Need advice on follow-up meeting with designer

12 years ago

Hi. I've been gaining valuable insight for the past few months from looking at this website. This is my first posting and I'll try to make it brief.

6 months ago we started exploring remodeling our kitchen and incorporating our rarely used dining room into our kitchen space. We live in a traditional 40 yr old 2-story 2000 sq. ft. colonial. Currently the kitchen and family room span the entire back of our first floor, separated by a bank of cabinets and the dining room is separated from the kitchen by a wall with only a 30 inch doorway opening. We'd like these rooms to have more of a "flow". We'd like to get rid of the cabinets between the kitchen and family room and open the wall between the dining room and kitchen, which is load bearing. Our entry from the garage comes into the kitchen and we also have a basement stairway and front hallway that enter into the kitchen. So, there is alot of traffic always flowing through the kitchen.

We have had 4 designers and 1 contractor/ customer cabinet maker (who works on his own) evaluate our space. 2 came up with a U-shaped kitchen design, one was stumped and had no design (seriously-when we came to our follow-up meeting 3 weeks after the designed came to our home we were greeted with "this might be a short meeting...").

The last designer came up with a great plan that we really liked. We met about 3 weeks after they came through, but then it took 2 months to get a price from them (and even that wasn't complete). When we got the price it was shocking-nearly $30,000 more than the highest one which was $45,000.

So, my questions: Is this "normal" to have such delays, price variances, and disappointments in design? We are supposed to meet again with the designer who's plan we liked but was so late and expensive and we're a little discouraged, disappointed, and "miffed" that it's taken so long and is so high. We don't really know how to go about addressing our disillusionment with the price and timeliness. We've never remodeled before we're not sure if this is just normal for working with designers and contractors. We had hoped that the project would be completed by this fall, but at this rate it doesn't look to hopeful.

Guess this wasn't so brief...we'd value any input you have. Thanks for allowing me to contribute.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

beaglesdoitbetter1
12 years ago
Our first "kitchen designer" was terrible at returning phone calls and we hounded him for a quote for 4 months. I had given him the exact drawings I wanted, measured and created in photoshop with absolutely down-to-the-inch details and he never got my drawings right. The quote came back $50,000 over our budget. We said thank you and goodbye. If they aren't going to listen to you (to that extent) about your budget, they aren't going to listen to you about anything else either, IMHO. The cabinet maker we are using came back to us w/ his quote in 1 day, the quote was much more detailed and $20,000 less.

If it were me, I'd probably be going back to square one on finding someone, ideally someone recommended by people you know or someone on GW- but that would put you back further of course.

Also, I would prepare for delays now. Our house was originally supposed to be done in August, then October, now maybe Dec (granted, I've added a lot of stuff but there were still other delays not caused by me and our builder is fantastic, but weather and other factors got in the way)

Not sure how helpful this response is, but there you have it :)
blfenton
12 years ago
I'm not sure how helpful my response will be either except that your experience is probably typical. Without exaggerating I probably had about 50 designs that I drew up BEFORE I called a designer in. I had researched shapes, sizes, measurements, before I called anybody. Before we called in a designer we researched them, asked for suggestions and yes, we interviewed a lot of dogs before we met our princess and the firm she works for.
When it got down to the designing with our KD we probably went through 10 designs and then went back to one of my old ones which she tweaked and which is the one we have.
The time frame from absolute start of the process to when the sledge hammer hit the first wall was probably 2 years.
Budget fluctuated from "I don't think so" to "Let's not cheapen out on this cause we're here for another 15 years" to "while we're add it let's add a couple of more windows".

If I can say one thing it would be to not rush it. While you're waiting for quotes research yourself on the internet, go and look at kitchen showrooms just to see what stuff looks like.

Another thing to do is why not post the floor plan here and ask for input. The people on this forum are unbelievably knowledgeable and willing to share their knowledge and experience.
The people here share, commiserate and support. Feel free to use the services.
Related Discussions
follow up on tiff with the interior designer
Q
Comments (4)
Many instances happen just as Dixie's experience. An item is ordered without being fully cleared through the customer (or their spouse). That always results in wanting to return something, but the vast majority of the time decorators don't use things from stock goods, but custom-order. Then they frequently want return privileges on these custom order pieces which usually are not mainstream items and difficult to resell. Personally, I would never use a decorator that works 'free' or charges a minimum rate if you buy furniture through them. When you do that, they must make their money on the sale of the furniture itself rather than for their time. This then limits them to making selections where they can either buy wholesale or get a kickback from a store. Your choices then become limited to what they can easily source. Decorators also tend to work quickly, and they must if you are not paying them a contract wage for their work. That limits choices as well. If I were to use a decorator, I would pay them either an hourly wage ($80 to $ 100 per hour) or pay them a contract price for the entire plan. I would then have them draw the layout, a list of recommendations and stores to go see those things, and go shopping myself. At the end of the day - YOU have to live with the pieces, and in most better stores the salespeople are better versed in options and choices within a brand than a decorator - and not under a time crunch. Also, if a mistake is made, you stand a far better chance of working with a store to return a custom-ordered piece as the store has the retail outlet to sell it, whereas a decorator cannot take a piece back as they have no way to sell it. No store ever likes to take a custom-order piece back, but if you are polite and respectful, you can usually work something out. Decorators have their place. You are paying for their designing expertise so go ahead and pay for it, but there's no such thing as a 'free lunch' so the cheap ones or what I like to call "Decorettes" (non-professionals who work out of their homes)mostly lead you down the road to an unsatisfactory result. Use Pros on a fee-for-service basis - they will be expensive - but the job at the end will be superior. Don't expect a decorator to make all your selections for you, or hold your hand all the way through. A lot of what they do is spatial proportion rather then matching colorways. Getting the right size pieces to fit a space is more important than making sure the colors blend. Use a decorator to show you options and choices, but don't them make the purchases for you - that's my best advice. When its all done and the decorator has left, you still have to live with the results. -Duane
...See More
New House Selection Meeting coming up soon...advice/tips
Q
Comments (3)
Take the $711 credit for the Northstar... if you want a disposable softener get a Sears for less, it's the same thing. You will be smarter having the builder leave a softener loop (intercepting the water service), drain, and AC outlet and then bringing in a local water treatment professional to test your water and quote your needs.
...See More
Buying First Home - Inspection Follow Up Advice
Q
Comments (12)
When the inspection says the crawlspaces are not insulated properly, do they mean that the crawlspaces have vapor barriers that were not put in correctly (which, as hollysprings notes, may have caused other issues), or that they simply aren't insulated at all? The latter is super common in old houses (our 100-year-old crawlspace over dirt has no insulation or barriers, for instance, although our climate is not as cold as yours so we've had no real motivation to do it). These all sound like pretty typical old house issues to me, though. (Our house probably had 2/3 of them when we moved in!) The chimney/fireplace repointing is just something that has to be done every so often; ditto with replacing shakes, etc. Sometimes inspections will also call things that were okay when they were done but no longer accepted (e.g., our attic had loose insulation over knob-and-tube wiring, which is a big no-no today, but was permitted when it was installed by our local electric company as part of a weatherproofing program for seniors many years ago). Assuming your lender doesn't require any of this to close, I'd probably just ask for a price reduction/credit to address these--most of them aren't expensive and many can be DIYed if you feel like it. Then you can decide how/if you want to address them yourself. None of these would be dealbreakers for me, though, as an owner of a similarly old house. Good luck!
...See More
Should BM and I meet-Advice Needed
Q
Comments (5)
I agree that you should meet *at some point.* And like sweeby says, it depends on what your relationship with your BF is like, and it also depends on what the dynamics of their breakup/co-parenting relationship are like. Take it from someone who's DH is a total wuss, though, and who met BM the WRONG way. We had been dating for about 4-5 months and I had kind of mentioned a few times to DH (BF at time) that maybe I should just be in the car sometime when he picked SS up, so that BM and I could meet in a very low-key manner. He was *afraid* to do that because he said she would be really jealous/angry that we were getting serious. The first time I met BM it was about 6 months into my relationship with him. We were at his house, it was mid-summer, and we were in the backyard with the kids, grilling out and just enjoying the evening. The gate to his yard opened up and BM stormed in! I about fell out of my chair! She had been drinking (WOW, how things have changed! HA) and while she wasn't drunk, she was def. buzzed. And she was angry at DH for having his son around me without her meeting me, and she was just angry in general that we were together. She did NOT like seeing us do "family" type activities with the kids. Anyway, DH escorted her out front to her car and I remember they got into a heated discussion. BM left angry. THAT was my first meeting with her. Sad to say, things have not much improved now, 5+ years later.' SO--looking back--I would do things differently. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. BUT I think if you can meet BM on good terms and get that relationship (b/c you WILL have to have some sort of repoire with her) off to a good start, then go for it. What does your BF think?
...See More
chitown_remodel
12 years ago
We are doing the same thing. Knocking out a load bearing wall (17 ft) between the living room and the kitchen.

I ended up picking a GC first and luckily he had his own designer that he worked with. I met with both of them and bounced ideas around. A week later she had 3 different floor plans drawn. I picked one, then changed my mind on a couple of things and within a week she had a new drawing.

After I was sure I liked everything my GC gave me a detailed, written estimate within another 8-10 days.

Don't stop until you are happy with the floor plan. And I agree with the last person. The people on this forum are AMAZING. If you can post a floor scan you will get invaluable advice.
dianalo
12 years ago
If someone you are thinking of hiring is already letting you down and showing signs of being untrustworthy (like ignoring your budget), then run like heck and keep interviewing. It is hard enough with the ones that seem good, that the ones that can't even stay good during the honeymoon phase will really be trouble later.

I'd check out Angie's list and see if you have some more leads that way....
cmm6797
12 years ago
Were any of the people you met with architects? If not, I think an architect could give you the best ideas on what you could possibly do with the space. They can often envision right away what is or is not possible.

We took down a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and another small room, and relocated the powder room. The architect came up with the plans, although we already knew pretty much what we wanted. Our architect also provided the general kitchen layout which showed where the windows and doors would be, etc. We could then bring that to any kitchen designer, either a custom designer or a big-box store like Home Depot, to finalize the cabinetry plan.

Need advice on follow-up meeting with designer

Comments (5)

beaglesdoitbetter1

blfenton

Related Discussions

chitown_remodel

dianalo

cmm6797

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US