There is so much information that people on this forum will have to share with you. Start here... with us. Then, you can make a decision where and how far you want to go with this. So let's start very simple, how big is your kitchen? Do you want to just remodel the exisiting space or reconfigure the interior layout of your home? Also consider, do you want to keep your flooring, windows, placement of plumbing/electrical? Those are some real basics... you'll be amazed at the responses you get.

We had the same problems at the kitchen store - they want to sell you the entire package and you get blown off for just wanting the cabinets. We started at a combination of kitchen stores and HD/Lowes. Took a bunch of the designs and the Kraftmaid spec's as they were't very creative with all the special cabinets Kraftmaid had and went at it. Then the place we ordered from - Just Cabinets tweeked it upon order. Everything fit perfectly with our measurements. We had a small kitchen so we couldn't do any fancy details so it wasn't hard at all. We started with no budget and the basic white cabinets then did a major upgrade to cherry with a glaze.

Where to start.... great question! The prior posters have covered all the basics for you, so I'll just tell you what we did. I do not have a creative bone in my body, so I needed some serious help visualizing the kitchen. I ended up using a home software program that allowed me to drag and drop cabinets and appliances. This helped me immensely. (We are in a whole home remodel due to a flood, and we need to cut costs where ever we can. This included not hiring any designers, kitchen or otherwise.)

I then took our plans and dimensions to Lowes and used their Kitchen Designer/Cabinet pricer to get an idea of what price range we were in. We also took the same design and priced it out at a kitchen design store. The price range was huge!

I spent a lot of time here in the Kitchen Forum reading about layout issues. This made me take another look at my design. I just couldn't think outside the box. So... I posted my layout here and such was the beginning of the most amazing thread.

I can honestly say that I tried every design option that was mentioned in that thread. Every one!!! Most of the time I was just shaking my head thinking... "oh this will never work" and then like magic... it did! Sometimes it didn't, but it got me going in another direction. I would post my results and my thoughts about them. More posts and suggestions would come in and I would start again. The generosity of the forum members here are a force to be reckoned with!

My kitchen was designed by this forum and was altered my me. It was further altered by plumbing issues. A prep sink could not go in the location we wanted it to go which in turn changed many other cabinet stacks. Something like... well, if I have to put the prep sink here, then the dish drawers have to move over there so that they are not too far away from the dishwasher, but then that will make the pots and pans drawer move to there.... and on and on.

I wish I could post finished pictures, but we are far, far away from completion. We ended up using a custom cabinet maker for the kitchen cabinets. He also made the rest of the built in cabinets for our home. Do not rule out custom cabinetry. He ended up beating everyone else price wise.

Check out this link from the kitchen forum FAQ
http://starpoohonline.com/wordpress/2007/08/03/beginning-a-kitchen-plan/#more-34/
(Clicky link should be at the bottom)

Then check out the rest of the FAQ page including the Sweeby Test. There is a lot of information there. Oh yeah... and did you see this thread?
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0212134214478.html?82

That post has links to the finished kitchen blog and others.

Happy Researching!

Well we took a different tack - after doing our research (here, brochures from the big box stores, magazines, etc) I sketched out a rough layout incorporating what we want. Its not that hard - keep in my most cabinet widths are in 3" increments in regular cabinets - so use that to start 12, 15, 18, etc.

From there we met with 3 separate KDs - one from a higher end store, one from a mid-range store and one a contractor referred to us. I gave them the plan I drew and showed them some pics we ripped from brochures / magazines to clarify what we were looking for.

Each tweaked things a bit in their own way and came up with their version of our basic design.

now I should add this is our third go round. I previously designed our kitchen in our house when we built it 16 years ago, and before that I did a DIY design and install in our old house. But doing a layout is not hard to get a feel for what you want. then you are better educated when presenting your ideas to several KDs to get final layouts and pricing on

I started by looking (and dreaming about) kitchens in the multiple magazines out for sale, and searching the web sites of This Old House, DIY, etc. to get ideas. (I didn't find this lovely site until two weeks ago) I went to Lowe's, but the k.d. was very young, and didn't seem to know much (new employee?). I then went to four different kitchen design/builder businesses that I looked up on the NK&B site and through the yellow pages. One place was very "uppity", and said just their cabinets cost $50,000, and that they couldn't help me if that wasn't in my budget. (We set our budget at $30,000, so, no.) After I got quotes and rough layouts from the other 3, I picked one whose ideas I liked the best and who gave us the most for our money. I'm sure if the KD at Lowe's wasn't a young, inexperienced kid, I might have chosen him. Good Luck and have fun!

I like what Football Mom has to say - and the last line is incomprehensibly important "TAKE YOUR TIME". Please don't rush this. (I tried.. what a joke!)
I would add one thing - when/if you go to Home Depot or Lowe's - get an APPOINTMENT with a KD. That way she/he is prepared to spend a good amount of time with you. I would also add, it was very much appreciated by my KD at Home Depot (who we eventually went with), that we brought a ton of pics of what we have now.. as well as pics I'd taken off the internet of things people had done to their kitchens that I liked. You can get those here, as well as on HGTV's website - under "Rate My Space".
Good luck!
Boxie

We had two kitchen designs done by competing local Wood-Mode shops. They did not charge for the basic design, they only charge for the follow-on detail drawings if you decide to go further, the cost of which is refunded if you order cabinets. Both of these CKDs came up with designs that were frankly nothing special and in fact would not have worked since neither one considered the forced air heating duct in a wall they wanted to move.

We then found a local custom cabinet maker and he worked with us to come up with a design. Essentially, we designed our own kitchen based on what we wanted and liked. We have made many tweaks to the original design over the course of the last few years as this DIY remodel evolved. You would never be able to do that with an outfit that really only wanted to sell you expensive cabinets and be done with you. This procedure is not for everyone, but it has worked well for us.

I spent a lot of time with graph paper. My kitchen isn't large and I wanted to fit every possible inch of cabinetry in. By the time I talked to anyone, I had a really good idea of what I needed.

At Lowe's and Home Depot, spend some time looking and watching the KDs if you can. I browsed through a few times anonymously, and I was able to spot the more experienced people and approach them for appointments. The quality of employees there varies tremendously.

If you do go this way, be aware that they, nor their installers, are general contractors (GCs). They sell and install cabinets. They can't help or coordinate with plumbers or electricians or flooring people.

Regardless of how you get it done, be prepared to check and double check every measurement and dimensions of every item, from sink to cabinets to flooring. Mistakes get made by every worker, no matter what you pay them. You can save yourself huge headaches by staying involved at the most detailed level.

I have no construction experience whatsoever, but I had project management skills and lots of time, and I was able to be GC fairly effectively, so Lowe's worked out for me.

There is no one way to do a DIY or to start a DIY.

Getting the cabinets, is only one small phase of a kitchen redo. Don't get too hung up on that part.

Do a search here for the Sweeby test. Figure out what you want from a new kitchen- don't limit yourself to anything- write down what you do and don't like about your present space. Once you know what you want the space to do, then it will be so much easier to start designing it. I really would come here first with a detailed layout of your space (and adjoining areas), let the creative and generous minds here have a go at it. THEN, start going to lots of different kitchen places to see what is out there and what you like. As many have said, sometimes getting a custom carpenter will be far more reasonable than you might have guessed. (But that's getting way ahead of the process)- the specific cabinets/finishes, etc. are the 'easy' details to add AFTER you've figured out your space.

We may convince you to knock down walls.... (I did at the last minute when our KD was in our kitchen finalizing layout) Thank God- one of the best things we did about this reno.

I started with some books and the Better Homes & Gardens design software. Two books that I keep coming back to are: "Kitchen redos, revamps, remodels & replacements" by Jan Weimer and "Kitchens that work" by Martin Edic & Richard Edic. Two of the best things I did that both books recommend is to list everything you like and everything you don't like about your current kitchen.. EVERYTHING! And to list everyting that is stored or should be stored in the kitchen. Each version of my plan was decked against those lists and helped me avoid mistakes. Don't rush the design. Consumer Reports helped me understand the specifics of cabinet construction and what the difference were between the specs that are out there. (the books are surprisingly unspecific about this.) I have a spreadsheet I could send out if you want.

If you do your own design the kitchen & bath designers association has website that lists the recommendations for aisle widths etc. That was invaluable. ( I posted the link in the forum - you could search for it.)

The other thing that was a great money saver was really researching appliances. I really got to know what features were out there and what good values were. Then I started my quest. I found the fridge I wanted as a floor model and the cooktop I wanted but the range model also a floor model - Together they were $5,000 off. So if you know what you need/want you can take advantage of things like that. You also need to have a good sense of your appliances to do your design.

Finally - use this site! It's fantastic. There are so many great people willing to share and help.

I found a cheap home design program in the shovelware bin at Best Buy for 9.99 and played "what if" with my house for nearly 3 years.

Without a doubt, this entire project was possible BECAUSE I did that. I had explored just about every conceivable way of rearranging the space and, because the 3d renderings were pretty realistic (and I knew that from having used it previously to arrange furniture, and being very happy with how well it predicted "reality") I was able to get a really REALLY good idea of the possibilities before I started talking to people about the realities of my ideas.

We spoke to everybody we could think of including handyman, realtor friends, architect friends - I gleaned as much about the "theology" of load bearing walls (ie, anything is possible as long as you're willing to pay for it, but a good rule of thumb is the narrower the opening, the less extra support it will need), how complicated it was to move plumbing (with plastic pipe, not particularly), just how tight a corner sink would feel and any number of other bits and pieces.

Then I went to HD, Lowes, Reico and Just Cabinets and had their kitchen people set up designs for me, for free. HD wouldn't do a design without doing a formal measure - which was impossible because I knew that we'd be moving walls and without them being constructed yet, we couldn't measure the spaces! - but I got possible layouts from other vendors and then went and priced specific cabinets at HD to compare costs (they don't terribly like to do it that way, but they will if you ask them). It got to the point where I'd pick 3 or 4 specific cabinets to price in different lines, compare the costs and get an idea of what might be possible with varying woods and styles.

Then I started shopping for builders/contractors. The (unbelievably wonderful) GC I wound up with is somebody who likes designing kitchens, so between us - and all the input I had from this forum (which was A LOT - the brainstorming and help from folks in here was integral to the final design) - we came up with a final layout based on my ideas expressed in the computer designs I drew, his experience, and the limitations of my secondhand cabinets. The results are WONDERFUL, with the best laid out kitchen I have ever had the pleasure of living with - couldn't be happier.

But, without having spent hours and HOURS moving virtual cabinets around, I wouldn't have been able to do my part of it. I wouldn't have been able to take full advantage of the wealth of knowledge of folks in this place. I wouldn't have had a CLUE, really, because just leaving it to other people, or looking at it in 2d wasn't enough - it was the constant investment of myself in it as well as the 3d and "walkthrough" renditions which let me see whether or not the ideas would really work in my limited spaces.

One way to start playing with things is to use the free Ikea planner - yes, it's limited to their cabinet sizes, but even that will start to give you a feel for the possibilities in your space and, perhaps even more importantly, the possibilities if you consider altering your space. Merillat also has a virtual designer which is pretty fun to play "what if" with.

Best of luck with it!

I had a decent idea of what I wanted, or at least the basics, when I met with a KD who had done a friend's kitchen. He did drawings that were not even remotely close to what I had told him I wanted. He tried again and got a little closer, but he still missed the mark pretty badly. I got frustrated and gave up for awhile.

About a year later, I had thought a lot more about it, so although I actually had done nothing, I was more clear about the things I wanted. About this time, I found a contractor who seemed to "get" my ideas fairly well. He recommended a KD, who happened to be from the same company as the first one (the first one had left the company by then). Before I met with this one, I had done a fairly detailed drawing of how I wanted things laid out. I gave the drawings to the KD and he drew up a plan. His plan was just OK and after a lot of tweaking it got to a point I was comfortable with.

It was somewhere around this time that I found this forum and got some great ideas to incorporate, and of course, some he just couldn't do, which was rather frustrating. Then, he gave me the quote, which was about twice what I was expecting. After a lot of cuts and trims, we got it down to at least close to my budget, but the resulting plan was no longer the kitchen I wanted.

Frustrated again, I vented to another friend who recommended the small, local cabinet maker who had done her kitchen. She explained that he had done her kitchen, two bathrooms, and the built-ins in her rec room for less than another cabinet company had quoted her for just the kitchen. She called him five years after her installation with a question about water spots on the finish of the cabinet under her sink. He came to look at them and decided it needed to be refinished but said that doing just one would make it a different color from the others. So, he did them all at no charge. A real stand up guy and a rare find!

And, sure enough, he came in at less than half the price that the second KD had given me. AND, these were completely custom cabinets, so I could have all the weird measurements I wanted without having to work within the constraints of what some company six states away would or would not do.

Needless to say, I went with this guy and couldn't be happier. The cabinets are of at least as nice quality as the ones the KD wanted to sell me for more than twice as much, and they layout is EXACTLY what I wanted. He put up with a million little changes, even after the cabinets were mostly installed. He did a lot of extras without charging me for any of them. It did take a couple of weeks longer than expected, but the wait was well worth it. I always assumed that custom would cost more, but this cost much less and was a much more enjoyable experience.

You said: "If you do go this way, be aware that they, nor their installers, are general contractors (GCs). They sell and install cabinets. They can't help or coordinate with plumbers or electricians or flooring people."

Must be a regional thing. I am using Home Depot. Our KD sent their installer over to take a peek at thing before giving us the install cost. He, in fact, IS a General Contractor. I liked him so much that we're hiring him (through Home Depot) to run our entire job. He not only will be doing the cabinet install, but he and his subs will be doing the demolition, construction including removal and cover up of slider + install man-door in the kitchen + install door to garage + remove old window and patch + install new window, appliance install, maybe counters ( haven't decided what I am doing on that yet), and he's going to run the schedule and contact MY contracted electrician, plumber and flooring company.

When he came over because I wanted to get a bid from him on doing the entire job - I told him that I am a SPAZ and that I didn't want to be the GC/owner builder of my own job. I asked him if he could do it all, including "running the job". He said he'd be happy to and I asked him to include that in his price. He will be on our job EVERYday. BTW - he was about $5k cheaper than the other contractor I had bid the job - and is offering much more service.

Also, Home Depot has a Project Coordinator and I'll be working closely with her throughout the job as well. If there are ANY problems whatsoever - my point of contacts are KD, PC and GC - all working as a team to complete the project.

That is just my experience, and like I said - it may be a regional thing.

I think whether you engage a KD or do it yourself depends on your personality type. As an anally retentive person I prefer to do my own research, my own design, and keep control of all the details, but that's because I know what I want, and I'm not focused on the resale value. My research came from books, websites, and talking to people who'd recently remodeled their homes.

For me, my budget has broken down to:
43% labor
16% appliances
12% IKEA cabinets
10% countertop/backsplash
10% contingency
8% new windows

Phase One: I sterted out by taking in my measurements to one of the big box stores. Looked at their cabinets and then had their KD draw up some plans. Kept going back to tweak them, but the KDs kept changing. Because ours was going to be a total gut down to the bare walls, I wanted to get it right. They never did and it got very frustrating.
So, Phase Two: I took their spec books and tried to draw out the kitchen I wanted. But, I wanted a totally new footprint/floorplan and I wasn't able to visualize well enough. There were too many options and the details were driving me nuts!
Phase Three (5 years from the start of our quest): we found a really great KD, whose work I'd seen in a friend's home. He thought out of the box, he had brilliant ideas, was fun to work with and we liked the cabinet company he was affiliated with. He drew up two initial desings and we adapted from there. He came up with great solutions to every dilemma we had.
Results: our dream kitchen that is super organized, has tons of storage, looks a lot bigger that our old kitchen in the same amount of space, is beautiful and works wonderfully for up to four cooks at the same time.
My suggestion would be to go with a KD. Their services are usually complimentary with the cabs you buy and their knowledge is worth it's weight in gold! Just beware of some of the big box KDs who might not have the experience needed.