It may be tempting to save a bit of money and design your own kitchen. Don’t do it, unless you really know what you are doing, warns David Pinsley. He is vice president/senior designer/sales executive for First Rate Renovations, Inc. and Cultured Marble Products in San Leandro, California, serving the entire San Francisco Bay Area, and has 50 years of experience designing kitchens and bathrooms and working on various home renovation projects.
When it comes to designing a kitchen, many homeowners think they can save money and do the initial design work themselves. After all, they reason, who knows their wants and needs best? Who better knows their eating or cooking habits, and the habits of their family and friends?
But stop for one moment, and ask yourself a simple question before you bring out the paper and pencil and sit down to start sketching your design. Are you qualified? That is the biggest question, after all.
Know Thy Kitchen
You know what you want and what you would like to have, based upon the fact that you know what you do not have, or what your friend has, or what you saw in the showroom. But are you familiar with all the dimensions of your kitchen? Are you aware of how much space is to the left of the range, to the right of the range? Do you know how big a dishwasher is, how much space you need to install one, how much space you need in front of that?
If you know all of that, then yes, you can decide to design you own kitchen. But if you do not know the answers to all those questions, you need a professional. Or you need to hire someone who will listen to your needs, and then assist you in perfecting your design.
The designer should make sure you talk to someone who has the ability to listen to your needs. That should be a crucial part of the selection process when it comes to choosing the right designer. So if you do not have complete trust and confidence in your designer, then you should probably be talking to someone else - like us.
