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Selecting a kitchen designer who’s right for you

By Linda Whitcomb

The economy is supposed to be slowing, but few in the upscale kitchen industry have ever been busier. The better cabinet lines are taking two to six months to deliver their products. Appliance and plumbing fixture vendors are short on inventory for many popular models. And professional kitchen dealers are constantly on the hunt for good designers and installers to keep up with the strong demand. As a result, the average higher-end kitchen project today may take nearly nine months from initial investigation – through the design, ordering, and installation phases – to completion.

While friends no doubt will offer their own recommendations, here are five important criteria to help you select the best kitchen designer for your project:

1. Educational Approach
It is always a good idea to interview several candidates before you make a selection. Do it first in their place of business. You will get a sense of their professionalism and capabilities, as well as the scope of their services and quality level of products offered.

Most importantly, how does each kitchen designer present himself? The best designers take an educational approach to the business of furnishing a new kitchen. They will not only demonstrate a willingness to teach but also a willingness to incorporate your ideas into the project. Their aim is to serve as a facilitator, helping you weigh the pros and cons of virtually every product, design concept, design detail and service that is considered for your kitchen project.

2. Design Process

The best designers are trained to investigate thoroughly your project needs and desires. Ask to see how they will develop preliminary conceptual plans for your project. How well did each conceptual plan adhere to the age-old design principle of form following function?

Also ask to see how they will help you arrive at an investment range for your project – based upon some preliminary product preferences and either an examination of your plans or the room to be remodeled. However, if you don’t have a budget established, the best designers will use a cost analysis system to develop an accurate budget range within 30 minutes.

3. Experience

This is perhaps the single most important factor in helping you achieve the greatest value from your kitchen project. That’s because kitchen products are only as good as the people who know them thoroughly, understand their applications and have regularly ordered and installed them. Look for designers who have been with the same firm for a few years and have credentials to prove their expertise – like formal training, certification, design (not sales) awards or magazine publication. Ask to see their portfolios to witness the range of work they have done. What’s great about experienced designers is that they are most capable of working with even a modest budget and a lesser cabinet quality grade to make a project look like a million dollars.

Generally speaking, it can take nine months from an initial needs analysis to substantial completion of a kitchen project. Because of the intimacy and multitude of detail involved in doing new kitchens, you definitely want the same designer involved from beginning to end. Otherwise, your project is likely to be one long nightmare.

4. Organizational Skills

Speaking of detail, how well organized are your designer candidates? The best designers are excellent at time management. They rarely are late for appointments, and they demonstrate the ability to keep all of details of your project straight. They take voluminous project notes at each meeting and keep neat files on each client. Ask to see a typical file and gauge how well organized it is. Attention to detail is paramount at every phase of the kitchen development and installation process to ensure a successful project with few delays.

5. Personality

Nine months is a long time to work with one individual. You should find someone with whom you feel compatible: Someone you can trust. Someone who will provide reliable follow-up. Someone who won’t run away from a problem. Someone who is cheerful and quick at finding good solutions. The best way to confirm these qualities in someone is to check his or her most recent references. Ask for six names of clients whose projects were completed in the last three to four months – and then ask them lots of questions.

When it comes to a project as complicated and lengthy as a kitchen, selecting the one designer who combines an educational approach, a comprehensive design process, proven experience, great organizational skills and pleasing personality is a sure bet. Your project is destined to be an outstanding success!

A certified kitchen and bath designer, Linda Whitcomb is president of Village Kitchen & Bath Design-Remodel firm in Hyannis. She has been designing and remodeling kitchens and baths on Cape Cod for 15 years. See www.villagekitchen-bath.com.

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