I spent $50,000 remodeling my kitchen. Here are 5 things I got right and one I wish I’d done differently.

I spent years saving money so I could have the kitchen of my dreams.

I hated my kitchen for 19 years and spent just as long saving to remodel it.

My goals were to build a bright, modern kitchen that was more functional, offered additional storage solutions, and created a cohesive look when viewed from the two entryways to my living room.

After spending nearly $50,000 on my kitchen remodel, there are a lot of choices I’m glad I made — and only one I really regret so far.

I’m glad I kept my kitchen layout the same.

My kitchen before (left) has almost the same layout as my kitchen now (right). 

Early on, one designer who bid on my project proposed removing some walls and the soffit ceiling and adding in an island to help me reach my storage and design goals.

The idea sounded great in theory, but would’ve brought me about $20,000 over budget between the construction and duct work and the need for taller cabinets to fill the higher ceiling space.

The designer I ended up hiring urged me to keep my current layout and showed me how we could do so while adding the functionality I wanted.

Choosing a timeless color palette makes me confident that the kitchen will age beautifully.

My kitchen is primarily black and white.

For years, I’d dreamt of an all-white kitchen because I loved the classic and clean look. But as my designer and I began talking and looking at my Pinterest boards, she noticed I also loved black accents.

She took the black-and-white theme and ran with it, outfitting half my kitchen with white cabinets and charcoal countertops and the other half with black cabinets and a white countertop.

She also chose coordinating tile squares (shades of white around the kitchen and a bold graphic tile in the dining room area).

These colors are truly timeless — I know I’ll love this design for decades to come.

Reupholstering my old dining-room chairs saved me a lot of money.

Paying for reupholstery was cheaper than buying a whole new set of chairs. 

The table and chairs on the dining-room side of the kitchen were still in excellent shape, and the perfect size, but the drab gray fabric on the chairs was a real eyesore.

Instead of replacing the entire set, I spent $500 to have them reupholstered with a striking fabric my designer chose. They look brand new again and have such a playful vibe.

Buying little things that bring me joy helped me complete my space.

The small details and accessories completed the look of my kitchen. 

It can be easy to focus all your attention on the bigger-ticket items while remodeling, but the details really matter.

For instance, I visited Kohler, Wisconsin — home of the Kohler Company that’s best known for its plumbing products — years ago and became obsessed with its sleek sinks and faucets. So, naturally, that’s what I chose for my new kitchen.

Similarly, my everyday dishes no longer matched my new aesthetic, so I gave them away in my local “Buy Nothing” group and upgraded to the cutest stoneware set from Stone Lain. The dishes were pretty affordable and have totally elevated my tablescape.

I don’t regret spending more than half my budget on cabinets and countertops.

I’m glad I didn’t skimp on my countertops. 

Aside from labor, I knew that my cabinets and countertops would be my biggest line items — but they were also the largest pieces in the room, so that was OK with me.

My designer steered me toward a local company that offered a great mid-tier option on factory cabinets (read: not high-end and not custom), and they still cost $15,000. To be fair, though, adding cabinets to the entire wall of the dining area played a major role in that price tag.

I also paid a little over $11,000 for quartz countertops because we needed three slabs for this design.

But these things are the foundation of the kitchen, and I don’t think I could’ve skimped on either one and still achieved my desired outcome.

Still, I wish I’d planned my remodel during a different season.

My kitchen remodel took place over some of the hottest months of the year.

It didn’t take me long to realize that summer in Phoenix was the wrong time for this project. It started in June and went into September during a record-breaking heat wave (70 days with highs at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit).

Workers were in and out of the house all day, causing my poor AC unit to work overtime. If I ever do another remodel, it’ll be during a more temperate time of year.