My one regret in my old kitchen was putting the trash too far away from the sink. I wanted a great big round trashcan, the kind you put out on the curb, in a pull out. The size was great. But It was in Timbuktu. My plan was to have it near the fridge and eating area. When I was prepping near the sink, I planned to use a smaller pullout under the sink. But that was a pita.

This time, my line up is fridge, trash, sink, d/w. So far i love it.

We've been using the kitchen for about three months but of course I have a few details too finish. They will get done but for now, I'm just enjoying it all. It is so much easier to cook and bake in. Function and form can be in perfect harmony.

Absolutely no regrets and I owe a huge debt to this KF for all it offers, I read, studied and read some more. Didn't need to ask very many questions. I knew what I wanted and GW had the answers.

Nancy

my regret - that it was cost prohibitive to move the plumbing -so no second sink and no pot filler and the one sink had to stay along the bathroom wall. Probalby just as well as it kept me from making the kitchen even bigger than it is. My dream house would have one huge, open kitchen/work room -emphasis on the "work" part.

If I could go way back to the start - and start all over - I'd plan on putting the kitchen in the addition. That would have made plumbing a non-issue and got rid of all walk-through traffic. However that would have seemed like a really strange layout and made anyone looking at the house ask "what was she thinking?" so it's probably best I didn't do that.

LavendarLass started a thread on this topic awhile back.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Regrets

In the previous post I mentioned that I wish I had picked a more dramatic granite than the Giallo Ornamentale that I have. However, I have grown to love it and appreciate it for its simplicity. It reminds me of being a child and looking at the rocks in my backyard or at the beach and trying to find the one with the most sparkles in it.
The one practical thing that I wish I had done was to put in a microwave drawer. We have a undercounter normal microwave and because the microwave drawer was $750 more we didn't get it. In the budget-scheme of things it wouldn't have mattered. Can't wait for the microwave to die so that I can replace it with the drawer.

I wish I had found GW before our remodel. Luckily a friend recommended drawers and our cabinet maker recommended a MW drawer - just about my fave features. So I regret one small cabinet that I wish was a drawer, and I'd like a shorter sink cabinet with a drawer under it, instead of a regular sink cabinet.

I also wish I had looked at different kinds of appliances rather than buying all from the same manufacturer. I like that all the handles match, but I know I don't have "best of breed" for each type of appliance.

I wish I had fired my GC months ago! Don't feel stuck, if things aren't going well. Cut the cord and move on.

I have a bigger window over the sink than I originally had, and it is better oriented, we have a deep back proch with big round columns, and the original kitchen window looked directly out at a column, you couldn't see the kids in the backyard.

I wish though I had sacrificed one more upper cabinet and had an even bigger window. We cut our pantry in half when we moved the frig, so I was worried about dish storage space - in retrospect, I shouldn't have worried.

Blfenton, life is short. If you have the money to throw at it, get the microwave drawer now, and repurpose, sell or donate what you have. :)

My biggest regret isn't really something I'd do differently. I have whole house stereo, and thought it might be nice for the TV too, but it turned out to be too expensive (couldn't piggyback on the stereo, so it would have been big bucks), there would be controller issues because of the location, etc. Hiding the cable box within the kitchen would have meant giving up a lot of prime cabinet space and would have required some kind of ugly scrim for the control (pretty primitive equipment at this company). The TV is BLACK (it was a gift, and there aren't many choices out there anyway). So I have this black hole of a TV on the island and a big ol' cable box on the table ledge underneath. I regret that. I don't regret that it works, however, and that I have On Demand and DVR when I'm doing some long, boring project. When I'm actively cooking, I love the stereo, but I have a low tolerance for boredom and the TV keeps me company and my mind engaged, when I'm just doing chores. So it's inconvenient and ugly, but it's staying.

I think I go through about a week of "regrets" every time something is installed. Then I calm down and (usually) realize that it looks good.

I wish I'd taken my windows all the way down to the countertop. That would have looked cool.

Another thing I regret is that my kitchen is looking very German. I can't explain it. (Was I trying too hard to avoid the Tuscan look?) I'm worried that the addition of a Bosch range is going to seal the deal.

The only thing I would have done differently is use a different countertop for the 3 foot long wine bar. Everything else I am in love with. And I can totally live with the way the wine bar is now.

I would have a creamy white rather than Dove White. Or, with the Dove White I would have chosen different granite. That said, after finally choosing the backsplash, it looks fine. But,had I found GW sooner, I would have had my vison in place before going granite and cabinet shopping.

I wish I had found this forum sooner. I would have done all drawer cabinets on my lowers.

Mostly I love the new kitchen, but one thing that bothers me is the placement of the air switch and soap dispenser at the farm sink. I have the single handed faucet with a right handle and the air switch about 5 inches over from that. Which tends to get drowned in water as my hands are wet when I turn off the water. I've already had it stop working once. And meanwhile I put the soap dispenser at the far other end of the sink (left) and its too far away- I wish it was closer to the faucet, I feel like my hands are all criss-crossed while at the sink. I would have switched these locations had I realized all of this. I did research but didnt find any clear preference, but now I certainly have one and its not the set up I have!

I do agree that some regrets disappear with time...I thought our light shades were wrong for the first month, but now I'm used to them and they seem great.

A few I do have, though:

- Not tiling up to meet the hood---my husband felt strongly that he did not want to do this, so I deferred and we ended the tile two rows below the hood with a bullnose edge. It bugs me every time I look at it, and I wish I'd fought that one harder. This is our newest thing, though, so I still hope I'll get used to it! (And he likes how it came out, so hey.) Considering putting a shelf there to fill the space...we'll see.

- Floor colors: we went with shades of gray, and the room is *really* gray as a result. In retrospect I think using some color (or at least some yellows/creams) would have been wise. Also hubby's pick, and he likes it, so not sure this counts as a real regret either.

- Handle placement on our pullout trash can: the only really bad decision I made (happily!) The placement is just wrong, and we can't move it because we put the handle on the panel and it's likely to crack if we try to redrill it, so the choice was to keep it or replace the door, which was too costly for something that's just an annoyance. But I still kick myself for not telling the cabinetmaker to come get me when he was ready to drill for that handle. (He followed the instructions we gave him, but I didn't think about exactly how it would turn out to align it that way.)

- And one sort-of regret is that we did painted cabinets, but I think wood would have worked in the space (something I didn't think when we started since all of our casework and woodwork is painted---but then I started seeing photos of kitchens that mixed it successfully). Oh well---there will be other kitchens! :) We are also eventually adding some natural wood for shelving and benches, so hopefully that will warm the space up a bit.

Most of these regrets aren't really things I could have known beforehand, though, so from that perspective I don't stress too much about them---there are many bigger things I could have screwed up (particularly since I GCed our job and it was my first time with that!) so I figure we didn't do so badly. :)

My kitchen's not done yet, but I wish I had realized we could create a recess for our fridge when we redid the dining room a few months before the kitchen.

These responses are great! keep em coming! I love that they are so varied. Goes to show how all of our experiences can be simultaneously similar and vastly different. Maybe someone new to GW can learn from these experiences.

Now that it has been mentioned, I too, wish that I had found GW in the earlier stages of our project.

So far, I love my kitchen. It'll be great when I can afford countertops and put down my flooring.

The only regret I have, even with my scavenged cabinets, self-built doors & drawers, & CL appliances is that the side of the kitchen where a friend built me a countertop, he built it in.

My farm sink is built into it, as are the base cabinets.

These are donated cabinets & 60s particule board. They're disintegrating, I think. I've replaced the cabs on the other side of the kitchen (still scavenged), and when I come across something in better shape? I don't hesitate to replace the older one. I can't do this on the sink side.

Plus, on the same side, the peninsula is over a regular base cabinet, i.e. 24" deep. If I could, and this weren't also built into the same countertop, I'd replace it with a shallower base so I could put in bar stools.

But I love my kitchen because it's Mine. No good enough for now crap unless I, I, I decide to change it. The layout is great, the size is great, and I even have room to expand into a breakfast area if I choose. And when I start playing the lottery so I can win a zillion dollars!

Love it.

I ordered too small a handle for our pantry pullout cab. It is larger than the other pulls, but looks too small for the cab. I can replace the front panel someday and put a new pull on, but that is a lot of effort and money for a dumb mistake. I even thought of making it 2 knobs, but that may be even worse... grr....

I made 2 color mistakes and Murphy's law meant that those were the only 2 surfaces I paid to have painted. I should have been home when they started to be painted and I could have tweaked the color before getting too much done instead of having to buy new paint and adding a 3rd and 4th coat myself thereby making the labor and paint of the wrong colors a total waste.

My floors... nuff said.

Buying things too soon in the process that end up having to be resold.

While I adore my kitchen lights, they are a bit large after seeing how they look in place. I can't picture different ones, although if they were a little smaller.....

Not allowing the gc's guys to install the moldings until the walls were painted and I could paint the moldings with 1 coat of paint as well. I did not fight hard enough for this.

Our master bath vessel sink is too tall. I had intended to have it sunk halfway down, but did not realize the slight slope on the sides made that impossible. It then caused a problem with the faucet, which ended up being replaced. (OT, but still good to know).

Should have paid closer attention a few times when things were being placed. Had to move light fixtures, the vent hood and switchplates because they were put in weird locations/heights. I thought they'd ask when we got to those, and despite being home, they went ahead without asking. I had to answer 100 other less critical questions a day and yet these they chose to do on their own initiative.

The story of the bad marble installation and ruined sink is described in another thread. I regret I used this fabricator. Still do not know how this will be resolved. A friend of mine has found a scathing review of this fabricator on Angie's List. Regret I did not thoroughly research before contracting with this fabricator. I picked them because the distributor said they could sell to them and I wanted those slabs.

Our hood was damaged in shipping. I did not look at all sides of the crate when it was delivered and the crate stayed in the garage, unopened for four weeks til we were ready to install. I had signed free and clear when the crate was delivered and when I filed a damage claim it was denied. Message -- inspect all sides and also open the box to inspect the merchandise inside. If the delivery person is unwilling to wait, either do not sign or sign, writing "subject to inspection." This gives you 24 hours to file a claim if necessary.

a minor one...our two 5-foot oyster grey basketweave Gel Mats are totally blah. If they were shorter, they'd be more distinctive, but that long run just makes them look like they came out of a manufacturer's extruder, which they did. Bought 'em to go with Antique Mascarello Formica against a world of oak.

researchqueen, we put in two sets of 2-foot square regular cabs to flank the range with the idea that we'd retrofit them later. We regret that our measurements at the hinge are just too tight for the 21-inch insert but the next size down is now installed in all four shelf spots in those cabs. One is not entirely defined in use yet, but the other really works for us. We put in Lynk thick wire pullouts from Menards on sale (saw them at Container Store sale recently) and have mounted them assymetrically so that the bulk of the wasted space is on hinge side of shelf. Allows us to put an odd piece there which does not ride in and out--an omelette pan leaning upright for example, or a tallish bottle. The other two shelves hold our most used cookware. I believe I have more efficient accessibility in there than I would with two drawers because I can pull one at bottom and see down to it through the upper one as well. If I had drawers I couldn't see through the upper one. Where the heck did someone put my saucepan? Oh there you are! And the rungs of the pull-out allow lids or narrow pans to stand sideways. [If my drawers were wider of course this would be moot, because all the stuff would be in a single drawer but I'd never have a single layer of pans each in its own place anyway. I'm constitutionally unable to function that way.]

Tiling the backsplash ourselves. I love our backsplash tile, but the tile we used was unlike any tile we've laid before and basically we didn't know what the heck we were going. We did an o.k. job but the tile was so beautiful it deserved a better than o.k. installation. I wish we'd hired an installer who knew what they were doing -- the tile is discontinued and it was expensive to boot, so there's no going back. It's one of those things that 90% of people looking at it don't see anything wrong, but the persnickety 10% do, and unfortunately I'm in that group so it sorta bugs me from time to time when I'm looking at it.

We have no regrets, so far, but Kris ma's comment is giving me pause.
Despite having an excellent tile setter, we've been thinking of installing our own backsplash because it's a relatively small job and we like to see our own handiwork in our space. So much has gone right to this point maybe we'd be tempting fate. Is there something in particular that went wrong in your tiling? Advice you could give?

@sandn, we also did our own backsplash. If your pattern isn't super complicated, I think it's a good DIY task to tackle. It's time-consuming but not especially hard, which is the type of thing I like to do myself. We did a simple subway tile pattern with a stripe, so that was easy to install. The only real glitch we hit was that the tiles we cut were not 100% smooth edges---not sure if this is a factor of the saw we used or the tile quality, or just a problem everyone has. Since we used a dark grout, the slightly nobby edges of the cut tiles are noticeable if you look closely. But I noticed afterwards that a friend's professionally installed backsplash has the same problem and I'd never paid any attention till we were in the thick of tiling, so I suspect we won't notice it as time goes on!

The one reason not to do it would be if, like kris_ma, you have an unusual tile or unusual pattern that would require special expertise to work with. Ours was plain old ceramic tile (and pretty cheap tile at that) so it wasn't a concern for us. I think a professional tilesetter would have done a slightly better job, but probably not noticeably so, and for a lot more money. That was a tradeoff we were okay with.

I let my cabinetmaker talk me out of two toekick drawers. Now I wish I had them, they'd have been the perfect place for storing my extra oven racks.
Other than that...nope, I love my kitchen.

Another, "Wish I'd found GW sooner". I never even gave a thought to having all drawers, instead of cabinets. Sounds like a great idea! Also, wish I'd bought the slide-in range, instead of the stand alone. We bought it a year before the remodel. I'd love to have a designed backsplash behind the stove. Someday... In fact, we havn't put bs in yet. Maybe we should put something there for "someday"??

I love my kitchen, and don't think I have any regrets. (Maybe one more set of drawer instead of cabinet in the island. I love the drawers I have.) But, there are a things I DO have because I read this forum constantly before we remodeled. We bought our 1980's house in February when we lived in Florida, and didn't move up to Annapolis until June. So, I had 5 months to plan the kitchen with out buying a thing- just thinking about it. I am so lucky that I found GW during that time. I collected a zillion pictures. As I looked through them, a theme developed. BTW, my first inspiration was wendicali- Love that kitchen, and her space seems similar to ours. Then noticed so many people have a window to the counter- how cool! And a bump out, oh yeah. Thank you to ericanh, Buehl, rhome and others! Who needs upper cabinets?? Windows are much better...
I never would have known about the Advantium without this forum. I am so glad I went with the 240. That is my fave new thing! Air switch is pretty cool also- who knows where the disposal switch would've gone.

mcmjilly, it is funny, the same thing happens to me. We are overthinking everything so much that I am still thinking and "regretting" after it has been installed... Then I start liking it and move on to obsess about the new thing...

I love the phrase: "I love my kitchen because it's Mine."
May all our kitchens be filled with the laugh of our loved ones. Wish we all make great new memories in our brand new kitchens, in the company of our most treasured friends and family.