6 Biggest Faux Pas in Kitchen Design

by Susan Hall

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Dodging Design Don'ts

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With the countless things that can go right in a kitchen—smooth work flow, just-right lighting, and a warm and welcoming vibe—just as many things can go wrong. From the floor to the ceiling to the materials in between, there’s plenty of opportunity to fall into some all-too-common design pitfalls, like this "before" photo shown to the left. Designers Ili Nilsson and Maika Winter share a list of serious slip-ups you want to avoid. Keeping this list of don'ts in mind (and taking a cue from the kitchens with design done right) will ensure your kitchen is fabulous—not flub-filled.

Editor's note: The photos you'll see on the slides following are suggested "fixes" to the (not so suggested) faux pas.

Next section: An Enormous Island

I think faux pas means false happening, or in other words, a mistake. The military expression is SNAFU. The fp expression is French, used in daily conversation.

Look at the kitchen w/the orange stools. You must move them to navigate the space! Kitchens are easy to do wrong. My quartz black sink must be waxed or it lime stains. My builder didn't vent the stove fan outside! Pay extreme attention to how you you will keep surfaces clean, even, or especially if you have household help. It's where food is stored, splattered, broiled & washed. Not just a show room where you sip coffee. And be there when workmen are there installing. Trust is good, vigilance is better!

I personnally hate hoods andover-the-workplace ventilation monsters. Install a large exterior fan to pull heat, smoke and odors from the kitchen. The hle in the wall can be placed behind a false cook-top "splash-board.'

This phrase is used widely in the Armed Services and means something other than what someone found in the dictionary which literally means "misstep" or "false step". Just get rid of it. Not needed.

Do you know what the words ......." faux pas " ....... means? If you did you would not be using them in your adverti*****ts. The Internet is used by all ages. A lot of younger people are in to designing. Why use such vulgar tag lines just to get someones attention? It lowers the standards of your site.

P.s. those chairs are ugly!

Maybe we should do a better job of educating our younger people when it comes to the different words in our English language. They need to know that many of "our" words have French (or Spanish etc.) roots and are not pronounced using the old standard "Phonetic" guide. I once worked with an educated high school teacher who pronounced the word debris (as in that stuff scattered across the land by a tornado) as "der-biss". Hello?? When I gently pointed out that it was originally a French word and taught him the correct pronunciation, he was stunned, as if he'd never heard it pronounced that way in his life. What TV news channel was he watching all those years??? Granted, those announcers will occasionally get the name of a local town wrong which offends the locals, btw), but they never mispronounce common words such as debris when describing the after-effects of a natural disaster.

And those chairs ARE ugly!

Even at the age of 60 I sometimes mispronounce words which I have only ever seen in print, such as character names in a book. But I do know that "faux pas" is spelled the same as both singular and plural, but pronounced differently. Singular is "foe pah" and plural is "foe pahz".

This happens a lot in loan words from French if they end in "s". For example, both the singular and plural of "corps" are spelled the same, but are pronounced "core" and "cores".

My brother contacted our cousin, whose late father was a career Army man, to ask about military usage of the term "faux pas" with a more vulgar pronunciation. His recollection was that it might be used to mean permission to leave the base so a soldier can have *****, but that was pretty rare.

P.s. those chairs are ugly!

See reply above posted in the wrong place. Sheesh. Sorry!

I would assume that most of the snark is coming from passive aggressive MN. I enjoyed the article and the pictures. As a kitchen design (SHOCK) I think you were right on with what homeowner should consider when remodeling.

Pardon my texting ignorance, but what is a passive aggressive MN?

I had to search around, myself. From what I can gather, here is the meaning: People from Minnesota have a well-deserved reputation for politeness. So someone who is outwardly polite but inwardly malicious is described as being "from Passive Aggressive, MN."

This is hilarious. How many people can redo their kitchens, let alone hire a "designer"? I thought this might be useful. It probably is, for celebrities & other rich folk. "Texture, art", using ceiling lighting to indicate work spaces--right.

Agree! Looks to me like this site has more reviewers who are in tune with the times than its article writers, who are obviously using high-dollar designers as their resources. Get real. When I get ready to update my 1968 kitchen, maybe I should just try to contact your readers instead of searching the Web for sites like this with useless, expensive tips for the average home owner!

What is the problem, if any, with the flooring?? This kitchen is really large and workspace is awkward.

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A long slender island as the one pictured does not always answer. Square deep islands can look very polished and more like furniture rather than just another kitchen counter surface. I do not feel it qualifies as a 'faux pas' especially in a traditional kitchen of classic charm. This is especially true if the surface is of a contrasting decorative material (wood, stone, tile or a patina finish). If you have to walk around it to wipe it - so what! Most of us would not mind that small inconvenience in exchange for that ' Yay'-feeling you get when you wake up every morning to your dream kitchen!

The major faux pas here is that all these houses are HUGE, as opposed to any of us living in the real world of split foyers, standard colonials, ranchers and condos. For those fortunate enough to live in a McMansion like those shown here, I have no sympathy for your misery.

Well said!

@boehmm74:
While faux pas is a violation of accepted norms (including etiquette) [Longman English Dictionary Omline], the term comes originally from French, and literally means "misstep" or "false step" [Merriam-Webster]. In French, it is employed literally to describe a physical loss of balance as well as figuratively, in which case the meaning is roughly the same as in English. It sounds like they are not being hip but using the word correctly.

A 'faux pas' is a violation of etiquette. Using it to describe bad kitchen designs is pretty stupid. You're trying way too hard to sound hip; just use the word 'mistake' next time. (6 Biggest Mistakes in Kitchen Design.)

I think that "faux pas" implies a rather minor mistake, as compared with, say, a "blunder", which is more severe. So I think the author is correct -- making these mistakes might make a kitchen less attractive or efficient, but these kitchens are still functional as kitchens.

If you want a kitchen with a blunder, how about one without a sink? Where I once worked there was a break area with a microwave oven. If something spilled and you wanted to wipe it up, you had to either go up four floors or down one and through the tunnel to the adjoining building to find the nearest rest room with a sink and paper towels.

There is a retail chain of costume jewelry boutiques named Faux Pas, which I always thought was odd as I understood the term to mean a mistake rather than a substitute for the "real" thing. Seems our language is changing every day, which makes it hard to keep up sometimes. Glad I'm not an immigrant trying to learn it for the first time!

"Faux" meaning "false" or "imitation" is often applied to costume jewelry, such as "faux pearls" in a necklace. My guess is that the jewelry store was trying for a pun in their name. I think this one is rather clever, and if it helps their customers remember the name, then that is great! If the name offends potential customers, I am sure they would let the company know.

Put in table-height seating at the island, easier for prep and seating for older or disabled persons, or children. Put in full-height garage for counter-top-type equipment storage, especially new counter-top appliances for cooking. Use Corning glass imaging surfaces for digital imaging.