Renovating a brand new kitchen

Sorry, I don't have any advice for you but I may be interested in purchasing some of your cabinets/appliances for my renovation in a post war studio.

you will never find the perfect apt so if everything else works go for it.
it does seem like a waste, but if you were my friend i would say try and live with it for awhile and see if you like it...
in the end you have to determine if you have the funds and it's worth it so can't imagine why you are asking

There are thousands and thousands of one bedrooms out there, so just keep looking.

I think you're nuts

It seems a bit foolish... Is there anyway to rehab the kitchen without ripping it out?

The building code upgrades and new wiring/plumbing that were required for the renovation would help a little, but unless you are high net worth individuals, from a financial planning/investment perspective, renovating this new kitchen would be a serious ding to your net worth.

You're talking about doing the equivalent of taking $30,000 and setting it on fire. If you feel totally calm about that prospect, then you can certainly afford to rip out and replace this kitchen, and that might be the best path for you.

Real estate is an investment whether you like it or not. Yes it's also your home, but it is not just your home. Just ask someone who is desperate to sell their home.

alanhart is right, the market is absolutely awash in one bedrooms apartments. If this is the only apartment you found that's acceptable, I just wonder how this could possibly be. The only explanations I can imagine is that you've decided you must live in one particular building, perhaps on one particular block in the West Village, or you are anticipating co-op board approval problems/rejection and so can't consider a lot of buildings, or something else specific and special like that. Otherwise, this is very much a buyer's market.

You're also at serious risk for overpaying for this perfect apartment, of course, since you want it so much....a caution.

One last thing: I assume what you want is a traditional/country kitchen instead of a contemporary one? If so, you may find that the modern kitchen is enough of a blank slate that you could use decorating to create the look you desire. Cabinet doors can be painted with country scenes, or with faux shadows; faux windows/curtains could be created over glass doors; items from antique shops could be hung from hooks. Replacing lighting fixtures is relatively cheap, ditto handles/pulls, especially going in the traditional direction. Floors can be refinished, painted, glazed, stenciled, covered with kitchen carpeting. Faucet handles can be replaced...If this approach interests you, call a decorator and have her/him go to go with you to look at the kitchen. Potentially you could create a kitchen you love for less than $5000.

Karla Harby
Charles Rutenberg Realty
kharby@crrnyc.com

I don't know what you're spending on this one-bed, but if it's $600,000, this is 5% wastage. While it seems shocking in terms of absolute numbers -- "setting $30,000 on fire" -- if you bought a candy bar and ate 95% of it, you'd be happy.

So I say go for it.

The one thing I would do first is to contact people who will resell your kitchen, and set up the demo work so they can rescue everything. The tile may not be salvagable, but the appliances certainly are. Do it right and that's a charitable deduction that lowers the cost of your reno.

Westchester Habitat for Humanity used to have a project that did this called "re-store" -- I don't know if they still do.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

I can understand ripping out a cheap new kitchen you hate with white appliances. Something thrown together by a developer or seller doing a quick rehab of a wreck. But a new "A+" job? You are paying through the nose for it in the purchase price and then again for the replacement, leaving you in $60K+ of a hole for no real reason other than very specific aesthetic taste from what you describe. It is obviously up to you--you know your financial situation. But most people would counsel that this is a bit nutty.

I can understand why you would dislike a Boffi type sleek modern kitchen in a prewar. Personally, I hate the look; it leaves me cold. Shop painted white wood paneled doors with some glass fronts and polished nickel hardware with a pre-midcentury feel is what I think looks best in a traditional prewar. But that said, I wouldn't over pay and then pay some more to get it.

Build it green has a program where they will take your whole kitchen out for free if it is re-saleable, and also give you a tax deduction for letting them re-sell it. If you are going to do this, this lets you do it with the least waste, thje most savings, and benefits all around.

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Thinking about replacing your nice kitchen with your dream kitchen? If you are replacing a high quality kitchen, call Build It Green! NYC today! BIG!NYC's fully insured deconstruction crews will deconstruct and remove your kitchen for FREE!

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If the cabinets are from a particular manufacturer's system, you might be able to replace the doors and doorfronts with ones that are more to your liking. That plus a fixture here and there and you're set.

But I'd still look elsewhere instead.

doorfronts = drawerfronts

You're already losing 10% on transaction costs in and out, and you're thinking about ripping out a brand-new, well-done K? Hmm. Is there no hope of finding a 1br prewar that is in estate condition? Or (since you're about to be two) finding a 2b2b prewar in a year or two that requires lots of work since you are esthetically sensitive?

I too hate kitchen & baths that aren't to my taste, but I practice my reno urges on "gut job" apts. Less painful to my "use it until it's broken and then some" inner angel.

This is a great thread as i am actually pulling out a brand new kitchen in a new condo that was not designed extremely well and now i know i can potentially donate to charity. Thanks for the idea.

live with it for a while

I think alanhart is on the right track. Sometimes swapping out a few elements is all it takes to make the style of a room seem much different. For example, changing a glass tile backsplash to classic white subway tile and putting in a different faucet and different cabinet hardware might be all you need to do to put the kitchen within your comfort zone. If you really have your heart set on the place, consider walking through with a kitchen designer who can give you an idea of what can be done to change the look and feel without ripping out the whole room.

Miette and Alan are both on track--I really don't like my kitchen at the Millennium but re-doing it right now is just not feasible so I got rid of the frosted glass backsplash (which to me was highly offensive),put in tile that I love and just 'decorated' around it--I still do not like the cabinets (and am working on convincing hubby to re-do at some point) but at least now I can live with it.

Alan is great, depending on the finish you might be able to apply moldings as well

It's nice to know that new appliances and fixtures can be reused when people with money to burn discard them.

I am trying really, really hard not to be judgmental (call it a Fourth of July resolution) but I have to say this "dilemma" smacks of having too much money. As many have pointed out, its a buyers market and there is probably another unit available with a kitchen better suited to your taste or at least one that hasn't been already updated this century.

Option two, live with it...OMG there are such worse things to have to deal with than a modern kitchen...I don't know if they are still prevalent in NYC but when I was a kid a lot of buildings had shared hallway bathrooms,...and I'm not THAT old. Or consider what people whose wintertime heat is sketchy to non-existent, that's problem, really.

Alan and others have made great suggestions on how you can make the horror of horrors modern kitchen livable which don't cost the equivalent of what it would pay to provide home health service to an elderly person.

Btw, how long are you planning in living in this place? My guess is if your are buying for your first apartment together you aren't just out of school so guessing you are early 30s, how long before you think about expanding? Whether you go burb or stay city one bedroom isn't going to cut it once there's a kid and even without (many couples and singles like having 2 bedrooms) . If you are saying you can't gut it out with an A+ modern kitchen for 5 years or so.....

The Russians are probably wondering how they lost the cold war.

there is no such thing as having too much money - unless, you think you do not have enough.

And the Chinese are wondering when they will move in...with either kitchen.

well, how long have you been looking? If you've been looking a long time and this was the only place that fit the bill, then it might make sense to upgrade the kitchen. That said, you'd have to look at it as a expense - you'll never get the money back, so if $30k is worth it to you to have the kitchen 'feel' you desire, then go for it.
But there are lots of ways to change the feel of a kitchen w/out replacing everything- new door styles and hardware can make a huge difference, as well as changing the backsplash which is not a huge expense. For instance a run of the mill inset panel, depending on the hardware, can look very modern or pre-war classic.

I wouldn't worry about the Chinese, cc. They've gone from no running water to dancing/talking/bum-washing-and-drying toilets in 1 generation. The rich Chinese are more decadent than you can imagine.

Liz: exactly. How long are you going to be in this 1-bedroom, O newlyweds? 5 years? I would pass and go for a prewar 2-bedroom in major estate condition.