What makes a kitchen look cheap?
A kitchen looks cheap when the details aren't coordinated, complete and intentional, not because you spent too little. On the Design Your Home podcast, interior designer Sally Soricelli says you can spend $50,000 and still walk in feeling like something is off. She points to four culprits: metals that fight each other, a backsplash that stops short, flat lighting and hollow cabinets.
Metals that fight each other
The first giveaway is finishes. Sally is clear that mixing metals is popular right now and isn't the problem on its own. The problem is mixing without intention, so the faucet, the cabinet hardware and the light fixtures all look like they came from different projects.
Her fix is to choose every metal on purpose. If you're going to mix, decide which finish is the lead and which is the accent, and repeat that pairing across the room. Hardware, faucet and lighting should read as a set even if they aren't identical.
Weight matters too. Sally points out that thin, flimsy hardware feels cheap in the hand and looks cheap on the door. Fixtures with real heft are one of the least expensive ways to make a kitchen feel more considered.
"Mixing metals is actually popular right now. It's mixing without intention that's the problem."
A backsplash that stops short
The second mistake is a backsplash that doesn't go all the way up. When tile stops partway and leaves a strip of bare wall under the upper cabinets, Sally says it looks like you forgot to finish. A builder-grade four-inch countertop splash makes it worse by chopping off the space where a beautiful backsplash should be.
The fix: run the tile full height, filling the 18 to 20 inches between the countertop and the upper cabinets. If you have one of those short countertop strips, take it off before you tile. Sally notes it usually comes off with a crowbar and needs only minimal drywall patching afterward.
This is one of the cheaper upgrades on the list, and it's often the single change that makes a kitchen look finished.
"Backsplash actually stopping short, leaving that empty space, looks like you just forgot to put tile in."
One light doing all the work
Lighting is the mistake most people don't notice until it's pointed out. If a single overhead fixture is lighting the entire kitchen, everything looks flat and unfinished. Sally calls it unflattering lighting, and it makes even nice finishes look dull.
Her approach is layering. Add under-cabinet lighting or accent lighting, ideally during construction when wiring is easy. If you're adding LED strips after the fact, use ones with plastic diffuser covers so you don't see a bare strip of dots. And put every kitchen light on a dimmer, so you can go from bright task lighting while cooking to something softer in the evening.
The host explains that skipping under-cabinet lighting is what makes a kitchen feel like it's missing something, even when you can't name what.
"Skipping under cabinet or accent lighting makes everything look flat. It looks like it's missing something."
Cabinets that sound hollow
The last and most expensive mistake is cabinetry. Sally's test is simple: tap on a cabinet door. Cheap cabinets sound hollow or thin. Then check the drawer glides and the gaps between doors, and look inside at the box construction rather than just the door fronts.
The material of the box is what matters. A solid plywood box holds up. Particle board or MDF with a thin laminate skin will swell and bubble the first time it gets wet, which in a kitchen is a matter of when, not if.
She also warns against the common shortcut of putting new countertops on old, low-quality cabinets. Her comparison is building a house on quicksand. If the cabinets are the weak point, fix those first, then spend on the surfaces that sit on top of them.
"Putting new countertops on janky cabinets is like building a house on quicksand."
What to remember
- The expensive look comes from coordinated, complete, intentional details, not from the price tag.
- Mix metals only on purpose, and choose hardware and fixtures with real weight.
- Run the backsplash full height between counter and upper cabinets, and remove the short builder strip first.
- Layer lighting with under-cabinet or accent lights on dimmers instead of one overhead fixture.
- Tap the cabinet doors and check the box material; solid plywood beats particle board or MDF.
People also ask
Is it okay to mix metals in a kitchen?
Yes. Sally says mixing metals is popular right now. The mistake is mixing without a plan, so pick a lead finish and an accent and repeat that pairing across hardware, faucet and lighting.
How high should a kitchen backsplash go?
All the way up. Sally recommends filling the full 18 to 20 inches between the countertop and the bottom of the upper cabinets rather than stopping short.
Can I put new countertops on old cabinets?
Sally advises against it if the cabinets are low quality. Particle board or MDF boxes can swell and fail, and new counters on top of them won't last.
Based on the Design Your Home podcast episode 90, "3 Signs Your Kitchen Looks Cheap", released August 5, 2026, hosted by Sally Soricelli.
