Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of 7 Deadly Decorating Sins. Today once again we’re going to look at some of the absolute worst mistakes you can possibly make in your home, this time in the kitchen. The ideal kitchen looks beautiful but also functions the way you need it to, but marrying these two very important aspects of design is not always easy and mistakes are made all the time. So today I want to talk about seven of the most common kitchen design mistakes. At the end I’ll also share my own kitchen design mistake that still haunts me to this day and that I still haven’t fixed. But it doesn’t matter how pretty your kitchen is if you leave it dirty. So thank you to today’s sponsor Roborock. They kindly sent me their robot vacuum the Roborock 7 Plus to try out and I want to take 60 seconds to show you how awesome it is. If you’ve been around my channel for a while then you may remember that I’ve talked about how much I rely on a robot vac to help me with cleaning. The S7 Plus just made my life even easier. First of all because of its automatic emptying feature which honestly is life-changing because I only have to empty the bin every eight weeks now as opposed to after every time it cleans. And that’s not even the best part it also has mopping capabilities. I don’t know about you but mopping was one of my least favorite chores so being able to have a machine do it for me while I do something else is amazing.
The S7 Plus is also equipped with ultrasonic carpet recognition so the mopping pad basically will automatically lift up when it detects rugs or carpet. The S7 Plus comes in two different colors and of course works with Google and Alexa. The S7 Plus is available now so if you also want to make your life easier go check it out by clicking on the link below and thank me later. Okay back to our kitchen design mistakes. Number one the dreaded sticking out fridge. This is one of the most common design blunders that I see and it’s a major major kitchen design error. The sticking out fridge. Essentially what this is is an oversight in the planning, building or buying process that leaves the fridge protruding into the kitchen much more than it should be. Unless you’re doing a fully integrated fridge in which case you wouldn’t have this problem in the first place. Most free standing fridges will need to extend out a teeny bit beyond the cabinets and counters in order for the doors to have opening clearance. But if it’s anything more than a couple of inches like if you can see the sides of your fridge it’s too much. It makes it look like your fridge doesn’t fit and it’s aesthetically not the best. There’s nobody anywhere that should intentionally want their fridge to look like this. Typically you’ll see this happen when a standard depth fridge is placed in a kitchen that actually needed a counter depth fridge. Unfortunately a lot of people only realize that their fridge sticks out too much after they’ve already bought it and put it in its place and it’s too late. So what’s the fix? Well none of them are particularly cheap or easy unfortunately. The best thing obviously would be is if you can to return your fridge and get a counter depth fridge instead which are about 24 to 27 inches deep. Counter depth fridges are typically a little bit more expensive than standard depth fridges for some reason so it’s just something to keep in mind.
The other option might be to do some custom work around your existing fridge to make it look more integrated. This might mean adding lateral cover panels to hide the side of your fridge, bringing the top cabinets forward or maybe even adjusting your drywall or recessing the wall behind the fridge in order to push it back. It’s a lot of work or you can do what many people choose to do which is simply just live with it. If you’re in the process of planning a kitchen right now and you’re not doing an integrated fridge make sure everyone including you is aware and on board with the depth and the width of your future fridge to ensure that it fits seamlessly into your new kitchen. Number two low cabinetry. If you’re designing or renovating your kitchen putting cabinets below waist level is a big mistake besides the one under your sink obviously. Whenever possible you should go with drawers instead. Although I do have mixed feelings on low corner drawers. When they’re closed they’re fine but they look a little crazy when you pull them out and you lose the ability to store bigger things whereas with a lazy susan you have more flexibility. It really depends on what you need to store. In general low cabinets are super impractical making it difficult to access your things. With drawers you can access all of your things by easily pulling them out. When you have cabinets you’re gonna need to crouch down and rummage around in the dark and it’s super annoying and for people with mobility issues that space actually becomes completely inaccessible. With cabinets below the waist the first 12 inches are okay but anything beyond those first 12 inches does become a hassle to reach. Back there it’s really just not useful storage. Most base cabinets are 24 to 30 inches deep so that means you’re losing up to 18 inches of useful storage space per cabinet. That really adds up because don’t forget there are gonna be other areas of your kitchen that are not easily accessible as well like storage that’s really high up. So what can you do if you have low cabinets and you’re stuck with them? Well they can be used for things like smaller kitchen appliances that you don’t reach for that often or you can use it like a mini pantry and store extra food like cans and extra boxes of cereal and pasta. You can also create a makeshift drawer and put your things in bins and then pull those out. It’s a bit annoying but it’s a workaround. If you’ve got a low corner cabinet you can install a lazy susan. Unfortunately many people are still putting lower cabinets in their kitchens. Sometimes it’s to save money because drawers do cost more than cabinets but if you’re trying to cut costs in your kitchen project this is one place where I would not recommend it. I think it’s a mistake to save a bit of money in the short term because then you’re stuck with the everyday aggravation of not having fully usable storage space in your kitchen. Number three trendy and bold colored cabinetry.
It’s hard not to get sucked into trends especially if you spend a lot of time on Pinterest or Instagram and I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use trendy colors in your kitchen at all but you should be strategic about it. Your kitchen is an expensive room to renovate, probably the most expensive and honestly most people don’t do many kitchen renos in their lifetime so you want to be careful about making choices that may look dated in a few years. If you’re one of those people that renovates their kitchen every few years then it’s fine you can probably take the risk because it probably won’t be an issue for you but I’ve seen many a lacquered red kitchen get torn out because well how many people want to live with a red kitchen long term unless red is your favorite color. So that’s the exception here if a bold or trendy color is your absolute favorite color and you know for a fact that you will never ever get sick of it then go for it. Otherwise if you’re gonna use a trendy color try bringing it in through your accessories instead like your smaller appliances, dishware, tea towels, things like that. This way if you get sick of it or if it goes out of style you won’t be crying over a huge renovation bill a couple of years down the line. Number four, gap above the cabinets. A gap between the upper kitchen cabinets and a standard height ceiling usually looks a little bit dated and in some cases unfinished and when the gap is really big especially in new builds it looks like someone cheaped out and opted not to put upper cabinets in to save money. Builders actually do this a lot when they’re building new developments to sell on which is understandable. New cabinets are not cheap. I know we talked about avoiding installing hard-to-access storage before when we were talking about lower cabinets and now I’m saying that you should spend money to put in what is essentially hard-to-access storage. The irony is not lost on me but I think that the aesthetics of a kitchen are nearly as important as a functional kitchen and closing that gap above your upper cabinets will really make it look more polished, more high-end and visually just a lot more appealing. Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. I have seen several beautiful kitchens which do not have cabinetry that goes to the ceiling and there are cases where it makes sense not to go to the ceiling with your cabinets. For example if you’re lucky enough to have beams in your kitchen then those would obviously prevent you from going to the ceiling or if you have like a really high sloped or vaulted kitchen ceiling then something like this can look perfectly fine. Moral of the story usually extending to the ceiling will be an improvement but it really should be evaluated on a case-by- case basis because it depends on the space. So if you have a gap above your kitchen cabinets and you want to fill it what can you do? Obviously if you have the physical space and the budget you can consider adding stacked cabinets above your uppers to close that gap or two if you’re just doing it for looks you could actually add false cabinet fronts which isn’t a bad idea since that space isn’t really accessible anyways or three you could have a bulkhead built if it’s a small gap of just a few inches you could close it with a piece of filler and then maybe add a bit of crown molding. Number five inadequate lighting lighting is crucial in the kitchen you want to make sure your space is well lit so you can see what you’re doing and too often I see older kitchens with just one overhead light with the only other light maybe being the one like in the stove above the stovetop. This is not adequate lighting for a kitchen. Your kitchen should have a combination of ambient lighting, task lighting and maybe even some accent lighting if you’re feeling fancy. If you perform a variety of tasks on your island as well then make sure you have recessed lighting layered in in addition to your pendants otherwise you may find yourself a bit short on light. You should also have a task light over your sink and then there’s decorative accent lighting which you could add to accentuate certain architectural features or to bring in a bit of extra warmth and interest to the space. This could be something like little puck lights in your glass front cabinets to show off a beautiful China collection or a gallery light hanging above an art piece or toe kick lighting. If you’ve got an old-fashioned kitchen with really bad lighting give an electrician a call it shouldn’t cost you anything to just talk to someone to get a quote. Number six blindly following the kitchen work triangle.
The kitchen work triangle also known as the golden triangle essentially dictates how your major appliances should be laid out in order to create an efficient workflow in the kitchen space. The three points of the triangle are your fridge, your sink and your stovetop and ideally the distance between each of these three appliances should be no more than nine feet and no less than four feet. The problem with this concept is that it was devised a long time ago in the 1940s so at a time when kitchens were much smaller and used in a very different way from how they’re used today. Kitchens were often segregated rooms whereas today many houses have kitchens which open up onto the rest of the home. Also the original kitchen triangle was based on the assumption that there would only be one person using the space normally the dutiful 1950s housewife which is not usually the case nowadays. So while the kitchen work triangle can still be a good guideline especially for smaller simpler kitchens don’t feel like you have to strictly adhere to it. The moment you’re working with a larger space or introducing something like a butler’s pantry or an island with a second sink or you’re placing your refrigerator in an adjacent room many people actually do do this. The whole dynamic changes and this holy kitchen Trinity no longer works. No matter what principle you choose to follow just make sure your layout is functional for the way you and your family use your kitchen. Number seven my kitchen design mistake. It’s important to realize that we all make mistakes so I want to share my own kitchen design mistake with you. Back when we panic bought our house because we were homeless there were insanely long wait times on all appliances so basically we rushed to order everything as quickly as possible before we moved in. One of the items that I wish we had ordered after we moved in is the range hood. Even though we checked the measurements because we hadn’t moved in yet we didn’t actually get a chance to check the measurements on site to make sure that we were happy with how the range hood would look before ordering. I don’t know what we were thinking because we weren’t even crazy about the design but for some reason we got caught up in ordering all these appliances and the pressure to order because of all the shipping delays so we just picked it. And now after some time has passed I know that we could have easily just waited until we were all moved in to buy the range hood and make sure that we got something that we liked. Long story short the second it arrived and we looked at it we knew it was way too big but we couldn’t return it so we were like oh let’s just see if we can make it work. So two mistakes here. Number one not triple checking measurements when you’re buying appliances which really ties back to the first point that I had about big fridges. It can turn out to be a really annoying and expensive mistake. And two being hasty and caving into pressure when you’re buying appliances. My mom is buying appliances right now for her kitchen reno and the amount of times I’ve heard the sales people say oh you have to buy the package right now because our sale is on only for another 12 seconds it’s like don’t worry all the stores are competing against each other they will give you a deal don’t worry don’t rush it pick what you like check your measurements and you’ll be happy you took your time. I really hope some of you can learn from my mistake or from some of the other things we talked about today and if you enjoyed the tips in this video then be sure to go watch my other design sin videos as well.
Thanks again to Roborock for sponsoring this video make sure you go and check them out and thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next one. Bye!