We Asked 4 Home Cooks the Kitchen Upgrade They Regret Most, and Here’s What They Said
“When you’re here, you’re family,” — oh wait, that’s Olive Garden. What I was referring to was my kitchen. It truly is the heart of my home, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When looking to update your space, it’s easy to get caught up in the monotony of planning every single detail of a kitchen renovation until it becomes overwhelming. But don’t let the magic be stripped from the experience completely.
Ultimately, you’re going to end up hitting the mark. And when the renovation is complete, it’s exactly what you always wanted and every little aspect of your brand-new cooking haven makes you feel the most at home. That is, until you start to notice that one little thing you end up regretting. It’s completely okay — you are not alone. Some of my friends and family have common kitchen renovation regrets they wish they paid more attention to at the time — these are their stories.
1. Stainless Steel Appliances
My childhood best friend’s mom, Pat, expressed something to me that I can’t help but relay: “Do NOT get stainless steel appliances unless you can handle the streaking.” When she was looking into renovations for an older kitchen, stainless steel seemed like the obvious choice. As an adventurous and seasoned home cook, she thought the cleaning wouldn’t be as meticulous or necessary as often, and she was mistaken.
My cousin Denise said the same. She said specifically, “Some items like an oven hood may not matter too much, but with the refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, microwave, and things you touch frequently, it’s a pain in the *ss to keep looking nice and clean.” Ultimately, she still feels it looks sleek, but the fingerprints are super annoying, and she also admits she’s not sure how popular the “style” feels to her anymore.
2. Directional Opening of Cabinets
You may think it goes without saying, but be sure to pay extra special attention to the tetris of how you’re arranging your cabinets, especially in a small kitchen. A friend of mine mentioned that you’ll want to ensure that doors and drawers are not opening into each other, making it hard to do two things at once. Not only that, but if the opening and closing of supertight spaces means lots of bumping into appliances, there’s an increased chance that they can warp overtime, showing scratches and dents earlier, and may not maintain integrity as long.
3. Appliance Wait Times
Even though the bulk of peak pandemic production issues are over, many companies are still dealing with shipping delays, so you may want to order as much as possible pre-reno. The supply chain is still suffering and could potentially leave you without certain appliances and elements of the kitchen for a lot longer than intended. And anyone who’s dealt with a renovation knows how hard it is to live with a nonfunctional kitchen for an extended period.
4. Kitchen Trends
Perhaps one of my best friend Ally’s favorite things about her kitchen renovation was the addition of a navy blue wall, which was a major kitchen trend at the time. It looked crisp and classy and matched her beautiful white and silver scheme. But ultimately, she ended up tiring of it quickly. We laugh about it all the time, and she called her dad in to paint over it about a year later.
5. Unoptimized Storage
Always consider your storage needs when going into an update. It isn’t worth the stress or effort to get a new kitchen without fully maximized storage space. As a home cook, it’s important to make sure pots, pans, storage containers, glassware, flatware, and dishware all have their own homes within your space so that the kitchen can feel like a dream to cook in — rather than a chore.
When you’re planning your next kitchen renovation, make sure to keep these factors in mind. And if you have any other regrets, leave a comment below!