Post # 1

Member
407 posts
Helper bee
Hi bees, looking at a possible first home. This is the kitchen:

not the best, but its not horrible, at least I dont think lol. How would you change it? Obv the hardware has to go, maybe paint the cabinets? their not in the best condition on the bottom and the floor needs to be changed. Give me some ideas, or does it have no hope?
Post # 3

Member
4687 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: June 2013 - Upstate NY
@bella731: it totally has potential! right on about the hardware and painting the cabinets. New flooring and a new black fridge maybe?
Post # 4

Member
9076 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
I kind of like the woodwork as it is. Nice contrast with the black metal hardware on it. If anything I’d stain them a couple shades darker.
Post # 5

Member
1112 posts
Bumble bee
@bella731: iwould change the cabinet hardware and paint them white. the tiles is ugs, i would change it.
Post # 6

Member
2239 posts
Buzzing bee
It has potential but I’m not a huge fan of the cabinets or floor. I personally would paint the cabinets white to brighten things up and ditch that hardware for something better. Floor would have to go but I think you could make cabinets work until you could afford to totally redo them (which honestly probably has to be done since you said they aren’t in the best condition anyways).
Post # 7

Member
169 posts
Blushing bee
Paint the cabinets, redo the floor, new appliances, maybe get rid of or upgrade the ceiling fan? It has sooooo much potential! So many possibilities.
Post # 8

Member
3080 posts
Sugar bee
I think the space / layout itself is good, so that’s a big hurdle out of the way. I’d definitely update the cabinets with some white paint and new hardware, tile or hardwood the floor, maybe change the counter to something more modern, and update the appliances when budget allows.
The kitchen definitely isn’t hopeless!
Post # 9

Member
407 posts
Helper bee
oh wow! I didnt realize I would get so many replys so quickly!
I think it does have a lot of potentional. The thing is tho that the hardware it has on now doesnt go all the way through (theres no screws on the back side, im not sure if this mean that it can still be easily taken off or not, i cant really see how else the handles would be attached if it wasnt a screw)
Would you paint them white? the countertop is a whiteish color now- (obv I would eventually want granite but that would have to wait and when we do that we will be doing new cabinets)
Would you paint the part above the cabinets also? or can that be removed? not sure whats behind it
Post # 10

Member
1309 posts
Bumble bee
I would keep the part above the cabinets. It’s just one less place you have to dust.
I think it would look nice with new hardware, cabinets painted white and keep the above part that colour. Then get new hardwood floors in the same/similar colour as the above part.
Post # 11

Member
9123 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
- Wedding: August 2013 - Rocky Mountains USA
It has promise for sure! I’d paint all the cabinets and the part above it white. We did this to our kitchen and it brightened everything up beautifully. I actually really like the hardware and think it would look cool contrasted with the white.
Ikea has some pretty cheap kitchen counters, or I think you can refinish laminate counters.
The floor is AWFUL! New lineoleum ASAP, or laminate wood flooring, or tiles. Or google about painting lineoleum, it looks pretty cool and easy.
Do you read the blog Young House Love? It has soooo many examples of redoing parts of a house yourself and is super handy. They just bought a new house and are in the process of redoing the kitchen for cheap while saving for a big remodel. Their kitchen looked a lot like yours, with the cabinets and floor!! You should check it out.
Post # 12

Member
47432 posts
Honey Beekeeper
@bella731: Can you afford to replace the flooring now? That’s what is determining the color scheme as it is.
If you can afford to replace the flooring, and that shouldn’t be too expensive, I would:
replace the flooring with dark grey or a hickory shade of brown
take out that little scalloped piece over the window
get rid of the curtains unless you need the privacy- in that case I would use something more clean lined- like a shutter or blind
paint the cabinets light grey- all the way to the top
replace the hardware with chrome or brushed nickel
replace the stove hood fan with a over the range microwave/fan- that frees up your counter space
replace the fan/light fixture with something more modern
The backsplash looks white- if so I would leave it
Cover the front of the dishwasher with a white panel (sometimes they even come with the dishwasher and are underneath the current panel)
If you have good lighting,you could also consider dark grey cabinets. If you are nervous about that you could do the uppers white and the lowers dark grey.
You will end up with a modern kitchen with matching appliances until you can afford to do a gut reno.
Post # 13

Member
378 posts
Helper bee
@bella731: if you didn’t want to mess with taking the very top portion off, it would like fine painted the same color. You might have to add some crown molding or something to finish off the top of the cabinet if you did.
perhaps whe you take off the handles, you can just use the existing screw for new hardware. You may have to do some sanding around where those side bracket things are. Depending if it’s real wood or just a veneer, it might damage the front panel and make it impossible to paint. Well, you probably wouldn’t be able to paint it anyways…. I hope it’s real wood!
they have some amazing looking stick on wood floors that are pretty inexpensive!
Post # 14

Member
6884 posts
Busy Beekeeper
@bella731: To small for me and to dark. I like light and airy feeling not 70’s dark. Replace the appliances with modern ones.
Post # 15

Member
3075 posts
Sugar bee
- Wedding: April 2013 - A court...
I would paint the cabinets off white, change the hardware from.black to silver & get some pretty tiles for the floor.
Post # 16

Member
275 posts
Helper bee
@bella731: I don’t know if anyone else said this, but you could look into getting a counter depth fridge or not as deep, but wider so it doesn’t stick out as much. My family did that and it made the kitchen feel bigger and it was awesome