Design to Match or to be Modern?

[jeffinsgf]

With just Nancy and myself in the home, a dining room is a complete waste of space. Our "dining" room has been used as a home office since we moved in in 2018. Now I've decided to do some built-ins in there. I'm only moderately concerned about resale value...not planing on living anywhere else with the possible exception of an assisted living place. But, I don't want to create something that is going to be a liability instead of an asset. The home, built in 1990 has red oak trim and cabinetry throughout. Other than the rather dated door and drawer pulls, I love the trim and like the cabinetry. There are built-ins in the family room that match the kitchen. The dining room is roughly visible from the family room and the kitchen. Nancy is an avid reader, so the mission of the built-ins is to house a lot of books, my 1970s collection of vinyl and a vintage stereo and turntable. I'm currently leaning toward all the stereo gear except the turntable being in the base cabinets with the albums in sliding drawers. My thought is, any future owners who want a formal dining room can use the built-ins as a hutch, instead of a library.

So, with that set-up, here's my dilemma. Do I exactly mimic the face frame cabinetry in the rest of the house, ignore it completely and build something more modern, or attempt to blend the two with raised panel doors (matching the rest of the house) but with frameless 32mm construction?

I'm currently leaning toward option 3...raised panel doors on Euro cabinets, but could be talked into matching the old style. I think going off on some modern tangent like slab doors with a border would be a mistake.

I know there are some very talented professionals on the forum, so I'm looking for guidance. I'm much more of a furniture guy than a cabinetry guy, so this won't be my last plea for help.

 

[woodferret]

Since it's not an estate house, it'll probably get gutted when sold or lived-in as-is given how the market is.  If sold now, at best it'll likely get redone with slab doors or micro-shaker - very likely in white. 

I think as builders, we attribute more value to the trim, furniture, and built-ins than any buyer would.  The quip about estate home is that those who buy that are buying the history to some extent, but 1990 doesn't qualify in that market.

Build what makes you and your wife happy because you'll be the most picky of all people that'll see it.

 

[Cheese]

FWIW...I'd vote for option #3 Jeff. And, as you don't like the old drawer & door pulls, when you choose the pulls for the new cabinets, keep in the back of your mind if they could also be used on the old cabinets. That may also pull things together a bit more.

A vinyl guy...that's pretty  [cool].  Vinyl has outsold CD's for the last couple of years.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/26/...ic-revenue-streaming-vinyl-cds-physical-media

Another project on my list is to refurbish the old Thorens TT and get it up and running. Nothing seriously wrong with it, just a new belt, some lubrication and a new cartridge to start things off.  [smile]

 

[Packard]

Conventional Shaker is still the most popular cabinet style (and easiest to produce).

Contemporary face frame cabinets show much less face frame than 20 years ago, in an attempt to mimic frameless.

White still remains the most popular color.

I favor all drawers in base cabinets.

When I refaced my kitchen cabinets, I remembered how often I had to clean hand marks.  So I went with black cabinets.  Also, my dog used to rub against the cabinet when rounding corners.

Pay attention to pull design and placement.

I favor long pulls placed horizontally at either the top or the bottom of a cabinet.  They are more likely to be used to close cabinet doors and drawers than a rail or stile that is at the location.

Some cabinet pulls will catch loose garments.  Be aware of that.

I’m seeing a lot of gray cabinets lately.  You heard it here first:  The gray cabinets will be the bell bottom pants of kitchen design.  It will go out of style in a few years.  And you will be able to instantly judge when the cabinets were built. It is a fad.  I am making a conscious effort to avoid it.

 

[woodferret]

This cheeky joke came up in a FB cab/millwork group and I thought it was fitting....

View attachment 1

 

[jeffinsgf]

so pull things together a bit more.

A vinyl guy...that's pretty  [cool].  Vinyl has outsold CD's for the last couple of years.

WAS a vinyl guy. None of my vinyl is newer than about 1983ish which is only a few years older than the last time any of them have been played. I got sucked into the CD black hole when I was on the road all the time doing the shows. I could carry them from the truck to the hotel room to the show venue. Never did quite make the jump to digital download music and I'm not willing to pay for my favorite albums yet a third time. I'm afraid my original turntable is beyond hope. I replaced it in 1984 and that one might be salvagable with a belt and a cartridge. I'm pretty confident my 65 watt Sansui amp will fire right up. Speakers will have to be new. The particle board on my BIC Venturis dissolved years ago.

As for the cabinetry, no way in the world am I doing painted. I think woodferret is on point. I'm going to match the doors to the rest of the house but on Euro cabinets because that's what Nancy and I like. Hate to think of future buyers ripping everything out, but that seems to be the reality these days.

And Cheese, I had already planned on this being the chance to start the process of changing out all the pulls.  [wink]

 

[Packard]

I see some flat panel doors with “invisible” pulls.  That guarantees that hand prints will be on the rails or stiles.  Eventually those will have to be cleaned. That cycle of getting dirty and then getting cleaned is tough on finishes.

My best solution for cleaning is to use the Swisher wet refills.  They clean well and cause littl damage.  And you don’t have to wipe them off.

Waterlox recommends it for their finishes.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I would have thought that a formal dining room was sort of "out", with the "open concept style pushing forward by 1990? Though I guess that would be somewhat regional? also maybe square footage based too?
Either way, I assume it has some kind of eat-in kitchen, making it redundant enough to not care about losing it?
I totally get what you are saying about not hurting future prospects, but I don't think it is really much of a factor with the current real estate market. Buyers are looking to "invest" and rent, buy/remodel/flip, or just move in and live with it. This is a little dependent on your market/area too.

I am in a similar situation. I did a fairly major remodel on my paternal grandmother's house, when I got it. I didn't change it dramatically, mostly up-dated the wiring, HVAC, and removed one partition wall.
That was a result of a poorly thought-out addition that was built in 1950 [eek]
Other than a few trim pieces, it has been done for a few years, except for the one big thing....kitchen.
I have avoided it, saving it for last, for two reasons. Initially it was cost. Kitchens are the most expensive remodel you can get into. Later, it became the retirement goal of building it myself, in the garage shop.
Houses this old had everything "built-in" which I somewhat assume also meant "on site"?
I have fiddled with it, over the years, modifying/relocating things, to have settled on a minor layout change. I'm just struggling with the overall look. As it is, which I don't believe is original, it built in, with face frames and contrasting slab plywood doors/drawer fronts. The frames/bodies are painted white, the doors/drawers are a naturally aged pine plywood with that old-fashioned 3/8" lipped overlay.
My preference would be very similar to what I did for my daughter's house, frameless with raised panel doors, but that is not exactly fitting with a 95 year old house.
The rest of the first floor has Red Oak base and door casing, but those are isolated because 95 year old house. They loved their separate rooms/partition walls back then.
I think, but cannot confirm, that the doors were changed at some time. For some reason, I see glass doors? That's not really my thing, single guy who doesn't have (or care to have) "display dishes". I could go with a veiny or other patterned glass, but it's a big expense for something that doesn't matter to me.

Sorry about rambling on your topic Jeff.  [embarassed]

 

[jeffinsgf]

I would have thought that a formal dining room was sort of "out", with the "open concept style pushing forward by 1990? Though I guess that would be somewhat regional? also maybe square footage based too?
Either way, I assume it has some kind of eat-in kitchen, making it redundant enough to not care about losing it?

Sorry about rambling on your topic Jeff.  [embarassed]

The eating area in the kitchen is huge and we have a sun room right off the kitchen with a high-top. The dining room is no loss at all. It's been a home office since we moved in.

Don't worry about rambling...hearing how others have dealt with similar issues is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[tjbnwi]

White oak inset cabinets. Make this area its own space.

You're close enough to Frank Miller Lumber to make the trip to pick up material worthwhile.

Tom

 

[Packard]

I would cop out.  I would say, “Nancy, find a picture in a magazine or online of what you would like.  I will copy that design.”

When a visitor asks, “Why did you make paisley painted cabinets?”  Your reply, “I was just making what Nancy asked for.”

[big grin] [big grin]

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Forget all of the above. Your new woodworking shop is staring you right in the face.