[phillamb168]

Man, I wish I had the space you guys do in my Kitchen.

We just did a remodel a couple years ago and are still working on the finishing touches. Mainly the trim under the cabinets since the floor just got finished a few months ago.

We replaced the cabinets and tore down a pantry that was built in the middle on the kitchen. It's only purpose was a cold air return for one bedroom upstairs. Moved that into a wall instead and got rid of the hideous pantry. Because of our space issues I had to keep the fridge where it is and the range but I added an island with some much needed counter space. Amazing how quickly the island now gets filled up with Junk.

I have been looking at led lights recently and have come across this company. http://www.elementalled.com/
They have some decent prices on dimmable leds. I bought some from Lowes because I didn't tear into the walls to put in any wiring for under cabinet lights and have some cabinets that don't connect and just have a few setup. Good luck!

You should have seen our old kitchen. Probably 90 square feet, but that includes the footprints of the cabinets. Two people in there was not a good thing, and it was completely closed off from the livingroom. Really happy to have an open kitchen again.

[euge]

What I'm planning to do is tear all my cabinets, counters, backsplash, sink etc out and re-tile all the floors to the wall. Then install a drain. New commercial sink w/sprayer, SS backsplash, wheeled commercial kitchen tables and suitable heavy duty range-convection oven and hood. More SS racks for storage of pans, plates and foodstuffs...

Want to brew? Clean? Just move everything... Freakin wheel a Brutus in if'n I so desire!

[Joe Sr.]

Take the tile up the walls a bout 18 inches and make it a big tub!

[phillamb168]

Decided that it would be good to get some cement countertops under my belt before doing a nice one for our kitchen, so I'll be doing a new top and some reconfiguration of my outdoor bbq table/bar.

[brewmichigan]

Decided that it would be good to get some cement countertops under my belt before doing a nice one for our kitchen, so I'll be doing a new top and some reconfiguration of my outdoor bbq table/bar.

I love cement counter tops. If you do it yourself it can be a huge savings and look amazing. This old house has done a few and they have a show on doing them your self. I'd check them out.

[phillamb168]

Decided that it would be good to get some cement countertops under my belt before doing a nice one for our kitchen, so I'll be doing a new top and some reconfiguration of my outdoor bbq table/bar.

I love cement counter tops. If you do it yourself it can be a huge savings and look amazing. This old house has done a few and they have a show on doing them your self. I'd check them out.

I am a ThisOldHouseAHolic. Me and Kevin are total BFFs. Not enough detail in those episodes though, which is why I'm getting the Cheng book.

[Joe Sr.]

Decided that it would be good to get some cement countertops under my belt before doing a nice one for our kitchen, so I'll be doing a new top and some reconfiguration of my outdoor bbq table/bar.

I looked into this, but have not built anything yet.  The big thing I found, if you're putting a grill inside the table, is that you need to have space between the grill itself and the concrete, or else the concrete will degrade from the heat.  If you're using a BGE, it's not such a big deal, but I've got Weber kettle.

[corkybstewart]

We just did a total kitchen remodel, but except for the demolition all I did was sign the checks.  We went with white granite countertops, and the backsplash is a 4 inch strip of black granite and then the same white granite up to the cabinets.  We also replaced the cabinets with new oak ones that go all the way to the ceiling.  I really hate wasted space, and I can put lots of stuff up there that only needs to be used for our really big parties like Oktoberfest.
We also had recessed LED lights put in, that alone made a huge difference in the appearance and function of the kitchen.

[MDixon]

I have another suggestion. Spend some time with your wife talking about what you despise about the current kitchen. We had a counter which was square and I always had to step around it coming in from the garage. While the cabinet guy was measuring I mentioned how much I hated the corner and asked if we could make it a 45 angled cabinet. He of course said sure and we did and I am so glad we did. My wife and I had never discussed it and luckily I brought it up. That simple change makes it so much easier to enter from the garage without the corner in the way.

[phillamb168]

I have another suggestion. Spend some time with your wife talking about what you despise about the current kitchen. We had a counter which was square and I always had to step around it coming in from the garage. While the cabinet guy was measuring I mentioned how much I hated the corner and asked if we could make it a 45 angled cabinet. He of course said sure and we did and I am so glad we did. My wife and I had never discussed it and luckily I brought it up. That simple change makes it so much easier to enter from the garage without the corner in the way.

Yep, we've got a list going of the things we hate. We're very limited in terms of overall layout, however, as it's a relatively small space (relative to what you guys can get over there anyway) and door/window/fireplace placement means we have to keep most everything in the same positions. But what we will absolutely do, is get rid of that horrid brick half wall, and replace the sink with one that has a bigger bowl and not that stupid built-in 'drying rack' that takes up counter space. Also more cabinets. We had talked about going all the way to the ceiling, but I think we'll end up leaving it just below where the molding starts so we can put in uplighting.

[Vin S]

Phillam, is there any way you could move fridge to the wall close to sink. and then make the wall were fridge is a pantry area. Having sink fridge stove all the kitchen triangle will make the kitchen more user friendly.

[phillamb168]

Phillam, is there any way you could move fridge to the wall close to sink. and then make the wall were fridge is a pantry area. Having sink fridge stove all the kitchen triangle will make the kitchen more user friendly.

Yep, that's the plan actually.

[MDixon]

Uplighting is good if you have some space between the ceiling and the cabinet. If it isn't at least a foot I would not bother with it. If the cabinets have a crown moulding the easiest thing to put up would the the strip LED I linked to earlier in the thread. They can just lay on top of the cabinet. Ours were sized to be the length of the sides and front of the cabinets. We didn't have a gang of cabinets since everything was stand alone or different heights. (Of course we have no uplighting where the cabinets go to the ceiling.)

[phillamb168]

Uplighting is good if you have some space between the ceiling and the cabinet. If it isn't at least a foot I would not bother with it. If the cabinets have a crown moulding the easiest thing to put up would the the strip LED I linked to earlier in the thread. They can just lay on top of the cabinet. Ours were sized to be the length of the sides and front of the cabinets. We didn't have a gang of cabinets since everything was stand alone or different heights. (Of course we have no uplighting where the cabinets go to the ceiling.)

I looked at LED strip lighting today in the hardware store. Granted this particular chain is one that seems to have a business model of charging ridiculously high prices for everything, but: $66 for 5 feet of lighting seems expensive to me. Yes? No? It's the thin plastic strip stuff, almost like a laminate.

[MDixon]

Check out Inspired LED. They run on a 12V supply. The power input pin size unless they changed it is the same as an old Nokia cell phone charger. http://inspiredled.com/products/flexible-led-strips

These are adhesive on the back side. I used Normal Bright for uplights, Super Bright for undercabinet and then one Ultra Bright for task lighting.

These things would ship in a USPS box, I'm not sure of the shipping rate to France, but it would have to be reasonable,probably less than $30. The weight is almost nothing. The lights coil, then you peel and stick. I actually tried out the location with painting tape and then peeled. Speak with the owner and he can help with a layout and lengths.

I bought one power supply from Hong Kong and wired it into the wall. I just made sure the output was 12V and I believe it took 110-240V input. It was $8 and free shipping to the US. This appears very close to what I remember wiring into the wall box from the line power:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12W-LED-12V-DC-DRIVER-SWITICHING-POWER-TRANSFORMER-POWER-SUPPLY-1-0A-/350547698394?pt=US_Light_Bulbs&hash=item519e4562da

I also got a dimmer for the Ultra Bright task lighting, but in truth it wasn't needed. It is like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/K1BO-LED-Light-Dimmer-Modulator-Brightness-Adjustable-Control-12V-24V-8A-JT1-/251269359718?pt=US_Lighting_Parts_and_Accessories&hash=item3a80d22866
and wires after the power supply and before the LED. I think it was $8 as well when I bought it. Again it came from Hong Kong.

I did have to use a dark caulk on the inside of the upper crown to keep the light from coming through between the cabinet and the crown on the uplighting. Also on the task lighting I had to put it on the arch above our prep sink. I did two dimmable transformers and would not suggest to go that route. The transformers were $65 each and the dimmer switches were nearly $30. So almost 2 bills just to dim not including all the wire I needed for the walls. It really drove up the cost and in truth is nice, but unnecessary.

I would not do bulky LED fixtures, the strips are awesome and low profile.