Kitchen Solutions

Kitchen Design Services (How This Works)

When a potential client contacts me about creating a kitchen design for them, the flow of events follows a pattern. We talk about my fee structure and I meet with them to discuss ideas and look over the space. I take careful measurements and photos and look in their basement if they have one to see if there are structural issues to contend with, and to check out the plumbing, heating and cooling, and especially the electrical systems to see if they can meet the demands of a modern kitchen. I also look over their "Idea File" if they've created one. (Hopefully they have). I then work on floor plans, providing alternative layouts if necessary. Usually I e-mail these to my customer and they give me feedback. After the final layout is finished, depending on how far they want me to go, I will work with them selecting finishes, counters, appliances, etc., importing these into the finished plan, as in the loft kitchen above.

"That sounds great", you say, "but we live a thousand miles away!" To which I would reply, "No problem!" Seriously, it's a little more complicated, but I do it all the time. E-mail, digital cameras and scanners, and software have made this possible. More and more I find myself using Google Sketchup for my design, and clients can download the free Sketchup Viewer to view, rotate, zoom in and otherwise navigate through the drawings.

 There is some other work that has to be done for this long distance relationship to work. You will have to provide me with site measurements, photos of your existing space, and copies of anything you've put together while doing your research. It might make sense to hire a competent contractor for a few hours to make measurements and check out the utilities. So, there's a little more work on your end and a little less on mine.

If you're interested in having me do some design work for you, or would like some more information, please e-mail me from the link at the top of the left column on this site.

This is your kitchen homework assignment! (or, How to get ready to meet with a kitchen designer).

You've been thinking for weeks, months, years or decades about re-doing your kitchen, and you're finally ready to move. There are several options available to you. You can walk into a big-box home center and work with a box/counter/appliance salesperson (oops-I meant "Kitchen Designer"). You can go to an independent kitchen and bath company, where you will probably deal with a legitimate designer who also happens to be a commissioned sales person. Or you can hire an independent designer who may or may not have any financial stake in your job beyond design fees. In my biased opinion, this can be the best option, especially when dealing with challenging rooms, but that's not the focus of this post!

Please don't do any of these things without doing some homework first. When a potential client makes an appointment with me, I am going to look for some input. I'm going to ask you what does or doesn't work about your existing kitchen. Do you have enough space in the confines of your existing room, or are you looking to expand? How many cook at the same time? If the answer is one, is that because of your lousy layout or lack of counter space? How many people have you cooked for at one time? How many would you like to cook for? What else do you use the room for, or would like to use it for? This is a very important question because the kitchen has become the center of most peoples lifestyles at home. What level of appliances, sinks, faucets, etc. are you looking to install? (If you tell me that you're going to keep your 12-year old Kenmore range I'm going to try to talk you out of it). What big changes do you want to make? (for instance, are you looking to add a seating area that doesn't exist right now). How about countertops? These are things that you can do research on before dealing with a professional.

And the big question for most customers, What do you want it to look like? As a designer, my initial focus is on traffic flow, appliance layout (especially where to put the refrigerator), etc.- the foundation of the working plan. Most clients focus first on cabinet styles, colors, counter surfaces and the like. I need you to come prepared with a working file of photos from magazines, tagged book pages and printed out web images of anything and everything that catches your eye. It doesn't have to be organized or cohesive- it's my job to help you put together the pieces into a unified whole.

Probably the most important question and the most difficult for most people is, How much do you want to spend? This can be tough especially when you're dealing with a salesperson. It's important, though, to have a realistic budget. If you tell me that all the utilities need to be upgraded and you want custom cabinetry and granite tops for $15,000, you're not being realistic. Kitchen budgets come in all shapes and sizes, but you can't get Dom Perignon for the price of Budweiser.

All of this is meant to get you started on thinking about the design process and all of the many parts of this complex room. Think about what you have and what you want. Do your homework and you'll get a good grade in the form of a great finished project.

Turning The Corner In Your Kitchen Plan

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Most kitchens have one or more changes of direction in their cabinet layouts that call for some kind of corner cabinet. How these spots are handled can have a big effect on efficiency and functionality of your new kitchen. There are several good ways to deal with this situation. The most basic corner cabinet is called a blind corner, as shown in the next drawing: 

In it's worst form it has only fixed or adjustable shelves. The back portion (to the left of the opening in this drawing) is a kind of black hole where things disappear until the next renovation. These kinds of cabinets are common in older homes and in cheap "Builder" kitchens and should be avoided at all costs. I'm not saying that blind corner cabinets should be ruled out completely. There are some designs where they are the best or only solution available. And there are some inserts available that make these cabinets pretty effective. The first is 1/2 round shelves that turn and slide out, as illustrated below:

 

The key to using these inserts is that they must be from a quality manufacturer. Because they come out so far they must have heavy duty hardware supporting the shelves, and the shelves must be strong enough to support moderate weight. Even then there are limits to how much weight these will hold.

The second solution for a blind corner is what is commonly called a "Magic Corner".  This is a serious piece of engineering, as illustrated here:

 

The right hand (in this configuration) shelves are either attached to the door or not depending on the manufacturer, and pull out and over. At the same time the back shelves slide over and in some cases out to provide pretty much full access to the available space. They work- I've had one in my kitchen for 10 years and we use it to store pots and pans. This kind of engineering and robust quality comes at a price and you should expect to pay a premium for a cabinet with this type of hardware, but it provides a lot of valuable storage space in a difficult situation.

The more common situation is a full corner cabinet, as shown here:

In it's most basic form with just fixed or adjustable shelves it's not very useful, even though there is a lot of space inside, because the opening is fairly cramped and you have to reach way in to get to the back. This is why you see lazy susan hardware in all but the cheapest kitchens:

 

There is also a version that works with certain styles of cabinetry where the doors fold in and rotate with the trays. This works on a 3/4 round cabinet (where the doors form a right angle instead of 45 degrees).

 

As in the blind corner hardware, cheap quality will not work here. These shelves are big and capable of holding a lot of stuff. In the cases above, all of that weight is carried by that center shaft.  I have found that, in situations where I knew these cabinets were going to get heavy use, individual rotating trays mounted on sturdy shelves is a better solution.

The last corner configuration that I'm going to discuss is where the layout turns to form a peninsula.  Any of the previous set-ups will work here, but another option is to access the corner from the back side:

This could, for example, provide storage for linens, platters,etc. on the dining room side of the room.

Everything that has been written here concerns corners in lower cabinetry.  What about upper corners? While the shapes of these cabinets are the same, it's not always possible or even necessary to fit these with inserts and it's much more common to have simple adjustable shelves here. Because upper corners are half as deep as lowers, it's much easier to access the interiors. And because these cabinets have so much open space in them, they are very useful for storing a lot of dishes and glassware.

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Reverse Design With Sketchup

Charles + Ray Eames Stamps