Every decision a kitchen renovation needs
A kitchen has fewer decisions than a bathroom and they cost more. Ten choices carry most of the budget, and a handful of them stop being reversible weeks before anyone notices — cabinets are ordered long before they arrive, and the appliance you pick decides the cabinet opening around it.
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The ten that make up the room
Cabinets, cabinet hardware, countertop, backsplash, sink basin, faucet, lighting, flooring, wall finish, and appliances. Hardware is its own decision because it is bought separately and almost always later — the doors arrive without it. Lighting is usually several decisions wearing one name: pendants over the island, undercabinet, and the ceiling.
Appliances come first, even though they feel like the last thing
Cabinet openings are built around appliance dimensions, and a 36in range is not a 30in range with more space around it. Panel-ready fridges need the panel ordered with the cabinets. Deciding appliances late means either re-ordering cabinetry or living with a filler strip where a decision used to be. If you settle nothing else early, settle these.
The counter decides the sink, and the sink decides the cabinet
An undermount sink is cut and polished by the fabricator from the slab you chose, so the sink has to be on site before the counter is templated. A farmhouse sink changes the cabinet in front of it. Workstation sinks are wider than they look and eat the run either side, which is the counter space you will actually miss.
Backsplash is where scope quietly grows
Full-height slab behind the range is a different job from tile to the underside of the uppers, and both are different from a 4in return. Pattern is a labour decision more than a material one: anything laid on a diagonal or in herringbone means more cuts and more waste, so the same tile costs meaningfully more to install. Tile also carries grout, chosen with it and bought separately.
What changes if the layout moves
Keeping plumbing and gas where they are is the single biggest lever on cost. Moving a sink to an island means running supply, waste and venting through the floor; moving a range means gas and often a new hood run. A kitchen that keeps its rough-ins and changes everything visible is a different project from one that moves them, even though both are "a new kitchen".
Frequently asked questions
What has to be decided first?
Appliances and anything that moves plumbing or gas. Cabinet openings are built around appliance dimensions, and rough-in changes have to happen before the walls close.
Do I need to choose hardware before the cabinets arrive?
No, but earlier than most people do. It is a separate purchase and doors arrive without it, so it is the most common reason a finished kitchen sits unusable for another week.
How many decisions is a kitchen?
About ten headline choices, but several split — lighting is usually three, and appliances are as many as you have appliances.
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