Hello, this is my first post. I have been reading archives for Varde Kitchen info. Seems not too many people are using it (mostly in small doses).
My kitchen cabinets are literally falling apart, budget very limited. I love look of Varde, and at this point we can not afford an installed kitchen (and don't see husband installing). But the idea of a freestanding kitchen kinda freaks us out, it's so uncommon. I am more open to it than my husband, who prefers to wait few more years to do traditional cabinets.
Our appliances are placed such that the countertops meeting up/seams aren't an issue (currenty have appliance/countertop/appliance, etc). No built-in backsplash worries me, but at least you could move the cabinets out to clean back there. But, also means more crumbs WOULD be falling back there, I'd definately have clean it regularly. I am not concerned about melanine, I've had that before in kitchen cabinets.
Anyone have any experiences / insight they can share? Or even brainstorm potential cons of freestanding cabinets? Anything else we should consider?
(BTW: I'm at home w/ 4 small children, so snacks/ meals all day long.)
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Because freestanding kitchens are so rare in the US, I assume Varde would make a real estate agent cringe.
I guess Bravad is being discontinued. Some real bargains at the Orlando store.
Built-in sink cabinets can be matched to sink (or sink-counter) units that simply sit on top of the cabinet. In this case, installation would seem pretty easy. Not to mention that you wouldn't have to do a countertop cut-out for the sink.
I've made lots of visits lately to the Orlando store (kitchen planning and little projects using finds from the As-Is room). Varde is handsome.
Thanks! Baring a tragedy, we have no plans to sell in the next 10 yrs (and this is not our first house). But I imagine you're right about resale impact! LOL
After reading this website, I'm considering having one fixed cabinet for the sink (my dad knows how to install & husband surely would do one cabinet). Then do rest free-standing.
We just got IKEA store in town, and Varde looks good, feels solid. I'm going back tommorrow to look at it more in-depth.
Hope to hear more input. Very helpful.
It's scary to go against the norm on something big like this!!
Varde is outstanding ... i have it in germany and in many of my american rentals... people love it.... the young one at least and it didnt have any bad impact when i recently sold 1 of my houses..... everyone actualy thought what a great design and didnt even know IKEA... go figure lol
Varde is outstanding ... i have it in germany and in many of my american rentals... people love it.... the young one at least and it didnt have any bad impact when i recently sold 1 of my houses..... everyone actualy thought what a great design and didnt even know IKEA... go figure lol
Thank you for taking time to provide input.
One thing I have been cautioned against is that with fixed coutertops, you compensate for unevenness in walls; and w/ freestanding there might be some smaller & bigger gaps between wall & Varde countertop.
I'm taking husband to IKEA to look at Varde Sunday. If we do end up using it, I will post our experience, as there isn't a lot of full-Varde info on here.
I have Varde and it's been great for our kitchen! We didn't have money in the budget for the fixed cabinets either so the freestanding made the most sense - especially because of the initial set up we had in the kitchen where there were lots of walls free of base cabinets and upper cabinets.
Check out the before and afters of our kitchen here: http://pufferprogress.blogspot.com/2008/06/kitchen-before-and-after.html
I also like the fact that since the pieces are freestanding, they could be used in other ways than just the kitchen if you decided to get a fixed kitchen down the road when you have the money to do it. The kitchen planner tool really helped us to figure out how it would all work and we feel like it looks like a custom fit for the kitchen and we didn't have to spend the big bucks of a real kitchen renovation. I highly recommend Varde if you can find a way to fit the pieces in your kitchen.
I think the Varde is great looking, and I think there should be far more free-standing kitchen furniture options out there. I've considered it myself, but what holds me back is that I have a 1911 house, and kitchen is a separate room, not open to the DR. I think in a more modern, open floor plan type of house, it would look terrific. Any thoughts on this?
Steph522, I viewed your kitchen remodel pictures, they were very helpful! Your kitchen is stylish! I sent you a private message w/ some questions.
nina markov, I also wonder why there's not more freestanding options; and frankly the lack of them makes me more hesitant...like maybe there's a major problem w/ using them that I'm missing.... Our kitchen is not open to our dining room. But our house & lifestyle are casual, which I do think the Varde fits well w/ that. Steph522 had a link on her blog to another woman who used Varde in what was a more urban looking kitchen, and it looked great w/ that too. I would not let having a seperate kitchen/dinign room hold you back at all.
We went to IKEA yesterday, and my husband loved the Varde, too, and is interested. The pieces will fit well in our kitchen layout. Now we just have to see if we can come up w/ the money to do the floor (would be necessary) and buy the Varde!
One reason why real estate agents cringe is that the general rule is that built-in stuff goes with the house, while freestanding stuff goes with the previous owner. In Europe, it's totally normal to take your kitchen with you when you go. In the US…
On the other hand, I've seen a bunch of houses I would have been more likely to buy if I thought the kitchen would leave with the PO.
BTW, I forgot to say that Cottage Living's current special kitchens issue has a very nice kitchen that is done in a combination of Adel Birch and Varde (varde island for the cooktop).
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