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This question comes up in almost every primary bathroom consultation I do: is a double vanity worth it, or is a single vanity the smarter call? The honest answer depends less on square footage than most people assume, and more on how mornings actually go in your house.

Warm Neutrals Are Replacing Stark White

Greige, mushroom taupe, and creamy warm whites are showing up far more often than the cool, stark white that dominated the last several years. It’s a subtle shift, but it changes the whole feel of a kitchen, warmer and more lived-in, rather than clinical.

Natural Wood Tones Are Back

Walnut, cherry, and warm oak cabinetry are having a real moment. On a recent project of ours in Cameron Park, the client kept warm oak cabinetry throughout paired with a built-in wine fridge and open shelving, exactly the kind of warm, natural-material look driving a lot of 2026 requests.

Slab Stone Backsplashes

Instead of tile, full-slab stone backsplashes that run seamlessly from countertop to upper cabinets are becoming a popular upgrade for homeowners who want a more luxurious, continuous look.

Warm Metals Over Chrome

Brass, brushed gold, and other warm-toned fixtures are steadily replacing the cool chrome and stainless finishes that were standard for years, on faucets, cabinet hardware, and especially statement lighting. A recent project of ours in Roseville leaned into this with a pair of brass dome pendants over the island, paired with a mix of white and natural wood cabinetry.

Mixed Materials Over Matchy-Matchy

Rather than one material used throughout, more kitchens are combining wood, stone, and metal deliberately, a wood island against painted perimeter cabinets, for example, or mixed hardware finishes instead of one uniform metal.

Should You Chase the Trend?

Trends are a useful lens, but I always tell clients: choose finishes you’ll still love in ten years, not just what’s popular this year. The good news about the 2026 shift toward warm neutrals and natural materials is that it’s also simply more timeless than some trends of the past decade, which makes it an easier one to commit to.

If you’re planning a kitchen remodel and want to talk through what’s trending versus what actually fits your home long-term, my team at America’s Advantage Remodeling is happy to walk through it with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are white kitchens still in style in 2026?

A: White kitchens haven’t disappeared, but warm neutrals like greige, mushroom taupe, and creamy warm whites are increasingly replacing the starker, cooler whites that dominated recent years.

Q: What kitchen colors are trending for 2026?

A: Warm neutrals, natural wood tones like walnut and warm oak, and earthy palettes are trending for 2026, moving away from the stark white and cool gray tones popular in previous years.

Q: Is brass or gold hardware still trending in kitchens?

A: Yes, warm metals like brass and brushed gold continue to gain ground over cooler finishes like chrome, especially on lighting, faucets, and cabinet hardware.

When homeowners come to us planning a full home remodel, the question I hear almost as often as “what will this cost” is “where do we even start?” It’s a good question, because the order you renovate in actually matters done in the wrong sequence, you end up redoing finished work or living through more disruption than necessary. After 25 years managing full home remodels across the Sacramento area, here’s how I sequence a project.

Start With What You Can’t See: Systems First

Before any room gets its new look, the home’s underlying systems need attention: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and structural issues. On a recent 14-week full home remodel we completed in Sacramento (zip 95819), we started by updating the plumbing and electrical systems and adding insulation and a new HVAC system, all before a single finish surface went in. Doing this first means you’re never cutting into a finished wall or newly tiled floor to fix something that should have been addressed earlier.

Then the Exterior

Once the home’s systems are sound, the exterior is typically next, roofing, siding, and any structural repairs. This protects everything you’re about to build inside from weather exposure during construction, and it also means exterior crews and interior crews aren’t tripping over each other on the same timeline. On that same 95819 project, we refreshed the siding, repainted the facade, installed a new roof, and updated the landscaping as part of this phase.

Kitchen and Bathrooms Next

Kitchens and bathrooms involve the most plumbing, electrical, and structural complexity of any interior rooms, which is why they typically come before simpler cosmetic spaces. Tackling them earlier in the interior phase also means the most disruptive, messiest work is behind you sooner rather than later. The before-and-after shown at the top of this article is a good example of the scale of that transformation, a dated kitchen in Walnut Grove, still wearing its original wallpaper and laminate counters, turned into the finished space on the right.

Living Spaces and Flooring Last

Flooring, paint, and finish work in living rooms, bedrooms, and hallways generally come last. This sequencing protects new floors and finishes from the heavier foot traffic and equipment involved in kitchen and bathroom work, and it means the areas you’ll actually relax in are the freshest when the project wraps. On a recent full home project of ours in Roseville, the living room’s new flooring, built-in shelving, and fireplace surround were among the final pieces to come together, the payoff after the less glamorous systems and kitchen work was already behind us.

A Rough Sequence

• 1. Systems: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, structural repairs
• 2. Exterior: roof, siding, windows, landscaping
• 3. Kitchen and bathrooms
• 4. Remaining interior: flooring, paint, trim, finish work

Every home is different, and a good contractor will adjust this order based on your specific project — but this is the framework that keeps a full home remodel moving efficiently rather than backtracking. If you’re planning a whole-home project, my team at America’s Advantage Remodeling can walk your property and map out a sequence that fits your home and your timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What should you remodel first in a full home renovation

A: Start with what’s behind the walls: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and any structural repairs. Addressing these systems first avoids having to cut into newly finished surfaces later in the project.

Q: Should you do the exterior or interior first in a full home remodel?

A: Exterior work like roofing and siding typically comes after systems but before interior finishes, since it protects the home from weather exposure while interior construction is underway.

Q: Why do kitchens and bathrooms usually get remodeled before living rooms and bedrooms?

A: Kitchens and bathrooms involve the most plumbing, electrical, and structural complexity, so tackling them earlier keeps the most disruptive work concentrated in one phase, while simpler cosmetic spaces like living rooms and bedrooms are typically finished last.

A kitchen island is one of the most requested features in any remodel, and also one of the easiest to get wrong. Homeowners come to us with a Pinterest board full of gorgeous islands, but a lot of those photos don’t show you the thing that actually matters: whether the island fits the room, the traffic flow, and how the family actually cooks and eats. After 25 years remodeling kitchens across the Sacramento area, here’s how I help clients think through size, storage, and seating before we ever pick a countertop.

Start With Clearance, Not the Island Itself

Before we talk about how big an island should be, we talk about how much room needs to stay open around it. The standard we design to is a minimum of 42 inches of clearance on all sides, and closer to 48 inches if the island includes seating, so a stool can be pulled out while someone else is still walking past comfortably. Skip this step and even a beautiful island ends up feeling like an obstacle instead of the heart of the kitchen.

Sizing the Island to the Room

A useful rule of thumb: your island should leave at least 3 feet of clear walking space between it and the surrounding cabinets or counters on every side. In a smaller kitchen, that might mean a compact island with no seating at all, just extra prep space and storage. In a larger, more open-concept layout like the one shown above, there’s room for a full-length island with seating for four and open shelving built into the end. The island should scale to the kitchen, not the other way around.

Storage That Actually Gets Used

The most functional islands mix closed and open storage rather than going all one direction. Deep drawers work well for pots, pans, and small appliances near the range side, while an open shelf or cubby on the seating end is a natural spot for cookbooks, serving pieces, or baskets, and it also breaks up what would otherwise be a solid wall of cabinetry. We’ll often add outlets built into the island base itself, so a mixer or slow cooker can plug in without a cord running across the counter.

Planning for Kitchen Island Seating

Island seating is the single most-searched part of island planning, and it’s usually the detail people get wrong first. For comfortable seating, plan on roughly 24 inches of counter width per person, with knee clearance underneath (typically an overhang of 12 to 15 inches). Counter-height islands (36 inches) pair with counter stools, while bar-height sections (42 inches) need taller stools, mixing the two on the same island is a common way to visually separate a prep zone from a casual seating zone. The island pictured above seats four comfortably along one full side, with the range and prep work staying clear on the opposite side.

How many people you seat also drives the island’s overall length, not just its width. Two stools need roughly 4 feet of usable seating edge; four stools need closer to 8 feet. If the kitchen can’t fit an island that long, an L-shaped island or a seating extension on one end is often a better fit than forcing a too-short island to seat more people than it comfortably can.

A Few Sizing Guidelines

• Minimum clearance around the island: 42 inches (48+ inches if there’s seating)
• Seating: roughly 24 inches of counter width per person
• Standard counter-height overhang for knee clearance: 12–15 inches
• Smaller kitchens: consider a slim prep island with no seating rather than skipping the island entirely

The right island comes down to the specific shape of your kitchen, not a one-size-fits-all layout pulled from a magazine. If you’re planning a kitchen remodel and want to talk through what size and layout actually makes sense for your space, my team at America’s Advantage Remodeling can walk your kitchen and map it out with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How big should a kitchen island be?

A: A kitchen island should leave at least 42 inches of clearance on all sides (48+ inches if it includes seating), and should generally scale to leave 3 feet of walking space between the island and surrounding counters or cabinets.

Q: How much seating space do I need per person at a kitchen island?

A: Plan on roughly 24 inches of counter width per person, with 12 to 15 inches of overhang for knee clearance underneath. Two stools need about 4 feet of usable seating edge; four stools need closer to 8 feet.

Q: What’s the best kitchen island seating layout?

A: The best layout depends on island length: a single straight run works well for up to four stools, while an L-shaped island or a seating extension on one end fits more seating without forcing an oversized island into a kitchen that can’t accommodate one.

Q: What’s the difference between counter-height and bar-height island seating?

A: Counter-height islands are typically 36 inches tall and pair with counter stools, while bar-height sections are 42 inches and require taller bar stools; some kitchens mix both to separate a prep zone from a seating zone.

“Can we just take out this wall?” is one of the first questions homeowners ask when they picture an open concept kitchen. Sometimes the answer is a straightforward yes. Sometimes it means a structural beam, a permit, and a few extra weeks of construction. After 25 years remodeling kitchens across the Sacramento area, here’s what I walk every client through before we ever pick up a sledgehammer.

Load-Bearing vs. Non-Load-Bearing: Why It Matters

The first question is always whether the wall is load-bearing, meaning it’s helping hold up the structure above it. Non-load-bearing walls can usually come out with straightforward framing work. Load-bearing walls can still come out, but the load has to go somewhere, typically a structural beam that transfers the weight to posts or columns on either end, like the column shown above. This isn’t something to guess at; it needs an engineer or a qualified contractor to actually confirm before any wall comes down.

Permits Are Not Optional

Removing a load-bearing wall requires a permit in virtually every jurisdiction we work in, and for good reason, it’s a structural change to the house. Skipping the permit might save a little time up front, but it creates real problems later: inspection issues, insurance complications, and headaches if you ever sell the house and a buyer’s inspector asks who pulled the permit for that missing wall. We handle the permit and engineering review as part of the project, not as an afterthought.

What Construction Actually Looks Like

This is the part homeowners underestimate. Removing a load-bearing wall means temporary support while the new beam goes in, which can mean a few days of exposed framing, dust control between work areas, and the house being genuinely disrupted, not just the kitchen. It’s not a weekend project. Budgeting the right amount of time, and being honest with yourself about living in the house during that phase, makes a big difference in how the whole remodel feels.

Designing an Open Concept Kitchen and Living Room

Once the wall is gone, the design work isn’t over, it’s just starting. An open concept kitchen and living room still needs visual zones: a kitchen island or peninsula that reads as its own space, a rug that anchors the seating area, lighting that changes character from the kitchen to the living room. Without some intentional zoning, a big open room can start to feel like one undefined space rather than a kitchen and a living room that flow together well.

The two spaces should feel connected, not identical. We’ll often keep the kitchen’s flooring, lighting, and cabinetry distinct from the living room’s finishes, while using a shared color palette or consistent trim details to tie the whole space together. A support beam or column, like the one in the photo above, can even become a visual anchor that naturally separates the kitchen from the living room without needing a wall to do it.

A Few Things to Confirm Before You Commit

• Have a contractor or structural engineer confirm load-bearing status, don’t guess based on wall thickness or location alone
• Budget for a permit and inspection as part of the project timeline, not an optional add-on
• Plan for several days of exposed framing and dust control during the wall removal itself
• Think through lighting and flooring transitions between the old kitchen and living room footprints before construction starts, not after

Opening up a kitchen is one of the most transformative things you can do to a home, but it’s also one of the most structural. If you’re weighing whether a wall in your kitchen can come out, my team at America’s Advantage Remodeling can walk the space with you and give you a straight answer before you commit to anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I design an open concept kitchen and living room so it doesn’t feel like one big undefined space?

A: Use intentional zoning: a kitchen island or peninsula that reads as its own space, a rug that anchors the living room seating area, and lighting that shifts character between the two zones. A structural beam or column left exposed after wall removal can also serve as a natural visual divider.

Q: How much does load-bearing wall removal cost?

A: Load-bearing wall removal costs more than a non-load-bearing wall because it requires an engineered beam, support posts, and a permitted structural inspection, in addition to demolition and finish work. Exact cost depends on the span of the opening and local permit fees.

Q: How do I know if a wall is load-bearing?

A: You can’t reliably tell just by looking at a wall. A contractor or structural engineer needs to check the framing, the direction of the floor joists above, and what the wall is supporting before confirming load-bearing status.

Q: How much does it cost to remove a wall for an open concept kitchen?

A: Cost depends heavily on whether the wall is load-bearing. Non-load-bearing walls are relatively inexpensive to remove. Load-bearing walls cost more because they require an engineered beam, support posts, and permitted inspection, in addition to the demolition and finish work.

Q: Do I need a permit to remove a wall in my kitchen?

A: Yes, in virtually every jurisdiction, removing a load-bearing wall requires a permit and often a structural engineer’s review, since it’s a change to the home’s structure.

Q: What replaces a load-bearing wall when it’s removed?

A: Typically a structural beam spanning the opening, supported by posts or columns on either end that transfer the weight down to the foundation, the way the wall used to.