Kitchen planners???

[MrsReber]

I want to re-do my kitchen. I'm not looking to do any construction, just some reconfiguration (and maybe the addition of an island- would that constitute construction?)

Anyway, I am very confused over what to do and need some options. Is there, somewhere out there, who does simple planning?? I don't want them to perform any installation of anything, I just want the person to stand in my kitchen and give me some ideas and tell me if my ideas will work or not. I don't want to bring a peice of graph paper into Lowe's and sit at a desk, I just want someone to stand in my kitchen and help me. I'm not the type of person who can look at a blue print and see the final picture in my head.

So, is there such a person? Do I have to call around? We have people to do the work and guide us in selecting cabinets and stuff.

[HejazSunKat]

My best ally was my contractor. He had 30 years of experience in kitchen remodeling and came over the house one night with a roll of blue painter's tape in hand and for 2 hours we hashed out various 'What if' scenarios that he taped out on the floor so that we got an idea what it was going to look like. I too was expecting to bring someone in who would show me all kinds of amazing possibilities I hadn't thought of but I was disappointed and I know I'm not alone in that experience. Based on my own experience with so-called kitchen designers (and it seems like people who sell cabinets and know how to use some simple design software decide to call themselves that) and anecdotes I've heard from friends doing similar projects I found that nobody had any better ideas than I did. You are probably the best designer for the job because you know what you like about your kitchen and what you don't, what works and what doesn't, what features you'd like to have and what you can happily live without. You might want to sit down and start writing that down. I would also start (if you haven't already) looking through magazines to get ideas of what you like in terms of style. You might think you don't know what you want but I'll bet you do.

In the end it was alot of minds coming up with great ideas along the way that got our job done; the 'vision' wasn't fully formed at the outset. The contractor helped us hash out the floor plan, the guy at the cabinet company helped us maximze the use of the cabinetry, the woman who sold us our granite came up with the idea for the backsplash behind the stove etc. Everyone who starts a job of this magnitude thinks they don't know enough but I guarantee you know more than you think. If you're using a contractor for the job talk to him about your ideas and let him tell you whether they're possible in your existing space. I've also recommended this ad nauseum on the board before but I'd suggest going over and hanging out on the kitchen remodeling forum on Garden Web. The barflies over there are happy to look at floor plans (when you have one) and give you their objective opinions and ideas for revision or to hold your hand while you stress over whatever current remodeling phase you happen to be involved in:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/

Good luck!

[charley]

I second the GW Kitchen forum (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/). I gleaned a lot of valuable information from that group over the years.

[ChristieinMB]

I'd interview an interior designer, actually several, you'll get different ideas and find one you like.

[MrsReber]

Linda, that's not a half bad idea about the tape. We do have several ideas. We have looked at plenty of magazines for ideas and we found a couple that would work in our kitchen. I know I want a workspace for my laptop, a little coffee area for DH and that wonderful KA mixer stand/cabinet. We even know where we want all the appliances. What we don't know is if it will actually work. The tape would certainly help.

I will check out the kitchen forum, too.

As for interior designers, I'd have to see who is around here and find out what it would cost.

Thanks for the input. We just put in french doors (replaced our ancient sliding door). We thought we'd have to tear up part of the floor, which would force us to do the kitchen----the floor is the last thing to go in so we couldn't replace the floor without doing the cabinets. Well, I was hopeful that it would come to that, but now there's not as much of a rush (except that I want it done now!!! :) ) We'll see- DH is pretty into the kitchen planning with me and we knew it was something that needed to be done when we bought the house. My cabinets are ridiculously small and placed rather stupidly. The previous owners must not have been too big on cooking.

[MinEaston]

I'll third the GW Kitchens forum. I've been hanging out there a lot the last few months. Sometime after Jan 1 we are going to completely remodel our 1950's era kitchen, including tearing down a load-bearing wall and all that.

I did the design for my childhood house kitchen 20 years ago. I helped my parents with their most recent kitchen project (about 3 years ago). For our current project, I've hired a residential designer who's charging me on an hourly consulting basis (PM me if you want more details). I've seen a lot of her work, and I like her approach - she has taken all the classes to be an architect but isn't one, and she approaches projects with a big-picture perspective. So far we've met with her for 2 hours and we have a preliminary sketch we're really happy with. So you might want to check if you have any of those type of people around.

I'm happy to look at pictures and sketches if you want an opinion from someone who's right in the middle of it!

[Beth]

Get some graph paper and take lots of measurements -- walls, doors, windows, wall edge to center of window or door, heights, widths, etc. Look at where hook ups are currently and try to determine what you have behind the walls to help or hinder access or moving any of those things. Consider your water needs, appliance list, dont' forget ventialtion, the ice maker line or little things like a water dispenser if you will want one (hot and/or cold).

Draw you current space (just the walls and anything fixed -- not including anything that will not stay). Once you feel you have everything pretty accurately, get that in pen and make some copies of it. Then you can use pencil to sketch in you ideas, move things, draw up alternative plans, etc.

I would also suggest getting input from GardenWeb members and a contractor or two before you go bid out cabinets. Your contractor may include cabinets for you, custom or semi-custom, but get their input about what you can move or change and what you need to keep in mind as you plan before you start tearing things out or ordering new things. We even put a hole in our ceiling to verify the placement and direction of the joists before we ordered anything or got started. We had to make sure we could move the cooktop and run the vent duct out before we got locked in to a floorplan, and we had this big lightbox that we cut inside of so it wasn't too obvious.

You can pay people to measure and draw for you, but you really need to think about what you want, need, can't stand, and understand the limits of your size or structure even if you are working with the most amazing designer for free or you won't get the kitchen that will work best for you and your family. You will probably get someone else's kitchen, which may be close.

Before you look to get input on a plan, you may want to spend some time -- maybe a lot of time, researching ideas and comments on other floorplans at GardenWeb. There are always a number of current plan threads and usually a couple of best/worst or what would you do again, not do again threads. You can get a lot of insight from those and then look at your ideas again with them in mind. Keep in mind that general preferences and so-called rules can be broken -- just know what you are trading and why. Then you will get a kitchen that truly fits your needs.

After we had a fairly well set plan, we took it to a number of places to get cabinet bids(no harm getting a bid from Lowe's or Home Depot, but whether the "designers" are any good or not is hit and miss). What they changed or didn't and why. how they listened to and responded to our comments as well as cabinet choices and pricing we all factors in who we chose. I think that if you cook a lot, it is more important to have someone who will listen to your needs and expectations -- and your dislikes. There is no one size fits all.

We did our kitchen last year, and the only thing we expect to change is our prep faucet -- it looks perfect but doesn't come out far enough into the sink bowl and washing hands or veggies splashes out the back. The one we got was on clearance and was about one tenth of one percent of our overall budget, so I think I can live with that while I continue to look for the perfect faucet. Or build it myself. ;)

Just kidding. Sort of.

Good luck, and have fun. It will try your patience, but you have to go through a lot of questions and decisions to know you've gotten the best you can do for you. Even if you hire a great designer.

[Laurielee]

I used a kitchen designer and for me it was a waste of my money. I cant remember how I found her. Even though you are not a blueprint person I would still do as Beth suggested and get graph paper with the little squares, and use a 1/4" for your measurement. Measure the footprint of your kitchen and draw that. then make little templates of cabinets, appliances, islands, etc, cut them out. and then you can play around and move them around on your on your footprint. Thats a start.

Laurie

[PamN]

I've used kitchen/bath designers several times, and think they are super. They can save you from so many mistakes, like handles that stick out and prevent a drawer on the next wall from opening, clearances needed for appliance doors so you don't trap yourself in the aisle between wall counter and island, etc. Good interior designers ought to know those things too (and so should contractors), but if somebody does kitchens/baths every day, these small but important points won't be overlooked. Plus, they're more likely to be aware of the newest products.

I'd suggest you interview several (preferably at your house) just to get an idea of their style and how well you think you can work with them and how well they are listening to you. Be prepared to sketch out for them what works for you in the current setup and what doesn't, and see if they suggest some alternative ideas that might work better. As others have suggested, do some homework beforehand so you can try a couple of ideas of your own on them to see how they respond. I really appreciated the designers who could see what I was really looking for and suggest several ways to achieve that.

After your plans are done, interview several contractors as well. It will be a team effort and everyone needs to be able to work together. No matter how well you think you've planned, something will always come up.