Lessons learned



So I've been learning a lot the painful way through this renovation that I'm doing.
There are so many things I didn't think about, but am too tired to have them redo.

1. It is possible to have a countertop that is flush with the front and sides of the cabinet. A frame would have to be built inside the outer shell of the cabinet. The cabinet maker didn't explain this to me. He just put the plywood over the cabinetry, therefore requiring the countertop installer to create an overhang. This is not in line with the clean modern aesthetic that I want. See drawing.
2. 12x12" marble tiles for flooring are too small a module.
3. 12x24" floor tiles are perfect.
4. You want to have contrast between your floor and your cabinets. Or else it just makes you want to throw up if everything's peachy.
5. Make sure you choose a cabinetmaker you feel comfortable with. Mine intimidated me and made me not want to talk things through with him. I ended up not arguing with some of his points and not being happy with the result.
6. Your cabinets will look like the person who made them. Ours feel big and heavy. Just like our cabinet man.
7. Don't trust your cabinet man. Tell him exactly what you want your cabinet doors to look like. Give him a picture.
8. Custom cabinets are not necessarily better than stock. If I could do it over again, I think I would have just gone with stock cabinets from Home Depot like Thomasville or kitchen cabinets from Ikea. With Caesarstone countertops.
9. Make sure your ceiling fan comes with the right length rod.
10. Do not trust that your contractor will ask you things before doing them. My contractor tiled my shower walls in a killer 45 degree angle herringbone pattern with 3x6" tiles when I told him about the fixture that I wanted to use. He just assumed that I picked out a generic one, but I didn't. He now needs to break the tiles and get the special fixture housing into the wall.
11. Make sure your shower width is at least 3' wide.
12. Think about whether you want a nook built into your shower wall to hold your bath products. Before they tile it.
13. to be continued...

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