Top Kitchen Remodel Pitfalls to Avoid
- dwight253
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Remodeling a kitchen is a costly, stressful project that becomes even more of a hassle if you make the wrong choices along the way. This article covers a few common pitfalls we see our Stone & Cabinet Outlet customers run into, and some alternatives that can help you end up with a kitchen that is useful and looks fantastic.
Chasing Trends Over Practicality
We can't tell you how many customers come in wanting a design and quote for a kitchen like the one they saw in the latest issue of Better Home & Garden. They ask for two different colors for the upper and lower cabinets, open shelving, cabinets stacked all the way to the ceiling, and exotic ornamental granite countertops or jumbo slabs of designer quartz without considering their budget or whether the layout they want makes sense or is useful.
Home design trends are fleeting. While the "cool kids" may be making kitchens with Forest Green cabinets, open shelves, and farm sinks now, that doesn't mean they'll still be doing the same thing in a few years.
Also, many designs you see online or in popular home improvement publications are from high-end custom home builds. The homeowner likely has "f-you money," and they can make it rain by hiring an expensive interior designer and a high-end contractor, and buying custom, handmade hardwood cabinetry and natural stone counters that cost more than a luxury sedan.
Stone & Cabinet Outlet offers high-end design services and sells high-end custom frameless cabinetry, semi-custom hardwood ready-to-assemble cabinetry, and we can source expensive stone counters that are perfect for high-end home design. However, most people who stop by our showroom are operating on a budget more in line with building a kitchen that utilizes high-quality materials at a more affordable price.
When a value-oriented customer gets hooked on building the dream kitchen they found on Pinterest, it almost always means downgrading the quality of the materials they buy to achieve the same level of visual appeal. Instead of buying premium hardwood ready-to-assemble cabinets with plywood boxes from Stone & Cabinet Outlet, they go to a big-box retailer or a budget cabinet shop and buy black shaker cabinets with particleboard boxes.
You won't care how nice your kitchen looks when your plumbing blows up, soaks your particleboard cabinets, and makes them worthless.
Another issue with chasing kitchen design fads is that it may leave you with a kitchen that looks fantastic but isn't functional.
For example, we have lots of customers bringing in designs they made themselves or got from other shops, with open shelves next to a stove. Not only will your dishes and cups be exposed to dust, but you'll also spend a lot of time cleaning off the grease spattered on them by your stove.
Instead, focus on getting yourself a kitchen that's within your budget, looks nice, and has a functional layout that makes sense. The best way to do that is to work with professional kitchen designers at shops like Stone & Cabinet Outlet to help you choose materials, design your kitchen, and get a quote for your layout.
Our designers are very experienced at planning beautiful, functional kitchens to match your budget, and our estimates and designs are 100% free of charge. You'll get an affordable kitchen you can actually use that still gives off serious high-end vibes.
Making Weird, Self-Centered Design Choices
We regularly encounter customers who make kitchen design choices that don't fit standard practices or that match their own odd, hyper-specific preferences.
For example, we've had customers with new builds who have done things like set the bottom of their windowsills below standard countertop height. The labor costs add up quickly because we may need to cut down the height of their cabinets to make them fit, or quote them for a larger slab of stone to make inset countertops that cover the windowsill. A quick search on ChatGPT or a call to our showroom could have told them the standard cabinet, countertop, and windowsill heights, and saved them a lot of money and time.
In terms of odd design requests, we've had everything from customers who paint their walls or trim garish colors that don't match their cabinets or stone, to people who ask us to build their 30" upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling, because they can't handle having any gaps above the cabinets.
At the end of the day, Stone & Cabinet Outlet is a service business, and we'll do our best to adjust the installation of our cabinets and stone to match your needs. However, we will also tell you when we think your design request will cause issues or lower your home's value, and we won't do anything that puts our crews in a position where they'd be liable for safety issues or other serious problems related to bad design or not meeting building codes.
Other shops or contractors may flat-out turn down your work or quote you ridiculous prices to get you to go away.
A better way to think about remodeling your kitchen is that you're improving a long-term investment that will eventually be sold to or inherited by someone else. That person, whether it's a random buyer or your own children, may not like your bright red wall paint, your peeling laminate countertops, or having to climb on step ladders every time they need a milk glass.
Focus on kitchen design choices that add value to your home and will appeal to the next owner. Ask yourself, "Would most people who'd consider buying my home find this kitchen appealing?' If the answer is "no" or "I'm not sure," talk with experienced kitchen designers and contractors like our team at Stone & Cabinet Outlet.
Any respectable home supply retailer should be keeping up with current design trends and have comprehensive knowledge of building codes. They can plan a kitchen for you that looks nice without breaking the bank or the sanity of your contractor and the next homeowner.
Hiring a Bad Contractor
Hiring a bad contractor can quickly turn remodeling your kitchen into a face-melting nightmare. A beautiful kitchen design and premium-quality materials won't survive shoddy workmanship, and you don't deserve to spend your hard-earned dollars micromanaging a flaky fraudster who doesn't show up or finish their work.
When it comes to contractors, you get what you pay for. Don't gamble on the quality of your kitchen by cheaping out on labor. Look for contractors who do high-quality work and fit your budget.
A good way to start is by asking friends or family who've recently completed a kitchen remodel to recommend their contractor. People who love you are less likely to recommend a jerk to handle your work. If you're jealous of your bestie's breathtaking new kitchen, ask them for their contractor's contact information. And good contractors often flock together - even if they are out of your price range or are too busy to take your job, they can likely recommend another top-shelf contractor they know for you to consider.
When you find a contractor you like, do your due diligence and check their work history for red flags. The best place to start is looking up your contractor on your state's contractor licensing board website.
Here are those sites for Stone & Cabinet Outlet's service area in Washington and Oregon:
Oregon CCB License Search - https://search.ccb.state.or.us/search/
Washington Contractor License Number Search: https://secure.lni.wa.gov/verify/
These sites usually let you look up a contractor by name, business name, or license number. When you find your contractor, check their license history and look for complaints against their licenses by businesses and homeowners. A contractor with lots of complaints, especially "unresolved complaints," is a big sign you should walk away. Make sure you click on the complaints and read the full details.
Some contractors may also have more than one license on their record in the system. Make sure to check all of their previous licenses as well. Sometimes, getting a new license can be like declaring bankruptcy for a contractor. They're hoping their customers will only look up their shiny new, complaint-free license and skip over their three previous ones that read like a true-crime construction novel.
In addition, you can also look up your contractor on the Better Business Bureau website, or search for reviews of their work on Google, or platforms like Angi or Yelp.
Or, if you need a contractor to install your cabinets or stone countertops, skip the search and book installation with our professional in-house crews at Stone & Cabinet Outlet. Our installers have decades of experience and know our products inside out. They're basically Jedi Masters at putting together kitchens.
The TLDR
For a successful kitchen remodel, work with experienced designers and installers like Stone & Cabinet to get a kitchen that looks good, is useful, and adds lasting value to your home. Put your ego aside and do your homework about everything from functional kitchen design to finding the right contractor.
If you're interested in working with Stone & Cabinet Outlet, give us a call at 503-285-5606, or stop by our showroom at 14130 NE Airport Way in Portland, OR, to get started on your kitchen remodel journey.
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