Kellys-Kitchen-SyncI was really excited to read “Kelly’s Kitchen Sync: Insider Kitchen Design and Remodeling Tips From an Award-winning Expert,” by blog author Kelly Morisseau. It had rave reviews on Amazon, and when I got the Kindle sample, it looked promising.

However, while this was a very thorough book in some respects, I felt like it was much more oriented toward the remodeler than the new-home builder. There was almost no discussion about general kitchen layout (where should the sink go in relation to the fridge? the oven? the pantry?). She dismisses the idea of the work triangle but doesn’t really tell us what we should be aiming for instead.

However, there is a lot of great information about making sure doors and appliances are able to open properly, and about things like faucets, hardware, flooring, lighting, etc. I found some of this wasn’t very thorough, however; the chapter on countertops didn’t even mention solid-surface, wood or laminate options, for example. The faucet chapter devotes a great deal of talk to avoiding faucet “wedgies” but zero to faucet finishes. (We discovered while replacing our tub and showerhead that the bronze we chose was massively more expensive than other finishes, which is the sort of thing a homeowner planning a remodel might like to know.) The chapters on cabinets talks a lot about door swings and fittings but don’t tell you how to choose a good-quality cabinet.

So, if you’re planning a remodel and especially if you’re doing it yourself (in whole or in part), I’d recommend this book. As someone planning a new home, though, and wanting to devote particular attention to the kitchen, I found it just left out a lot of the information I’d wanted.

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