Building A New Home or Remodeling Your Kitchen?

As many of my regular readers know, we’re building a new home to replace the one we lost in the fire. Since we were seriously under-insured (no fault to the insurance company, it was all my doing to keep my premiums low) we are building the house ourselves. After a year of toiling in all weather the shell and interior walls are finally complete. It is time to step in and start designing the kitchen.

Keeping in mind that we aren’t of a budget that allows us to visit Home Depot (as an example) pick out our favorite cupboard styles and order in the installation and extras. We have to do this cheaply and affordably for pennies of what we’d pay a cabinet maker and supplier.

Country Kitchen Styles

If you too are remodeling or designing your kitchen in the upcoming days, I’m wondering if have you decided what style you’re after? I absolutely love the country style, but within that theme there are so many sub-themes. Some country is very rustic (much like you’d find in an untouched farmhouse or log cabin in the woods). Before you go thinking this would be a cheap and dirty style, think of the massive enamel farmhouse sinks that were popular back then (they’re coming back now) and believe it or not, real wood countertops.

If you’re still not quite ’seeing’ it, imagine open shelving units with (perhaps) glass doors edged in wood frames that have been opened and shut by kind-hearted folk for a century of family life. Children and grandchildren, mothers baking bread. Aunts preparing meals to feed the wedding party. This is warmth and simplicity, an era of love pre-built into the aura of a kitchen.

Now, you may only be remodeling a corner of your kitchen or perhaps your kitchen is small. Whether you are only working on a small remodeling project or a large one, there is a good chance that you may be in need of new cabinets. You can get the time-worn rustic look in new cabinets after all.

Truly one of my favorite books (and perhaps it will be yours as well) for ideas and inspirations on country kitchens is Country Living’s own – seen above, at right. Click the book cover to be taken to Amazon where new and used copies of this book are readily available. Honestly, I wouldn’t be without it – not just for reno, but also for the smaller elements of design and decor. This book is better than leafing through 200 magazines on the subject as it is filled with real world kitchens of all shapes and sizes, from down home rustic to up-country class. But I’m moving away from my topic here…

Do You Really Need All Those Kitchen Cabinets?

When it comes to kitchen cabinets, you may find that you don’t need or want as many as your space will fill. This is my case as I’ve opted out of upper cupboards – choosing instead to use the area for art – and most of my storage space will be tucked neatly into the large kitchen island. The island will be a hub of food prep, dining and visiting. Other remodelers will choose to keep their kitchens more simplified by leaving out cabinets altogether save one large wooden butler to hold cutlery and other small items and a pantry for canned goods. The shelves in this style of a kitchen are open and the pots, pans and dishes are as much of a decor item as they are functional. One of the reasons for this new trend is storage space. With smaller families and the trend towards simplied lives, we just don’t want all the clutter and bother of every appliance under the sun and one of every product from the grocery store.

Whether you will be replacing, re-designing or re-facing kitchen cabinets you will need to make a lifestyle and design decision. Those decisions are largely based on style of cabinet available as well as finding someone to build them or a place to purchase them that fit within your budget. Although it may seem a fairly easy decision to make, once you start looking you’ll find that it isn’t as easy as you might have originally thought. Too many choices in sizes and finishes, too many options and colors, too many variations on handles and knobs, and none of them offering the one-of-a-kind look you’re after.

Perhaps after all, the best thing to do when considering new kitchen cabinets, is to spend hours leafing through design books. Decide the accessories first – the sink, the range hood, the island, the fridge – and so on – and then work out the room from there. Choose storage styles that suit the rest of your appliances as well as the color (whether it be wood stain or laminate, granite or concrete countertops.

Making the Commitment to Country Kitchen Cabinetry

Now get shopping. You can start online at any of the home decor outlets or take your ideas into a building center. They will let you know if they can create the pieces you’ll need to put the look together or, at the very least, be able to refer you to a carpenter who might be interested in the work. Contracting this work out to a carpenter isn’t as expensive as you might think. I have a friend who priced their kitchen at Ikea as well as Home Depot, then talked to a carpenter about a custom kitchen – in her colors (which weren’t standard) and to fit her exact space (uneven walls and all) – the price differed by a few hundred dollars and she ended up with a much nicer kitchen with less frustration than had she taken the ‘normal’ route.

Whether you decide to shop for your cabinets and other remodeling supplies, online or in your local building center, take time before you make your deposit to ensure you’re fully commited to the choices you’ve made. A week really isn’t too long to think it over before you pay to have a kitchen created that you may be living in for many years to come.