replace the floors and paint. can demo the original if that saves anything as well

so are these RTA cabinets worth a look to save some money? i dont want to go budget but i got lots to do with this house so if i can still maintain quality with a different type of product i would be open to that.

nevermind watched some videos... frick that

so anyone know anything about Cliq Studios? There cabinet prices are almost $8k cheaper than what I was quoted at a few other places.

im gonna continue going get other quotes but this is hard to beat especially since im not knocking out walls or anything. would still need someone to install but having these cabinets shipped ready to go seems like a way to save a shite ton of money

quote:

---

you're going for RTA?

---

watched one video and talked myself quickly out of that thought

the cliq studios come assembled

quote:

---

im 6'4 i dont want to bend over to use a microwave nor do i want my 2 and 4 year olds to have easy access. also dont want it to take up counter space

---

Any microwave worth a damn is going to have a lock feature. As would your oven that’s at a similar height.

You’ve also got $17k+ in installed cabinets and countertops based on the renderings.

Also...feel free to message me off board, you probably know what we did to our house last year

25K, Are the cabinets in good shape? If so I would just paint and add new hardware.

Sorry in advance for long post, but lots of stuff I wish people would have told me before I did my kitchen:

Are you going all the way to the ceiling with your cabinets? I’d recommend doing that. Doesn’t look like you have high ceilings. We have 8’ ceiling in our kitchen and we eliminated the bulkhead above our old cabinets and went (almost) to the ceiling with new cabinets. Word of advice if you do plan to go to ceiling: be DAMN sure you plan properly for crown moulding around upper cabinets.

1. Know the crown sizing and angles
2. Understand the gap you need above cabinets to the ceiling to accommodate the crown.
3. Plan for nailing surface for the crown on the upper cabinets.

That was a huge hassle for me once cabinets were up. I didn’t plan properly and had to attach nailer boards around the top of all of my upper cabinets to give myself something to nail the crown to and painted to match. Most people would never notice by looking at my kitchen, but the nailer board is exposed by about 5/8”. Not sure what I could have done differently, to be honest, except put those on before the cabinets were installed and taken my time a little more.


The tall pantry cabinet on the right. Is it against the wall? Does it include pull-out shelves or drawers? Be sure you give yourself space from the wall to open the door all the way, especially if you have pull-out shelves or drawers. Consider whether your door hardware will hit the wall and make the door not be able to open all the way. The last thing you want is for your pull-out shelf or drawer not to be able to actually pull out because it hits the door because the door can’t open all the way due to the wall.

Can’t tell from your rendering but one recommendation is to be sure your design includes end panels on exposed ends of cabinets.

In your design:

1. Put side panel on the left side and end panel on the right side of fridge.

2. Make sure you include any necessary end panels on the sides of the island.

3. Include an end panel on the wall oven cabinet by the entry door there.

4. Include end panels on the upper cabinets next to the vent hood.

5. Include end panels on upper cabinets next to sink.

Another thing I’d be sure to include is light rail under the upper cabinets and, if you can, plan to install under cabinet lighting. That was one of the best things I did. I love the lighting. I ran 120V circuit and hard wired everything since my walls were opened up.

Also, be sure you don’t crowd the vent hood with your upper cabinets. The doors on the cabinets open more than 90 degrees. I just measured mine and have 3 7/8” from the corner of the vent to the actual body of the cabinet on both sides and the doors clear nicely. The end panels are attached the the sides of the cabinet and are 3/4” thick so the gap isn’t actually 3 7/8”. Pictures are worth a thousand words. See below how close the door is to the vent when it’s open in my pictures below.



>

What about a longer rectangular island with seating on one side?

Your square island looks a little weird in that space.

I might do a fun backsplash too.

Everything else looks great!

We remodeled our entire house while living in it. I’ll just say that it is a test of patience. Good luck!