Livingetc Editors' 6 Biggest Kitchen Renovation Regrets — So You'll Never Need to Know Our Pain

You know what they say: "it's the heart of the home", "the gathering space", "the workhorse"... so it's logical that you should want your kitchen to always be at its very best. Creaky cabinets, scuffed surfaces, dripping faucets — if this sounds familiar, you may be considering a kitchen renovation. But before you do, the Livingetc team has shared its biggest kitchen renovation regrets, so you can learn from our mistakes. (And we highly recommend that you do.)

So, before you start remodelling your kitchen, take a read of our biggest regrets below, and the lessons we had to learn the hard way, so you don't have to.

Whether you just want to give your space a quick refresh, or you're looking for modern kitchen ideas for a complete overhaul, the process can quickly become incredibly overwhelming. With so many conflicting opinions and contrasting ideas being thrown about, it's easy to get confused and distracted from the task at hand. And oh, the decisions. There are so many decisions to make.

Regret #1: Picking Sensitive Surfaces

Now, we're not going to pretend we're above occasionally falling victim to prioritizing style over sense. But this can spell disaster in the kitchen. Take it from Livingetc's content director Lucy Searle.

“I've renovated nine kitchens of my own — and countless friends' — and the biggest regret I've had has been choosing cabinetry that can't be easily repaired if it gets scratched or knocked, which wasn't a problem pre-kids, but most definitely became one afterwards,” she says.

Children, pets and the daily wear of day-to-day life will quickly have you regretting your gorgeous, ultra-sensitive surfaces. Materials like marble, though frequently used in showrooms and magazines, can turn the stress-relieving pastime of cooking into a high-stakes game — one wrong move and it could be forever ruined. But it’s not just your kitchen countertop materials that you should be thinking about; your cabinetry and flooring choices should be treated with equal importance.

The Lesson

Do your research! Only commit to surfaces that you know are made to last, like the most durable kitchen flooring, or wooden kitchen cabinets.

“An interior designer — London-based Irene Gunter — once told me that wooden kitchens were a great buy for longevity because they are easy to retouch, but I've finally, nine kitchens in, settled on painted wood," says Lucy. "Every two years, I repaint mine a slightly different color, which means that I get a brand new kitchen each time.”

Regret #2: Not Planning Drawer Depths Properly

Once again, focusing on appearance opposed to utility was our interiors editor, Emma Breislin's, biggest downfall. “As someone who works in interiors, it should come as no surprise that I spent a lot of time planning what my kitchen would look like. The problem? I didn’t spend enough time planning how it would function,” she says.

“When it came to my drawers, I was so adamant about them looking symmetrical and lining up, that I completely overlooked what was actually going to go in them, and therefore, what depth they’d need to be."

"So now, I’m squeezing Tupperware into skinny drawers designed to hold cutlery. I’ve got plates stacked across two separate drawers, and my pots and pans, well… they’ve just had to go somewhere else all together," she continues. "It looks clean and tidy from the outside, but in reality, the inside of my drawers is a mess. Looking back, I really wished I’d thought about what I wanted to put in the drawers, and designed their depth and size accordingly."

The Lesson

Take inventory of your belongings when designing your kitchen storage ideas. Figure out what are the big and bulky pieces you'll need to make space for, and how best to store them — like kitchen pan organizers, or how to hide an air fryer in your kitchen.

Regret #3: Committing to the Wrong Cabinet Color

Picking a kitchen cabinet color that will never go out of style is not as easy as it sounds, and Livingetc's managing editor Debbie Black learned that the hard way.

“We renovated our kitchen six years ago and decided to go for kitchen cabinets in a very pale gray. If I was picking a kitchen now, I would definitely not go for the color again (nor the finish — gloss)!” she shares.

“Our kitchen was incredibly dark before, so we wanted a light color to help reflect as much light around the space as possible, plus, we were obsessed with gray at the time, and we also didn’t want to go with all white in case it made our kitchen look too stark and clinical (we also have white quartz countertops with gray marble veining). However, it turned out looking rather insipid once it was all installed, and too late to change it!”

Learning how to choose kitchen cabinet colors can be intimidating, but as Debbie discovered, “White would have looked better after all — though, I’m far more into color these days and would re-think the whole thing entirely now. We have since changed the island to a matte teal to contrast the gray and incorporated teal ceramic wall tiles above the countertops, which makes it look better but, ultimately, if I could change the kitchen cabinets, I would! Maybe one day…”

The Lesson

Don't be afraid of going for the bolder choice and looking to current kitchen cabinet color trends for inspiration. What you think of as a safe option, may actually end up being dull or 'too safe', and while a kitchen should be practical, it should never be bland!

Regret #4: Created Inconveniences

Maximizing storage possibilities is, for many of us, one of the major goals when designing a kitchen. However, this plight can lead to some ill-informed decisions, as Livingetc's UK editor, Hugh Metcalf, discovered

“I’m firmly in the ‘no wall hung units’ camp when it comes to kitchen cabinetry, but in my own small kitchen, I needed to use the wall space for storage to some degree,” he explains. “Full size floor-to-ceiling cabinets would have made the space feel smaller, so I decided on a ‘half size’ upper cabinet that sits directly on top of the countertop and extends up to the ceiling. 'The best of both worlds', I thought, however, in using a standard cabinet door, I’ve created a problem. If you want to open the door, you need to clear the countertop in front of it, meaning moving stacks of dishes around every five minutes when the kitchen is in use, especially when unloading the dishwasher.”

These kinds of issues, despite not presenting an obvious visual problem, can interfere with the way you use your space. Constant inconveniences can lead to larger frustrations, something we all want to avoid when designing our own kitchen.

The Lesson

"In hindsight, a bifolding or pocket door would have solved a lot of problems here," says Hugh, "allowing you to keep the cabinet open when you need it, without a full door swinging out into the kitchen."

Pocket doors can be a handy, space-saving addition to any kitchen tight on space. While they may cost a bit extra, you can't put a price on an easier life.

Regret #5: Not getting involved in the process

For Lindsey Davis, our e-commerce content director, the biggest regret was “not getting clarification of any follow-on trade work from my kitchen designer.”

A full kitchen renovation is made up of lots of moving parts, many of which require a specialist's help to complete. This can often leave you feeling detached from the process, leaving you open to misunderstandings and confusion.

“I used a company who did the full rip out, design and kitchen fit, and they connected me with trades like the flooring company, electrician and provided their own plumbers. They also sent a plasterer to do the remedial work after the rip out, but did not provide any boxing in work or carpentry required for the project to be completed,” explains Lindsey. “I had to connect the dots to fill in which was fine, but rushed as I had to work around the other bits being done by my fitters. In future, I would ask for a full schedule of works and help identifying what I would need to arrange myself.”

The Lesson

Don't be scared to ask questions. Communication is key when it comes to kitchen renovations, and you should never be afraid of requesting additional information when it comes to what's going on in your home. You're spending a lot of money, so you want to make sure you get exactly what you need.

Regret #6: Neglecting lighting

With so many big decisions to make, it can be easy to overlook the subtle design features that can completely transform the appearance of your kitchen. For Lindsey, another regret was her kitchen lighting ideas — or lack thereof.

“I knew I didn't want under-cabinet lighting, but had not factored in how dark my kitchen can get with the existing two directional lights on the ceiling,” Lindsey says. “I should have integrated some form of task lighting for the darker parts of the space when planning my kitchen lighting design.

The Lesson

In the end, I added some magnetic rechargeable lights (like these from Amazon) inside the cabinets to help me out. They are a great retrofit option with long battery life and are pretty unobtrusive so it worked out fine, but a well-planned lighting scheme is really important.”

When it comes to remodelling your kitchen, it can be an overwhelming experience, and the reality is that it's likely you'll make some decisions you may live to regret. Hopefully, you can learn from our mistakes, but if you're still stressing, take a read of these kitchen remodel regrets an interior designer shared with us, for more advice.