I ended up paying my first KD half of the amount of the design - but probably shouldn't have paid anything as I told her to hold off when I felt the design was failing....
She kept the deposit and wanted the rest - I said - No - you went forward on design without my approval....

Treat the two situations more as a single transaction. He has already done much of the work in research and development necessary to produce your new kitchen. A lot of his time will be saved over what he would spend on a new customer An external occurence outside your control created the situation. It is also a loss of time and effort for you personally without compensation. Ask him to track time within this view of the whole project and give you an evaluation at completion.

I'm with you for paying your KD for work product to date given the time which was put in. I can't begin to give you a dollar amount, yet will mention recent charges I paid: $550 for a handyman's work which now I know to pay by job not hour; $85 minimum charge required for a tile man to thin set a six 1 inch mosaic BR tiles; $175 for an hours worth of an electrician's time to change a solenoid and check and outlet's wires.

Around me, independent kitchen designers seem to receive between $100 to $300 for a design and mockup of space.

Nothing speaks like money for a job. Even if you plan to have him/her back in the future house design, it will be appreciated to have pay in hand for work done now.

Good luck to you on your new house venture.

Average KD design fees range from $500-$2000 for a middle of the road kitchen if you are talking design fees only and not commissions. A high end designer's fees can be 5-10K on top of the commission they receive for selling you product. I find it laudable that you wish to compensate him for his time, but I also find it a bit troubling that he would work with you for such a length of time without a contract. It doesn't bode well for the future of his business!

Thanks so much for all the feedback! I appreciate it! live wire oak, I agree with you. He is really awesome at what he does & seems very honest & sincere. He did kitchen design full-time (his own business) before the economy went sour. He said he never imagined his business drying up. In the past, he had to turn people away because he was so busy. He is currently working at Lowe's in the KD department to supplement his KD design biz. He's never even mentioned a contract, which is a bit odd.

How about a bottle of wine and a gift card with a note saying you appreciate his effort even though the house was not meant to be and you'll be calling him when you find your perfect home.

I was a professional kitchen designer for many years. I always charged a design fee that was settled up front. I would never design for free unless it was for a friend or family. In my opinion, kitchen design is still a very unprofessional business as far as how designers treat themselves. An architect would never design for free, however, a kitchen designer often does so. That never made sense to me. There are many personal issues involved in your situation that make it difficult to offer a suggestion. Without emotion involved, there should not be anything paid, as there was nothing discussed up front. Now, as an empathetic human, I would simply lay out the scenario to the designer. Explain you will use him on the upcoming project and ask what he or she feels is fair for what was done. You might even ask if some or all of that can be applied down the road against the next design. That shows good faith on both ends. Just a thought.

I really respect the fact you recognize his time is valuable. Lowe's doesn't ask for anything in advance and they get a lot of dreamers.
If he were on his own again, he might have asked for something up front, such as an architect does.

I'd blow off the bottle of wine type stuff, unless it's accompanied by the check you're thinking of. I know I'd find that somewhat condescending. Pat me on the head type thing. My STBX GC husband faced that time and time again. Part of the biz yes, but good people do put heart and soul into their livelihood. It can be very defeating to receive the, "Oh, yea. Thanks."

Discussion of the new kitchen would in order, particularly since you do intend to use him. Let him know you are offering a commitment and hope he realizes you're not just ... dreaming. :)

So in a nutshell, I'm agreeing with drachiele!

I really respect your clearsightedness in this entire situation. Your reasons for change, your project, and your desire to retain a skilled designer.

Unclear - was he sitting at Lowe's doing this work, or was he working on his own as part of his business? If Lowes, then no compensation is appropriate; if as himself, then, yes, I would compensate for work done.

We had a GC who put in a lot of time on a major remodel that, in the end, couldn't happen. He asked for a certain amount of money and we paid it. It wasn't either of our faults that the project couldn't go forward, but he did real work in anticipation of a paycheck later. If this is the case with this designer, ask for a number. I suspect it will not be onerous if he knows that there is another job in the near future.

Bottle of wine is never a good idea unless he is a friend or you know he likes wine. He might be a recovering alcoholic.

I recently had a customer that visited my showroom. We got along great and she felt that I had a grasp of her vision. So I did the field measure the following week. After that, I did two layouts...U-shape vs L-shape/island. We don't charge for field measures if clients visit our showroom first. And initial plan is free, but clients can't take home drawings without deposit. After another showroom visit, she decided to proceed with the order...and would get me the deposit the next day. The following day she called me in tears. Her husband had asked for a divorce. So the kitchen was off. She later admitted that her getting a new kitchen was supposed to be a 'band-aid' to pacify her in her troubling marriage. It was her husband's make up gift for whatever the issue was. The following week she brought in a check for $200 for my time. I really appreciated it.....even though it wasn't necessary. I even tried to give it back but she insisted I take it.

My suggestion to you is a modest monetary gift.

Kompy

suzannesl, I found the KD on Angie's List. He still has his KD design business (separate from Lowe's). I don't get the sense he loves his day job but it is paying the bills right now.

I still want to pay him for is time, even though he will be doing the next house. He met me at the short sale house & spent a couple hours there. We've had numerous Mikogo sessions with him going over the plans & making various changes. Just the time he has spent with me alone is probably 10+ hours, in addition to all the time he has spent on the plans. I would not be at all surprised if he has 50+ hours into this project. He has done lot of research & is extremely meticulous. Had the deal gone through, it would have been a dream kitchen. This is the look we were going for & he nailed it. https://www.houzz.com/photos/parkwood-road-residence-kitchen-transitional-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~333071-Cook-s-Paradise-traditional-kitchen-minneapolis
He had awesome suggestions we hadn't thought of. I just feel I owe him monetary compensation for his time. Hey, I'm a social worker, so maybe that says something! ;-) Not building the house on a social worker's salary, though.

The fact that you didn't own the house yet should have been a red flag to him. It's common for buyers to bring in designers and contractors between offer acceptance and closing, but most professionals around here charge by the hour for anything more than a regular estimate. In fact, many now charge just for the estimate itself, but it's a nominal fee and rebatable if you actually do buy the house and go through with the job. A professional can waste a lot of time on houses that never get bought.

It's great that you had good rapport and feel this guy is qualified and want to compensate him, but there are some red flags here.

No contract on the front end just isn't done. You normally get a free estimate and anything further needs a written relationship spelled out. No wonder this guy works for a box store now if that's the way he handled his business!

And, the fact that he still maintains a side business while working for Lowes is another red flag. That's a conflict of interest. You can't work the same job for two companies. It's not ethical, and Lowes would fire him in a heartbeat if they found out.

You can't work the same job for two companies. It's not ethical, and Lowes would fire him in a heartbeat if they found out.

That's probably why there's no contract.