Kitchen upgrades... where to start?

[cRaZyRaVr]

I want to uprade my kitchen a bit in my condo. I dont want anything too fancy nor do I want to spend too much money as in a year or so I will be renting the condo out. Last year I got all new appliances so no need for those. So... where do I start? I was thinking along the lines of...
#1. New laminate countertop (anyone know of a good cheap place that would cut 'L' shaped laminate?
#2. Paint the walls.
#3. Paint the cabinets.
#4. Backsplash.

What do you guys think and what would you have done differently?

[Rokkin]

Painting is probably the cheapest and fastest thing on your list so I would do that, but do it last.

A backsplash will pretty much make the entire kitchen look different depending on the tile you choose.

You can get custom countertops at HD/ROna and the like by just giving them measured dimensions.

I'm not too big on painted cupboards. I'm assuming you have no raised doors and that there is paint as opposed to stain on the doors currently?? Although it can be expensive you can always reface the cupboards, but if you're going to rent out the place and not enjoy it yourself, you may want to leave that out and maybe consider it at a later date.

[coolspot]

Call around for laminate pricing, the smaller shops can usually give you a much better price than Home Depot/Rona - epsecially for the higher quality stuff.


For your backsplash, perhaps consider using something unique like glass tiles or stainless steel tiles?


Do you have undercabinet lighting and valances? Lighting can add a major impact and not cost very much to do.

[Mr Nobody]

Some options:
1. Replace the doors if they look dated but keep the cabinets if they are in good condition.
2. Replace the door hardware. Makes quite a difference.
3. New faucet (you'll smile every time you use it, if your current one is old, basic, and hard to squivel).

[cRaZyRaVr]

The condo is pretty old. When I bought it 8 years ago I did paint the kitchen and the cabinets as they already were painted not stained. This is why I want to paint them again and this time I will be putting on new hinges and handles.
I guess after the countertop is done I can proceed in any order I want...
Should I sand the cabinet doors and then paint or just paint right over existing paint?

[Mr Nobody]

Perhaps remove paint and then stain them? Heat gun? Either way, its going to be a lot of work.

[antman59]

I want to uprade my kitchen a bit in my condo. I dont want anything too fancy nor do I want to spend too much money as in a year or so I will be renting the condo out. Last year I got all new appliances so no need for those. So... where do I start? I was thinking along the lines of...
#1. New laminate countertop (anyone know of a good cheap place that would cut 'L' shaped laminate?
#2. Paint the walls.
#3. Paint the cabinets.
#4. Backsplash.

What do you guys think and what would you have done differently?

#1 Look at Granite Reminants, Condo counters tend to be smaller and remnants can be picked up fairly cheaply.

[cRaZyRaVr]

Im not sure if this is big or small but I need 'L' shape where longer run os 13'x2' and short run is 4'x2'. I went to HD and what i found out is that the cheapest option is to get laminate and cut yourself. Second cheapest is to get laminate cut and installed by them but this tripples the price, and thirs option is to get anything but laminate and that basically tripples the price of installed laminate countertop. I think I will be cutting myself... its just one 45deg cut afterall.... or so it seems. So I can either spend $300 or $1000 on that counter top or I can spend $3000.

[stealth]

Then in that case I'd buy some nice granite tiles and tile the countertop.

But if your condo is in a nice building and nice area, then solid granite counters will really set it apart. Theres cheaper options than HD.

[3weddings]

Re: Painting. If the original paint is peeling, your best bet is to strip them using a heat gun (or chemicals :( )

Otherwise, sand them well using fine sandpaper, clean them using TSP and let them dry completely.

I have found that painting several thin coats gets better results than 2 thick coats. Seal with a couple of coats polyurethane (drying and sanding between coats)


I agree about the faucet. I love my new faucet to death!! lol

[Narci]

Painting..my parents have white cabinets and doors. What my parents did was take the doors off and sent them to a family friend who owns an autobody and paint shop. Got them to paint the doors white with clearcoat.

Man did the doors look awesome.

[enjoku]

I'm not sure on what your budget is but Ikea has some nice cabinet doors and counter tops.

[coolspot]

I'm not sure on what your budget is but Ikea has some nice cabinet doors and counter tops.

Ikea Countertops are installed by a 3rd party - National something... I think it's the same company that does Costco Countertop installs - horribly overpriced.

[cRaZyRaVr]

The budget is "as cheap as possible". i looked into Ikea cabinets when they had the 15% back in gift cards and it would run me around $3.5K and thats not installed and thats without the counter top.
I was looking at tiles but since I have never laid any tiles this might or might not work out very well.
Could someone suggest a good and cheap countertop place in Mississauga?