My Building Contractors Urged Me Not to Do This in My Kitchen Reno — But It Made The Biggest Difference

Pip rich kitchen with terracotta pantry and granite countertop.

Kitchen renovations are a series of compromises. They tend to start with a vision — let's call it a dream — and end up somewhere that is hopefully close to the original hope, but quite possibly pretty different. There will have been practical difficulties, budgetary climb-downs, and new ideas that emerged along the way.

One issue I had was that the contractors were always looking for an easier way (I'm happy with the end result, but it's telling that we didn't use them again). They knew exactly what they were doing and had a fine eye for detail, working with the unusual curves of the doorway and the uneven surface of the 200-year-old flagstone floor — but even though they were being paid by the day rather than for the job, they always seemed reluctant to do anything that might delay them in any way.