A kitchen is a complex and important part of your home. That's why hiring an interior designer to help you layout your new kitchen might be in your best interest. By exploring practical design solutions, considering design factors and understanding the mechanical aspects of your kitchen, a certified kitchen designer can help you to find the best designs, materials and appliances for your new kitchen. A certified kitchen designer can help you get the best kitchen for your money and include ideas and benefits you may not have thought of in your kitchen design. An experienced and qualified kitchen designer can provide you with ideas, knowledge and budget friendly design options that may be difficult at best to find on your own. Use this guide to decide whether or not you need a certified kitchen designer for your new kitchen project.
Why Hire an Interior Designer?
Because a kitchen design is so full of design options like appliances, lighting, cabinets and countertops it might be best to let someone who's used to the huge array of materials show you what suits your tastes and your budget best. Whether you are planning on building a new kitchen or renovating an old one, a kitchen designer can supply you with the knowledge you need to find the best materials, products and design elements for your kitchen. Experience is the key to a quality kitchen design.
Experience is the best function that a qualified kitchen designer can bring to the table. But not all interior designers have experience with kitchen design. Always ask for at least three references to ensure your interior designer is qualified and experienced in kitchen design.
A good portfolio or showroom can let you know exactly what your interior designer is capable of. When evaluating a showroom or portfolio, ask yourself this basic question: Is the showroom or portfolio well designed? If it leaves little to be desired, you may need to find another interior designer. What you see is often what you get when searching through designers past works.
Finding the Best
While licensing and insurance is a must have for most remodeling professionals, an interior designer might not have those credentials. Interior designers don't necessarily need a license and insurance to do business. So how do you know they are qualified? Websites, portfolios and showrooms are only the first steps towards finding a true kitchen design professional. More often than not, interior designers find their work through referrals.
When you're looking for the best kitchen design, it's best to find a design you like. That's why referrals play a big part in finding the best kitchen designer possible. If you like your best friend's kitchen design, hiring their kitchen designer is in your best interests. Even if you don't know any of your prospective kitchen designer's previous clients, viewing their work and asking their past clients yourself how the job went can let you know exactly how they do their job and if it's something you want for you kitchen.
Asking the Right Questions
Once you're comfortable with the right interior designer, it's time to ask them a few questions to decide if they are right for your job. The most important question to ask is: Will your designer create a kitchen that suits your needs or will they design a kitchen according to their tastes? While most interior designers are ready to work for you, if they are adding on ideas and styles that really don't meet your needs, then you may want to consider hiring someone else who is ready to work for you, not for themselves.
Will your designer respect your budget? The budget rules the project in every kitchen design. If your designer is adding in windows, ripping out walls and throwing you ideas that are going to cost a fortune, then you may want to consider hiring someone else.
Services
Who does what and for how much is essential to keeping the design within budget restraints. Your kitchen designer should be able to provide you with a list of their services. Are they going to just sell you cabinets or are they going to provide the entire service from top to bottom? Without knowing what your interior designers full service of work is going to entail, you may find yourself with a nice countertop, but no lighting plan and no electrician to hook it all up.
Hiring an interior designer to design your kitchen is just the start of the project for many interior designers. Working with plumbing contractors, cabinet installers and building contractors is the most crucial phase of kitchen design. An interior designer who has very good relations with building contractors and their subcontractors is sure to be a good bet that they are going to give you the kitchen you want.
Drawing a Plan
Once you've narrowed down the field of designers for your new kitchen, it's time to start drawing up a useful plan that suits your needs and tastes. Ask this most important question of your designer before you begin drawing up any plans: What happens if I don't like your design? Unless they are willing to draw up multiple plans before you begin the project, then you may find that you're stuck with a single plan that's hard to work with. Always make sure your plan is multi-faceted and unique to your preferences.
A kitchen designer who hand draws or sketches a quick design for your approval is the best way to start. This simple idea sketch can help the designer and you choose the best kitchen plan that suits your budget and your needs. Once a kitchen designer has an approved hand sketch, they can then build a design blueprint that shows exactly what will go into your kitchen and how it looks when it is completed. A computer designed blueprint that is drawn to scale can then be printed out for your approval.
Once a blueprint has been drawn up, a fixed price estimate complete with a cost breakdown list should be submitted for your approval. Price, options and a final design should be available for the homeowner to decide which design will best serve their interests, budget and style.
Posted by: TrustedProsSuggested Reading For You
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