- At large home centers and kitchen showrooms, designers are often available for no additional fee. These people are compensated through commissions on the materials and installations they sell.
- Other retailers charge a fee for design services that will be deducted from the cost of cabinets you buy. This type of design service can be as simple as visiting your home to measure for new cabinets to preparing detailed plans for equipping your new kitchen.
- Independent kitchen designers work for themselves, not the sellers of kitchen cabinets. They are therefore more inclined to satisfy your needs than to sell you specific products. A good independent designer will have training in design or architecture and a track record of designing kitchens or building custom cabinets.
Any one of these types of kitchen designer can be helpful. The important point is to understand how each is compensated and then shop around for someone who listens to you, offers wise advice and seems more intent on providing good service than merely pumping up their fee or commission.
You will get the best results with a kitchen designer by becoming knowledgeable about the subject yourself. Let a designer help guide your selection of cabinets, for example, but trust your own instincts, taste and budget when making the final decision. Consumer Reports found that homeowners who relied exclusively on professionals to choose their kitchen cabinets were much more likely to experience dissatisfaction than those who became involved in the selection.
As with all professional services, always ask for references, and then call a few of the references to find out how satisfied they were with the service the designer provided.
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