I'm in the middle of my remodel, and can't speak authoratively.

So far, the one thing that I'm disappointed in is the one thing that I never worried about. I replaced the back door, which was from about 1950 and had glass in the top half. After hearing for years about how unsafe it was, I put in a very stout door with a narrow run of windows at the top.

I'm now very safe, but I lost so much light. I wish I had spent more time on this element. It seemed like a throw away at the time, but it wasn't.

Well as some have read, I worried about my grout choice last night. I worried some about the cost of the kitchen remodel. I really worried about my husband and me putting in the soapstone counters. But we did a fabulous job. Made the right choice in having a granite/marble fabricator come and cut my sink hole for an overmount sink, as I worried if I got undermount, I'd bang it up somehow (the counter's edge). I don't worry about my soapstone. Ive put a few mini dings in it but I call it patina as I do the finish on my stainless steel sink.

Future worries include:
1) getting the stove wall tiled and grouted.
2) getting my range hood in, because that means cutting a hole in my new cabinets.
3) getting my kitchen finished before winter sets in.

OMG, please, please, please, worry about the quality of the installers/finish carpentry. Despite us all being concerned about quality/colour/layout, etc., installation is the be-all-end-all important thing to worry about. And one of the things that is hard to control (ie: if you hire a kitchen firm where *they* pick the installer).
Things not to worry about: the timeline (it will be what it is), how you will cope with no kitchen (you'll just make do).

Co-co is dead right. The installation is so key and that is where our project went wrong. The materials we used were good, but were not installed properly, or cosmetically well.

My biggest "should have worried" thing was about paying the gc too much too soon. That was our biggest mistake by far (if you don't count not fully checking into the recommendation to hire the gc co we did). We should have asked more questions and spoken to people other than who were long time mutual friends with the gc and said his reputation was solid.

I also should have worried about spelling out lighting, electric placement/quantity, plumbing specifics, etc.... before the contract so that I could not be slammed with so many extra charges after it was signed. I figured our entire project would be covered by the contracted price and came to find out that other than the barest of minimums, everything was an extra charge, and not inexpensive ones.

We should have made sure that the propane was done to code. We should have made sure they knew how high to install the venthood. We should have discussed where to put the lighting, sconces, outlets, etc... so that we would not have had to fix so many patches to the sheetrock.

We should have made sure they used screws in the sheetrock and never nails.

We should have made sure they knew how to install our screen door and how big to make the opening for it.

I guess the things we could have worried about less was staying in the bsmt longer and worrying about being finished by any particular date. Since we still are not fully done, it seems silly now (5+ months past the projection).

I worried too much about

1) symmetry. I thought it would bug me to have lots of different sized drawers and things, without thinking enough about maximizing their usefulness based on what would fit in them. I can think of a few discussions with the cabinet maker where I short-circuited the discussion by opting for outer symmetry, mainly because of decision fatigue, instead of thinking through what made the most sense.

2) the strange feeling that I had to have a base cabinet somewhere. I really didn't-- we're now planning to convert it to ROTS. It was like a hangover from childhood.

I did not worry enough about:

1) having a big enough sink for washing big things. Despite all the good advice on GW!

2) drawer inserts-- we're still figuring them out now, because I couldn't cope with the issues at the time.

And-- a third category-- I am glad I worried so much about:

1) insisting on lots of shelves for each cabinet-- we have lots of short shelves that are fitting lots of stuff.

2) installing a powerful fan that was allegedly quieter-- because I can't imagine how loud a louder fan would have been.

Sayde, I can't believe you'd post all that without linking your gorgeous kitchen... so I'll do it for you! ;D You and DH did a great job!

As far as looking back at what should/could have been, don't drive yourself crazy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sayde's kitchen

Thanks for posting Sayde's kitchen. I think that kitchen is so beautiful, I remember it being posted.

Undersides. Of overhangs, passthroughs, etc. oops.

What an absolutely stunning kitchen!

I worried a lot about my counters--loved marble, but knew I was too OCD to have etching, loved soapstone but, again, too OCD. Looked and looked for a granite I liked and finally found one and bought it, then worried about it until it was installed (thought I had made a huge mistake as soon as it was out of my sight). As soon as it was installed I was in love again.

I had perfect confidence in my cabinet order (we had gone over it so many times). The pictures showed cabinets to the ceiling but shorter ones were ordered and they had installed several before I got there. We were doing a remodel of most of the house and suddenly not having upper cabinets threw the schedule way off. And, even though the cabinet dealer insisted upon doing the measurements himself because he "counldn't trust anyone else to get it right," he got several sizes wrong and adjustments had to be made.

It all got straightened out, though, and it's over. And it looks great.

sally123, do you have a post of your finished kitchen with the details? I saw the pics you posted regarding the cabinets to the ceiling and would love to see more. We have cherry cabinets coming next week and I love your finish choices.

I have never posted a finished kitchen because its not really finished. My other excuse is that my daughter, the photographer, said she would take pictures for me but never has. All I have are phone pictures, but I have lots of them. If you click on this picture it should take you to my photobucket album.

sally123, I viewed your photobucket album and your house is lovely! It seems Craftman-y without beating you over the head with a Stickley. I love its continuity (and all your books)! great job.

cheers

ps: oh, to keep on topic, I'm still in the planning phase and worrying about everything :/

Sally123, thanks so much for posting the album link. I love love love your floor! Do you remember what company/name it is? Also, what is the countertop and backsplash material? Really beautiful kitchen. I hope mine comes out as warm and inviting as yours.

mtnfever, ...beating you over the head with a Stickley. So funny! Decorating humor at its best!

I'm worried that our kitchen remodel won't look half as good as the pics I see posted on this site. Sayde, my goodness what a gorgeous, gorgeous kitchen! Beautiful!

Sally, your kitchen is just perfect. It's so warm, and I love the tiles on the floor too!

I so agree with co-co, although our installer did an ok job, he was a nightmare to get along with according to my drywall and electrian. I sure wish I didn't blindly agree with our kitchen company to use their guy.

As far as things I should have researched more...should have not listened to posters on here not getting the built in desk in my kitchen.
Having a 2nd story with all the bedrooms and office upstairs is a pain.
Only time we go upstairs is to go to bed.
We do homework , use the laptop, projects on our breakfast nook table and it's always a mess lol. I had the extra space for a little office niche, with some extra drawers, should have maximized that space.

Okay, off topic, Sally, please, please do a new post, for your reveal. I do enjoy all the white kitchens but for many reasons did not do one myself; we non-Somethin's Gotta Give remodelers need more inspiration photos! Was that Costa by the way? It's gorgeous!

On topic:

When one measurement changed, I did not think through how that impacted the rest of the plan.

Despite research on the web and the store, when I received my microwave trim kit, the cabinet needed to get deeper than planned. I figured out pretty last minute that we now had a tiny unacceptable walkway and we moved the fridge over. We were so busy congratulating ourselves on our narrow escape, but the ride wasn't over. I didn't think about the 3 upper spacious cupboards that would now be microscopic when installed. The cabinet maker cut me a pretty good deal to redo that set with fewer but bigger doors. He definitely went above and beyond, and given what everyone else has posted about contractors, I am so very grateful that it got corrected as it did.

Another one I did not think about soon enough was making a Ceiling and Texturing Plan. This is not the same as a Lighting plan, although lighting obviously figures into the equation. We did parts (not all) of this project DIY. We hadn't realized some areas that we needed to mud better because they would not be covered by tile or cabinet (ie above the window) and he had to add some hot mud last minute. Given the contractor we got (a personal rec), that was only a small upcharge.

Also, be aware that once your texturing is underway, the room is sealed off. You can't supervise unless you are sealed in too. I would send in a big map or go over it with blue tape that you remind him to pull off before he starts that area.

Like another poster, I also did not figure out that I wanted my ceiling light hung from a different position. I will not retexture, my husband is adamant that I find a table fixture that can be hung to correct position by a chain and a hook. It is what it is.

The height and exact placement of the hood was not ideal. I was adamant that it be within the manufacturer's specs so that it worked properly. However, there were several inches of leeway within those guidelines. Have everyone pretend to be cooking and see what they think. It should have been higher to avoid my husband bumping his head. He is learning. But that was definitely a mistake.

Jillsee- I am so glad you said that about the desk. I also was considering eliminating it from my plan, but like you, we only sleep upstairs. Everything else happens in the kitchen.