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Independent designer vs contractor designer

last year

We hired a kitchen designer before signing on with our contractor who works with his own designer. While our kitchen designer is urging us to buy semicustom cabinets, the contractor's designer took us to a showroom where the woman in the store told us (and the designer agreed) that our measurements are basically standard and there's no reason why we shouldn't go with prefabricated cabinets for one third the price of semi-custom. They said the materials and quality are equivalent.
We assumed they were trying to make an easy sale, with faster arrival, and that the contractor and his designer would get a cut. Is our gut feeling correct?

Featured Answer

Verbo

last year

last modified: last year

Yes, they are SELLING you on junk, to line their pockets. Stock sized cheap import crapola is NOT the equivalent of semi custom. Not even close.

Comments (8)

rebunky
last year
“They said the materials and quality are equivalent.”

The saying, ”Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.” immediately came to my mind.

Personally, I get really upset when someone lies to me. What makes me even more mad is they insult my intelligence thinking I will believe their lies. I won’t go off on my car salesmen story! To answer your question, yes your gut feeling is correct.

Prefab stock cabinets are way cheaper for a reason. Cheap price means cheaper materials and cheaper construction. As Verbo said, cheap crapola that is not even close to equivelant.

Now, if your budget only allows for a less expensive stock cabinet, that is perfectly fine. Maybe do a google search for the pros and cons of prefab verses semi-custom cabinets. That way you can make an informed decision based on facts not lies.
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6 weeks? That’s a bogus timeline from the outset. Try tripling that for something of the scope you are talking about. That overly optimistic timeline, plus their throwing up their hands in the air about the contractor that they recommended would have me very unhappy with the design and design project management work here. They set you up to fail. There is no way out but to keep moving forward with your existing team. I’d have a heart to heart with the design team that expresses how disappointed you are with their work, and with throwing the contractor under the bus rather than rolling their sleeves up and figuring something out to make it work. If they were just going to show you pretty pictures and not do the hard part of keeping control of the job, then they aren’t actually designers. They are bad decorators.
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3onthetree
last year
Both your kitchen designer and the showroom/builder's designer are all trying to make a buck off of you. So since those cancel out in the equation, it is true that prefab will be cheaper than semi-custom. There are prefab that are not 'junk' and semi-custom that are built 'junk,' depending on the brand or fabricator you choose. It boils down to budget and the level of your house, which we don't know.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
Sorry, but the three previous comments are all an example of thelogical fallacy of relevance, ad hominem circumstantial.

The salesperson's/designer's circumstances (making money) are irrelevant as to whether or not her answers are correct.
3onthetree
last year
Nope. Try reading a comment and let it sink in.
loobab
last year
last modified: last year
Dawn, I am finding your comment confusing because it is not precise.

(Although maybe I just don't follow.)

You are using the term designer several times and I cannot discern whether or not you are referring to the kitchen designer or the contractor's designer.

Would you please re-write your initial post in the comment section below and just subsitute KD where you wrote simply designer if you meant to refer to the kitchen designer, and write out contractor's designer if that is to whom you are referring?

Also, can you please clarify for us what are the qualifications of the contractor's "designer?"

Is this a person that is a trained certified ASID interior designer that only works with this contractor?

Is this a cabinet salesman/saleswoman that represents certain brands that only works with this contractor?

Is this a girlfriend, or relative, etc of this contractor that the contractor thinks has good taste that the contractor has employed to pick out cabinetry and other finishes and design choices for his projects?

If you don't know, please find out!

In any event, I like that you have your own KD, but do you know whether or not your KD properly trained and certified?
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last year
3:

"Nu-uh" is not a cogent argument.
3onthetree
last year
@Joseph Corlett, LLC, nothing to argue from me. I clearly stated that making money does not play in the comparison, you didn't seem to read that.

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