Lisa:

Stop your tile at your countertop. It will look like you planned it that way.

Could you put an open shelf of sorts on the end? 3" sounds perfect for a spice rack. Some people have posted narrow magazine racks? Or a key rack? I assume it is on an open end, otherwise couldnt you just add a filler?

Very sorry about the error, hopefully you can come up with something that helps!

Thanks guys. Mine cannot be fixed. Believe me, I've tried to think of everything including a seam in the countertop to make it longer... BUT my mission here is to post things that others should watch out for so they will not have something that makes them feel sick...

I'm just not going to have backsplash go all the way up as I had planned. Just to bottom of windowsill.

Well, here's something else to think about...my cabinets ended at exactly same place on the wall...PERFECT, right? Except when the countertop was installed it is an overhang...so now what do I do? Can't figure out where to stop the backsplash tile...at the end of the counter is going to leave a small piece of tile beyond the upper cabinet...at the end of the upper cabinet will leave a small bit of the counter sticking out beyond the tile.

Intentional error: Planning for a 48" Subzero / Liebherr / ... size cabinet depth fridge when the one I currently own is a LG at about 38" wide, regular depth. That was an attempt to be versatile for the future but I didn't realize that it would show that much today. I'm not sure what to recommend to someone except that if you do what I did, realize that about a day later you'll want to get the "correct" size fridge in there.

Unintentional error on my part: This is with the vent hood. The upper cabinets should have been just a hair deeper in order to accommodate the vent. If I ever want to be able to remove it by taking it straight down, the backsplash can be at most 1/2" thick. Otherwise I will have to tilt it at a slight angle first. That will be a challenge because OMG are these things heavy!

Also, if you have finger pulls don't adjust your cabinet drawers until the pulls are installed or else you'll get to adjust them twice.

I'd run the backsplash all the way to the door trim, and down the wall to the floor to the right of the cabinet.

This 3 inches doesn't have to be a big deal, at all.

I'll add another. Undercabinet lights. Getting cool ones is pretty important. Mine are so hot (halogen? can't quite remember) that I cannot keep chocolate chips on the bottom shelf, or anything else heat sensitive.

Oh, dcward89, I think it would look fine to stop at edge of top cabinet. Isn't that how most are? look in the kitchens gallery. I think i remember it being hard to find an end run of cabinets in there, though...
Schicksal, that's what I'm talking about. Sharing for others. Sorry about your probs, though...

Can you replace the upper cabinet? It us hung next to a window so that appears to be the easiest option. Perhaps the difference looks more noticeable in person, but I think it looks planned to save a few hips from a sharp corner by a doorway.

If it's really bothering you then you need to find a solution. There have been three excellent suggestions to your problem: 1. Run a bullnose vertically from the bottom edge of the upper cabinet down along the side of the countertop to the floor and tile all the space to the left. 2.Replace the upper cabinet with a more narrow cabinet. Since it's at the end of a run, it should be fairly easy; 3. Leave it the way it is since it doesn't really look bad or like it was a mistake.

Not sure why at the end of these cabinets they just didn't go all the way to the wall. That is what I would do, concentrate on the uppers and have it go to the end of the upper cabinets because I think this looks odd in this photo. Then I would consider running the backsplash tile all the way down the side of the lower cabinets all the way to the baseboard. Have seen that done and it looks really nice.

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Wooster General Contractors Weaver Custom Homes
In this photo, the tile goes past the uppers and wraps. Looks like you can do whatever you want!!! This looks nice.

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Bend Interior Designers & Decorators Legum Design
Another awkward space but looks fine!

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Atlanta Architects & Building Designers Soorikian Architecture

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by San Francisco Interior Designers & Decorators Artistic Designs for Living, Tineke Triggs

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Alpharetta Design-Build Firms Direct Build Home Improvement & More

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Delta Interior Designers & Decorators Sarah Gallop Design Inc.

Tile all the way down the wall to the baseboard

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Rochester Interior Designers & Decorators Robin Muto

As opposed to "stopping short" not in a Seinfeld sort of way but still, to me this would look better going all the way to the end of the wall and down.

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Birmingham General Contractors Structures, Inc.

Like this:

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by San Francisco Architects & Building Designers W. David Seidel, AIA - Architect

gr8day, thanks for those pics. I will have a choice, similar to what beautybutdebtfree explained, and maybe what dcward89 has. (a couple weeks out) Beauty and dc, could you post pics? One tile guy said to get bullnose and end at the cabinet(s) That will leave a couple inches the full height of the wall next to a doorframe. I hadn't thought about the counter sticking out too. Hmmm.

Don't tell DH, but I sort of wish I would have let him get a 36" range. He really wanted it. We've never use more than 3 burners simultaneously, that I recall. (Though we often switch burners on our horrendous non-induction, glass-top Jennair because they stay so darn hot for so long). Between the cost savings, the space saving, and the lack of need for such a cavernous oven (we'll have a speed oven too), it seemed like overkill. I just wonder down the line if we'll wish we had.

Also, getting the 36" hood and 30" range changed our backsplash plans, but that's not a huge problem, just something we didn't think until we had already pulled the trigger on the appliances.

The 5th and 6th pics posted above are perfect examples of my dilemma. Thanks so much to gr8day for posting them. It really doesn't look bad to have a small piece of tile next to the upper cabinet like that. I will show these pics to hubby as we were planning to start the backsplash tomorrow and hadn't decided how to deal with that yet.

cal_quail...I will take a pic tonight and post for you.

@lisalists2000, I feel your pain - I have a couple of mistakes that just stab me in the heart, including something similar to yours. At the end of one run, the lower cabinet ends 3" wider than the upper. It's a long and pointless story as to why, involving a post installed to support a load-bearing wall and a KD who repeatedly fell asleep at the wheel (metaphorically speaking, obviously.)

We wound up running the backsplash in line with the counters. This actually was the workers' decision; I'd agreed with the GC and the foreman that we'd end it in line with the upper cabinet. But the lead guy decided it didn't look right, and so extended it those extra couple of inches. Like so many other things, since it was done, it didn't seem worth rethinking it after the fact.

We just sent in our final check yesterday and there are still a bunch of things that I would like to throttle the contractor about. But honestly, the backsplash end point doesn't really even register to me at all. SO my vote would be, do what you think looks right (or what your contractors think looks right!) and it probably will. And in the scheme of things, I'll bet the overall renovation looks fantastic.

Our gap between BS and counter is just a tad higher than I had wanted. Because of it, I've yet to calk because the idea of having to pump that much calk in there and have it look neat kills me.

Errant you could put a pencil molding tile piece thee and it would look great. We did that on a tile project at my friend's house when we picked out tile for her kitchen. It looked so nice. The contractor was up in arms saying it would not look right but after his tile guy did it he said he was wrong and it looked really good.

I agree with gr8day, to use a pencil molding tile piece on the right of the upper cabinet to fill the space to blend with the tiles and tile to the end of the wall.

gr8day, thank you for all the pictures to help all of us. I am learning that even mistakes can be made to look nice since nothing in this world is perfect.

I love the travertine floor in our remodeled master bath but the company I used did not have a very big selection of shower surround colors and my husband would not allow me to use tile in the shower. Looking back, this is all his fault, just kidding, (not really)…I would have tiled that shower in a New York minute but he was adamant about no grout lines. Frankly, it is easy to clean without them but that fake granite and the fact that they did not install it correctly and it has a huge seam that they said it would not have raises my blood pressure whenever I think about it. But trying to introduce another surface material to go with travertine from their meager selection was a trial. I ended up with their odd version of tropic brown and then I put real granite on the vanities in cafe imperial. I don't like the way it turned out… I wish I could rip it all out and put Alaska White on both, it would look amazing with the floor. As soon as I win the lottery that is just what I am going to do! If only I bought tickets!!

DH wanted a cabinetry workshop in the backyard in addition to our garage. Our backyard is not all that big, so there is only one place to put it, and there is an uninterrupted line of sight from the front door straight out the kitchen window - where the workshop would have been. So, we narrowed the big, beautiful window considerably so we wouldn't be staring at the side of the workshop. I agonized over every inch.

Fast forward a few years, and we will no longer be building that workshop. I feel that regret every time I see a kitchen with a big, beautiful window - especially down to the counter :(

Well, now I have an error that I never knew about! LOL

dcward89: My upper and lower cabinets end at the same place but my counter top, of course, goes 1 1/2 " beyond that. The tile goes to the end of the counter and so of course goes beyond the end of the upper cabinet. It looks just like photo #5 and I never realized that it was problem.

I'm confused ... did you have an actual designer that you paid to design your kitchen? If so, why isn't she helping you figure this out and come up with a good solution?

I made a few errors:
1. the location of my electrical outlets & light switches
2. probably should have chosen different undercabinet & glass cabinet lighting
3. thought I was getting a Supersusan, ended up with a lazy susan, which is much better designed than my old lazy susan. I am shocked I let that get by me
4.should have delayed drawer dividers until I put my kitchen back together

None of them hurt anymore. I love my kitchen, my white kitchen.

Thank you, gr8day, but the space I have is two small for pencil.

Thanks guys. Mine cannot be fixed. Believe me, I've tried to think of everything including a seam in the countertop to make it longer... BUT my mission here is to post things that others should watch out for so they will not have something that makes them feel sick...

I'm just not going to have backsplash go all the way up as I had planned. Just to bottom of windowsill.

{{gwi:1886609}}

Lynn2006 you're welcome, thank you for the kind words. It's a pleasure.

If you decide mid-renovation to add a beverage center on the other side of the room, and you want to house your microwave and coffee maker on it, it might be a good idea to tell the contractor what your plans are for the space. That way you might actually have an outlet to plug said microwave and coffeemaker into. Sigh. At least my mistake can be fixed. $$

ugh, same mistake here but I had to include a light switch so my backsplash has an inch past the counter. Didn't really think is was that big of a deal but it does bother me and I might have it fixed. doing a lower backsplash would have been the way to fix it in the beginning.

oh well.

12 in oull outs do not work between a wall and a vent hood. It's like playing Jenga to get anything out of there! Looked good on paper, and it was missed by me, the cabinet guys, and all of GW. Oops! It's still somewhat useful, just not what I had hoped.

Also, check, recheck, and make your plumber check clearances if you get a sink with a drain close to the back or side. My GD nearly didn't fit, even though I asked specifically that it be measured before the wall was closed. And I had a stack of all the install guides (everything was on site before demo) as well as elevations, schematics, and anything else you could possibly need to do things right that I handed to the GC. Same thing with the new skirted toilet, except they did have to move the pipe. Good thing I was home that day!

You will enjoy cooking on the bluestar. Some things are a pain, like finding a repair man who can actually fix it, but the non burning, non sticking simmer is fantastic. Even thick chili can simmer without burning.

IF I'd known what I know now, I wouldn't have let my POC-ex-GC-DH push me into making decisions.

I would have planned space in the kitchen to put the door trim on. I'd have made the counter between the sink and fridge bigger than 24". I do all my work on that little counter.

Since I'm doing it all myself, there's a lot I've (paid to) change(d). My current save target is my soapstone counters with a counterheight windowsill. Means a new window before I do my counters. I was pushed into that decision, too.

I would have done a lot of reconfiguring of the electric, and actually, I've changed and corrected almost everything. The one tough thing is that all the room switches didn't take into consideration trim. He was in a hurry when he strung wires through the air.

I had wanted 1 3/4 in edge on my granite. I had to fight with DH to get a mitered edge vs a stacked. He thought it would show a seam around the edge. Luckily, I won out and the fabricator came to install the counter four days before Christmas and I was excited as family was coming. When they set the granite on the counter, there was barely enough clearance to open the doors so my husband insisted on adding 1/4 in plywood to raise the counter. I realized at that point, the edge was 2". I had clarified the edge thickness with the fabricator prior.

Because I was so exhausted and anxious, plus they did an AWESOME job on the edges and matching the granite at the seams I let them install the counters. I regret not making them take them back and fixing the edge.

On a side note, we had already raised the cabinets up 3/4 in from the bottom for the granite to go into our garden window seamlessly, so my counters are an inch higher than standard. I don't mind that so much, and my son remarked just the other day it was nice to have more leg clearance when sitting at the counter. He thought our new bar stools were lower,

I just wish I had thinner edges.

I bought a 1 3/4 low-divide Blanco Diamond sink with the big side on the left. I realized, after it was bought at a special price point through my job and the company (hard to cancel the order and start again), I should have gotten the "reverse" configuration, with the big side on the right. I knew that's what I wanted all along, but with so many decisions, I simply ordered the wrong one. I do love the sink, but so many times, certain everyday chores make me wish I would have done it right.... or bought the Performa, which could have been rotated either way. Oh, well.

On the bright side, at the last minute, I decided to move my over the range hood and was able to reconfigure the cabinets I had already received to make a hood and new micro placement work, with only a few extra trim pieces needed. Not bad.

I did not go to the templating of my granite as didn't want to take yet more time off of work. I used many hours of vacation time shopping and looking for just the right thing. Most tile and granite sources have limiting evening and weekend hours.

The way my kitchen is set up the entire slab of Absolute Cream granite would need to be cut length wise using one length for the sink side of kitchen and one side for the stove side as kitchen is two separate counter areas.

While I love the granite, the prettiest part seems to have been used for the "stove side" which is more or less a corner and not as visable. The length used for the sink area which is in full view is a bit plainer, not as much bling and DH says I am over reacting but for me, it is on my mid a lot each time I step back to enjoy the new granite.

This was a very reputable place and I am sure they cut it this way for a reason as maybe the long length of the sink counter looked more uniform with the length they used for it. I just keep thinking if I would have chosen to go, I wouldn't be second guessing why it was done this way and could have viewed and been part of the process.

This post was edited by tinker1121 on Fri, Jun 27, 14 at 6:08

sonny_h - the pic makes me feel better about our outlet placement. The cabinet design changed a few times and I ran that circuit before there were final drawings. Originally the outlets were spaced exactly 1/3 and 2/3 of the way between the fridge and cooktop but ended up a bit closer to the cooktop side. It was bothering me a bit but not so much anymore.

This was all DIY. We stripped our master bathroom to the studs, removed a pocket door, moved another one pocket door, all to create a larger, tiled shower space. The part that hurts and which I would NEVER do again, is the (tiny little) Crossville sparkly mosaic tile we installed. 13x13 tiles per square foot. It came on mesh, but the tiles often slid, so each tile had to be adjusted. Also, each tile has grooves in the front, which collected grout, and which had to be individually cleaned. (And which collect soap and grime and... to this day).

So, two huge mistakes:

1) Yellow color. Sure it looks gold and sparkly in bright light, but inside the shower, it looks brown. (We only have one halogen light installed).
2) Mosaic tiles. Never again!

Every time I shower, I'm in there with a wire brush scrubbing either grout lines or the tiles....

I swear I had a 72" H cutout planned for our fridge, currently an old top- freezer model. Now it's time to upgrade to a nice counter- depth FD...and my fridge cabinet is actually 69" H. Sigh. Stupid 3".