4 Key Questions To Find Your Perfect Kitchen Designer

When it comes to designing a new kitchen for your home, getting professional help is highly recommended. After all, a new kitchen is a major long-term investment and it’s important to get it right first time. Most homeowners will have a pretty good idea of what their want the new kitchen space to look and feel like, but it’s only by working with a great kitchen designer that your dreams can be translated into reality.

So far, so good, but how can you tell a ‘great’ kitchen designer from a not so great one? While it’s always sensible to trust your instincts when you speak to a professional who is going to transform the heart of your home, design mistakes can be costly to rectify later on. That’s why doing your homework is essential before you sign on the dotted line. Here are 4 key questions you should be asking.

Does the kitchen company have the right creative design credentials?

Every kitchen company will try to convince you that they have the best designers but it pays to dig a bit deeper. How long have they been designing kitchens? Will they produce state-of-the-art CAD drawings to help you visualize your new kitchen?

Can you see some real-life examples of their work? What’s their showroom like? Have they won any design awards? The KBSA (Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom Specialists Association) gives out annual designer awards that are a good starting point.

Choose a designer whose preferred style aligns with your own vision for your new kitchen. There’s no point going with a kitchen company that favors traditional farmhouse kitchens if you’re looking for a cutting-edge contemporary design.

Perhaps most importantly, find a kitchen designer who delivers more than just great conceptual design. Kitchens are hardworking, everyday spaces that should be a combination of style and substance. Choose an experienced designer with an eye for the practical and someone who understands your lifestyle requirements.

Is the design team wowing you with technical ability and product knowledge?

An eye for design may be an essential skill that every great kitchen should possess but as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The design, supply and installation process should be seamless, with different craftsmen working collaboratively in the full understanding of what each job entails.

A kitchen designer with knowledge and experience of architectural draughting, construction and joinery will have the advantage since s/he can see the entire process from a materials technology and production perspective. A good insight into buildings and interiors trend will also put them in the best position to recommend the right state-of-the-art solution for your home.

Product knowledge is key. You should absolutely expect a great kitchen designer to have an excellent understanding and near-encyclopedic knowledge of available kitchen solutions, from different types of cabinetry and genius storage solutions to appliances, lighting, and accessories.

Find out whether your shortlisted kitchen designer works with a particular kitchen supplier or bespoke cabinet maker, and ask about their preferred kitchen appliance brands too.

Do you think they really understand your lifestyle and kitchen needs?

“Put bluntly, it is the job of the kitchen designer to make your dream kitchen a reality. It’s a daunting job that not only takes a lot of technical skill and creative talent but also, crucially, the ability to tailor the result to the needs of the client. As one high-end kitchen company puts it, “everything we design is with you in mind” (Simon Taylor Furniture).”

A great kitchen designer should be asking questions about your lifestyle, the living spaces in your home, how you use the kitchen, your cooking style and what exactly you want from your new kitchen. He needs to be a great listener, take on boards your likes and dislikes and have a natural aptitude for solving problems.

Taking his cue from regular feedback and consultations with you, he should use his considerable expertise to come up with stunning ideas that he thinks you will like. What’s more, he will offer plenty of advice and support to guide you to the end result: a kitchen that you’re completely happy with. If you get the feeling that you’re being pushed into a direction you don’t want to go, walk away now.

Is the kitchen designer someone you can do business with?

Communication skills are a key attribute for every great designer, and that includes kitchen experts. Not only do they need to establish a good rapport with you, the client, they also need to be able to liaise effectively with building contractors, plumbers, electricians and any other trades to get your dream kitchen completed on time and on budget.

Most kitchen design companies offer an initial free consultation. Use this opportunity not just to be wowed by their showroom display kitchens and to listen to the sales patter, but to get a good idea of what they would be like to work with. How do they communicate – freely and easily, or formally with a sense of caution? Ask to see testimonials and perhaps the name of one or two previous clients that you can talk to about their experience.

For a major home renovation project such as a kitchen redesign, it’s all about teamwork. You should be looking for a professional company with kitchen designers that engender a sense of honesty, trust, and respect.