Reasons Not To Skip The Designer - Part 3

Brenda had been obsessing for weeks over the final few decisions on her kitchen remodel. She had to admit, remodeling was much harder and more stressful than she'd anticipated. It had started off well enough, she’d been so excited through the first few selections—cabinets, countertops, and appliances, but then the thrill had steadily started to decline, and now, she was officially fried. 

The combination of trying to meet deadlines at work, chauffeur the kids to their activities, handling dinners, bedtimes, etc. just didn’t leave her any bandwidth for making even the smallest design decision. And there were several left to make. So Brenda did what so many busy moms do, and called upon the Google gods to find a local designer who could come help her “pull it all together”.

The following Wednesday, Brenda met her designer Connie at the house for a consultation. It was expensive, but at this point Brenda was ready to be done, and Connie had impressive online reviews. Brenda showed Connie into the kitchen and was surprised when Connie looked a bit like a deer in headlights.

What was wrong? Connie didn’t look impressed by the new kitchen, she looked…scared.

Brenda brushed it aside, and explained that she needed help selecting hardware, light fixtures, and accessories. Connie seemed to gather herself before nodding and walking slowly through the kitchen, taking it all in.

Finally Brenda asked “Is everything alright?”

Connie grimaced and explained, “Yes, I was just a bit surprised by a few of the choices.”

“Which choices?” Brenda asked, a little annoyed, but no less curious.

“Well,” Connie said carefully, “The layout seems a little forced, a little compressed, and the lighting placement is off center from the focal point of the space…”

“I didn’t call you here to critique my decisions, I called you to advise me on my remaining selections,” Brenda stated abruptly.

“I was simply being honest,” Connie explained, “And when I design a kitchen I don’t usually design the last few decisions, I design the entire composition. Every design choice has a reason behind it. The reason I was analyzing your kitchen as it stands now is because it matters. If I am to advise you on remaining selections, I need to evaluate what you have, and strategize how to create the best quality results.”

Brenda stood there shocked for a moment. Of course, of course her original decisions mattered. But Brenda didn’t like the implication that she’d done something wrong. She’d invested tens of thousands of dollars in custom cabinetry and stone. What exactly was the problem?

“Can you help me understand what the issue is with my kitchen?”

“Well it’s too late to make any changes now, since your countertops and floors are already in place,” explained Connie, “But, here’s my honest take—your island is too small. It looks like it was an afterthought, or something you really wanted that the space realistically couldn’t accommodate. Adding pendant lights will not only draw attention to this flaw, but also the fact that your centerlines are conflicting.”

Connie spoke so confidently and matter-of-factly, Brenda just stood there in silence taking it all in.

Her kitchen cabinet salesperson had warned her that the island was a bad idea, but she’d insisted upon it. Every kitchen she’d saved on Pinterest had an island. She wanted an island and wouldn’t be swayed. She knew what she wanted.

Though now it seemed that her designer was both calling her on that bad decision, and telling her it was too late to fix.

“So what can I do?” Brenda asked, frustrated, but desperate to get to the solution.

“Skip the pendants.”

Brenda blinked. Skip the pendants? But all her Pinterest boards had pendant lights, and they seemed to be a critical design detail.

“I know that pendants are really popular,” Connie added, “And in any number of kitchens pendants would be a given. But in this kitchen you need to highlight the strengths and distract from the flaws. You have a gorgeous kitchen window—I would highlight it with a custom roman shade, and invest in some nice cabinet hardware in a warm bronze hue. Then warm up the space with a runner along the sink wall.”

“That sounds nice,” Brenda said. “I wasn’t sure what to do about the window, but that sounds like it would look nice. Could it look something like this?” Brenda pulled out her tablet to show Connie one of her Pins that featured a pretty window shade.

“Yes, exactly,” Connie nodded. “If you need a source for that I have a gal who makes the best quality roman shades, you won’t be disappointed.”

“Oh thank you,” gushed Brenda. “What about hardware?”

“This collection from Jeffrey Alexander is really nice,” Connie pulled out a catalog to show her. “I think it would really capture the more traditional style you are after.”

Brenda and Connie continued to chat for another hour, deciding on hardware and direction for décor. While Brenda was relieved that Connie brought some solid ideas to the table, she was annoyed that she had made irreversible, expensive, and apparently “flawed” decisions that needed to be worked around. A new kitchen shouldn’t have to be worked around. And when she had laid out the cabinet plan with her cabinet designer, she wasn’t thinking about the lighting layout, or whether the placement of that lighting would be askew. She wasn’t thinking about how the island would look different from the inspo pics on Pinterest. She just wanted an island.

Brenda got the sense that had she brought Connie in much earlier, she might have enjoyed a closer resemblance to her dream kitchen in the end. Connie would have caught mistakes early enough to fix them, or altogether avoided missteps in the first place. She promised herself that on her bath remodel next year, Connie would be the first person she called. One expensive mistake was more than enough.

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Brenda’s problem wasn’t that she didn’t know what she wanted. It was that she couldn’t visualize what the floor plans were depicting. She couldn’t understand how fundamentally different her kitchen shell was from the kitchens she’d seen on Pinterest. She couldn't effectively judge when the gentle guidance from her cabinet salesperson was something to take seriously. And most of all, she couldn’t juggle dozens of different critical design decisions at once. 

She'd had a small set of priorities, and some solid inspo pics. Brought in early enough, a thoughtful designer like Connie could easily have developed a plan that helped Brenda achieve professional and better proportioned results, rather than helping her with calculated bandaid fixes.

If you’re considering investing in a kitchen remodel or other remodel for your home, call the designer FIRST. If it seems expensive, it’s because it should be. You are paying a consultant who knows the process immeasurably better than you do, who can visualize, who can juggle hundreds of design decisions and somehow keep them all cohesive, who is looking out for your best interest, who will get a strong plan in place BEFORE you blow tens of thousands of dollars, and perhaps most valuable of all, can help you avoid bad contractors. That is an investment in your home, your sanity, and your long term emotional health. A couple thousand in consulting fees may seem like a splurge, but that is much better than $100,000 or more in errors. 

It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. Particularly for moderate to larger sized kitchens in the Bay Area. Plus in the last 8 years, we have shifted from trends that are extremely cheap to build to the polar opposite. White shaker full-overlay MDF cabinets are out, and solid white oak inset panel cabinets are in. Quartz is out. Quartzite is in. That is a price increase of at least 200%. When you buy a cheaper car, it's easier to get cheaper insurance. When you buy a luxury car, insurance costs more. It's the same with remodels. The designer is your insurance policy. Not literally, but if there was anything close to an insurance policy to make sure you don't blow tens of thousands on home remodel errors, an established interior designer is IT.

Whether you’re remodeling, refurnishing, or not sure which path to take, you can view our list of services online, and see which service makes the most sense for your needs.

Say “Yes” to less stress. Inquire with Judy Olson Interiors today. 

Serving Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo, Northgate, and Ruby Hill.

This is a great example of a kitchen island that is out of place. The size of this kitchen is not compatible with an island, especially a fixed one with seating on both sides. Imagine what a pain this kitchen would be to cook in, and how it actually looks smaller than it is because it has been overcrowded. Don't be a Brenda. Call the designer FIRST.