Regrets About My Kitchen Renovation

I mentioned in my Instagram stories the other day that there were a couple of things I regret about my kitchen renovation 8 years ago. A few people asked for me to share my reflections on the experience, so they don’t make the same mistakes. It’s all super minor things, but I’ve collected my thoughts here in case it is helpful for anyone considering a kitchen remodel.

We bought our house back in 2012. When we had started looking at homes the year prior, real estate was pretty reasonably priced in the Bay Area compared to how things are nowadays. Prices started to rise during that year of house hunting, so by the time we managed to nail something down, it was nowhere near perfect and we didn’t have much budget left for renovations. The one thing we knew we HAD to change was the kitchen, which we hated. The footprint of the kitchen was so tiny that there was basically nowhere to stand in it when the oven was open; it certainly couldn’t have fit more than one person actively cooking at once. (“If we didn’t renovate that kitchen, we’d be divorced by now,” we still joke.) We ended up hiring a contractor to knock down the wall that divided the kitchen and dining room, and gut the entire thing.

Things I regret:

Not getting electrical outlets installed in the kitchen island. The extra electrical work would have required our contractor to apply for more permits with the city, so we passed on this idea and had our small kitchen island placed on caster wheels instead. Since I use the island as my main work surface for all my prep, it would have been nice to also be able to use small appliances on it.
Choosing an overmount sink verses mounting it under the countertop. We opted for a drop-in sink (like this) that has a thin metal lip extending over the countertop to hold it in place. Crumbs sure have a way of getting wedged under this lip when we are trying to wipe down the countertops; very annoying!
Not getting an ice maker installed in our freezer. Would have been convenient for all those iced home cafe drinks I made this past year!
Inspecting things more carefully each day while the work was in progress. For the most part, we really liked our contractor. He was friendly, communicated well, and made some great suggestions along the way. But there are little missed details (weirdly aligned cabinet legs, crooked light fixture) that we didn’t notice until after the project was over.

Here are some before, during, and after photos, in case you’re curious!