As you may have guessed, we have been dying to flip another house since the last one sold in November.  Dying, I tell you!!  We’ve been trying to be prudent, going over all of the costs associated with the last flip to see where we can increase our profit margin, scouting around for better financing options and, of course, trolling the city for ugly-with-potential houses.  While we’ve been doing our due diligence a few incredibly tempting houses slipped away, which was a total bummer.

Anyhoo, we are now very close to having our ducks in a row and we’ve got our eyes on a few little gems.  Here’s the kitchen from one of the front-runners:

Ick, right?  That being said, this baby has a lot of potential – I mean, just look at the floor plan!

I think this kitchen has the potential to be a true entertainer’s kitchen – it’s right off the dining room, can be opened up to the den, has double ovens and a gas cooktop, a bar for seating and setting out food . . . all in all, great bones.  And it makes my heart go pitter pat to think that we wouldn’t have to move any gas or plumbing lines!!

That being said, this is one ugly kitchen.  There are a few options as to how to approach it:

1.  Demo the whole thing and start from scratch with new cabinets, etc.  Pros – cabinets would be much, much cuter, there would be more vertical storage, we could rework the existing storage, add a wine fridge.  Cons – could be an unnecessary cost since the cabinets are in good shape and the layout is essentially staying the same.

2.  Paint the existing cabinetry and just spruce everything up a bit with new countertops, appliances, etc. Maybe give the cabinets a similar treatment to what Kristin did?  Pros – costs would definitely be lower.  Cons – I know that we wouldn’t get the look that we want (like getting rid of the curved detailing on the doors), storage would not be maximized.

3.  Mixture between 1 & 2 by refacing the doors. Pros – still not as expensive as new cabinets.  Cons – still not as cheap as keeping the cabinet doors, and storage still isn’t maximized.

And once the choice is made between 1, 2 and 3, there’s the fun of deciding on the finishes!!  I’ve been wanting to do a remodel with somewhat modern finishes, but I don’t think this is the house for that – the rest of the house (and if the kitchen cabinets stayed) is fairly traditional.

So here’s my question – what would you do with this kitchen? Which option would you pick, and how would you finish it out?  Subway tile or glass tile, wood floors or tile, pendants or recessed lighting . . . there are so many things to think about!!  I would love your input, I know you guys have great ideas – let the brainstorming begin!