Tuesday 29 November 2011

Kitchen Files: The Great Cabinet Debate

So with the closing date fast approaching (25 days now) I have been feeling increasingly pressured to have things for the kitchen all set and ready, so all we have to do is either order or install when we get the house.

We do have most aspects chosen...

we know we're going to use the Black Beach glue down cork flooring. Which is $1.99/sq.ft. 
We know we're getting a 31" white apron front double sink. (Not with ugly fixtures like that picture has though) We'll be getting a large one whole goose neck faucet with a pull down sprayer. 

   
We bought our fridge and stove, both of which ended up being Kitchenaid, from the gigantic scratch & dent/new appliance store on Brydges. I was skeptical at first of scratch and dent, but this place is GREAT! Seriously! They have TONS of appliances (and furniture if you need it) to choose from. We got at 23cu.ft. stainless french door fridge and, stainless gas convection range for super cheap! The stove itself is normally around $2,300. The only "problems" are there is a tiny dent on the freezer door handle, and the stove was slightly used, so the burner plates are a little scuffed looking...to us this really isn't a big deal, and is more than worth saving the $1,400 we saved by not getting them at Home Depot. 

 
We know we're going to DIY concrete countertops, that will look something like this when they're done.

 
I've narrowed it down to three paint colours haha, haven't been able to decide for sure which one I like best, and obviously Jason is no help...so I'll probably just end up flipping a coin or something haha. Which one do you like better?

But what we can’t seem to agree upon is the cabinets. Jason is dead set against Ikea cabinetry, and I can’t seem to understand why. I want the Ikea cabinets. I like the look of them, I like the options for drawers, baskets, lazy susans, (whatever I want) for the inside, and I really like the price. Sure, I get that Ikea isn’t the top of the line maple, or cherry, or whatever cabinets, but they are durable. I have friends, and friends of friends that have Ikea kitchens, and they are perfectly happy with them. They haven’t broken, they don’t look bad, they are perfectly great kitchens! Would I prefer to get a completely custom kitchen? Obviously. Can we afford a completely custom kitchen? Obviously not! If we were merely painting cabinets, or were having to match cabinets to what is in the kitchen then maybe we could get a couple custom cabinets. Or go to the habitat re-store. But unfortunately (or fortunately) we have to get ALL new cabinets, and I do NOT want to have to mix and match.
  Like I mentioned before, when we were at the auction they were selling cabinets…12 pieces (uppers & lowers), but they weren’t what I was looking for. We would’ve had to paint them for starters. And they were only about $100 cheaper than what I had priced out in terms of Ikea cabinets…so those were obviously a no go. I went into the Habitat Re-Store to see what they had to offer. They had a number of cabinets that were in good condition, that I would've been all over if we were trying to tie in with current cabinets...but they only had about three matching ones...so they were also a no go. I looked into countless stores online that were decent options, but most were WAY over budget. I got excited, when the Warehouse guys advertised a massive kitchen sale – but alas, the savings were on basic 8ft kitchens. UGH! I don’t have a problem with “basic”…that’s pretty much what I’m looking for, just basic, white, flat front…but we need more than 8ft of cabinets…and we need a bit more than 12ft (just on the bottom) so again, that was a no go.



Just a few of the options that Ikea has to offer that I like.

Jason is coming around to what I’ve been saying all along, that Ikea is the route to go. He just needs to get over his dang issues with the Swedes. Because the grand ol’ Ikea cabinets end up being less than $100/lin. ft. including handles, legs, toe-kicks…everything. AND, they have the look I like the best, plus the stuff inside the best.  Long story short, I’m pretty sure I’ve got him convinced now that we’re going to have to go with Ikea cabinets. It basically came down to me telling him that I spend significantly more time in the kitchen than he does, so why does he care what they have on the inside, or what brand they are? Suck it up Jason, I believe we're going to Ikea.  


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