Remodeled your kitchen? -- What are your lessons learned?

[Anonymous]

Hire good people and it won't be miserable. Sometimes it's worth paying them for it and it saves you in the long run from the cost of mistakes/regrets.
My remodel was actually a good experience because my contractor and designer were so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!

I’d love to know what you did do! I started out wanting wood but can’t really find a wood I like that works with our floors and I just can’t bear to refinish the whole main level flooring.

[Anonymous]

Shout out to Cornerstone remodeling in Arlington
We have remodeled many kitchens and bathrooms we are old lol.
Cornerstone is fabulous every worker on their team amazing.

Quartz yes op I have had Formica marble and granite and quartz before . Quartz or granite
Drawers omg yes
Be careful with sizes of cabinets and whether you want them to the ceiling or not .
Under mount lights cabinets yes
No electrical strips on cabinets
Island make sure it has electrical
Hardware yes buy up you won’t regret it
Appliances no reason to buy super deluxe the break as well
Microwave on the counter no drawer

[Anonymous]

If you have a large island, put outlets on both ends. I regret having an outlet on just one end near the frig and stove.

[Anonymous]

Any walking space/ distance between island and main counter regrets? We have a small kitchen and I'm wondering if we should make the island bigger and sacrifice a few inches of walking space, like make it 40 inches instead of 42.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any walking space/ distance between island and main counter regrets? We have a small kitchen and I'm wondering if we should make the island bigger and sacrifice a few inches of walking space, like make it 40 inches instead of 42.

No, I would preserve walking space. 42 isn’t that generous. You are already subtracting the counter overhang (1.5 inches) on both sides?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I wish I had done was really think about how long I thought we would stay in the house. It was not our forever house, I knew that, but I did a forever kitchen.

We got to enjoy the renovated kitchen for 3 years before we sold. When we sold I found myself regretting having done the $$$ faucet, the $$$ rejuvenation hardware, and sub zero fridge when lesser expensive items would have been just fine. If you do go all out--swap out the pricier fixtures before you list.

LOVE: all lower cabinet drawers.

I'd also be careful with the backsplash tile--we did a crackle finish and grease from the downdraft left a permanent stain.

Reading this thread made me realize I’d much rather buy a house with a remodeled kitchen than remodel ourselves. You ladies have thought of everything already!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!

I’d love to know what you did do! I started out wanting wood but can’t really find a wood I like that works with our floors and I just can’t bear to refinish the whole main level flooring.

PP. Someone posted a link from this website before, it’s pretty useful.

I chose satin nickel faucets and hardware, a grey/white quartzite with some movement, placed a regular microwave in a column of cabinets in a butler’s pantry, chose wide shallow drawers on either side of the range for utensils and stored oils in an upper cabinet (not as hot as a pullout), chose a fluted tile as a backsplash, went with polished countertop vs leathered/honed. I got what I liked and tried not to be swayed by what everyone else was getting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love tapmaster foot controls for prep and main sink, huge single basin sinks, induction range, refrigerator drawers, two dishwashers, quartzite countertops.

I also am glad I resisted the current trends - I said no to mixing cabinet colors and stuck to wood instead, no to gold hardware, no to microwave drawer, no to oil/utensil pullouts, no to the zellige tile and subway tile that every kitchen has these days (Chloe, celine etc), no to the trend of combining matte and gloss tiles for backsplash, no to taj mahal quartzite, no to the ubiquitous sage/green and navy colors. Those kitchens looked gorgeous when I started looking at kitchen designs, but now that I have seen so many, they already look dated to me!

I’d love to know what you did do! I started out wanting wood but can’t really find a wood I like that works with our floors and I just can’t bear to refinish the whole main level flooring.

PP. Someone posted a link from this website before, it’s pretty useful.

I chose satin nickel faucets and hardware, a grey/white quartzite with some movement, placed a regular microwave in a column of cabinets in a butler’s pantry, chose wide shallow drawers on either side of the range for utensils and stored oils in an upper cabinet (not as hot as a pullout), chose a fluted tile as a backsplash, went with polished countertop vs leathered/honed. I got what I liked and tried not to be swayed by what everyone else was getting.

And here’s the link
https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/how-to-mix-match-and-coordinate-wood-stains-undertones/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love our cabinet that holds sheet pans, cutting boards, serving trays upright with wooden dividers in between.

Love the stainless steel backsplash by the stove, which meant we could have nicer marble backsplash Elsewhere with less fear of damage.

Love under cabinet lighting

What is the rest of your backsplash and how high is it?

Marble rectangular tile in white, almost shaped like subway but with a beveled edge. Tiles goes to the upper cabinets or the ceiling except by the range/hood. We have a ‘professional’ style range hood that has an additional stainless steel piece to the ceiling. All kitchen aid so it’s a component appliance system for the hood (ie buy what parts you want.) I was surprised how much I like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

How long have you had it, PP? What’s the maintenance like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

How long have you had it, PP? What’s the maintenance like?

DP. Make sure you try the carbonated water from the tap before you decide to install. I considered it, but passed when I tried it from a demo - it wasn’t carbonated to my taste - small bubbles and the coldest setting was not as cold as my fridge. Plus, it was pretty loud. They gave us the option to put the chiller in our crawl space, which I didn’t want either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SO happy with my quartz countertop. (Corian Quartz) Things just wipe right up with a damp sponge.

Fully custom cabinets built by a cabinetmaker ended up being remarkably affordable, compared to what friends say they've spent. I'm glad I did that to get every inch well used in limited space.

Love love love having drawers deep enough to store pots and pans in, plus one for storing lids and cutting boards upright (on edge) so they're easy to grab. Measure your pans and anything else you want to store before committing to drawer depths and other cabinet dimensions! I also got a couple of drawers deep enough to hold those large Oxo containers in for things like flour.

I would NOT do plug mold (electrical receptacles in a strip) up under the upper cabinets. My architect thought that would keep the plugs discreetly out of the way. I said fine. But I never thought about how that would mean there would be all these cords dangling from up there to countertop appliances. And many appliances like coffeemakers and kettles have cords too short to run down from above and then across to keep the item within easy reach on the counter. It's my only design regret.

Would love the name of your cabinetmaker. We have very limited space and I want someone who can really put the space to work for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Love:
Drawers for pots and pans
Well designed kitchen (used architect and kitchen designer in efficient design)
High quality cabinets (got cheap cabinets in the laundry room and they are nowhere near as nice)
Our zip water that has hot/cold/sparkling

Don’t love:
The pullout cabinet for oils isn’t very practical as the top shelf in the pullout is fixed

How long have you had it, PP? What’s the maintenance like?

For less than a year, but no maintenance to speak of. Ours is very cold and is very carbonated (better carbonation than our SodaStream, which we retired).
Not sure if the other poster's experience was with an old carbonation tank? They do need to be replaced every six months or so (depending on usage).

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you all VERY much. The tips here are incredibly helpful and I am holding onto them.

Anyone have any input regarding a kitchen designer/planner? Did you just go with a General Contractor and pick your own furnishings? Or did you go with a Kitchen Contractor who had an in-house Designer? Something else?

How about cabinets? You go out and get your own or did you rely on your Contractor for options?