Bring a cheapskate and now suspicious of most in the building/reno trades, I'd be hesitant to pay $50 an hour just to meet someone to see if we clicked and I liked her work. Could you drive to her office and have a 30 meet/greet free of charge?

Here is where were are in our design. Am I just being cheap since I think this is pretty good now?

I too am too cheap. :P

Do you think your design is not quite what you want? Do you have any special situations that a mere kitchen using civilian can't figure out?

If you have doubts and can't get them resolved here, then you might need a KD. I don't know the procedure for hiring one--$50/hr seems reasonable but I'd sure want to see some pictures before plunking down the first piece of cash! If you're going to hire a KD, might as well get one that makes it easy for you--whether it be a free consult, web photos, SOMETHING!

Doesn't IKEA provide KD services for free in their store?

They do provide it in their store but it's hit or miss as to the quality of the person you get and their experience. The person who they sent out to do a "free measurement" service was not all that impressive and I have read poor reviews regarding that installation company. I found one on my own that seems to be better reviewed, but they don't do the design.

Do you really need a KD? I would just repost your plan for people to tweak. I think it looks like a great start and folks here will probably give you lots of good ideas to get the most out of it.

Maybe CEFreeman can help us we are going to go to IKEA in College Park, MD!

The aspect that I would need most help with isn't the layout per se - the GW folks are a HUGE asset there, but rather with the aesthetics - cabinet color, floor, backsplash, etc. How do you feel about those pieces and will this designer address that? Her time is money, so I can see how she would charge right off the bat. It's not like she's forcing you to commit to the 20 hours before even meeting with her.

I can't imagine paying $50 for an initial consultation to determine if I want to hire someone whose work I have never seen. I agree with Breezy -- see if you can meet her at her office for a short initial meeting at no charge.

My firm charges $400 an hour for my time, and I regularly have free initial meetings with prospective new clients so they can decide if they want to hire me. That is part of the process of getting new business.

[Barry White Voice:] Ohhhh yeahhhhhh.

No I wouldn't hire her based upon her self-reference.

Yes, I'm 20 minutes from College Park IKEA.

If she's so confident, she wouldn't mind you posting her references here. There's a heck of a chance I might know them or of them. My STBX' family was in the biz since 1950 and you know the Good Old Boy's Network.

Designers, GCs, Builders, and even lawyers give free, initial consultations. I know she's probably tired of doing things for free, but come on. Maybe, as suggested, at her office?

Kaysd--did I read that right or was it a typo? 400. Dollars per hour?

I am going to check on Angie's list I just thought of that also. & yes she is near you CEFreeman (Takoma Park).

Red-lover, yes, but I am not a designer, I am a tax attorney. I probably should not have mentioned my hourly rate. My point was that my time is valuable too, but I regularly give free initial consultations to prospective clients to see if it is a good fit before they hire me.

Ok--I thought you were a designer

:-)

Her hourly rate is not high at all, but I'd never hire a designer without seeing some samples of their work. They don't have to be on a website. Pictures will do.

I am fine with the hourly rate I just want to make sure she is someone we could work well with.

I talked to the GC today and he said to just send him the design and he can see what cabinet options he has with others also.

Kraftmaid has a two inch spec book full of thousands of choices, so yeah, if you were trying to order from that without an "interpreter", I'd say you need a KD to plan your kitchen.

Ikea is not that complicated. You might have 50 cabinets total that you can use.

Download the planner and DIY. All it takes is an accurate tape measure to read your room's dimensions to be able to input them into the planner.

Really, it is NOT hard.

You don't need a designer OR a contractor. You CAN do al of it, install included.

Egad. No, I wouldn't hire her unless she's willing to do a free initial consult with you where she:
1) shows you a portfolio of her previous work

2) provides you with references (customer references, not GCs)

3) explains to you her process for working with you to determine your needs and wants, and how she goes about incorporating them into the design and budget,

4) gives you a detailed list of what to expect from her when she's done (i.e., is she essentially plotting out the room in the Ikea planner and that's it, is she suggesting Ikea hacks appropriate for your space and providing guidance to your GC on them, is she picking out colors/finishes/fabics for you, is she selecting appliances and sourcing them, etc., and

5) Who is responsible for costs incurred due to incorrect planning? (i.e., if she designs your space and the contractor installs it to spec, and you discover that you can't open a drawer because it hits the dishwasher, who ponies up the cash to fix it?

It looks like you already have a plan that may not be perfect, but it's a great jumping off point to obtain feedback here. What is she bringing to the table for her $500-$1000 fee?

rjl -- how about baby-stepping through the process; you can hire her downstream if fledgling diy-design steps start going backwards.

On the IKEA website is software for laying out your cabinetry. It's really intuitive; downloading the software is the hardest part IMHO. I'm sure there are many here who could lend a hand if necessary. There's also a yahoogroup called IKEAFans I think, where people get way-imaginative with IKEA cabinetry bones. Those folks could give you some great ideas too I'm guessing.

But my point is, give it a whirl yourself and see how far you get. I think it's only to the good in terms of even diminishing time you might eventually need to "buy" from the designer. And you might surprise yourself and get all the way through the process. The software is cool; it'll give you 3D mockups... totally gnarly. And *way* easier than some other software packages that shall remain nameless.

Hmmm.
I wonder if she takes yoga. If so, I probably know her, since I teach in the main studio there. Old town Takoma Park isn't that big and most of the people in (aka Hippie Land) come in and out of the studio at some point.

If you're in the area, don't let someone take you for a million dollars for installation. If you're at all DIY (or broke like I am) I'll help you hang them. You can have a trim carpenter finish the moldings!

What am I doing volunteering for another project. ah well. I get excited.

As usual you gals/guys are awesome! I did my layout again on the IKEA web site and archived all the old ones. Now I want to tweak it and will post it here.

Thanks!
Roberta