15 Kitchen Renovation Mistakes to Avoid [Expert Advice from 20+ Years Experience]

I've seen hundreds of kitchen renovations over two decades in this business. Some go brilliantly—completed on time, on budget, and better than imagined. Others? They turn into expensive nightmares that could have been easily avoided with the right information upfront.

The difference between a successful kitchen renovation and a disaster usually isn't money—it's knowledge. Let me share the mistakes I see repeatedly, so you can avoid them and the expensive lessons that come with them.

This is the big one—the mistake that leads to all the other mistakes. Homeowners get excited, contractors want to start, and everyone jumps in before the design is truly complete.

The work triangle (sink, stove, refrigerator) isn't some outdated design rule—it's based on how humans actually move and work in kitchens. Ignore it, and you'll have a beautiful kitchen that's frustrating to use every single day.

Open shelving looks beautiful in photos. Minimalist kitchens with barely any cabinets look so clean and modern. But where do you put your stuff? Real kitchens need real storage.

I see this constantly: homeowners spend $30,000 on exotic marble countertops but buy bottom-tier cabinets to "save money." You'll look at and touch your cabinet doors 100 times more often than you'll notice your countertops.

Lighting is consistently under-budgeted and under-planned. Then homeowners realize their beautiful new kitchen is dark and shadowy, and adding lights after the fact is expensive and disruptive.

The 48" professional range looks impressive, but do you actually need it? And that giant built-in refrigerator—is it worth $12,000 more than a excellent standard fridge?

Nobody gets excited about range hoods, so they're often an afterthought. But inadequate ventilation means lingering cooking odors, grease buildup, and moisture problems. Plus it's required by code in California.

Your life will change. Kids grow up. Aging happens. Cooking habits evolve. The best kitchens adapt gracefully; the worst become obsolete.

"It'll take 6-8 weeks" usually means 10-14 weeks. Things go wrong. Materials arrive late. Hidden problems emerge. If you're planning around a timeline (holidays, events), add serious buffer.

You can buy the most expensive cabinets in the world, but if they're installed poorly—crooked, gaps showing, doors not aligned—your kitchen looks cheap. Installation quality matters as much as product quality.

Most kitchen renovation disasters aren't caused by bad luck—they're caused by preventable mistakes. The homeowners who have the best outcomes are the ones who: