How to Choose a Kitchen Designer
Unless you’re a designer yourself, you’ll need to hire one.
Kitchens are far and away the most complicated room in any house;
a good guide is worth more than money.
Steps:
1. Take some time to educate yourself and refine your tastes.
2. Learn what goes into a kitchen. Research magazines, books, television shows and Web sites.
3. Learn as much as you can first. The more you know, the easier the process will be.
4. Ask for referrals from friends, contractors and craftspeople.
5. Look for designers among the following groups (listed in no special order): kitchen cabinet showrooms, architects, interior designers, kitchen design companies, design/build general contractors and local cabinetmakers.
6. Ask for qualifications - how much experience they have and what references they can provide.
7. Ask to see photographs. You can gather a lot of information just by looking.
8. Hire someone you feel comfortable with. You’ll be spending time together for the next several months (at least), and not all of it will be fun. Like any relationship, it requires mutual respect.
9. Be prepared to pay well for a design, from several hundred dollars (for minimal plans and no follow-through) to several thousand dollars, depending on the scope of the project. As with anything else, you often get what you pay for.
10. Pay separately for the design. Many designers work in showrooms; if you want to commit to buying the cabinets from them, fine, but if you have a separate contract for design, you can go somewhere else later if you want to.
Tips:
Many local schools offer classes on kitchen building and remodeling. These can be a great introduction to the process.
When interviewing designers, ask the following: how long you are in the kitchen and bathroom business? What are the payment arrangements? How many drafts of a plan will they provide? Do they use sub contractor or the own employees ? Will they help pick out appliances, floors, countertops, plumbing fixtures, wallpaper? Will they supply electrical, plumbing and lighting plans?
Warnings:
If a designer - or anyone, for that matter - tells you the process is easy, stress-free and will be complete in two weeks, they’re either lying or stupid. Or both. Don’t hire that person.
Try googling kitchen designers and you’ll get over 15 million listings—so many names, so little time.
The recent rise in our economy has inundated the profession with salesmen. To find a kitchen specialist who is right for you, you’ve got to do your homework. Ask friends, relatives— there’s nothing like word-of-mouth from satisfied customers. If you’ve moved to a new state and don’t know anyone, then study websites/yellow pages for local kitchen designers and visit their showrooms.
How do you tell a professional from a salesman? Look at their portfolios and ask for customer referrals from photographs that you find appealing. Clients happy with their results will be thrilled to showoff their kitchens and a professional designer will have phone numbers. Salesmen may have wonderful pictures of dream kitchens but they will NOT have actual customers to go with these photographs.
Do you feel comfortable with the designer? If the rapport between you isn’t good, don’t expect your new kitchen to be either—go with gut instinct. Get three-to-four references and check them out. Also go to your Chamber of Commerce to get information about a kitchen specialist’s reputation. Ask to see professional certification and state licenses.
How do you really know from whom you’re buying? Websites can be extremely attractive but did they actually design those gorgeous kitchens or download pictures from other sources. Will they be there if a part is missing or if you have a problem? Also, reputable manufacturers sell to authorized dealers with actual showrooms.
Get bids from several kitchen designers. If their price ranges are similar, you can be assured that they are honest…if one of the bids is too low, do NOT do business with him/her—in the long run you will wind up paying way too much for a substandard job.
If you cannot understand your designer/contractor do NOT hire that person. Residential construction can easily be explained to the lay person. Clear communication and interaction with the design professional is crucial. A kitchen specialist understands all the intricacies and hidden booby traps that can undermine any project. Once your kitchen is under way, the designer will effectively communicate with vendors, installers, contractors and, most importantly, you.
Comment by Robin Glasser — November 20, 2006 @ 1:27 pm