I’ve been thinking about this post for a long time. It’s one of those posts that isn’t glamorous or full of pretty pictures. But it’s something I thought you would appreciate and find useful if you are renovating a kitchen or building a house. When we found our home almost 3 years ago, the builder had JUST finished it. Everything including the kitchen was 100% complete so we didn’t have any say in the finishes or in the building plans. After living in this house for several years, there are a lot of things I would do differently if we were designing a kitchen ourselves. So here is my list of “What NOT To Do When Designing Your Kitchen “.
- Bring your cabinets up to the ceiling. Now this is more of a design issue rather than a functional issue, but in our next home I would definitely take them up to the top, especially if you have taller ceilings to begin with. I think it makes the kitchen feel bigger, it gives you more storage space rather than having an awkward space above the cabinets and lastly, you don’t have a space that collects dusts and kitchen oils.
- Don’t place your microwave over your range! This is one of my big ones for multiple reasons. I would definitely build out a decorative hood over your range for both practical and design reasons. For starters, every time we use the range, because the microwave is stainless steel, the heat rises and the handle gets SO hot. So if you are cooking something and want to use the microwave, you almost can’t touch the handle without getting burnt. Now from a design perspective, I think a beautiful hood over the range is the perfect design element to the kitchen. I really creates a big focal point. I’ve seen these done in stainless steel, reclaimed wood, and so many more styles.
- Don’t place cabinets too close to your range! This issue will probably affect white cabinets more than any other color, but because our cabinets are directly above our range, they are actually starting to yellow from the oils, yuuuuuuck. Every. Single. Day. I have to wipe off the cabinets above the microwave and the ledges of the lower cabinets and at this point they are actually starting to turn yellow. We will eventually have to have them repainted…. or better yet ripped out and we can put a big hood in :)
- Don’t cut corners, put soft closet drawers in. I really wish we had soft closing drawers. It seems to be the standard now, but we don’t have them. With how much the kids seem to slam the cupboards and drawers, it would really help me from cringing every time I heard the sound!
- Don’t buy a standard fridge, buy the industrial fridge. We are fortunate to have a large kitchen and we totally have space for a larger, industrial size fridge. But they only left us room for a small standard size one. There is SO much extra space on the wall next to the fridge and I wish they would have bumped the kitchen out a little further to allow for more food space. I know not everyone is a family of five, and not everyone needs the extra space. But in my opinion, if you have the space go bigger. I don’t think you would regret it, especially if you entertain a lot!
- Double It – If you have the space, I highly recommend going for not 1 but 2 ovens, At least do a warming drawer. My mom has a set up like this as it is so convenient for holidays and large gatherings and it is amazing. It’s so nice for cooking large meals and baking at the same time.
I hope you found some of these tips useful! What are some of the things you wish you would have done differently with your kitchen?
About Taryn Whiteaker
Taryn Whiteaker is the voice of style behind TarynWhiteaker.com (formerly Design, Dining and Diapers) ! Taryn is a previous PR/Marketing professional who got back to her creative roots after becoming a mom and now shares her passion for home decor and design for the world to see. Taryn lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and three kids and loves coffee, the outdoors, and exploring with her family.
Taryn, you are amazing. I love following you and love your style. These are great tips. I live in North Seattle in an old 1907 home and want to remodle my kitchen in Taryn Whitaker style! You rock!
Oh wow you are so kind! Thank you :)
I 100% agree with all these things – I wish our builder had given us more freedom to make more changes to the design in general. Or even just told us that it was an option. There were a lot of things that the builder told us we actually couldn’t do- then turned around & told someone else yes.
Yes on all points. Our builder installed the microwave above the range as well and like you I really don’t like it there. I guess it beats the alternative of being on the counter though. I would love to have the kitchen space to be able to reconfigure and have one of those drawer types. Then I could have a pretty range hood and still have the counter tops clear.
I wouldn’t mind having it in the walk-in pantry! I’ve seen that done before and I think I would do that instead, or under the counter.
We moved into a 14 year old home about 16 months ago and there is a lot I’d like to change about the kitchen, but that will have to wait for another year or so. First is the black granite countertops – unless I buff it dry every time I wipe it, there are streak marks. The pull out trash can cannot be utilized when the dishwasher door is down – that’s just plain silly! And I too would move the microwave from above the stove top. Mine is so low that when I cook soups or anything in a large pot, I have trouble removing the lid!
Thanks for the other thoughts – I will certainly refer to your list when the time comes to redo our kitchen!
I completely agree with all of these tips! We built our house in 2003 and we have most of these same issues, except I have wood cabinets not white. I would definitely take cabinets to the ceiling and put in a hood instead of a microwave hood. Soft close drawers would have been awesome as well!
All great tips! I built my 1280 sf home with HFH and the only choices I could make were linoleum, carpet, and countertop laminate. It’s a great home and after the first 5 years, I started to learn how to diy and make it my own. Redoing my kitchen is on my list! I don’t have a problem with the microwave above the stove as it’s also my exhaust fan ducted to the outside, but would like to reconfigure so it’s on a “bookshelf” on the end of an island.
I agree with everything except #1. You must be tall!
My husband and I installed “after-market” soft close hinge adapters for our cabinet doors. They are very inexpensive and they work like a dream. We have had them in our cabinets for several years now and I absolutely love them. Regarding the microwave underneath the counter: A family member has this set-up in her house and it is the most awkward placement to most people that use it. If you aren’t familiar with the microwave buttons, you have to kneel down so that you can use it or really bend over. It might be OK for kids to use. I love the idea of putting it in the pantry!
We totally gutted our old and dated kitchen a year ago and I was able to do many of the things you mentioned. I love my new kitchen! Instead Of SS appliances I chose a “no finger print” dark gray line GE has, put the range and microwave in a separate area, ran gas to the kitchen and my husband got his dream 6 burner gas cooktop. Also, don’t think that you have to shop the big box stores for appliances bc you think the speciality appliance stores are more expensive-often they aren’t -especially if you’re purchasing multiple items. Always shop around-and look at your choices more than once. We actually had the store bring out pots and pans to try on the cooktop which made us change our minds on our choice-the pan handles interfered with the control knobs which wasn’t good. Our range hood is fantastic and yes-we had it vented thru the roof. Soft close drawers and doors were a must because my husband has a slamming problem ? And choose finishes with thought. What’s in vogue today could look like a hot mess in 10 years so go for a style that can stand the test of time -unless of course you have $40k plus to spend repeatedly on new cabinets, counters, etc.
I am in the process of starting to remodel my kitchen and appreciate all your advice. Thanks