Cabinets: The Perennial Regret

Cabinets. I thought I was clever picking finishes, but regret set in fast. Trendy swaps, “bold” colors, all that—just made the kitchen feel cluttered or wasted space. Nobody gives you the real numbers before you start tearing stuff out, and by the time you realize, it’s too late.

Open Shelving vs. Closed Cabinets

Open shelves seemed easy, until I was dusting jars twice a week—total nightmare if you own anything besides matching dishes. Designer Alecia says most homeowners end up missing their upper cabinets after open shelving turns into a mess (Google it, it’s everywhere). No doors means everything’s on display: crumbs, fingerprints, ugly mugs, all of it. I spent more on “display-worthy” plates than on the shelves themselves.

Closed cabinets might seem boring, but when you’re trying to stash a blender and a pile of lunchboxes, they win. Floating shelves are supposed to make the place feel “airy,” but my neighbors just end up hiding snacks in the laundry room. Nobody warned me that losing cabinets tanks your resale value—appraisers literally count storage space. And if you put open shelves over a sink? Enjoy steamy splatter on everything. No one ever mentions that, but it’s a thing.

Storage Solutions You’ll Wish You Had Considered

I still can’t believe I skipped deep drawers for pots. My fault, but still. Pull-out trays, vertical dividers, hidden pantry racks—these things double your storage, but you only realize it after you’ve blown your budget. I put in a ceiling-high cabinet and now need a step stool for cereal. Worth it? Only if you’re tall or hate breakfast.

Most regrets come from not having adjustable shelves or underestimating how much junk you have—plastic wrap, baking pans, dog food, you name it. Katrina (the designer) says only rookies settle for fixed shelves when modular ones exist. I tried to save money, but now I’d pay for rollout trays and soft-close hinges just to avoid the eternal “where does this go?” argument. If you want to store an air fryer with dignity, forget blind corners. Drawer organizers are now my favorite wedding gift, which is ridiculous, but here we are.

Splashy Decisions with Backsplash

Backsplashes. Don’t even get me started. One bad choice and suddenly the kitchen’s vibe is ruined. I’ve watched people go from thrilled to “why did I do this?” in record time, all because they picked something that looked cool for five minutes but turned out to be a nightmare to clean or just…way too much. I mean, my own subway tile story is a warning, but that’s a rant for another day.

Timeless or Trendy?

So, picture me at the tile store, half-hypnotized by those shiny, geometric tiles all over Pinterest—yeah, the ones everyone called “on trend” like, five minutes ago? I nearly caved. But honestly, there’s only so much pattern a person can stare at before it’s just visual static and you’re exhausted before your leftovers even cool down. I read somewhere (maybe the National Kitchen and Bath Association?) that most designers—like, 60%—beg you to stick with boring neutrals if you want to actually like your kitchen in five years. I mean, dramatic tiles look fun in photos, but every realtor I know says wild colors just tank your resale. My cousin’s teal backsplash? She painted over it after five months because it gave her a headache. That’s not even an exaggeration.

And grout color? Don’t get me started. I thought, “Let’s make it fun!” Now every red sauce splatter is a permanent memory. White grout plus busy tile equals a cleaning nightmare. I should’ve just bought bigger, simpler tiles and called it a day. Remodelers—real ones, not the HGTV types—practically beg people not to chase every trend. I should’ve listened, but whatever.

When Tile Choices Backfire

People always say, “Just change it if you hate it later!” Like it’s that easy. Ripping out tile is an expensive, dusty, wall-destroying mess. I’ve watched friends spend double just to undo a herringbone pattern they loved for about five minutes. Houzz is full of regret threads: matte tiles show stains, glossy ones show fingerprints, and nobody mentions that in the catalogs.

And then you get grout haze that never really leaves, corners that trap oil, edges that snag towels—why is nobody honest about this stuff? The backsplash is right in your face every morning. If a contractor shrugs and says, “It’s no big deal,” ask when they last had to move cabinets because the tile boxed them in. I’ve seen eco mosaics warp near the stove. Is that normal? The salesperson insisted it was fine. Sure.