This Old #%&@*$ House

Chaz wrote:

We need faceplates for appliances. It's the only sensible way.

But only for regular size appliances, not for XL ones.

Stele wrote:
Chaz wrote:

We need faceplates for appliances. It's the only sensible way.

But only for regular size appliances, not for XL ones. ;)

Curse you, Nintendo! *fist shake*

Chaz wrote:

It's a fashion thing. It's trendy and cool to have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. My wife watches a lot of HGTV, and whenever you see someone looking at a house without both of those things, they always say "Oh, it's so dated, this whole thing is going to need to be updated."

I agree with you on the stainless being a fashion thing. Granite though has definite benefits over laminate, wood, etc... like it is not temperature sensitive, you can just put hot pans and sheets on it no problem, and it doesn't stain or get cuts.

Chaz wrote:

It's a fashion thing. It's trendy and cool to have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. My wife watches a lot of HGTV, and whenever you see someone looking at a house without both of those things, they always say "Oh, it's so dated, this whole thing is going to need to be updated."

In a lot of cases, that's true though. Things like formica and vinyl overlays on countertops are cheap, trashy and outdated. Same goes for a lot of the 10-15 year old appliances you see.

As for updating to quartz/granite/other equivalent, a lot of the reason for going that route is in simple longevity. All are far more durable, and that alone can add value.

On stainless, I'd say that's probably the most faddish thing going right now. There are definitely folks who prefer the look regardless, but you can say that about pretty much anything.

Oh, and my personal pet hate: "Open Concept". I hate this phrase with an intensity rivaling that of a thousand burning suns. It's utterly meaningless, blithering drivel. Just call it what it is: an open floor plan.

Chaz wrote:

It's a fashion thing. It's trendy and cool to have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. My wife watches a lot of HGTV, and whenever you see someone looking at a house without both of those things, they always say "Oh, it's so dated, this whole thing is going to need to be updated."

I suspect HGTV has a lot of partnerships (wink wink nudge nudge) with granite countertop and stainless steel appliance companies.

We went the same route - all white cabinets in our kitchen with all white appliances. Except for the microwave, which is black - it was a free donation from my parents. Actually looks good next to our white cabinets. We debated granite countertops, but for our pretty small kitchen it was going to be close to $3000, and we couldn't stomach it. Instead we spent $50 on a Giani granite countertop paint kit, which makes your laminate countertops look like granite with an automotive-grade clearcoat finish. It's clearly not granite, but it looks much nicer than flat laminate countertops, and $50.

We've been shopping for a new fridge and dishwasher, and the nice thing about sticking with white/black instead of stainless is you can get the exact same appliance, except maybe 5-10% cheaper.

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Boudreaux wrote:

I suspect HGTV has a lot of partnerships (wink wink nudge nudge) with granite countertop and stainless steel appliance companies.

We went the same route - all white cabinets in our kitchen with all white appliances. Except for the microwave, which is black - it was a free donation from my parents. Actually looks good next to our white cabinets. We debated granite countertops, but for our pretty small kitchen it was going to be close to $3000, and we couldn't stomach it. Instead we spent $50 on a Giani granite countertop paint kit, which makes your laminate countertops look like granite with an automotive-grade clearcoat finish. It's clearly not granite, but it looks much nicer than flat laminate countertops, and $50.

We went with the opposite when we did our kitchen a few years ago. The ceilings are 8.5 feet so I felt like that much height on the light cabinets would look too washed out:
IMAGE(http://i1010.photobucket.com/albums/af229/imbiginjapan_1/DSCF1192.jpg)

I think stainless would have looked lousy with that scheme. And yeah we saved some cash in the process and splurged on quartz countertops. The floor is actually a high-quality sheet vinyl, you'd never know until you walked barefoot on it or dropped a glass.

DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

AnimeJ wrote:

Oh, and my personal pet hate: "Open Concept". I hate this phrase with an intensity rivaling that of a thousand burning suns. It's utterly meaningless, blithering drivel. Just call it what it is: an open floor plan.

Absolutely yes. You might hate it a lot less if you turn it into a drinking game. On the other hand, you might not make it through ten minutes.

I haven't done any research into this, so I don't know, but are granite counter tops a new thing? If people want them for durability, then why do they only want them now? Wouldn't durability have been important before, and if so, why haven't people always wanted them? Wouldn't stainless steel counter tops be even more durable, and cheaper?

I think granite counter tops are fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to re-do the kitchen to get them, and I'd certainly consider other options in addition to them.

clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

So we didn't goof big time or something? This is something normal adults know to do and I somehow don't?

DSGamer wrote:
clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

So we didn't goof big time or something? This is something normal adults know to do and I somehow don't? :)

Get a big cutting block with feet?

DSGamer wrote:
clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

So we didn't goof big time or something? This is something normal adults know to do and I somehow don't? :)

Nah, you guys didn't goof unless the tile is all wonky, but that would be the tilesetter's fault. I learned the bar towel trick in culinary school, actually, because boards with feet and extra pieces break more and are harder to sanitize properly. And a plain board that slips could mean losing a finger, so that's bad

DSGamer wrote:
clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

So we didn't goof big time or something? This is something normal adults know to do and I somehow don't? :)

If they're uneven then there was a mistake made in tile setting, too much thinset or something along those lines beneath the tiles that are too high, or perhaps not enough if there's a low spot. Not a huge deal though.

Chaz wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:

Oh, and my personal pet hate: "Open Concept". I hate this phrase with an intensity rivaling that of a thousand burning suns. It's utterly meaningless, blithering drivel. Just call it what it is: an open floor plan.

Absolutely yes. You might hate it a lot less if you turn it into a drinking game. On the other hand, you might not make it through ten minutes.

I haven't done any research into this, so I don't know, but are granite counter tops a new thing? If people want them for durability, then why do they only want them now? Wouldn't durability have been important before, and if so, why haven't people always wanted them? Wouldn't stainless steel counter tops be even more durable, and cheaper?

I think granite counter tops are fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to re-do the kitchen to get them, and I'd certainly consider other options in addition to them.

I'd say that the prime reason we haven't seen those types of countertops become prevalent until recently is largely a matter of price. Quarrying granite isn't cheap in the least, and getting slabs that can be worked into large, single pieces for counters is fairly difficult absent some of the recent(10+ years) improvements in CNC milling/cutting techniques. That's just my guess at why though.

As for substitutes to granite, there's plenty out there; Silestone is a big one along with other Quartz countertops. On the manufactured side there's recycled glass, concrete, and other synthetic slab materials(Corian is one). And then you can always do it really old school with butcher block.

clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
clover wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

So we put tile in out kitchen as I mentioned before. It turns out cutting boards on tile are precarious. Did we make a giant mistake or do we just need different cutting boards?

Put a few damp paper towels or a bar towel underneath. This is a good trick for stainless steel or granite too.

So we didn't goof big time or something? This is something normal adults know to do and I somehow don't? :)

Nah, you guys didn't goof unless the tile is all wonky, but that would be the tilesetter's fault. I learned the bar towel trick in culinary school, actually, because boards with feet and extra pieces break more and are harder to sanitize properly. And a plain board that slips could mean losing a finger, so that's bad

Yeah the kitchen towel under the cutting board is a thing that everyone should do, stops the board from moving/spinning even on a flat counter.

I guess we're just used to always having laminate or formica or whatever so it's unusual for us to have such a slippery surface. It literally came up yesterday when I tried to cut something on a new cutting board.

I loathe stainless steel appliances. I have a stainless steel whistling teakettle and keeping it clean is a nightmare. I can't imagine how much stress stainless steel everything would cause me. Plus, I don't really like the way it looks either. Given a choice, I would choose bright candy apple red appliances, but due to pitifully limited choices in my price range, I settle for white or black. At least they match everything and aren't typically covered with noticeable smudges. I had to get a new refrigerator last year and I specifically avoided anything that even resembled stainless steel. Ugh. Hate it. For me, stainless steel belongs in the realm of kitchen sinks and eating utensils.

Stainless steel is one of my favorite alloys.

Downside of stainless steel fridge is no magnets on the front!

You know what I don't get? Farm sinks. What a silly fad.

Yesterday Yellek started ripping up the carpet on our main stairs. We are now committed to... something!

I love farm sinks. They look cool. Functionally, they do get you a bit more sink space, but I don't think this matters much in most cases.

You are my enemy now!

We have a stainless sink that is the same deep size of a farm sink, but without the ugly front. Farm sinks always look to me like they made a mistake measuring and had to cut the counter top away from the front to fit it.

I prefer some form of steel for a kitchen sink, but for appliances themselves I don't care what color/style they are as much as I care how functional they are.

Yeah I'm all for large single-basin sinks. We installed one in our last house and I loved it.
I don't like the farm sink look though. I agree with Yellek. It does look a bit like someone screwed up measuring.

plavonica wrote:

*Googles farm sink.

Huh, it's a deep-sink. Handy in a busy mess-hall kitchen or as part of a dedicated cleaning area. It makes large items easier to clean. Beats having to do them in the tub anyway.

I think that QS was talking about is an 'apron' sink, where the front of the sink is exposed and not covered by cabinets. They can be divided like regular counter-sunk sinks. The main 'design' point is the exposed front which I think is ugly.

IMAGE(http://st.houzz.com/simgs/5781a42b0ddc110c_4-5644/traditional-kitchen.jpg)

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Stainless steel is one of my favorite alloys.

Downside of stainless steel fridge is no magnets on the front!

You know what I don't get? Farm sinks. What a silly fad.

Yesterday Yellek started ripping up the carpet on our main stairs. We are now committed to... something!

You mean incredible super awesome best reason to have one upside right?

Infyrnos wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Stainless steel is one of my favorite alloys.

Downside of stainless steel fridge is no magnets on the front!

You know what I don't get? Farm sinks. What a silly fad.

Yesterday Yellek started ripping up the carpet on our main stairs. We are now committed to... something!

You mean incredible super awesome best reason to have one upside right?

I'm with Quintin. We have a Stainless Steel frig and it's annoying.

Huh. My parents got a stainless steel fridge specifically with some kind of ferrous material behind the steel. They also got one with a clearcoat on the doors to mitigate fingerprints. It works wonders.

LeapingGnome wrote:
Chaz wrote:

It's a fashion thing. It's trendy and cool to have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. My wife watches a lot of HGTV, and whenever you see someone looking at a house without both of those things, they always say "Oh, it's so dated, this whole thing is going to need to be updated."

I agree with you on the stainless being a fashion thing. Granite though has definite benefits over laminate, wood, etc... like it is not temperature sensitive, you can just put hot pans and sheets on it no problem, and it doesn't stain or get cuts.

We have some stains on our granite – some discoloration from stuff the rehab company left on the counter and a couple spots we made from wine and strawberries.

Chaz wrote:

I haven't done any research into this, so I don't know, but are granite counter tops a new thing? If people want them for durability, then why do they only want them now? Wouldn't durability have been important before, and if so, why haven't people always wanted them? Wouldn't stainless steel counter tops be even more durable, and cheaper?

I think granite counter tops are fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to re-do the kitchen to get them, and I'd certainly consider other options in addition to them.

I remember granite counters being pushed in the early 2000s, as we entered the era when everything needed to look above-average, especially in the kitchen.

LeapingGnome wrote:
plavonica wrote:

*Googles farm sink.

Huh, it's a deep-sink. Handy in a busy mess-hall kitchen or as part of a dedicated cleaning area. It makes large items easier to clean. Beats having to do them in the tub anyway.

I think that QS was talking about is an 'apron' sink, where the front of the sink is exposed and not covered by cabinets. They can be divided like regular counter-sunk sinks. The main 'design' point is the exposed front which I think is ugly.

IMAGE(http://st.houzz.com/simgs/5781a42b0ddc110c_4-5644/traditional-kitchen.jpg)

Yes, they are commonly referred to as farm sinks these days.

Deep sinks are great! Apron sinks will have people rolling their eyes in 10, 20 years.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Yesterday Yellek started ripping up the carpet on our main stairs. We are now committed to... something!

Ripping up our carpet to get to the hardwood underneath is one of the most fun and transformative things we've done here. What are you up to?

Zoso1701 wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Yesterday Yellek started ripping up the carpet on our main stairs. We are now committed to... something!

Ripping up our carpet to get to the hardwood underneath is one of the most fun and transformative things we've done here. What are you up to?

Pulled it up to find pine steps/risers underneath. Technically we could finish those, but they wouldn't match the main floor oak and it would be a lot of sanding to get all the paint off that the builders got all over them. Also lots of knots, chips, screw holes. We got a high quote before I pulled the carpet, and now I'm going to get another now that they can see everything. Hoping it'll be less since I spent an entire day pulling a million staples.