At the first meeting, the designer and I came up with a ball-park figure of about $15,000.00 for the kitchen. This was with-in our budget and so I paid the $50.00 refundable fee for the measuring crew to visit our home. The designer and I spent about ten hours over several appointments choosing the cabinets for our space. I am very happy with the helpfulness and commitment to my project satisfaction from the Home Depot design team. We wanted 42-inch cabinets but had to settle on 36-inch uppers due to our eight foot ceilings. This is still 9 inches taller than the current cabinets. Crew-two, the installer for Home Depot, came out twice to double check our measurements and write up the contract. We agreed to tear out the old cabinets, do the electrical, plumbing, and insulate the outside facing wall to code. We have to move a gas line four inches to accommodate ten inches of new counter space by the stove. They will do the drywall, fix the floor-board molding, install the counter tops and box off the soffit where it was cut for the new cupboards. The final bid came in around $18,000. The moldings added expenses not in the original ballpark estimate, as did details like a valance over the sink and the matching shelf I wanted over a doorway to connect the built-in sideboard to the kitchen area. There was a promotion going on for buying the counter-top and cabinets together and we saved several thousand dollars. The sink was included but we have to pay for install.
We chose not to box in the refrigerator with a side panel. Besides functioning as the showcase magnet board for the kids artwork, it would have create problems moving our over-sized fridge for cleaning or replacement. We also put off adding a pantry cupboard in a unused built-in grill. This would cost about $1500.00 and can be done another year.
We choose granite counter tops on the advice of our experienced designer. Due to the promotions that month, it only cost a couple of hundred more than a high-end laminate. Most of my neighbors had remodeled their kitchens in the last decade and the complaint I heard the most from them was they wish they had sprung for the granite. So my husband and I decided to do it right the first time. I brought my husband into the design area and he chose the same granite style I did. How cool is that! We put our order in the first week of April with expected delivery in 6 to 8 weeks.
We chose not to box in the refrigerator with a side panel. Besides functioning as the showcase magnet board for the kids artwork, it would have create problems moving our over-sized fridge for cleaning or replacement. We also put off adding a pantry cupboard in a unused built-in grill. This would cost about $1500.00 and can be done another year.
We choose granite counter tops on the advice of our experienced designer. Due to the promotions that month, it only cost a couple of hundred more than a high-end laminate. Most of my neighbors had remodeled their kitchens in the last decade and the complaint I heard the most from them was they wish they had sprung for the granite. So my husband and I decided to do it right the first time. I brought my husband into the design area and he chose the same granite style I did. How cool is that! We put our order in the first week of April with expected delivery in 6 to 8 weeks.