Q&A | Cabinet/countertop decisions + grammar for adults
The meet a reader series is on a bit of a hiatus at the moment because I have now published all of the submitted interviews I've received.
So, if you'd like to be featured, let me know and I'll send you the questions.
Anyway, in lieu of an interview this week, we'll do a Q&A.
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As mentioned in the profile about me so kindly featured on your site, I am wrangling a kitchen renovation.
I don't know how people design whole homes - I am overwhelmed by one room! We've got a design (not much change to layout as it's a small space) but I don't know how to decide where to splurge and where to save.
Both wooden cabinets and stone countertops would be a good investment in the house and serve us and future owners well (I figure we'll be here for another 10-15 years). However, MDF and stone composite are clearly more affordable and seem to be quite functional.
The simple answer is to stick with what we can afford from what we've saved. However, we could get creative and come up with more if need be - I'm just not sure if we should.
Thanks so much,
Shelagh
I hear you on the home decision overwhelm. I hate making home design decisions, especially big ones like flooring or cabinets.
Here's my advice:
Splurge on the wood cabinets
I have seen an awful lot of MDF cabinets that have not stood the test of time. Often, the vinyl coating on the outside begins to peel off, especially in areas where there's a lot of heat, like near the stove.
Once the coating comes off, the cabinets are hard to rescue; you can't just sand them down and paint them!
I would hate to be stuck in that situation down the road when you sell, so I would spring for the wooden cabinets.
Lucky for me, my ugly pickled oak cabinets were solid wood, so I was able to sand them down and repaint them. The out-of-pocket cost was very minimal; it was mostly a time investment. But I was so, so glad they were real wood!
(this photo is obviously from before we got our new countertops)
Save on the countertops
Based on what I know, composite countertops have a respectable lifetime expectancy (this Spruce article mentions up to 30 years), so this seems like a better place to save.
Another option if you want to go with the granite: if you don't need huge pieces of granite, look for a shop in your area that sells remnants (leftover pieces from larger jobs).
Since none of our counters are very large, we were able to go the remnant route and that brought the price down for us.
I hope that helps a little!
It seems as though I have followed your blog forever. I appreciate all that you do. It always is a bright spot in my day.
I am a 65-year-old woman and feel like my grammar and my writing skills aren't up to par. I have a lot of difficulty with commas and lay, lie and laid. I know there is other stuff. Since you home school, I thought you might have a suggestion. I need a very basic grammar book. Do you have any that you can recommend?
Thanks ever so much,
Kathy
Hi Kathy!
I think it's awesome that you are wanting to keep on learning. Good for you!
I'll share a few ideas, but I'm hoping my readers will be able to help out with this question because I'm not sure I have great answers.
Try Grammarly
Grammarly is a free program that checks your writing in real-time, and I thought of it for you because it corrects my comma usage all the time. Ha. If you use that as you write, I bet you will learn a lot from the mistakes it catches.
Read
I honestly picked up most of my spelling and grammar knowledge from all the reading I have done in my lifetime. I was a voracious reader as a kid, and I was able to be a good writer in school mainly because I knew if something sounded or looked right or not.
Even if I didn't know the official rule, I still usually knew if I was writing something correctly or not.
So, if you are already a reader, keep it up. And if you don't read much in the way of books, try to work that into your routine more often.
Try Easy Grammar books
All of my kids have worked through the Easy Grammar line of books; they offer daily practice with things like punctuation, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, lay-lie-laid, and such. They're not very expensive, so they'd be a low-risk way to try some grammar practice.
These books are not explicitly Christian, but Christianbook.com usually has the lowest prices on these in their homeschool department.
You can see sample pages of each book at the link above and that should help you figure out what grade level would be helpful for you.
Once you know which book you want, you could also search on eBay to see if any are for sale.
___________
I'm guessing there are a lot of other online resources that could help you, and perhaps there are even some grammar books geared toward adults.
I think your suggestions for grammar assistance are all great and are suggestions I will pass along to young friends who have need of improvement. I don’t have any better advice just comments. To improve a perceived deficiency and desire to correct it at any age is a huge credit to the individual. I credit my 6th grade teacher for my grounding in grammar. Never had problems in school in English classes after that. When I began language study in Arabic and Turkish, I realized that without my 6th grade English grammar foundation, I couldn’t have have had success in foreign languages.
Write and then edit your own work. I was never taught much grammar, but I too was and am a voracious reader, so when I applied for a job as a copy editor 30-something years ago, I was competent. Editing other people's work made me a much better writer. Is there are shorter or better way to say this? If you don't know the difference between lie-lay-laid, look it up. (Thank goodness someone cares. It almost hurts my ears sometimes. While I'm at it, learn pronoun agreement--I was shocked to read "For my husband and I" somewhere this weekend, like the New Yorker or the New York Times. An easy way to see if you're using the correct pronoun there is to take the other person out and see if it works. You wouldn't say, "For I," so don't write "For my husband and I." For my husband and me. "Her and I went to the store." "Her went to the store" or "She went to the store"? She and I went to the store.)
@Rose, boy do I relate! I cannot believe the number of times I read "For my husband and I" or similar in so many places. And the number of people on tv who butcher pronouns. I'm so glad to have someone who shares my pet peeve.
Or when people say, "My husband and I's house". I don't think there's ever a situation where "I's" is a word!
I think I would agree on the cabinets unless you have tile countertops, which in my opinion are one of the worst ideas anyone has ever come up with (clearly, people who never make pie or sugar cookies).
A professor in my English program recommended the book "Woe is I" for grammar. Not sure of the author, though.
Kristen, you sent me the Meet the Reader questions and then I got a puppy and life went a little nuts. I will try to fill it out soon!
@Susannah, the house I live in was built in 1992 with tile counter tops and I have been here 18 years. I love my white tiles. To me they are old fashioned and I love that. When I used to make pies, I rolled the crust out on the bread board. 😀 In any case I long ago stopped worrying about what would make my house salable. I have the money for upgrades but there isn't anything else I long to do. Our current opinion is that our heirs can worry about selling the joint, as the profit will all be theirs. 😀 😀 😀
@Susannah, Woe is I is written by Patricia T. O'Conner. There is also a Woe is I Jr. version.
@Anne, I am so glad to hear someone likes them! We all have our own preferences. We just bought our house and plan to be here for a long time so we do lean toward what we want vs. what will sell well. Fortunately, sometimes those goals align, but not always. We put in very nice wood floors that I believe add to the value, but which I also love, for instance! Our house was built in 1996.
As for splurge-save, I save splurges for natural materials that will wear a long time, on elements that are difficult to change. I'd save money on appliances and go for quality wood cabinets in a neutral, dateless style like Shaker.
Definitely splurge on the wood cabinets. Countertops are easily replaced and granite is not the “in” material for countertops anymore. In my opinion, granite is a waste of money. Plus their glossy finish never looks clean unless you go back over it with a window cleaning type cloth. I’d go with the laminate. It is sooooo inexpensive and there are so many great designs that you can choose from. Easy to take care of, cheap, replaceable when you are tired of it!
Personally I would choose wood cabinets, but skip some of the add ons like pull out drawers inside the cabinets to keep costs down.
@K
Nooooooo! The inside pullout drawers are my absolute favorite. I have 4 large pullout drawers and wish all of the cabinets had them. They are great for storing all of your appliances (like that heavy Kitchen Aid mixer that everyone has) I dream about getting another set of pull out drawers for all my pots and pans!
@Susan, I don't have pull-out drawers, but I wish I did! Hauling out my KitchenAid mixer when I need it is a pain. with my other cabinets, things invariably end up at the back of the cabinet, and are hard to reach.
I have two pull-out drawers in my kitchen and I love them!! However, I can't store anything super heavy in them; a Kitchen-Aid would be way over the weight limit.
They're so handy for pots and pans and containers, though.
I also agree on wood cabinets being the splurge! My father redesigned his whole kitchen using cabinets from our local restore Habitat for Humanity. You can sometimes find an entire kitchen worth of wooden cabinets there and they just need a lil love like a good sand and paint job. I've also seen some that have countertop remnants. I'm always looking for ways to reuse what is already out there and this is a good way to maximize your budget. I'm sure living in the reno is stressful, but just imagine that satisfaction once done and you're loving your new space!
The tips on grammar are especially helpful for me too! I'm starting a new job in higher education and need to brush up on some basics for content creation. Thanks for these helpful hints!
@Sara W, I think it’s wonderful that you used reclaimed cabinets and countertops in your kitchen. I often see high quality items pulled out of homes during the renovation process. Although wood is a renewable resource, natural quartz and marble are not. It’s nice to keep them out of the landfill and give them a second life.
I love my Corian countertops! Too many countertop snobs disregard Corian and consider granite and quartz to be superior. But, Corian is very sturdy, easy to clean and come in many colors (just my opinion, but all granite and quartz look basically alike while our blue Corian looks quite different and impressive.)
@Bobi,
Second this. I had the great pleasure of renovating a home and we selected Corian. We also used it in the laundry and it held up to bleach! I have it in my current home and love it! Granite requires sealing and you have to be careful with cleaning products. The corian requires minimal maintenance -- no sealing and I can clean with virtually any cleaning product. The prior owner used Comet and no discoloration.
I also have wood/MDF cabinets (wood shelvesand door with MDF body). Someone decided that the upper cabinets would have MDF sides and those are not doing well beside the sink (7 years old). I am waiting for the pandemic to end to replace those with wood cabinets. My bathroom vanities are also MDF and will be replaced as they are water damaged. Wood can be repaired, MDF replaced so it is more expensive in the long run.
Hope this helps.
I got quartz countertops (which, like corian) are a manmade combination of some crushed quartz stone and a polymer. There are lots of brands. Mine are "Silestone", and I love them. They are generally cheaper than granite or other "full" stone, plus they don't stain as easily, and don't have to be sealed. Plus, if you chip them (which hasn't happened so far), they can be filled and patched fairly invisibly. My tip for any countertops would be to get several estimates. I got 4, and the lowest was 50% less than the highest. I went with the lowest, and the installer did a fabulous job. Also, I agree that it is worth asking about remnants. My kitchen island was too big for that, but we used remnants (including some leftovers from the kitchen) for the bathrooms and laundry room, and they look great.
@Bobi,
I hate my Corian counters. I picked them out in 1999 because I thought they'd be less effort than granite. Ha ha ha ha NOPE.
@Kate, many years ago when Corian first came on the market, my husband surprised me with new countertops. We did have a very small kitchen with little counterspace, so it wasn't terribly expensive. I adored those counters. Seemed like it made everything in the kitchen prettier and certainly felt nice to the touch. Stains can be removed with sandpaper if necessary. Nothing hurts them.
Fast forward, oh, about 45 years. I have since had Corian in two other kitchens, and we splurged on the Corian integral sink. Heaven. No seams to catch stuff, so easy to clean, and pretty.
We have quartz in our bathrooms, and it is lovely as well. These are always my choices.
As for cabinets, boy do I ever dislike MDF. Wood all the way. If you have to get laminate counters for the expense, you can change countertops pretty easily.
Just my two cents.
So helpful @Kate! One of our quotes is for Silestone and I didn't know much about it so this is great to know.
I’m recommending something different— have you looked at ikea cabinets? They are super cost-effective for the quality you get. I’m a realtor, and I’m getting ready to do kitchen #3 with ikea. We are in our “forever” home now after flipping and living in several homes over the last 15 years. IKEA cabinets hold up extremely well to pets, young children, and lots of cooking. I was shocked by their durability. Also, if something crazy happens, you can easily replace a door or drawer front (though we’ve never yet had to).
The interior inserts and customizable parts are fantastic for usability and organization. It uses every last bit of space so efficiently, which is great for a small kitchen. The drawers are steel, so they don’t pull apart where the faces join like some wood cabinets do over time. Even if you buy the wood cabinets, the boxes are still going to be plywood, particle board, or MDF, unless you go super high end and spring for a custom Amish cabinets or something like that.
Anyway— the value of the home I’m in now can support a high end custom kitchen, and I’m still going with ikea because I’ve been so happy with them in my past kitchens, both functionally and in how good they look. The key is buying their trim pieces to get the custom look.
Ikea cabinets are popular and even advertised in listings in my area (the Midwest), and in our area, quartz is the preferred countertop over granite or natural stone. No one wants the maintenance if natural stone anymore now that quartz looks so good and is virtually maintenance free. I just had a buyer planning to rip out granite to replace with quartz, so I would absolutely go with the created stone/quartz.
@Tara, I second the IKEA cabinets! We remodeled our kitchen five years ago and had to do a lot of structural work so we were on a tight budget for cabinets. After five years of heavy use I am amazed that not only do they still look great the hinges, drawers, lazy susans, etc. are functioning perfectly. I also love all the ways you can customize them--we ended up with a kitchen that works just the way we need it to. Highly recommend.
I 3rd the IKEA suggestion. We did a simple shaker in our kitchen almost 14 years ago, and they still look great, and have held up great. And, if you don't like their doors, buy their boxes/ frames (they are the least expensive), and there are companies out there that make nicer doors that fix the IKEA box (Semihandmade is the one I can remember off the top of my head, but I know there are others).
Such a great question, @Tara - yes, we have seriously considered IKEA. My sister has done 2 kitchens with IKEA and is super happy. My issue is that I know things are going to go wrong (missing pieces, damaged pieces) and our closest IKEA is a 3 hour round trip away. I might still get a quote but cannot wrap my head around dealing with that distance.
@Shelagh, If I remember correctly you are the fellow teacher from Northumberland 😉 You must drive much more slowly than me, as it would not even take me an hour to get to Leslie St. from Cobourg - LOL!
Good luck with your renovations.
Totally agree. Get the good wood cabinets. In my kitchen I did the same with my counter top. I got honed granite and it was a remnant. The biggest thing with both the cabinets and the counter is make sure they are being installed by a reputable company. That way you know they are being installed properly and if there are any issues down the road you don't have to worry about them being gone. Another big thing for me was my sink and faucet. I am so glad I paid the extra money to get what I wanted. I still love it 15 years later and if I ever moved I would want the same sink and faucet in my new kitchen.
Commas are hard. I am (currently) an editor for other people's work and it's something my team and I get caught in a lot because we don't judge them quite the same.
Let's start with the easy one: the Oxford comma. If you have a series of things, do you put a comma between the next-to-last and the last, or not? "I want to thank my parents, Vladimir Lenin and Madonna" or "I want to thank my parents, Vladimir Lenin, and Madonna"? I'm in favor of the Oxford comma but whichever you choose, stick with it.
Sometimes people mix up semi-colons and commas. Use a semi-colon as a sentence splicer - when you could have two short sentences but short sentences seem choppy. Or when you have two sentences that are conceptually connected, you could use a semi-colon to make the connection clearer. Don't use a comma for either of these situations.
Now it gets fuzzier: don't use too many commas. But what is "too many commas"? Good question! Most people use more than necessary and their use breaks up the reader's train of thought. I'm strongly inclined to use too many; when I review I work I remove most of them.
To follow up on Kristen's suggestion of reading, the Fantasy & YA author Robin McKinley has the most amazing use of language and punctuation. I recommend reading her book "The Blue Sword," paying attention to how the writing/scenes make you feel, then looking to see how she does it.
@WilliamB, thumbs up for the Oxford comma!
@WilliamB,
I'm an em dash overuser. In recovery.
Also, whether you use the Oxford comma or not (I'm a fan) it also depends on the style guide whoever you're writing for picked out. Pity me, for someone decided on AP style for my current gig. Blecccch. Writing out state names stupidly, spaces on either side of an em dash--who has time for this nonsense? Well, me I guess, since I need the money and health insurance, heh.
Count me as an Oxford comma fan!
@WilliamB
Oxford comma, yes. Spaces around the em dash, no.(Publishers do not want the extra space they take up; would-be authors take note.) Love the semi-colon.
I have a hard time reading a book that was badly edited. Agree on the AP style guide, Rose. As a curator in two different fine arts museums, I used the Metropolitan Museum's style guide.
I’ve been lucky enough to have four books published (monographs to accompany exhibitions) and adore editors, especially those with whom you have discussions about changes and therefore you learn so much about grammar along the way.
Kudos on your job, WilliamB; extra commas dutifully removed.
Whatever you choose for your countertops, please, by whatever you hold holy, don't use marble. It's pretty, yes. But it's friable and fragile: it cracks under heat; stains from just water, not to mention red wine or tomato sauce; and really does need to be resealed frequently. My granite countertops look just as good as when they were installed almost 20 years ago and I've never resealed them.
As you say, there are many less expensive alternatives available. Unless you're planning to sell very soon, pick what suits you. Another thing to consider is there's a good chance that the buyer will redo the kitchen anyway.
In terms of any design decision, my general rule of thumb is to splurge on the things that are harder to upgrade later.
For example, while it would be relatively straightforward to upgrade your countertops and appliances later (if that becomes something that's important to you), it's really hard, really disruptive, and really expensive to upgrade cabinets. So personally, I'd put more money towards solid wood cabinets (which are easier to add interior fixtures like drawers to later than MDF), and just get inexpensive laminate countertops and mid-range appliances now.
Flooring is another one - it's expensive and disruptive to replace flooring, so I'd personally rather put more remodeling budget towards something long-lasting like finished-in-place hardwood, and stick with less-expensive furnishings that I can swap out as financial situations change/improve.
And layouts - I'd rather spend more money up front adding in extra electrical outlets, lighting options, and other behind-the-drywall stuff before a house is fully built because it's so much easier and cheaper to move things like that around when the walls are just bare studs!
I got really frustrated when we were building our townhouse because the real estate agent and builder wouldn't let me just NOT put closets in the kids' bedrooms. I knew that one of the first things I wanted to do was rip the closets out (to gain the extra floor space) and just install some built-in Pax wardrobes, but because a bedroom isn't considered a bedroom around here if it doesn't have a closet (which just... makes no sense! I could see the argument for "not a bedroom" if it doesn't have a second exit like an egress window, but you don't NEED a closet to treat and set up a room as a bedroom.), so they wouldn't let me even have the option of NOT building in all that drywall, trim, etc., because then on the sale paperwork, they couldn't label it a "3-BR townhouse". So silly.
Excellent advice, @EngineerMom - we are fortunate to have put cherry hardwood floors throughout the whole first floor 20+ years ago, including the kitchen (people thought we were crazy), but we love them and and keeping them. Actually picked new kitchen colours based on it 🙂
I agree with other commenters in saying cabinets are the way to go! I’d also opt for solid wood (something that can be sanded and painted/resealed) down the road. Good cabinets won’t buckle under the weight of plates, cups, pots, pans, etc. and will automatically look nicer. We had to alter our cabinets when we bought our home just to hold the weight of a few dishes! Definitely worth doing it right from the start! Everyone seems to have different opinions on countertops and these days there are tons of options for every budget. That’s something that would be much easier for a buyer to swap out as opposed to replacing cabinets. I’d say the cabinets would be a great starting point and ultimately a better investment in the long run.
I just did a kitchen remodel from saved cash. This will not be our forever home.
We purchased solid wood soft close cabinets from a big box store. We used the big box kitchen designer. My husband is a geometry teacher and had excellent measurements on graph paper.
We were told if we did laminate countertops to pay extra for the edge ( look) that granite countertops have. No regrets.
Trust your gut. Don’t go crazy!
@Stephanie, your renovation sounds similar to the kitchen reno that we did a few years ago. We purchased laminate countertops with a fancier edge and I still like them, and as others have mentioned, if I someday want to update them, it won't be nearly as disruptive as installing new cabinets. With our cabinets, I appreciate the pull-out drawers and the soft-close drawers. We took out the wooden insert and installed glass on some of our upper cabinets and I love the open feel which that gives our small kitchen. We have plenty of cabinet space for storing our ugly but functional stuff--the glass cabinets are for my dishware, glasses, and so on.
Instead of tile, we installed a bead board backsplash. It still looks nice and it saved us money. Something to consider would be installing under-cabinet lighting. I love ours, and if you want it hard-wired (rather than using puck lights) then during the renovation phase is the best time to do it.
I totally agree about wooden cabinets being more worthwhile. The only other suggestions I would make is pick neutrals and avoid trends. Whatever expensive granite you chose would keep it’s quality but at some point may be the out of trend color and make your kitchen feel outdated even though it has pricey materials. I’d go with a rather plain composite that I know I can make work with other changes like someday painting my cabinets or changing hardware etc.. For example (while this isn’t one of the subjects you asked about but hopefully demonstrates my decision criteria) my plain white subway tile has outlasted the people who remodeled their houses at the same time but picked more intricate colors and patterns of tile. Mine wasn’t always the height of trend but it never didn’t work with the other small changes I made to update my kitchen AND it was affordable right off the bat!
We chose something super basic for our backsplash too; just a simple gray subway tile. It was so, so much cheaper than the glass tiles and I think it looks just fine.
Thank you to all the people who recommended IKEA cabinets. The one factor that has always concerned me is their durability. Nice to know that they measure up!
My recommendation to Kathy is to try Khan Academy. It is free and they have a course on Grammar. It may be all you need but, if it is not, then you can buy a couple of used grammar books or check out your local libraries digital content.
I agree with using wood cabinets, and keeping them simple in design.
For countertops, I have started changing out my Formica countertops (which are both cut and stained!) to quartz composite. I've started in the bathroom, to see how I like it, and so far, a year and a half in, I love it. Upkeep is simple - just the same as Formica. My daughter has quartz in her kitchen and sets hot pots on it with no problem. My next choice would be Corian.
Flooring is definitely a place to put money, because people hate to change out floors, as someone else mentioned.
When we built our current house, I nearly went insane with the many, many decisions. Designing is hard! Good luck!
An entertaining and informative book on grammar is Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynn Truss. It is humorous, but the reader will learn a lot.
@JD, I know what you mean! We bought an old farmhouse three years ago and completely gutted it while living in a camper on the property! We are completely exhausted from decision fatigue! It’s mind bending how many things you have to think about when designing a home from scratch.
@JD, Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a book I really can recommend. English is not my first language, and I learned a lot from ist while also having fun.
For grammar I highly recommend the Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler. It is now in its 12th edition. I have the 9th edition and refer to it often.
Regarding your kitchen, since you anticipate being there 10 - 15 years, make sure you love what you choose. I agree with many others in recommending the wood cabinets. Laminate countertops are the most affordable, and they can very closely resemble the look of stone. However, if you have been pining for granite and you can afford it, then get it. The cost of what you really want will bring you more happiness than settling for something else. I also agree with others who recommended a neutral palette. You can always jazz things up with runners, curtains, and accessories. A neutral palette will serve you well when you sell your house as well as now.
Check out your local Habitat Restore and/or architectural salvage! Many building materials get donated (cabinets that weren’t measured right have to go somewhere, along with paint, surplus tile, etc.) by businesses, contractors, and private persons alike and are available for pennies on the dollar. A friend was able to build an amazing home workshop using only cabinets and supplies she found at Habitat Restore. I think her total for everything, including office furniture, was $200.
Our landlord uses both options to maintain our 120 year old house. If it’s something new that needs replaced, Habitat Restore; something old comes from the architectural salvage store. I also use both for small things we do ourselves, like painting or vintage hardware. Even doorknobs wear out (or break—loose crystal doorknobs and hardwood floors don’t mix!) but I’ve always been able to find exact period replacements at the architectural store. It’s an amazing place to look for hardware, tiles, stained glass windows (I’d be so broke if this house were ours to go all out on!), and so forth, which means your home will be uniquely “You!”
We built a house in 2015 and with spending so much money all at once I decided to go for a cheap kitchen. Well, I regret that now. The cabinets close to the dishwasher are flaky and some of the drawers seem wonky. It is not hardwood and so it can't be sanded down etc . I did get a more expensive countertop in a Corian surface and that has held up well.
Someone has already mentioned Eats, Shoots & Leaves - that's a fun book about comma placement, punctuation, etc. And we were required to re-read Elements of Style by Strunk and White (E.B. White of Charlotte's Web fame) each year of college. It's an old book (it was even then) but has some very pointed rules that stick with me still (like: Omit needless words). And I can still remember a professor quoting the author when he stood in front of the class and stared at us and said: "If you don't know how to pronounce a word... (bellowing) Say it loud!" I always figured part of the lesson was: master the basics, choose how you're going to handle the "could-go-either-way" things and be consistent, and then just let the world enjoy your voice.
@Suz, I was also going to recommend Elements of Style. There is a newer edition illustrated by Maira Kalman that is very cute!
Definitely the solid wood cabinets. You can always go back and add upgraded counters much more easily than the other way around. And be creative about the counters and possibly mix them up. A small butcher block section or a marble section.
Grammar- read everything! And puzzles with word search or make words out of a set of letters help with spelling.
Thanks for the remodel advice. If my husband and I find a house (the market is crazy in our area) it will be a fixer upper and I have had concerns about the number of decisions we will have to make. It is nice to hear people offer tips for what to prioritize or ideas for contentment with less than ideal.
Kristen, I love your renovated kitchen. Our cabinets are sturdy but so ugly. The finish appears to have been sprayed on and it's chipping. I'd really like to paint them, but my husband can't stand painted furniture and would have a fit at the idea.
I have a Scholastic guide to writing and grammar aimed at fifth through eighth graders that is one of the best writing books I've ever seen. It came from an elementary school book fair 25 years ago.
As I have mentioned before, the schools I attended growing up were severely lacking and I had to teach myself so much stuff. I studied for the reading comprehension and grammar sections of the SAT by reading several novels by Thomas Hardy and making note of how he used punctuation and constructed sentences. That worked pretty well.
I learned a lot about punctuation by taking a shorthand class.
I agree about wood cabinets but strongly disagree about the Corian. Everything scratches them, you can't leave anything wet on them or they discolor and they always look streaked unless you polish them with a cloth every time you wipe them. Now I also have a crack on the island that is likely where two pieces were joined together.
I agree wholeheartedly about quartz if it's in your price range. If not, I would much prefer Formica over the Corian I have.
I would check the price on drawers instead of cabinets on your bottom cabinets. It makes it so much easier to store pots, pans and even plates and bowls.
I have renovated 3 kitchens, my advice is invest in the parts that are not easily changed - cabinets, plumbing and electrical. Save I the areas that you can upgrade later - counters, light fixtures and flooring. I also recommend that you know your neighbor the and don’t put in more than everyone else in the area is. Like Kristen recommends buy wood cabinets. Solid surface counters are very popular these days and just as good as granite. I just finished a kitchen renovation and chose quartz for counter top and love it. I recommend that you look at the pros and cons of the different types of counters before you decide. Good luck and have fun.
I’d just like to chip in about the kitchen remodelling. Here in the UK there is a crazy trend for solid wood counter tops! They look pretty but are super high maintenance (regular re-oiling is required) and you can’t get them wet! The wooden counters we inherited in our current home were not well maintained previously and are an absolute mess. (I long to replace them).
Also the IKEA kitchen you can buy here are excellent quality for the price.
I agree - wood cabinets and composite stone would be my choice, for you. That being said, I don't even know how to get 'real wood' cabinets in Australia - it's like Ikea and other local chains are all about MDF, and you're right, it's just not as good at standing up to things, I don't think. Kristen and another US blogger I follow have both had success with painting old wood cabinets, and it's a testament to the longevity of that option!
I think the biggest thing is to balance form and function in your renovation. You can spend a lot of time and money on "pretty" and end up with a kitchen that is difficult to work in. I would suggest making a list of what is important to you, functionally, and problem-solve the renovation from there. For instance, are you someone who will carefully put down a cloth potholder on the countertop before putting a hot pan on it? Or do you want to plop your cookie sheets straight out of the oven onto the counters without thought for protecting them? That will affect the choices you make for countertops. Do you struggle to wash large pots in the sink? Then look into installing sinks with greater depth and also a faucet which is either detachable and can be used as a sprayer or has a high arc. Are you in your 20s and kneeling on the floor to dig stuff out doesn't faze you? Or are you in your 60s and trying to stay as independent as you can for as long as you can? This might be the deciding factor for pull-out drawers. The aesthetics are the icing on the cake--if you don't get the functionality right, you will be kicking yourself for not thinking your reno through more carefully.
I remodeled my small kitchen in 2017. We also splurged on wood cabinetry, and I would do it again. I would also go with soft-close hinges, pull-out shelves, and other small customizations that just make a kitchen nicer to work in.
I’m very pleased with our quartz composite countertops, too. We made that selection after reading very convincing reviews in Consumer Reports. The counters have lived up to the claims of stain resistance, and so far they haven’t chipped or shown any sign of wear, even though they’re probably the busiest surfaces in our house.
You didn’t ask about this, but I also really recommend a big sink (we got a farmhouse style one) and a touchless kitchen faucet—not a splurge I was planning to make initially but I’m glad for it every time I need to wash my hands after handling raw chicken.
For adults, I would say the best grammar book by far is “Eats, Shoots and Leaves.” It adds humor and is easy/ fun to read.
I would do the wood cabinets too. Don't go cheap on those-you don't have to do the most expensive just middle of the road. That is what we did when we updated our kitchen last year. We also did granite but if your countertop isn't too big, you can do remnant sizes which will save you some money. In regards to hardware you can buy in larger quantities online, like Home Depot has boxes of 10 which is WAY cheaper than buying them separate or in a box of 6 at the store. Just figure out what is important to you and if you can, splurge on that and go cheaper on other things.
I feel that when it comes to spelling, you either have it, or you don’t. Don’t ask me why, but I was born a speller. I can see a word I’m unfamiliar with, and know if it’s misspelled. Now, is this a born- in talent, like musical ability or athletics? I must add, however, that my talent does not extend to mathematics. No. Not in any way.
I also would like to throw my opinion in on the countertops. We got quartz almost three years ago, and they still look brand- new. They see lots and lots of action in my kitchen, believe me! If quartz fits my budget, it should fit anyone’s. Most everything we do is DIY, but that was beyond our abilities! ( I have a list of such projects, not limited to electrical work, other than simple installation; plumbing, except minor toilet repair and the like; flooring, and a few others.) We have bitten off more than we can chew quite a few times, ha ha.