The New House: Kitchen Research & Planning

Before

So yesterday you got to see my lovely new kitchen. Just in case you want to know more, here is a little post about the process we went through to plan, research, design and build our kitchen:

Planning
When we bought the house, we knew the current kitchen cabinets and layout wouldn't work for us. The original cabinets had bulkheads, were starting to wear in a few places and there weren't enough of them. The layout was a small "L" shape with the entryway to the laundry room right next to the fridge, and there was basically zero counter space.

We decided to tear down some walls, but also reconfigure an outdoor shed and the laundry room to create a pantry area and a new space, which gave us the opportunity to close off the entryway to the laundry and turn our kitchen into a u-shape with an island that would help anchor the room with the rest of the dining and living spaces. We mapped out the space, measured every corner and estimated a budget for new cabinets, tile floors, countertops, appliances and light fixtures.

Research
I did a ton of research on cabinets and spent hours on Pinterest gathering photos of other kitchens that featured the same layout as ours. I also read a lot of cabinet reviews - which brands were best, which were overpriced, or not able to stand the test of time. After a lot of research, we decided to go with Ikea for our cabinets, farmhouse sink and stove hood, but purchased everything else from either Lowe's, a tile shop, or other appliance stores. 

I know a lot of people are adverse to Ikea (who hasn't had one of their particle board cabinets fall apart on you?) but we heard a lot of good things about their cabinets. I bookmarked a lot of blogs and devoured posts like this and this  and this that gave advice and tips and how-to's.  I also read the forums on Ikea Fans - this is a great website if you want details on any Ikea item. 

After reading literally every thing I could, we came to the conclusion that: 

• The quality of Ikea cabinets was the same as big cabinet manufactures that you can purchase at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Unless you choose custom made, most cabinets are made of MDF not real wood. Ikea’s cabinets are made of MDF, as are the affordable options from Lowe’s and Home Depot.
• Price – Based on the fact that had a lot of other remodel expenses, we had a set budget for our kitchen including floor tile, backsplash, appliances, countertops and cabinets. Ikea was going to cost about half of what we would have ordered from a home improvement store.
• Lastly, we were pleased with the options for both cabinet size and door/drawer style. We wanted cabinets that would look high end and modern, but also fit the space. We fell in love with the Adel style door (a modern shaker style) in white. 

Design
So once we decided to buy Ikea, we did a lot of prep work. Ikea can come out and measure for you (for a cost), but they won't plan your kitchen - it's self help all the way. We took exact measurements of our kitchen - wall length and height, doorways, windows and the size of our appliances (which we had already purchased), then put it all in the Ikea kitchen planner tool which is an amazing and frustrating piece of software that lets you plan your kitchen in both 2 and 3-D views. 

Via

Also, semi annually, IKEA has a kitchen sale (20% off total price) and we were lucky enough to purchase our kitchen right in the middle of it. We blocked off a Saturday morning, got a babysitter and spent about 2 hours with an Ikea kitchen expert. She checked all of our measurements, asked us a bunch of clarifying questions, we made some small adjustments and then she ordered each and every piece for us. 

The ordering part takes a while, but it was well worth it! We had the cabinets delivered to our new home the weekend after we closed. It was hundreds of boxes, plus the hanging rails for the upper cabinets, the farmhouse sink and the stove hood. 


Building
I took a week off of work and assembled each and every cabinet, save our huge 88 inch tall pantry. It was a pain in the booty (I had so many bruises and scratches), but it well worth all the money we saved!

Once we were done with building the cabinets, Matt laid the new tile floor, installed the cabinets, and then the appliances. Our appliances were a Craigslist score and we were lucky to have had some reclaimed wood from a 100 year old barn given to us for the countertops. Matt built the countertops himself - he shaved off the worn side of the wood so the counters around the sink and appliances had a more smooth top, but left the island rough. I love the contrast!

We moved in before we had the backsplash or stove hood installed, but after a month we finally got those done, installed the crown molding, and shelves and voila!

AFTER!!!!

I feel so incredibly lucky to have this space to cook and gather in. It really is my dream kitchen!

(If you have any specific questions about products or process, leave me a comment! Thanks!)