8 Kitchen Design Regrets & Common Mistakes To Avoid
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- čas přidán 10. 08. 2024
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Cabinets vs Drawers
01:51 - Measuring Appliances
02:59 - Not Enough Outlets
04:14 - Doors Blocking Workflow
05:34 - Flooring Choices
06:22 - Inadequate Lighting
08:10 - Poor Material Choice
09:29 - Cabinet Handles
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DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase an item through these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
My husband was unsure about spending as much as we did to get a top quality reno done of our kitchen space but, let me tell you, all your points hit home and 8 years later we're not suffering any regrets as we avoided all the pitfalls you show here because of having a quality contractor. So worth it!
I understand, as a handyman myself I say to get multiple estimates, and take the SECOND highest bid, not the absolute lowest. Do it nice, or do it twice!
I've worked on 40+ kitchens and my advice is if re-using an existing fridge, always future-proof and leave space for a bigger fridge, for example, if you have a 30" fridge, leave space for a 32" fridge. Don't worry - your existing 30" fridge won't have huge gaps on the sides and it's worth it to prepare to squeeze-in a 32" fridge in the future.
Built in appliances are the biggest bane for new owners when the appliances needs replacing and there are no suitable replacements.
I work in a kitchen, so it was really good to see you concentrating on functionality here. Every kitchen is a work place, and functionality should always come first.
I worked as a chef for many years also. I do NOT care what the kitchen looks like. It is nothing more than a workshop, I keep people out if they are not working, I have to concentrate since I have a few things going at the same time.
Having worked in so many different kitchens, sanitation is the most important thing, then very organized, so everything works properly and is convenient.
MOST people agonize about the color and style of the cabinets and countertops, just seems crazy to me; that makes NO sense. Rather than redecorating, I blocked off the kitchen so you really don't see in, but easy to move stuff in and out. I put pull out hardware on the bottom shelves, but that was it.
I keep it clean but the most important thing is how the food tastes.
Yes, FUNCTIONALITY to make my work as easy as possible. NO chit chat and gossip, that is for the living room, and all that talk makes it easy for me to make a big stupid mistake. I never wait with nothing to do, there is always a sinkful of dishes and stuff to put away.
One big puzzle is the big deal they make about the backsplash, are they really that sloppy? The other is a special spigot over the stove to fill a pot? One way or another, you will have to pick it up and dump it.
Sorry for the rant, but good to see somebody else is not crazy.
This is why I like Reynard, he makes sense.
I saw the outlets and thought “wow”. He’s Aussie! Yay. More Aussie home content!
We have ceramic tiles on the floor and countertops made from ceramics in our kitchen - this material is genious, very easy to clean, stands heat like no other, looks fabulous!
Loved all 8 of your points here. ❤ A regret I had when I owned my condo was not having a dedicated space for seasonings. I love to cook, thus I have a lot of spices and baking goods. Wholesale sized and regular sized spice containers take up a lot of valuable real estate, especially if your kitchen (and home) is on the small side. While using similar sized jars is a great idea, it is not always an option or practical for everything, especially liquids.
Maybe this will help.
I got 2 restaurant quality bins, actually 3. Made sure they fit on the shelf, but the bigger the better. There are lots of used restaurant equipment "junkyards", so they were 2-3 dollars, and extremely durable. Anything will do if it is the right size.
I divided savory from sweet spices and put all those little jars and bottles in those. Savory is like rosemary, oregano, etc., Sweet is vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. Third bin is like baking powder, skewers, soda, food color, cream of tartar, all that kind of junk. I never had anything leak.
Some seasonings can be used either way, but separate them as you usually use them.
For me, this is less frustration, and saves a lot of time. I used to knock every thing over looking for just one thing, then have to put it all back. It takes the fun out of cooking.
2 restaurant sized smoked paprika was cheaper than a a tiny jar. I wrapped one jar in lots of plastic and put it into a dark cool cabinet, I think it will keep.
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@@rockshot100 Great advice! Thank you!
Use a drawer
I can see all your videos are thoughtful and carefully designed. It's really helpful for a beginner like me, as I don't know where to start.❤❤❤
Thanks. I watched many of your videos and I learned a lot from you. I finished my kitchen maybe half a year ago and I just watched this video to see if I did anything wrong. And I am very happy to be able to say: I didn't make any of these 8 mistakes. Hurray! I will continue to watch your videos. I am sure soon there will be good ideas and tips again which I didn't think about.
I love the look of handles that stick out, but they may not be the most practical. Your point about them catching pockets on clothing is a good one, and it made me think that as sort of a klutz, I should also watch out for whacking my shins on handles from low drawers as well. Lots to think about here, thank you!
The blindly fishing in cabinets perfectly constructed. Thank you for the laughter and the tip, because ... yeah ... I have those moments
I always learn so much from your videos but this one was exceptional.
The one huge mistake I made for my kitchen was grouted ceramic tiles for the floor. The tiles have tiny "pockets" that catch dirt, but the bigger problem is the grout. Even after spending money to have it professionally cleaned and sealed, the grout is deeply stained. It still soaks up grease. It was originally the same light beige as the tiles, but I have given up and decided that it looks OK if it's dark brown!
When I asked the installer about keeping the grout clean, they said, "We don't install grouted floors in kitchens anymore for that very reason. They're too hard to keep clean."
I have ceramics tiles floor. Know about this problem so i opt for black/graphene color grout and add wood glue to the mix to make it waterproof (and hard). I walk in the kitchen in shoes sometime and cook regularly. Its been a year and they still look the same. They dont change color even when wet. There is a old trick to use the tile glue it self and after it properly dried out soak it with cooking oil and have similar grey look. Any other color will eventually stain and get grayish tint, even in bathrooms.
Just an fyi for anyone who's debating between a counter-depth and a standard-depth refrigerator: We went with counter-depth this last time because it would be easier on my back, and i have been amazed at how much room there is. i figured we'd be losing a good amount of space, but since the counter depth is usually taller than a standard depth, we haven't missed out on anything. CD is much easier on my back, and it doesn't dominate the kitchen like our old SD ones did. Really, really happy with it.
Nice touch with the underwear catching on the handle. It is a real thing
You are so right about the fridge protruding out from the counter, I never even considered that. Mine sticks out about 7" from the counter. BUT I have to redo the counter and sink next to it, so the counter will be 5" deeper than standard. 5" along the length of the countertop will be much needed work surface. Around the sink, dishwasher and fridge is exactly where I need the space.
I hate the shelves in the lower cabinets, the back is wasted space with a lot of junk.
I got shelf pull out hardware (heavy duty, about 15.00/pair for each shelf) from Amazon, then took the shelves out, cut about 2" off width, for the hardware. I still have the doors, but that isn't a problem. Now I can pull the whole shelf out and get that stuff in back very easy. BTW, I put a 4" "fence" on the back and sides of the shelf, so nothing falls off.
Easy to do, makes a huge difference, and not expensive. Hope this helps somebody.
Excellent advice. I just finished my L shaped kitchen with an island and followed most of your recommendations.
About to install a new kitchen and all the thoughts that went into it were likely to be more time consuming than the installation work itself. I've stumbled along all points you just made in this video and am happy to not fallen into any of these traps during the process. Thanks for your uploads, long time fan here 🎉
Reynard, love your channel and I try to leave lots of comments, because they say comments greatly increases your channel. This shows YT that people are engaging in your channel. Most of the very big channels will say things to elicit comments.
You give some very good solid advice and you are easy to understand, and explain the reason of the concept. Maybe you used to be a teacher?
I am an architect but interiors are very hard to design. I understand design very well in general, but interiors are so hard to do. Thank you for explaining it all without all the fake "personality", and please don't get a dog to show in every vid and kiss the dog on the mouth.
Reynard, advice (that you didn't ask for) is that you should encourage people to leave comments, "I think marble is too hard to take care of, but leave a comment below if you like it." Or, "Let me know what YOU think in the comments about drawers in the kitchen".
Thanks for another great vid.
Ohh that's a good way to drive engagement. I'll keep this in mind for future videos. Thank You!
Great video. Very helpful!!
Each of your points are absolutely valuable. I wish I had seen this video before renovation of my kitchen.
Great video King! you never disappoint!
I learned so much. Thank you! Subscribed 😊
Im in the process of building my own home from the ground up and it’s in its finishing phase! Thanks for reminding me of these regrets! Such a big help! I almost forgot the kitchen island outlets even tho I already told my foreman to put one, he forgot. 😓
Thanks for the tips! keeping these in mind for our house remodel :)
Great video as usual….such helpful tips
Excellent video!
My kitchen is a heavy traffic area as part of my open plan space. My benchtops are laminate because l'm the everyday cook and l don't want high maintenance products.
The two things l don't like about modern kitchens, which aren't in your video are: the microwave above the stove top. I always think it's an accident waiting to happen and taps on an island.
Too much spillage and reminds me of a school science lab classroom.
You are right about the microwave over the stove. Wait till you are older and don't have the strength to lift things up there
Thank you for this. I am currently renovating a house and while I do use an interior designer who I hope have your knowledge 🤞it’s good to learn these things to keep an eye out on our proposed design.
Very valuable information.
❤
Thank you for sharing.
I love my lower drawers. Also, don't use knobs on lower cabinets. Ages ago, in an apartment we were renting, I walked too closely to the counter and a knob caught in my housecoat pocket. The door swung open as I was passing and the corner dug into the top of my foot. I wanted to die. From then on, it was knobs on the uppers and rounded handles on the lowers.
Always enjoy your videos! So informative! We are presently building our home. What are your thoughts about concrete countertops, love the look and the organic feel.
I am absolutely not bothered by pull out shelves with a slightly raised edge or pull out drawers in cabinets, in fact I prefer them in many cases to just simple drawers as they are often height adjustable (unlike plain drawers) and allow you to see taller items better than in simple drawers.
Thanks for the good tips!
An island with outlets is an amazing idea.
The tip about lighting is so obvious but we only realise it after we start using the kitchen. 😭😭
Great video. However, I love my t-bars (especially long ones) - I have mild arthritis in my fingers - my hands slip when using knobs on cabinets. I have only ever caught my clothing on my t-bars a couple of times in the 20 years since my renovation.
The only point I disagree with is drawers instead of lower cabinets but mostly for 1) aesthetics and 2) cleaning under bottom drawer.
I have both and really dislike the 'look' of stacked drawers and don't mind 'opening the cabinet to pull out shelf.' When I clean I have to pull out the heavy drawer to clean under them; it is easy to slide out the drawer 'insert', give it a quick wipe and reinstall .... As I get older, I am looking for lighter and lighter things in my home to keep it clean!
Same, are some people so extremely lazy that pull outs behind the cabinets are too much work? I did not even have to adjust to my pull outs, much prefer them to simple drawers.
Thanks 🙏
It is hard to find (and more expensive when you do) appliances that do not extend beyond cabinetry. Wouldn't it be great if appliance manufacturers and cabinet makers worked together?
I think it is a typical American issue. Here in Europe I have never seen protruding fridges.
I once tried to persuade a neighbor, who was designing a new kitchen, to do mostly drawers. Her kitchen "designer" told her to do doors with pullouts. But, I told my neighbor, why do you want to add the step of having to open the doors fully open in order to extend the pullouts inside. She decided to do both cabinets with pullouts and drawers. Later on, she told me..."You were right, drawers are a no-brainer, and I rarely use the cabinets with pullouts inside."
I have pull outs and I prefer then to the drawers I had before.
Agree with you as I prefer to do one more instead of two.
@@rosieposie9564 Well, perhaps you have wrongly sized drawers for the items you are storing. I can't understand why anyone would want to work harder and not smarter.
@@GeometryMatters I want flexibility and drawers are not flexible as they are not height adjustable. I also prefer the external look of a single cabinet door to a row of drawers.
@@rosieposie9564 To each, his own.
Im planning out my kitchen redo right now. I plan on keeping anotebook for what i wish was different and the easier i need it. We are getting older, so i plan on keeping that in mind, too. I have to use a rolling walker sometimes already due to health and want to make it as functional as possible for my future use also. Im thinking of having no top cabinets as they will be hard for me to access as only 5'2" and the mobility issues already. I see lots of drswers and pull up and out etc in my design.
Low budget and money saving for me in a rental flat and a thiny kitchen. I bought foldable crates that fit on every lower shelvings. You can buy these in almost every size.
Put thiny 360° wheels on the bottom.Make sure you place wheels on flat areas. It works fantastastic. An extra benefit was also this made me declutter bunch of kitchensuplied I never used. And things are always in sight.
Can you review bathroom design regrets too?
I second that!
Yup I’ve done that. Here you go! czcams.com/video/Esk1J-c25Ic/video.html
@@reynardlowell Of course you did. I am sorry for wasting your time
Can you speak more about kitchen hardware in a future video? Specifically, the proper way to combine knobs and handles based on drawer/cabinet style to achieve the most designer look?
I wish this video was out before we renovated the kitchen. We have tall drawers under the sink for rubbish bins but a cabinet might have been a better choice.
Haha the amount of wired headphones I damaged due to handles that stick out. Very good point. I’m currently wondering if someone has ideas on good flooring for the kitchen?? I’m looking to take up this travertine that always seems to look dirty. I’m over tile being used in a kitchen and bathroom.
I screwed up the lightening in my open concept house. the kitchen, dinning room and living room are all one big space. during the day I have tons of natural light from 12 windows, but at night OMG it is very dark.
Oh yes yes yes, just finished our renovation where we have not made these mistakes or better said we did make the right choices. There is something to say for everything and it always depends on the possible space and budget.
Which range hood I should buy.. two of my range hood broken… ☹️
My flat has a builder kitchen and it has all of those design flaws 😭
My house was built in 1949. I swear the designer,/builder hated his mother, because all the "regrets" are a part of the design: think 6' of counter space with a bend and a large sink. Cabinets are too tall to reach w/o a ladder, no real storage and the best part is the kitchen is 15'x15' and poorly designed! Can hardly wait to remodel the kitchen and these tips are timely!
We messed up our dimensions and our fridge won’t fit nicely. Our kitchen isn’t done yet so I’m not sure how bad it’ll look or to work around. Even if we hadn’t messed up I think we’d still end up with this weird situation
what would you use if you cook a ton but love the black splash and counter to be marble? You said the cons of marble but what is the altervative? Ty
I am a stone sculptor and work installing marble and granit countertops. If you are not a candy maker there is no benefit to have stone in your kitchen just visual. All stone is porous and even whit proper maintenance and applying sealant it will stain eventually. Today imitations are so good you have to touch it to be sure its not a stone. And if its the feeling go for ceramics.
Interesting as in US stone countertops increase the house value. In EU it have no or even negative effect. Generally i install the countertops in homes where the big kitchen will be not use at all, because the rich owners eat outside and dont know how to cook in the first place. I have one instance where after i install the countertop they call next year if i be willing the discard it because they hate it, how dirty and scratch it become and was considering the ceramic or even stainless. I personally have stainless and going to make swirl/circular pattern finish.
@@scasny someone told me there is a new product a pvc that comes in a sheet that can be cut and lasts for a while way cheaper . Have you heard of this?
Drawers are fine but pull outs in cabinets are just as good with the added flexability to be removed when no longer needed.
I actually think pull outs in cabinets are better than drawers. They give better visibility if the height of the edge is lower and you can also adjust the height of the pull outs in some cases whereas drawer positions are fixed.
@@rosieposie9564 the visibility only really benefits in a situation like a pantry where there are things at waist level and above. Below that you are bending down anyway to look in so why not a drawer in the first place. Lower drawers are king.
Would you be able to increase the volume of your recording? I have you maxed out and can barely hear you compared to other videos. Thanks.
Yup sorry about that! The audio in this video is much lower than my others, just realised we made a mistake on it. Will double check on this next time. Thanks for pointing it out.
Marble is the worst mistake in my kitchen. It stains and it etches. No sealant will help. The sealant makes the surface only resistant to acids, meaning it just gives you extra time to wipe it off before it's too late. If you overlook and leave stuff overnight, etching is guaranteed. I put a cork coaster under a plant pot to prevent a ring and ended up with a brown stain that I discovered weeks later. Hate it.
They make basically an enormous screen protector to cover marble countertops. Might be something for you to look into.
Um… about the fridge. I chose a bigger fridge knowing it would stick out. However, I choose the Samsung bespoke fridge with the flat panels. It does stick out but its better than having to store an extra freezer somewhere. Also there’s no handles so the look is very clean.
No regrets
He mostly mention of forgetting about things like fridge when designing a kitchen or suddenly realizing its too small. It took me few days looking up, asking around and even looking in the stores at the real thing. Now i am so glad i opted for the bigger freezer space as i use the extra space to buy cheap meat in bulk. While the actual fridge space is rarely full.
So you buy something what you need and use not what you just want.
Counter depth refrigerators cost more.
Yes, they do. We prefer them, however, because they don’t stick out so much. There are only two of us in our home, so we don’t mind the slightly produced cubic footage.
Another example of charging more for less. I always wonder as Americans have generally larger houses but somehow not enough space for fridge and a freezer. But thing its similar to bragging about anything large. Car, Tv, house, and even fridge.
Joke's on you, I put CARPET IN MY KITCHEN HAHAHAHAHA
He only gives advice from his own experience. Not really a joke. In the end, you will not get the last laugh, sorry to say.
Hardware on lower cabinets also don’t look as good aesthetically, messes with symmetry and those vertical handles….
That’s personal preference. I have mostly lower drawers and only one lower cabinet. I love all the straight horizontal lines of my bar pulls on the draws.
We had black porcelain tiles. Big mistake. We have permanent stains from spillages. All dust shows.
Have white ceramic floor tiles and similar thing (except stains). You can see every little grit and dirt and its basically constantly dirty. But i choose it because its the dark part of the room and it really help with the light in the whole room. Because of that the light fixture over the countertop easily illuminate the whole room. And since the tiles go from the front door to the kitchen i walk in shoes caring the groceries as i have to clean then almost daily anyway.
Reynard… who edits your video?.. the audio is so low.. when I turn the volume up, when the ad starts, the ads are so loud… i hope your editor make it higher volume. Thank you!
Hey, sorry about that! Yeah we just realised there was a mistake adjusting the audio gain, so this the audio in this video end up a bit too low. Won’t happen again in the future :)
@@reynardlowell thank you! (Also the previous videos. Hehe. Thanks again!)
It's the first time I see Australian outlets (I'm Canadian).
They look sad.
p.s. Please disregard this comment. It's just for CZcams algorithm.
Yeah they do. Look up Danish ones, literally a happy face :D
@@reynardlowell Ahhh! They are so cute!
Seal your marble.
My hubby owns an electrical contracting company that builds high rise condos in Canada. He says that electrical outlets in drawers are not allowed by the electrical code here. Appliance garages with outlets are also not allowed. 🫤 Nice idea, though!