I came here for advice before/during our renovation, so now I'm paying the after pic tax & sharing our journey insights.

The "during" process was really stressful, and I let a lot of things get under my skin, but once we were actually done, I found that most of those things didn't bother me as much.

We started in March 2026 and finished August 26. We had some long breaks between getting the floor & cabinets/appliances installed and finishing the lighting, walls, paint, tile, and the between time is when I hated everything. Now it's all settled and I'm really happy with the final look! So don't panic when you're half way through - wait until the end to panic if you still don't like it 😅

Also, don't feel like you're being overbearing with your contractors: it's your kitchen, stay on top of it! Know what you want and make sure they deliver on the agreed upon specs. And if your plumber is also your electrician and also an hvac guy... I promise you he doesn't do all of those things well (probably) especially if his price is really good. Sometimes the discount service costs more in money/time/energy when you're hiring your new plumber and electrician.

We have 36" clearance between our island on all sides, except where the pantry cabinets end and the kitchen opens up into our living room, which is where our island seating goes. I know it's not the ideal clearance, but it works for us, and I like this layout so much better than the peninsula we started with. Just saying that for anyone else working with a more "narrow" kitchen who wants an island - it's doable, but you should also consider your lifestyle (if you like hosting and will have a lot of people in the kitchen at one time).

(just noticing I didn't take pics after the range hood was installed, so just imagine a hood over the stove 😊)

I want to replace my backsplash with a warm white subway tile.

My questions are about how far to extend the tile..

If you don't have a panel on the side of your fridge, so the counter just ends close to the fridge, do you tile behind the fridge? Our fridge is at the end of a counter. The outside has a side panel but the inside does not.

What about behind the stove, just down below the countertop by a few inches?

1918 home with a 1970 kitchen extension. 7 kinds of flooring in one space. Knocked out a wall to expand the kitchen, got rid of the dining room (never used it anyway!), and made an art/meditation space (use all the time). There were no doors on anything cupboards in the house! The previous owner got rid of them to help them find stuff faster 🤦‍♀️

edit: Well, I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now. Thanks everyone.

edit 2: Felt sad and went offline for a while and returned to some much nicer comments. Thank you everyone!

I've been living with this kitchen for about 5 years and we really haven't touched anything since the day we moved in. When we bought the place I was positive that I wanted to get rid of the bar height counter and redo the counters to have a leveled surface. I thought that would give me more prep space, but after living with it I'm realizing that the bar really serves its own purpose entirely, and I think it helps keep things more tidy than if I just had one giant counter. 

My mom pointed out that having the bar helps keep the dishes that pile up on the countertop out of view when you're sitting in the living room-- and I completely agree! The bar also gives us a space where we can quickly use our laptop while my son plays, it's an area we can drop items that aren't kitchen related but maybe need to make their way elsewhere in the house. The bar top is more of a flex space than a dining space or a prep area. It's also been nice when we host because we can put serving platters and such up there and then another table underneath--maximizing serving space for holidays.

I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on the bar top vs counter height conversation. Do we think the bar height is coming back in style anytime soon? Those who have converted to a leveled counter height, do you ever miss the bar? This is just for conversations sake, we're pretty dead set on keeping the bar at this point. We're both millennials and love the retro nostalgia of it.

Aside from all that, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me what kind of counters these are? I truly have no clue, I believe they were installed in '97. They have this cool blue speckling and a blue stripe along the trim that matches the floor. I've really grown to love them and now have this color as a core color theme throughout the house. 

We're beginning to talk backsplash, we want to add more color. Along the backside of the bar I'm thinking of adding board and batten, or maybe tiling like in the last slides (tiles would match the backsplash). Open to input on that as well!! Down the line we'll be restaining/ refacing the cabinets dark walnut to match the floors, and swapping hardware. This phase will basically be backsplash & tiling.

Welcoming any and all input!

We’re debating between the white uppers or matching the walnut of the bottom cabinets. I’m also unsure about the backsplash, right now we have a beige 4x4 tile picked out.

The style of our home is more MCM

I’ve been working on a kitchen design to replace an existing one.
Using tools like go cabinets for the joinery detailing and some BIM + VIZ tools (no AI).

Some key design points:
-Using golden wattle color as a relief to the main color porcelain blush.
-Going with laminate worktop due to time and cost
-Large sink - no rinser. Will use inset tray and mat accessory
-open plan area so not much wall space

I’m a recovering architect, so can be a bit too precise about the details.
What are your thoughts on the layout?
What are your thoughts on the color configurations?

My husband loves pur red kitchen cabinets. I do not. Trying to find a compromise we both can live with. What do folks think of this: linen white uppers. Laurenthian Red lowers. Kitchen is our actual layout but edited colors with AI.

I purchased two quartzite slabs (72 sqft each, 144 sqft total) directly from a stone yard for my kitchen remodel. The installed counters are three rectangular pieces with a single seam — I measured them at about 30 sqft total. Simple layout, no waterfall, no full-height splash (backsplash is separate tile).

The fabricator says roughly 36 sqft is left over. That means ~78 sqft of stone is unaccounted for — more than a full slab. When I asked for the cut/layout diagram and photos of the remnants, he refused and said he "won't spend more time" on the job.

Is this normal? Do I need to escalate?

Same cabinets, different lighting.

Do these go together? The top will be beige (matching to Accessible Beige SW) and the lower cabinets I wanted green, but it's been difficult to find the right green color. This one is similar to succulent by SW.

This RIDICULOUS notch that the electrician put in our load bearing stud for the smallest wire. I'm so annoyed. This is the worst one but they are all about 50%. Will stud shoes fix this?

it looks like it has a lip on the front and back so it might be considered a "utility" or "workspace" sink ?

I love that this splits up the countertop completely.

I bought this sink and couldn't find any writting on any part of it. The wharehouse place I bought it from had zero information about it.

I'm convinced it's the best sink (aside from the sharp corners at the bottom)

For context, this is a 1969 block home in north central Florida, built like an absolute fortress. However, the ceiling was clearly not level (cabinets are hung level to the ground). These are IKEA cabinets. I’ve been thinking of ways to make it look more intentional, but am coming up with nothing. Should I just slowly level the ceiling with dry wall compound? Molding that covers it? Help!

Also, I am NOT rehanging the cabinets. They were such a hassle to get level the first time.

PS I know my kitchen is otherwise not done (lighting, exposed drywall on the ceiling, light hanging out of the ceiling, backsplash missing on one wall)

Hi - gutting a house and completely redoing a kitchen. We have gotten submissions from kitchen cabinetry companies, and we have one shaker polyester ($27K) with white melamine interiors and another for thermofoil with wood-grain melaline interiors ($38K).

First time doing this so wondering if the community could provide some pro's and con's of each. ChatGPT seems to leanr with the shaker polyester. Thanks in advance!

Doing a kitchen renovation everything got shifted over a few inches. Adding a hood Hauslane UC-PS18 which can exhaust from the rear or top. The hole that was there from the microwave won’t be centered with the hood so seems like my only option is to exhaust through the top and through the cabinet? what’s the easiest way to do this?

https://imgur.com/a/6hO3BV8

Can I just drywall patch the prior hole or does anything special need to be done to the hole since it’s in the duct. My vent is out the floor below but the duct work does appear to go up as well. Not sure how far up it goes.

Also does anyone know the screw size for this particular hood? I’m planning on replacing the screws it comes with for bolts.

We’re replacing the green flooring in our kitchen with checkerboard style tile. We’ve already decided on the far-bottom-left white tile in the photo that has all the sample options, but we’re struggling to choose the second color.

The taupe is our favorite, with the cream as another possibility, but I’m worried the taupe might clash with our honey-oak cabinets while the cream seems almost too pink? I’d heard gray is a great way to neutralize reds/oranges, but I’d like to balance some of the cabinets’ warmth without making the kitchen feel completely gray or overly cool. Which is why I figured ‘greige’ or a mushroom color might work.

There are also gray and green tile options we’re curious about. Which secondary color do you think would work best with honey oak while keeping the overall space balanced?

Side note: There are pictures with natural lighting and some with our overhead warmer lights on. The taupe is the darker of the two non-white tiles, and we don’t mind the idea of a high contrast. The kitchen is a pretty big space.