“I don’t know how to find a kitchen designer that is not with a cabinet store.”

The horror that the ”Pros” on this forum have toward designers who work for cabinet showrooms is exaggerated, illogical, and furthers these ”Pros” own agenda of steering people away from them. There are good KDs that work at cabinet showrooms. In fact, in many areas there is not the level of business for a KD to be on her own. It makes financial sense for a KD to work for a large national cabinet company with its infrastructure, internet presence, showroom and support.

Like with any profession, there are good KDs and bad ones. We have seen some crappy designs on this forum by ”independent KDs” as well as good designs from KDs that work within a design showroom.

Having said that, I would avoid ”designers” at HD or Lowes. They are not well trained and there is a lot of turnover there.

You should meet with a few different KDs - a first meeting is more to see if you two will gel, not to pin down a design at this early stage. Bring photos of kitchens you like so that KDs you speak to will know your taste. You MUST also have a budget in mind - it does not have to be exact, but there is no point in wasting time looking at cabinets that will cost e.g. $70k, when you have $30k to spend.

Do not hesitate to speak with KDs who work for cabinet companies. Also keep in mind that everyone is super busy.