Kitchen Remodel Mistakes to Avoid
The failures that show up again and again, and what causes each one. The room where a remodel changes the most and forgives the least.
BeforeAfter
- 1
Mistake 1
New cabinets in the same bad layout, so the kitchen looks fixed and still works badly.
- 2
Mistake 2
A backsplash chosen against a countertop sample rather than the actual slab.
- 3
Mistake 3
One ceiling light casting the cook's own shadow onto the worktop.
- 4
Mistake 4
Upper cabinets that stop short of the ceiling and collect dust on the ledge.
Questions
- What should I decide first in a kitchen remodel?
- A kitchen remodel is really three decisions stacked on each other: where the sink, range and fridge sit, what the cabinets look like, and what the surfaces are made of. Move the first and the project doubles.
- What goes wrong most often?
- New cabinets in the same bad layout, so the kitchen looks fixed and still works badly. A backsplash chosen against a countertop sample rather than the actual slab.
- Will it work in a small kitchen?
- In a galley under 8ft wide, run cabinets to the ceiling on one side only and keep the opposite run open. Two facing walls of upper cabinets is what makes a narrow kitchen feel like a corridor.
- Can I see it on my own kitchen before starting?
- Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.
How to Remodel a KitchenThe order the work happens in, and what to settle before anything is ordered.How to Remodel a Small KitchenWhat changes when the space will not take the standard answer.How to Lay Out a KitchenThe dimensions that decide whether the room works, whatever it ends up looking like.How to Light a KitchenThe layer people skip, and the one that makes the rest of the work visible.Kitchen Before and AfterWhat actually changes visually, and how to see it on your own photo first.