Chitown, I went through this too. I went back and forth so many times and ended up making huge changes right at the very last second. Sometimes you are second guessing things for a reason. Sometimes you just have to know when to call it quits. I worked on my kitchen from November to April. Everyone was getting tired of me. But, you know what, it needs to last a long time and you HAVE to love it. So, I think its blfenton that says it best when she says "my reno, my way" or something like that. At the last second, these are the things that I changed...cab color, cab doors to drawers, no glazing, granite, dishwasher model, dishwasher panel made from cabs :)

Although I am a little biased about your choices (:)), it seems like you're on the right track. Don't worry about changing your mind as long as you think you'll love it. Who really cares if later on the cabinet guy (who you won't see for a VERY long time) gets tired of you.

Hhhmmm.....18 months and still going. Make you feel better? :)

Oh, and tell your GC, politely, that's it's your house and you want to do it right. He can wait. And, your frustration will only make decisions more difficult. Trust me.

Breezy is right- you need to be clear minded in order to make peace with certain decisions, if you are anything like me. The feeling of rushing a decision makes me question my decision 1000X more than I already would have (probably 100X). :)

also- don't worry about being indecisive. I was swaying back and forth on my all of the sudden-last minute granite swap and the granite guy even looked at me and said "don't worry- take your time. this is a serious purchase and will be around forever." I was shocked. I thought he thought I was a HUGE PITA, but even he recognized the permanency of the granite and was able to let me have my "time."

I've been in the kitchen biz for 27 yrs or so. I've had customers come in to the showroom and either pick everything in 3 hours.....all the way to working with someone for a year or more!

I would say the average(for me) is: 3-5 weeks designing/selecting/planning before placing the order.

Even the higher maintenance customers that take 6+months, I am very respectful. Just like death, everyone deals with it (remodeling) differently. :-) It is a process and some find it much easier than others.

Your builder should know and understand that. But also, I have to commiserate with him a little. For him, as a GC, time is money....and scheduling can get messed up.

For me at least, I looked online and in mags for many years before I committed to a style. Breezy is right, you need to be clear minded and know what you want. For my GC, time is $ and he told me when you make a dammie decision let me know. For me I had to fall in love after MUCH research before I involved anyone. Good luck, you'll know when it's right for you.

it took me a year before i was willing to commit to a cab style, appliances, and all the rest of the details. i had a pile of inspiration pics but needed to do some iterations on layout etc before i was willing to sign off on the design. i got some pressure from cabinetmaker and GC but felt these decisions were too important to rush so i held my ground and took the time i needed. this is a lousy economy -there are plenty of co's lined up willing to wait for my business.

Two years with last minute changes to the cabinets. Take your time, do your research, be wholly committed to your choices. The alternative is coming into a kitchen every morning that you hate. And that is unthinkable.

Although we worked with our KD for a few weeks finalizing our layout, I picked the cabinets, countertop and backsplash in a few hours. We had purchased a house that needed to be renovated before we moved in, and we did not want the process to drag on.

While I don't recommend committing to materials before you are ready, I will say there is something to be said for having some time urgency in making selections. Knowing myself, if I had more time to make these decisions, I would have waffled back and forth to fill all available time. That said, I'd be pretty upset if someone was trying to rush me.

I think in fairness to contractors and vendors, it really is preferable to do a lot of pre-pre-planning as it were. Reading this site and others, going through other online resources that have good kitchen pictures and articles, collecting magazines and creating files of what you see there that you love, talking to people you know in real life about their experiences, window shopping and just plain cogitating about what you are seeing, reading and hearing....all that can and really should be done long before you end up talking to the people who are going to actually create your kitchen.

I realize this might not sound as supportive as saying 'hey it's their job make them wait for you' but since you seem as if you're getting stressed and feeling pressured, it is never too late to back off and slow down. Take your time, but also understand that time as has been said above is money for tradesmen. Don't waste theirs but don't let them intimidate you into rushing yourself into hasty decisions either.

Good luck!

I've been at this a little bit longer than you and was also wondering how long other people take. I don't want to be unreasonable, but kitchen designer is tweaking the plan for the 3rd time (small changes, moving micro, changing a cab into drawers, etc.)
I have also been to many countertop/flooring places, but I need to research everything before making my decision. That helps me live with my decision as well (that way I know there is no other countertop that I would have liked better because I have seen them all!)
My husband is getting tired of it, but he knew this about me before we got married. Take your time and I'm sure it will turn out great in the end!

Another factor has to do with how much you knew about kitchen design and the various things that need to be decided before you began the process with your GC and KD. If you've lived with your kitchen a long time (37 years for me!), you at least know what works and what doesn't in terms of function. When you decided to move/remove a wall, that adds a whole 'nother layer of complexity. After that though, there are so many choices having to do with cabinet type, potential layout, and color/stain. Are you getting new appliances? If so, which ones and how much space do they require? Are the high end ones in your budget/worth the money? Did you already know about the pros and cons of all the counter and floor options? How about lighting choices and sink choices? Where's the microwave going, the paper towels, the turkey roaster? What do you want to do about a backsplash? Can you fit in a pantry and what's the best way to set it up? There are a zillion things that need to be thought through, and April to July is nothing unless you happened to be an expert to start with. If you wanted an off-the-shelf kitchen that was no trouble for the professionals, you could have just plunked down your $20-60,000 and told them you'd be back in 6 weeks. I don't think so!

I'd be even MORE frustrated if I found out later that I could have spent 1/3 of the total instead of all that money.

See link below, about using Ikea as a hardware store for the guts. Add panels from a 3rd party source.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea as a hardware store for the guts. Add panels.