Renovation Mistakes to Avoid: 6 Questions to Ask in Every Showroom Before You Sign
The most common renovation mistake is choosing a finish for how it looks in the showroom instead of how it will behave in your home. Showrooms are very good at one thing: making a product look perfect for the twenty minutes you spend with it. The lighting is flattering, nobody is cooking, and no one has ever spilled anything on that sofa except the salesperson, on purpose.
Your home is a harder test. You will live with these decisions for years, and in many cases you will still be paying for them for a good while. So before you sign an order, slow the conversation down and ask a few unglamorous questions. These are the ones I keep coming back to as an interior designer working mainly in Tel Aviv and central Israel.
By Maya Sheinberger | 02.05.26
Key takeaways
Test every material against daily life: water, stains, cleaning and your own light.
Get the warranty terms in writing, including which stains are covered and for how long.
Plan a kitchen island only if it has a daily job and enough room. I leave at least 105 cm around an island, and up to 120 cm. The NKBA recommends at least 107 cm of work aisle for one cook and 122 cm for more than one.
Take samples home and look at them in the morning, in the afternoon and at night.
Six renovation mistakes and the questions that prevent them
Product | Ask in the showroom | The risk if you don't |
Wooden countertop | What happens when it gets wet? | Swelling and stains near the sink |
Sofa fabric | Which stains does the warranty cover? | A demonstration that doesn't match real spills |
Dark or gold taps | How do they behave with hard water? | Visible limescale and a cleaning ritual |
Natural rope rug | Would I walk on it barefoot? | A rough surface that sheds fibers |
Kitchen island | What is its daily job, and does it fit? | A parking spot that blocks your routes |
Semi-polished tile | How does it look in my light? | An uneven look by day and reflections by night |
1. What happens to a wooden countertop when it gets wet?
A wooden countertop near water can swell and stain unless you maintain it properly. Wood next to a sink is beautiful and it can work, but only if you are honest about the care it needs. If you don't want to think about it every time a glass tips over, choose a material that shrugs off water and cleaning products, and bring the wood in somewhere drier.
Ask for: the care instructions in writing, including how often the surface has to be treated.
2. What does the sofa warranty actually say about stains?
The warranty matters more than the demonstration. A glass of water beading off a sofa looks impressive, but real life rarely spills water. It spills pasta sauce, snacks and children's markers.
Durability and stain resistance are also two different things. The Martindale rub test (ISO 12947) measures abrasion, and a typical rating for everyday sofas is 15,000 to 25,000 rubs, with 25,000 and above for heavy family use. The test is done dry, so a high number says nothing about pasta sauce.
I also always check the composition of the fabric.
Ask for: the fabric's composition, its Martindale rating, and a clear answer on which stains it is guaranteed against, for how long, and what happens if a stain doesn't come out. I go through the rest of the decision in my guide to choosing furniture for your home.
3. How will this tap finish behave with hard water?
Matte black and brushed gold taps show limescale quickly, and tap water in much of Israel leaves plenty of it. They look wonderful on display, and they can still be the right choice if you know what you are signing up for. If the cleaning routine sounds like a ritual, decide whether you want that ritual twice a week.
Think about where the tap will sit, too. A kitchen tap gets wet all day, so it will show marks far sooner than a tap in a guest bathroom.
Ask for: the manufacturer's cleaning instructions, and a list of products that will damage the finish.
4. Would I walk on this rug barefoot?
Natural rope rugs are often rough underfoot, and many of them shed fibers. They have a lovely organic look, so take off your shoes and stand on one before you buy it. In a living room where people sit on the floor, or where children play, comfort is not a small detail.
Rug fibers also travel. If a rug sheds, you will find it on the sofa, on the floor around it and in the vacuum cleaner, so ask how it behaves after a few months of use.
Ask for: a sample you can walk on, and the supplier's cleaning advice for that specific material.
5. Does our kitchen really need an island?
A kitchen island is worth it when it has a clear daily job and enough room around it. In my BN apartment project in Kiryat Ono, the island earned its place. The original kitchen in this 165 m² home was very small, and the family loves to cook and entertain, so we moved the kitchen and made it the center of the house. Seating runs around three sides of the island, and the wide work areas around it let both spouses cook at the same time.
Without a clear job, an island becomes a parking spot for mail, keys and school bags. Measure before you fall in love with one. The NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines, a North American professional reference, recommend these minimum clear widths:
Clear space | NKBA minimum |
Work aisle, one cook | 107 cm (42 in) |
Work aisle, more than one cook | 122 cm (48 in) |
Walkway | 91 cm (36 in) |
Behind a seated diner, with no one passing | 81 cm (32 in) |
In my own projects I leave a minimum of 105 cm around an island, very close to the NKBA figure, and up to 120 cm when the kitchen allows it. If those numbers don't fit, a peninsula may serve you better. In the TA apartment in Tel Aviv, a peninsula gives the L-shaped kitchen more storage and a place for light meals.
Ask for: a plan with every clearance marked, before you approve the island.
6. What will this tile look like in my home at four in the afternoon?
Always judge a floor tile at home, in your own light, before you order. On one project, a tile we chose looked like a completely different shade once it was in the apartment, because of the direction of the windows. Semi-polished tiles, also called lappato, are only partly polished, and they promise the depth of a gloss finish and the practicality of a matte one. Under showroom lighting they may well deliver. In daylight, that half-shine can read as uneven, and at night it can catch reflections from the television.
Ask for: the largest sample the supplier can lend you. Testing it takes one day:
Put it on the floor where the tile will really go, not on a table.
Look at it in the morning, at four in the afternoon and at night with the lights on.
Hold it next to your cabinet, parquet or stone samples.
The real test: will it work on an ordinary Tuesday?
None of this means you should fear beautiful things. A good choice simply has to work on an ordinary Tuesday, not only in a catalog. If you want to go deeper, I wrote about turning renovation challenges into design opportunities, how to plan a small apartment and how to bring natural light into a dark room.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common mistake when choosing renovation materials?
Choosing by appearance alone. Before you order, check how the material handles water, stains, daily cleaning and the light in your own home.
How much space do you need around a kitchen island?
I leave at least 105 cm, and up to 120 cm when the kitchen allows it. The NKBA recommends at least 107 cm of work aisle for one cook and 122 cm for more than one, measured between the island and the facing counter, tall cabinet or appliance. A walkway should be at least 91 cm.
Are matte black taps a good idea in Israel?
They can be, as long as you accept the upkeep. Limescale shows clearly on dark finishes, so ask for the manufacturer's cleaning instructions before you buy.
Should I take samples home before I buy?
Yes. A tile or fabric sample can look very different in your own light, so check it at different times of day and next to your other materials.
When should I bring in an interior designer?
Before you sign orders for the kitchen, floors or joinery. These decisions affect each other, and they are the hardest to change later. If you aren't sure who you need, read Interior Designer or Architect: Which One Do You Really Need?
Planning a renovation in Tel Aviv or central Israel, whether you live here or are managing it from abroad? I'd love to hear about your project.
Maya Sheinberger is an interior designer with nearly 20 years of experience. She has run her independent studio since 2012, and it is based in Ramat Gan. She holds a B.Des with honors from the College of Management. Eight of her projects have won Archilovers Best Project awards, her work has appeared in more than 100 publications, and one of her Tel Aviv apartments features in the book The New Minimalist Style.
Photography @itaybenitphotographer · Styling @maya_livnat_harush
This post was inspired by my column on Mako (in Hebrew).
