Mistake #1- Purchasing without research. Falling in love with the first kitchen display you see. (tunnel vision).

Unless you’re a landlord, just looking to fill space in your kitchen, or have major time constraints, blindly deciding to purchase from the first cabinet display you look at, without looking at any other cabinet companies is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. However, being a landlord or just looking to fill space I would never recommend throwing in “just any cabinets” you may run into.

 If someone walks into a cabinet retailer and just picks a cabinet door style from one vendor without doing their research, just to speed up the selling process they may be missing out on a much better quality cabinet manufactured by another cabinet company.

A parent cabinet company can make several cabinet lines with differing options, features and benefits. There are several cabinet lines today which are manufactured by the same parent companies. Most of their cabinet door styles will be identical with a few exclusive items developed for each cabinet line. The qualities and standard options can also differ, so make sure you do your research. I will discuss in detail later in the book, the differing qualities in some of today’s cabinet manufacturers. Take your time when looking at cabinets, don’t rush! You’re going to be using your kitchen quite a bit once it’s remodeled. In my career I’ve discovered that most people who have remodeled their kitchen, end up preparing a lot more at-home meals than prior to their remodel, so take your time and make sure you buy what you like. In closing; remember that not all cabinets are created equal.

 

Mistake #2- Buying (cheap) the least expensive door style/cabinet that you can find.

When many people start shopping for cabinets during their kitchen remodel, they have somewhat of an idea about how much cash they want to spend on cabinets. The door style you pick is the most important choice because it’s the door style that you’re going to be staring at for years, so you’ve got to love it. My advice to you is that during the beginning of the choice process, you pick a door style that you like regardless of cost, for now.  What I usually advise a person is to “dream big” and don’t worry about the cost just quite yet, until you have completed the initial design in a door style which is appealing to your eye. Once, you and your designer have designed what you like then your designer will be able to help you trim costs down in any non-essential areas of the kitchen, if you’re way over budget.

 

 The costs of the entire kitchen remodel can and will quickly escalate beyond the price of just the cabinets. Don’t panic. As I just mentioned; this hurdle of price can be worked through and lowered later with help from your designer. However, you don’t want to put all of this time effort and money into this project, cook three meals a day in your new kitchen for the next 10 to 15 years and say to yourself, “I didn’t get what I wanted.”  If you have a good designer they will design the kitchen of your dreams as you like it, without reservation down to every last detail. And then they will sit with you, giving you the final price of everything; cabinets, appliances, counter top, labor etc. Once this is done if the price is still too high for you, then your designer should continue to work with you by giving you many options to help trim down the price. For instance, one way this can be done is by keeping the same door style but choosing a less expensive wood species (many identical door styles are made in several wood species), removing factory install accessories, removing mouldings and having them purchased at a later date. This will allow you to stay in budget while getting the largest portion of the kitchen done.  There is a trick that some cabinet retailers use to give you the impression that you’re saving 40%-60% if you purchase cabinets from them. I will fully explain this ploy later in the book. So, the bottom line is, “Don’t buy cheap, you’ll later regret it.”

 

Mistake #3- “We want to put in a new kitchen and we don’t want anything too expensive because we’re going to be moving in a few years.”-Buying somebody else’s future kitchen.

 

If I had a nickel for every time I heard this over the years, I could pay off my mortgage. Not really, but I hope you get the picture of what this mistake is trying to say. I don’t know if it’s because people think I’m on commission and I’m going to take advantage of them, or what? If you take this mistake’s type of mentality with your kitchen purchase then you’re in essence, robbing yourself in two ways; #1-You’re already setting the stage to sell yourself short. #2- you are not looking at the possibilities of your future from all angles because you may not be moving in a few years. Life happens all of the time, and sometimes doesn’t work out as planned. This is my advice to every person, past, present and future that plans on moving in a few years, after their kitchen remodel is completed; design and purchase what you like, how you like it, regardless of cost. Here’s why; I always tell people, “That’s great that you plan on moving in a few years, and please don’t lose those plans, but God forbid if you run into any of life’s speed-bumps which would cause you not to be able to move when you want to, for example a job loss, personal injury, or a down turn in the housing market, then at least you’d have a kitchen tailor made for you that you’d enjoy cooking your meals in for the next 10 to 15 years.”

After the economy slowed down a few years ago, and there were FOR SALE signs on every fourth lawn, I’ve had people come in and personally thank me for my advice because now they are stuck in their homes for a little while longer than they originally intended because their house won’t sell quick, or they’re underwater on their mortgage.

 

Mistake #4- Eventually, paying the true cost of not buying what you want.

I call this the future cost. Ideally, once you complete a kitchen remodel you don’t really want to have to come back months or even years down the road and have to change things, or add things to the kitchen which should have been taken care of in the first place.

  I once had a very nice couple I was counselling with during the design phase of their kitchen. The cabinets were decided on and the layout was complete. Everything was decided on in all particular areas, but now they were in a dilemma, with which new countertop material to choose. I discovered that this couple had planned on dying in this house. In other words they never planned on moving into another home, so this was going to be the ultimate kitchen for them, probably for the next 20 years. When they were dead and gone they’d pass the house down to their kids, and they’d be doing the next kitchen remodel.

 In my working with clients I recently invented my own term I use to gauge just how long couples plan on staying in their current home. I’ll often ask people, “Is this your death house?” Sometimes people will stare at me for a few seconds when I ask them this question, and then a few seconds later I can see the light bulb come on, while others I have to explain it to. I’m not a morbid type of guy, but this sounds a whole lot better when I first meet them than asking them, “So, do you plan on dying in this house?”

Anyway, back to the couple I was discussing earlier; in this particular instance the husband wanted to go with laminate, which happens to be the least expensive countertop option, while the wife really had her heart set on going with one of the stone countertops. During the pricing and discussions I must admit that I enjoyed watching the couple fight for their countertop choice. I’ll agree that I’m a sucker for awkward social situations, and I like to see what a person may or may not do, or how they will act once a certain social confrontation or situation is thrust upon them.

As for the husband in this case; well, some men don’t realize that women are nesters. A woman will greatly identify herself with her entire home and its surroundings, while a man could generally care less about what the kitchen looks like as long as his wife is happy. Back to the story; so as this discussion between them developed about which countertop material to finally go with, I could see every aspect of the “provider” in the man coming out, in all of his glory. He naturally wanted to choose the least expensive countertop due to cost reasons, to make sure that he’d still be able to provide well for his family, and stay in budget. While on the other hand I could see every aspect of the “nester” coming out of the woman, in all of her glory. She naturally wanted to choose something that would be strong, durable and nice to look at because she knew that she was going to be in her house an incredibly long time, preparing food, entertaining and cooking three meals a day etc. Their battle, although probably a small internal struggle at this particular point in time in their relationship, reminded me of a Greek mythological war. Was there ever going to be a winner?

As they each made their desires known to each other, I quickly interrupted them. I heard the husband explain to his wife that they could get the laminate top now  which he wanted, and then in four or five years, purchase the stone top which she desired. It was at this time when looking at the woman’s face that I could actually see the countenance in her face change. If I had to guess, I’d say that I’m pretty sure it was contempt. Or, I guess you could say that I actually saw her heart breaking.

I immediately spoke up with some advice, explaining that the true cost to purchase the laminate top, and then replacing it four or five years from now, after the price of the stone top would’ve more than likely increased, would put them more financially behind when all was said and done. I also explained that if they purchased the stone top now, then they’d have that four or five years of enjoyment and use out of it. Just in case you’re wondering who won, ask yourself this; who always wins these kinds of discussions?

 

Mistake #5 – Not looking into your future, and planning ahead for your own future needs.

One of the many jobs of a good kitchen designer is to catch the little details which may not necessarily be caught by the eye of the customer. In fact, the more attention to detail your kitchen designer pays toward your kitchen layout, the better off you’ll be in the long run. The unfortunate thing is that you won’t know if your designer’s attention to detail is poor until you’re actually using your kitchen, and notice that things aren’t flowing too smoothly for you while you’re preparing a meal, or planning a dinner party.

What I recommend to someone remodelling their kitchen is that they “plan ahead,” way ahead. For starters, you need to decide just how long you’ll be living in your home. For instance, do you plan on moving in a few years, like most people I talk to? Or, are you considering the house that you’re living in now, your “death house?”

A good rule of thumb is that a remodelled kitchen will stay in style for about 10-15 years, before society’s view of what’s “in” will start to change. However, there are many kitchens still in use today that are 20, 30, 40 and 50+ years old. My own kitchen, which I will soon be remodelling, happens to be the original kitchen, at 45 years old.

This is what I do when working with any kitchen remodeler who I happen to have in front of me; I first tell them to think just how old they’ll be ten to fifteen years from now. I have them visualize this because their likes, dislikes and even their own mobility will change.

  Just think, are you the same person you were 15 years ago? In other words, what I’m trying to get the customer to see is this; fifteen years from now do they still want to be getting on their hands & knees to dig out the pots & pans, or might they want to incorporate some new rollout trays or some other features now, into the new design. Then I’ll have them walk through their current kitchen layout at home, and write down what they like about their kitchen and what configuration they feel works best for them. I will then incorporate all of that new information into the new design, as well. And then I’ll also have them write down what they dislike about their current kitchen because we want to make sure that we prevent those dislikes, and any other poor design elements from re-emerging into the new design. So in other words, plan ahead, way ahead.