To celebrate the high school and college graduation season Main Line Kitchen Design gives some tips on how to graduate Summa Cum Laude in Kitchen Renovations.
Tip #1 Like all graduates you will need to do some studying and research to get your diploma. One of the best first steps will be to go on the website Houzz.com to look at photos of kitchens to determine the styles, materials, and colors you like. Making an Idea Book on Houzz or a board on Pinterest.com of kitchens you like will help communicate your style to the designer you eventually chose to work with.
Tip# 2 You will next need to research to find the best kitchen designers and cabinet dealerships in your area. Houzz.com or Angieslist.com will a list the profiles of all the kitchen places close to you with reviews of each company you can read. It’s a good idea to Google the places you are considering too, in order to find out what people say about them online.
Tip #3 Once you have selected a kitchen designer to help walk you through the steps involved in renovating a kitchen you will have a professional directing you. They will help you find contractors if you need it, or many can run the project themselves should you prefer. Here is a list of the steps involved in a kitchen renovation. Your designer will help you focus on the next step for your individual project. Here is also a breakdown of how long your renovation might take. This is an average kitchen renovation and smaller jobs would take less time and larger jobs more time.
Note: Trying to speed things up beyond what is reasonable will usually backfire and you will never graduate at the top of your class rushing. You might even be left back!
Once you have made these first big steps on your kitchen renovation things should proceed smoothly and you will be on your way to the top of your class.
Congratulations to our designer Stacia Fischer for recently achieving NARI’s CLC certification.
And . . .Congratulations to all this season’s graduates.
Main Line Kitchen Design
Paul, Julie, John, Stacia, Tom, and Ed
2 Replies to “How to Graduate Top of Your Class in Kitchen Renovation!”
Pam Gefre
I am still a bit confused about the job of the kitchen designer. I thought they were involved in all aspects of the renovation from creating the design, to communicating with the contractor, coordinating the stages of the renovation, to picking cabinets, countertop, flooring, etc. with the customer. Does this vary among designers? Thank you.
pmcalary[ Post Author ]
Kitchen designers will help with all aspect of your renovation however they will not travel with you to the appliance stores, the Flooring and tile stores or go to the granite yard with you to help you pick your slab. Most kitchen designers can direct you to sales people that will help you select these things as well as light fixtures etc. You can discuss and bring back samples to the kitchen designer to coordinate. The contractor can make an appointment for the designer to come out and discuss the installation but kitchen designers are not on the job site nor do they shop with customers beyond the selection of the kitchen design itself and the cabinets styles and colors selected which is done in the office or showroom. In general good kitchen designers would charge at least $150/hr to travel with you which almost no one will pay. Interior designers can pick for you and bring you samples. Or some kitchen showrooms will have a simplified selections of tile, Flooring, and even appliances. These places can help you with more of the selections you need to make. Although you will be selecting from a very reduced number of products and paying a higher price for them.
As I remind many of our customers:
“The thing that customers don’t spend to get a kitchen that they love that’s also beautiful, functional, and a great value is not money, it is their own time.