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Comments on: How to Choose a Kitchen Designer http://www.dskkitchen.com/kitchen-design-new-york/27 Kitchen and Bath design is a web magazine featuring modern Contemporary design news Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:15:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Robin Glasser http://www.dskkitchen.com/kitchen-design-new-york/27#comment-87 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 13:27:47 +0000 http://www.dskkitchen.com/kitchen-design-new-york/27#comment-87 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. 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.

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