IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL AGAIN...I WOULD...

Hey all.  Been forever I know.  Sadly I don't really blog anymore.  For one there's not much going on on the home front...at least not in the home decor/design area anyway.  I have been working on a little "tiny home" for the sis...a small camper home...or small glamper should I say. I started working on it this past fall right up into the winter but it got too cold to get the rest of it done.  I only have just a few little things left to do though so I hope to be able to share that with you soon.

This post on the other hand is about the kitchen...kind of a short product review post really. I just wanted to share with you all the ins and outs and likes and dislikes of my product choices from our remodel last year.  Pay attention because this might help you in the event you are planning a kitchen remodel of your own.

Let me start by saying that I love my kitchen.  It's beautiful and so easy to work in now...which was the total reason for remodeling in the first place, so I can't complain there!!!!

However, I made a few product choices that I am not too thrilled with...One being the kitchen sink, another being the kitchen faucet, and the open shelving unit...with that said it's not that those items are bad or poor quality, but it is to say that if I had to do it all again, I would not choose them and here's why...

THE KITCHEN SINK---I chose a deep bowl double sided under mount stainless steel sink with stainless steel bottom grates.  With that said, It's beautiful and definitely DEEP, which brings me to the reason I would not get this type of sink again.  It's just too deep. I thought I would love that feature (and for the most part I do) but as it turns out, it's hard on my back, neck and arms reaching over the counter and down...WAY DOWN...into the sink when doing dishes and such.  My biggest peave about this sink though is that it's a BEAR to clean....taking out the grates, washing the sides and bottom and then trying to dry it all out so there are no water spots and putting the grates back in....yeah, a lot of days all that don't get done...Just sayin'...but I like a clean sink so that part is super frustrating to me.  I do however love that one side of the sink has a big, deep basket strainer to catch all those bits of food and such so they don't go down the drain.

If I had it to do again, I would probably go for an apron front farmhouse type sink.  Double bowl of course. That was my original plan for this kitchen but I had to get everything from Home Depot and they did not have one that would work at the time so this was the next best thing.

THE KITCHEN FAUCET---This is a love hate item.  I love the look of the faucet but not the functionality.  This is an item I ordered from Home Depot online and had delivered sight unseen.  I assumed that because it looked as if it had a pull out sprayer hose that it did.  However, it does not (which is probably why I hate trying to clean the sink out so much...the faucet head does not reach to where the dirt is)...See my unclean sink is all the faucets fault!!! LOL.  No really, the head does come out of the bracket but it cannot be pulled down into the sink.  It's NOT flexible which I absolutely hate.  If I would have known that it only looked like it had a " pull down sprayer hose" but didn't, I would never have purchased this!!!!!

If I had to do this one over again I would have checked the product out better to make absolutely sure it had a pull out sprayer hose because you really NEED one when you have a deep bowl sink!!!

THE OPEN SHELVES---Okay, it's all the rage nowadays to have open shelves in the kitchen and I must say that I do love the look....and, I do want open shelves in my kitchen...just not these open shelves.  Why?  Again I ordered these online, sight unseen and they were...cough, cough...VERY EXPENSIVE.  I picked them because again I liked the look. I wanted the rustic, industrial look with the iron pipe brackets and gorgeous wood planks...however, the functionality of these stink. Being a first time open shelf picker outer I didn't realize that I would only be getting use of about half of each shelf because of the style and placement of the bracket.  I am losing about 10 inches of surface area on each shelf..  This wall is only 27 inches wide so I am only getting about 16-17 inches of usable space on each shelf.  Also, these stick out away from the wall about 4-5 inches which means I can't prop anything (like a sign or plate, etc.) against the wall.  Over all these particular shelves are a total waste of space in my small kitchen...and a total waste of money!!!!

If I had to do it again, with everything I know now about opening shelving, I would have made my own.  I would have made something that functioned better and would've spent a LOT less money in the process.

Now I had not mentioned the Hampton Bay White Shaker Style cabinets to this point but, I also have a love hate relationship with them.  I do love how they look and for the most part I love how they work, but since I opted for more drawer storage instead of regular door front cabinets I feel that I have actually lost a lot of much needed space with these Hampton Bay brand cabinets. Here's why.

The drawers though they look deep, are pretty shallow and the drawers boxes themselves are smaller...WAY SMALLER...than the cabinet base.  We are losing tons of much needed space with these...at least 8-12 cubit inches per drawer.

However I will point out that not all drawer cabinets are like mine.  There are plenty of drawer cabinet brands out there where the drawer box is actually as big as the drawer front and base of the cabinet itself. Ikea for one sells drawer base cabinets like that, and several other cabinet makers have them as well.  So, if I had to do it again, I would definitely check out the dimensions of the drawers better before ordering.

Now with all that said, none of this was to complain.  Mainly it was to help YOU in making better decisions when and if you should ever decide to remodel your kitchen.  I can say without a doubt that I still absolutely love my kitchen and am so grateful for such a nice space to cook in. This post was just to say that I would make better or...DIFFERENT...choices on some things if I had to do it all over again. It's kind of a "you live and you learn" type thing as you truly do not know how something is going to function until you have had the opportunity to use it and I want to steer you clear of making some of my same mistakes.

One thing I do not regret is my decision to splurge on quartz countertops.  They were expensive but well worth the money.  They are strong, durable, stain resistant and maintenance free.  If I ever remodel another kitchen....GOD FORBID...I will definitely choose quartz again!!!!!  I love it!!!!

Another thing I do not regret is my stainless steel appliances, especially my gas stove.  Yes they were more expensive than white or even black appliances but I absolutely love them.  They were well worth the money.  Though you can SEE the smudges and fingerprints more with stainless...the smooth surface makes them really pretty easy to clean...WAY EASIER than the "bumpy surfaced" white ones.  Besides, stainless just looks so much better.

So while I would definitely make a few different choices if I had to do it all again, I am still very happy over all with my new kitchen.  I love cooking now and that's what matters!!!



xoxo,

Sheila