Reply to Disappointed so far with kitchen remodel plans

Forum Index » Home Improvement, Design, and Decorating

Reply to "Disappointed so far with kitchen remodel plans"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So two things: most people you've consulted have no idea how kitchens work.  They just give you a template from the shelf.  Designing kitchens that work is a trade in itself and it has nothing to do with selling cabinets.

That was the first thing.

The second thing is I wonder if you've set yourself up for disappointment by telling them you're not moving anything.  If you aren't, then exactly what is your remodel about? Prettier cabinets and counters? You definitely don't need a designer for that, but as you said, this is the only remodel of your life so doesn't it make sense to use this chance to get a kitchen that works for you? is your current kitchen perfect in every way except everything is broken? I mean are your stove, sink, oven, fridge in the perfect place? Are your cabinets laid out perfectly except they are broken? What I'm saying is - are you maybe missing an opportunity here?

This is what I would do (and in fact have done twice).  [b]Make a plan of your current kitchen as accurately as you can, and post it on houzz' kitchen forum asking for help for the kitchen layout.  You'd have more and better advice than you can buy.  Don't rush the layout development phase.  It's the only part that matters.  Once you have the layout in place, the rest is just finishes. [/b]

Parting thoughts: IKEA cabinets are actually quite good, present tons of interesting design opportunities (via custom fronts you can get from a dozen companies) and have unrivaled cost/value ratio.  Don't knock them.  I mean don't use IKEA if you don't want to, but it's wrong to say IKEA and mean "dumb, design-less solution". [/quote]

If you listen to anyone on this thread, please listen to this PP, she nailed it.  The layout is THE most important thing in kitchens, and those designers over on HOUZZ are aces at spotting problems in designs.

[/quote]

OP here - I'm a little confused by the whole process, because we already have a general layout, meaning where the appliances are and just in general where cabinets will be.  We aren't planning to change much in those terms - we like the way the house is designed already.  It's just a matter of needing completely new cabinets, floor, appliances, sink, everything.  The place I'm stuck on is the aesthetic details.  For example, the contractor provided a drawing with a range hood over the stove, but it's half the height of the surrounding cabinets and looks weird.  He also put in solid cabinets on both sides of a window, and I hate the way that blocks the light and wanted a bit of open shelving there - but I don't know where the shelves should start and stop and how to keep it symmetrical along the wall with the stove on the same wall, where to start the large pantry cabinets and not overwhelm the space, and so on.  That's probably the biggest issue - just figuring out how many upper cabinets and where to place them exactly, what kind of molding or trim to use, what height to make them, and how many full length cabinets.  And of course, the finishes.  The house has a lot of unique features and a very intentional design as far as the geometry of the rooms, and I don't want to ruin the look by throwing something off.  So the little drawing that the contractor's designer sent me was kind of useless - they just stuck cabinets in a cad program to fill up the space.  I could do that myself in ikea (I did).

I guess I need a kitchen designer, but I don't know how to find one who is affordable.  I'm considering using a design/build company, but they all want you to buy cabinets through them and the prices are just over the top (like 20K for cabinets you can get on RTA or Ikea for 10K).  Would love to find an independent designer that would not cost more than 5K, but does that even exist?[/quote]

Make several copies of what was sent to you, and start just penciling and changes that you propose. Then make  an appointment for non-busy time, like Saturday night, and go to the Lowe’s and then repeat at Home Depot. You have much more time to spend with them – you can explain these things and they can help make changes. Don’t automatically say you’re not using  their cabinets. Maybe you do maybe you don’t. But they are very easy to talk to you and you can work back-and-forth more with them.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics