Amber & Carson Eilers are Realtors in my office who buy ugly homes and renovate them. Amber provided me with photos of a recent remodel.
Before Kitchen. Ugh, those ugly John F. Long (builder) cabinets. Please, Amber, get rid of them!
After Kitchen. The cabinets are gone!
Before Kitchen.
After Kitchen.
Before Kitchen & Pantry.
After Kitchen & Pantry.
Before Family Room. With fake brick paneling and mirror tiles.
After Family Room.
Before Swimming Pool. Thank you, Amber, for sharing your photos with us.
18 responses so far ↓
1 TLynn // Jul 28, 2012 at 1:07 pm
That is a big difference. Looks great. That house was a 70’s nightmare.
2 karen // Jul 28, 2012 at 5:36 pm
last photo should read ” LOOK OUT! THAT BIG STICK IS MOVING! SNAKE!
3 Melykin // Jul 28, 2012 at 7:26 pm
I was hoping for an “after” picture of the swimming pool.
4 Cindy // Jul 28, 2012 at 8:38 pm
The kitchen LOOKS much better, but I just can’t figure out why those microwaves over the range are so popular. Just think about your child with 3rd degree burns all over the front of their body because they spilled something taking it out of a microwave at that unsafe height. It is a dangerous and poor design choice. A real hood is quite inexpensive and more functional. If you must have a build in microwave, do it on an open shelf on the lower cabinets with an outlet installed in the back, or get one of those wall oven/microwave combinations with a separate cooktop. Apparently they only think about looks, and function just isn’t important.
5 WendyB // Jul 29, 2012 at 8:46 am
Cindy, I couldn’t agree more. I don’t understand the need to put the microwave in such an inconvenient place. Many kitchens are big enough to have a countertop place for a microwave that everyone in the family can easily and safely reach.
6 maria // Jul 29, 2012 at 10:21 am
Totally agree with Cindy & WendyB. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve splashed hot liquids on my face trying to pull something out of an over-the-top-of-the-oven- microwave.
And Melykin, yes, where is the “after” photo of the swimming pool?
I mentioned this to my husband. He wants to know why aren’t there more photos of Amber.
I don’t know why I put up with him. One of these days I’m gonna…….
7 Picky // Jul 29, 2012 at 10:56 am
It is fairly obvious that John C. Long disliked cooks. So does who ever designed todays kitchens with the micro over the stove. Not only is it dangerous, especially for shorter people, you have to lean over the stove to get to it. It is an accident waiting to happen, especially if you are actually cooking a large meal. It is time to pay as much attention to function as we do to looks.
8 Nancy // Jul 29, 2012 at 11:38 am
I also vote against the now typical placement of built-in microwaves, and would not do it despite saving counter space. A friend did a kitchen remodel, and the microwave was installed lower to the burner top than I would have felt safe with, but it was OK by local building code. There was a problem cooking one night, and the range top damaged the microwave, which then caught the kitchen on fire. Repairing the damage that the “improvement” caused made the home unlivable for over 6 months.
9 Vern // Jul 30, 2012 at 2:58 pm
I’m always curious why people feel the need to find the one thing wrong in a picture. The make over was beautiful, complement it or just be quiet. Amber and Carson do this every week of the year. Their talents are amazing.
10 Cindy // Jul 30, 2012 at 6:03 pm
Vern, I don’t want to belittle their hard work. It is obvious that they put a good bit of time into the remodel. As a buyer, I would never consider buying a home with a microwave over the range top. I value the safety of my children and having a functional kitchen just too much. It is shortsighted to put so much work and effort into a remodel, yet still have such a design flaw that is unappealing to cooks. It is especially unfortunate when low open shelving would be better design, less costly, and more safe and functional. And yes I do know how much work and talent are required for a kitchen remodel. My husband and I just finished one this week, which has a wall oven and microwave unit together at a functional height, as well as a real hood over the cooktop that actually vents outside. This too seems to be an endangered species. We had the foresight to hire a kitchen designer for the job and am thankful for the expertise that a trained professional provides. We now have a beautiful and functional kitchen that is a pleasure to cook in. I wish that same pleasure for everyone.
11 Leif // Jul 30, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I’m going to chime in here, as I’ve seen 100s of homes in the Phoenix area. I can tell you, a microwave over the range is the norm out here. Probably 95% of all remodels and 95% of new homes built since 2000 have microwaves over the range. There is a building code regulation; must be more than 16 inches or something close to that above the range to allow for stirring pots and steam from below. So it is a legitimate building design.
Most children should not be able to reach a microwave. And if there is worry about hot items spilling from a microwave, how is a range any different??
12 Cindy // Jul 30, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Leif,
I realize that it is a popular design. Over the range microwave/extractors are cheap and supposedly space saving, and that is why they use them. They used to paint 100% of homes with lead paint, it was cheap too, until they figured out that wasn’t such a good idea.
I’m 5′3″ tall and I have no problem handling items on the cooktop. That is 34.5 inches plus 3cm of granite, about 36 high. Add 16 to that you get the lowest part of the bottom of the microwave at 52″. With the extractor unit, the cavity is 2 or 3 ” higher than that. 55″ is pretty high to lift hot boiling liquids from. It is about my chin level. How steady are your hands. Do your fingers ever slip on damp cookware?
It seems like all the cooks commenting about this issue above agree. Maybe the contractors should listen to them. (I’m convinced that the person who built my house secretly hated cooks and was torturing them in his own evil way by building small, user hostile, crappy kitchens. That is why the kitchen was ripped out and replaced.)
Sorry to get all preachy about this stuff, but I’m a nurse and I hate taking care of victims of easily preventable accidents. I also hate trampolines, skateboards, BMX bikes, paintball guns, in-line skates, BB guns, skydiver rough landings, any type of jet ski/ATV+alcohol, misused power tools, and heelys. LOL.
13 WendyB // Jul 31, 2012 at 7:44 am
My husband and I had our first home built in 1989 and refused to have the microwave over the stove back then. The builder was almost livid with us for not wanting the micowave installed there. How dare we question his design! I stood my ground then and I’ll stand it now. Just because MOST everyone puts the oven there doesn’t mean it’s the best place for it. Most people do it because they just go with the flow and don’t think about what would work best for them. My kitchen will soon need a makeover and trust me, no microwave will be hanging over my cooktop.
14 jan // Aug 3, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Wow! Over the stove microwave haters please pay attention! I agree w/ Leif, young kids should not be using the microwave or stove in the first place. When we remodeled the kitchen in our 1979 house we HAD to put the micro over the stove or I would have next to NO counter space. Making the kitchen bigger, or putting the micro under the counter top also were not options. Have to work with what you have.
15 Leif // Aug 11, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Not a fan of microwaves above waist height? Here’s a post we did in April 2012. The microwave’s about 5 feet up!
http://uglyhousephotos.com/wordpress/?p=22451
16 Suzanne // Dec 30, 2012 at 9:58 am
Microwaves above stoves may “look” nice. However, it ’s not functional for anyone in the real word. Ergonomically, if one is reaching up for something it is automatically unsafe. One’s body mechanics is not meant to reach over one’s head to bring something down, much less something piping hot. DANGEROUS on all counts. Child or not!
Anyone that has studied body mechanics, that includes anyone in the medical/health & fitness field will be of the same opinion. Designers are just that………….they make things look pretty at a cost when they have no understanding of human mechanics.
17 Lanie // Jan 14, 2013 at 6:20 pm
I kind of liked the cabinetry in the before photos better. It at least had some character.
18 Revolucion // Jan 18, 2013 at 3:45 pm
I am seriously LOLing over everyone whining about that microwave. I lived in an apartment for awhile with a microwave above the stove just like that. I never even thought twice about it, and I am only 5′1.
Children not yet tall enough or mature enough to know not to spill food all over themselves when reaching for the microwave shouldn’t be using one in the first place. Plus, the very short can always just use a step stool. I use one in my current home every day to reach the tall cupboards. Not a big deal.
Anyhow, I like the reno! Very nice!
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