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The average remodeling job here costs $39,626; Here's what you can expect.

Saturday, January 19, 2002

By Kevin Kirkland and Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette Staff Writers

Remodeling kitchens has long been a favorite home improvement. Of all the rooms in the house, kitchens are quickest to become outdated as technology, decor trends and lifestyles change.

	David Henry plans to turn the old fireplace, left, into a wood-burning oven in the spacious new kitchen of his Shadyside home. (John Heller, Post-Gazette)

According to Remodeling magazine and its Web site, the average cost of a major kitchen renovation in the Pittsburgh market last year was $39,626. It includes semi-custom cabinetry and countertops, a center island, mid-priced sink and flooring, repainting and wallpapering, all new appliances and custom lighting. Major kitchen remodelers who then sold their homes could expect to recoup $32,500, or about 82 percent of the cost.

A minor kitchen remodel, meanwhile, averaged $15,644 and returned 75 percent. A minor remodel includes new laminate countertops, vinyl flooring, mid-priced sink, stove and cooktop and refinishing existing cabinets with new doors.

So what kind of kitchen can you get for $39,000? To find out, we approached national home improvement chains Lowe's and Home Depot; a traditional kitchen and bath business, North Hills Kitchen Centre; and Maggie's Showroom, an 84 Lumber subsidiary that offers home design products and services.

Like the rest of the country, the four local couples we interviewed seemed to lean toward natural wood cabinetry, undermount sinks, ceramic tile and stainless steel appliances, many of them commercial-quality. Those who chose home improvement centers for their design seemed to spend a little less on cabinetry, then invested their savings in luxury items like soapstone counters or an Aga cooker, an English import popular with gourmet cooks.

Those who chose a traditional kitchen and bath shop got custom-made cabinets in an unusual wood -- hickory -- and the couple who went with Maggie's got a clever design for a very small space. Here's a closer look:

The DeSantises/Lowe's

Like many older houses, Mark and Jody DeSantis' 1972 Colonial in McCandless was in desperate need of a makeover when they bought it four years ago. One of the most outdated rooms was the never-remodeled kitchen, with dark pine cabinetry, vinyl floors and electric Caloric stovetop.

The DeSantis family -- from left, Alissa Minshull, Jody and Mark DeSantis and 3-week-old Sophie -- did a kitchen redesign that makes the most of windows and preserves the room's Old World touches. (Gabor Degre, Post-Gazette)

It wasn't a complete disaster. With more than 500 square feet, it was more spacious than most. In addition, a wall of oversized windows in the adjacent dining nook offered a fabulous view of the home's four wooded acres. But because it was connected to the rest of the kitchen by a small door and pass-through, the dining area felt separate and closed in.

The DeSantises, who frequently entertain, wanted their new kitchen to function as the heart of the home. It also had to make the most of the windows, as well as preserve the room's Old World touches, including the massive hearth built with antique bricks and century-old ceiling beams the original owner gleaned from an old Amish barn.

Several high-end kitchen designers estimated the remodel at $70,000 or more. But Lowe's kitchen specialist Delbert Gallagher came up with an eye-catching Mission-style design for less than half that by incorporating as much of the original space as possible into the design and using stock Kraftmaid cabinetry.

Lowe's kitchen installer Scott Bender removed the wall with the pass-through, transforming the kitchen and dining area into one open, sunny space with a large center island. Built-in shelves and racks on the dining side hold wine bottles and Jody's ceramics.

Pleased that the red oak cabinetry came in at $17,000, the couple decided to splurge on something they'd seen in This Old House magazine -- 105 feet of black soapstone countertop from Appalachian Soapstone in Evans City. At $90 per square foot it was expensive. But the couple preferred its understated matte finish and delicate veining to granite's gloss. They also chose stainless-steel appliances from K&N Sales and an undermount sink with a gooseneck faucet.

A small vegetable sink on the far corner of the island allows two cooks to work at the same time while rollout cabinets on either side of the stainless-steel Viking gas stove put spices and tall pans within easy reach. The floor is a cream-colored ceramic tile punctuated with stag and hare decorative pieces from Molyneaux Tile & Carpet.

Rather than replace all the existing dark pine trim with oak, the DeSantises hired Paul Buechel of Shaler to paint on a faux finish. For a touch of whimsy, he also stenciled oak leaves and chipmunks on the grass-green walls.

Total cost, not including appliances, was about $35,000.

"We couldn't be happier," says Jody.

The Henrys/Home Depot

Within a year of moving into a huge Victorian in Shadyside, David Henry was on a first-name basis with employees of the Home Depot in nearby East Liberty. So when he and his wife, Melissa, were deciding who would design their new kitchen, the choice was easy.

They didn't ask designer Stefanie Behrend to make major changes in the configuration. The 22-by-18-foot room with an old fireplace in the center (the remnant of a previous remodel) had lots of counter and cabinet space in an L shape. And the sink was in a handy nearby island facing into the kitchen.

But the sleek black and gray decor didn't fit with the Henrys' desire for a colorful, casual kitchen where they and their three children, ages 7, 4, and 3, could spend most of their time.

"We wanted sort of a French country look, with soft colors," David said.

They chose a farm-style Kohler sink, painted cabinets by Kraftmaid, butcher-block maple countertops and in-stock ceramic flooring, keeping them well below their budget of $30,000. Then David saw a photo of an Aga cooker.

"I liked the way it looked, different than anything else," he said. "It seemed to fit the house."

A little research made him even more interested. Aga is a favorite with chefs in Europe (and wealthy cooks around the world) because its radiant heat doesn't dry food. And since you never turn it off, it maintains a rock-steady temperature.

Each compartment is set at a different heat -- 400 degrees for roasting, 350 degrees for baking, 200 degrees for simmering and about 150 degrees for warming. The stovetop features a 700-degree burner for frying, 300 degrees for sauteing and a warmer.

But its cost -- $15,000 installed -- was more than the rest of the kitchen combined. David, who likes to cook and bake, had to have it. Melissa was not so sure.

"She thought it was obscene. But I argued, 'Look, we'll never have to buy a stove again.' "

Installer Bill Lisotto of Eastern Builders moved the sink across the aisle and put into the island an off-white Aga that complemented the kitchen's green and light orange color scheme. David said it took him several months to get used to it.

"When we have guests, we don't cook anything we haven't cooked before," he said, laughing.

The Aga inflated their kitchen's pricetag to the low $30,000s. But they're not done yet. Later in the year, they plan to put an addition on the kitchen and install a wood-burning oven in the old fireplace. Their list also includes one extra item -- a special air conditioner to dissipate the Aga's heat in the summertime.

The Andersons/ Maggie's Showroom

After living 38 years with the same kitchen -- turquoise and dusty rose with a 1960s-vintage stove -- Carl and Susan Anderson were determined to get exactly what they wanted in their new kitchen.

	Carl and Sue Anderson's kitchen has 115 square feet, so the remodelers had to make the most of each square foot. The biggest space saver is a triangular counter with cabinets above and below where the Andersons eat most of their meals. (John Beale, Post-Gazette)

So they got bids from seven companies and, after deciding on Maggie's Showroom in McMurray, opted for a light, contemporary space with a window, skylight and black granite countertops.

Including appliances, the project came in around $31,000, well under the local and national averages for major remodels. But the kitchen in their Green Tree ranch home is very small, just 11 1/2 by 10 feet, or 115 square feet. That's nearly $270 a square foot. Without the ability to expand, the key was making the most of each foot.

"As far as space, they've utilized everything to the nth degree," said Carl, who estimates that counter space almost doubled and cabinet space increased by 30 to 40 percent.

Though Susan (whom her relatives call Julia Child) is the main cook, Carl had some definite ideas about how the kitchen should be laid out. He pictured the refrigerator in the corner near the entry to the dining room. But Maggie's designers, Sheri Reichling and Tracie Butka, thought it would block flow to the dining room and lacked counter space to "land" groceries. So it was moved to the wall closest to the front hall.

Carl helped the designers come up with the small kitchen's biggest space-saver -- a triangular counter with cabinets above and below where the Andersons eat most of their meals.

"We thought it looked like a spaceship when we first saw it," Butka said. "But it's worked well for them."

Another space-saving trick was to angle the stainless-steel sink in a corner, by the window.

The Andersons chose top-of-the-line surfaces and materials -- Ubatuba granite countertops and windowsill, imported ceramic tile backsplash, semi-custom maple cabinets by Decora and a Bruce prefinished oak floor. Granite is among the most expensive and durable counter surfaces. Its only downside is that olive oil will soak into it if a spill is left unattended, Butka said. It should be sealed once a year.

Since the Whirlpool refrigerator and dishwasher were only a couple years old, they stayed. But the Andersons splurged on the new stove, a GE Profile electric convection model, with a clear glass top, burners that can be combined to heat large or odd-shaped pans and lots of keypad functions.

Maggie's finished the kitchen in five weeks, as promised.

"They were very nice to work with. They came out several times [beforehand] and were constantly in contact," Susan said.

The Evanses/ North Hills Kitchen Centre

When he set about designing the kitchen in Sheila and Harold Evans' new house, Harry Mancing's main goal was to bring the outdoors in.

Nestled on 10 wooded acres in Chippewa, Beaver County, the brick ranch built by Stewart Homes felt more country than city, "so we wanted something that would fit in with the natural surroundings," said Harold. But the couple, who own a steel warehouse, also wanted pizazz and some modern gadgetry.

Mancing, sales manager for North Hills Kitchen Centre in Windgap, chose earthy tones that echoed the home's woodsy setting for the countertops and floor and made the sloping 12-foot cathedral ceilings feel more intimate. For the cabinets, handcrafted by Custom Cupboards of Wichita, Kan., for about $15,500, he passed up more popular woods like oak and maple for hickory.

"It has those crazy colors in it -- browns, pinks, black," he says. Mancing, a former cabinetmaker, also added fine details that help tie everything together: a 21-inch wood valance with raised panel over the windows; plate rail with spindles atop the cabinets to showcase Sheila's collection of English china; and chamfered edges on all the cabinet doors.

North Hills Kitchen contractor Donnie Zombeck installed the cabinets along with a trio of burnished brown shade lights with opaque glass that cast a warm glow on the brown-speckled granite countertops ($70 a square foot). Sable-stained oak floors offer a dark contrast to the lighter wood; glass shelving, brushed-pewter gooseneck Delta faucets and antique pewter handles add luster.

The kitchen incorporates the latest in technology. Along with a warming drawer and GE Profile oven, it features a stainless GE Advantium "speed cook" oven, which uses microwaves and halogen light.

The center island boasts a built-in drawer for the couple's laptop computer and printer.

"You want that stuff where you actually live," says Sheila.

With a 9 1/2-inch overhang, the granite-topped island offers a comfortable place to read the paper or enjoy a meal. There is also a separate, windowed dining nook overlooking the front drive. An adjoining butler's pantry has matching hickory cabinets, granite counters and slate floors. Connected to the garage, it added about $3,800 to the final bill of around $34,000.

The kitchen fits in perfectly with their lifestyle, Sheila says.

"We go to work in blue jeans, so we needed a casual kind of house."