Chicken/Egg Question: Kitchen Designer first or General Contractor?
Grace Torres
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Kitchen Designers/General Contractors not getting back with me
Comments (22)Adrienne, First I wanted to put in a mini-apology because when I reread my post this morning it read as more "attackish" then I wanted it to. My only excuse is that I had a longer day then I had thought and this is a sore point with me. It is SO true that I don't want to deal with annoying people. Lol! I am an independant contractor so in essence I am my own business. I don't sell cabinets, or make a profit off of someone else's time like a GC does. I rent my time on an hourly basis. When we talk about the making money side of things (why don't they want to make the money) it's not that we don't want the money, or even that we won't make the money, it's that we think our time is better spent making the money somewhere else. I only have a certain amount of hours in a day. If my goal is to work/charge for 8 hours in a day and I have two jobs available to me for that same time frame I'll take the job I'm more interested in and people are definitely a deciding factor. With something like an appliance salesmen the question may be why doesn't he want the money because it doesn't require anything more of him to get that second sale while with someone who sells their time it means late nights and working weekends. If I size up a situation and think that for whatever reason the job will end up costing me more than I'd get paid for (or would be frustrating or would take forever or etc) then I'll just take the second project. I can only sell my time once! I don't know if I've ever actually said "you smell" to a client, but I have definitely had things like unsanitary conditions play a role in if I want to move forward with a job. It's helpfull to know that I specialize in working with small budgets and often work giving advice to DIY. That's what I enjoy doing. And that entails spending a lot of time with the clients and often at their home. If I go to the home and they are heavy smokers so the house reeks and they have three big dogs that they can't keep off me and they keep talking about the neighborhood going to hell because of a mexican family moving in next door (true stories) I say things like "I don't feel like we are a good match. I don't particularly like dogs, the lingering smoke smell is bothering my allergies and I don't know what to say about the Mexicans. With these things in mind I would certainly give you a referral to another designer if you like and of course, I won't charge you for this visit." Something like that. I do try and be polite but I also want to be honest. Maybe when the next designer comes over they will put away the dogs and air the house out. I DO work with people I don't particularly like. As long as I feel like we have similar goals and values that's where I am at. But often, the reasons you might not like someone are reasons that seriously affect working together on something as intense as a full kitchen remodel. For instance, someone who is disorganized to a fault but still wants to be their own GC, someone with no construction understanding or background who demonstrates an unwillingness to listen to the GC, someone who complains at the quotation of your pricing (not a bill but the up front quote of amount per hour). None of these things make someone a bad person and if the job is interesting and we agree on other levels we may still move forward. But if you combine them together you get a project that is going to take forever, be painfull to execute, and I'll be stiffed somewhere along the way for my fee. In the same way you don't want your remodel to be a horrible process where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, I don't want that either. I get very invested in the jobs I do. You don't want to start a job with a weirdo designer or a nut job GC and I don't want to start one with a nut job GC and a crazy person for a client. Somewhere a GC is thinking "that dang weirdo designer and crazy person client". A good remodel is a team effort! A bunch of us stuck in a life raft together until the thing is over. In sum, when you panic at 6:15 in the morning because you had second thoughts about your faucet and the guy is unloading the tools to start drilling your counter holes I want to laugh and say good morning! Not think to myself, why did I get into this mess!...See MoreChicken and egg dilemma
Comments (10)Good morning all, @kaismom - Thanks for your notes. I have probably error'd more on the side of over-analyzing than under-analyzing! I have mentally thought through scenarios that could 'possibly' happen over the course of the next 20 years! I have a kitchen 'play' drawer for the cute little grandchildren that I might have some day..., and my own children have not even had a real date yet and there are years of college between now and grandchildren (according to my plan!). I know enough about my cooking to know I am probably not worthy of a BlueStar or a Culinarian..., but I will put one in my kitchen for my BIL who CAN and I am certain WILL work culinary magic in my kitchen! I will post my current kitchen designs here this afternoon along with my goals/needs/etc. The architects are completely in tune with us regarding design throughout the house. I want to consult with a CKD more regarding function than form, including what types of surfaces are best (functionally) for how I intend to use them. I don't want to obligate myself to a line of products (cabinetry?) at this point because we will use a bid process for that. Marcolo suggested a way to find an independent CKD, and I will work on that today! @akchicago - I appreciate your thoughts. The KDs who I have talked to so far have been perfectly tactful in their discussions regarding budgets, and we have had a clear, mutual understanding of my budget. I have had no problem in this facet of our discussions. The KDs have all been very professional, and all work in rather high-end places, so I think there is a bit of assumption regarding budget anyway. But..., the KDs I have talked to are tied to their product lines and their work comes with the product which I do not yet want to buy. I also do not want to take advantage of their expertise without the intent to purchase. I was having trouble finding an independent CKD, but will try marcolo's lead today! Hopefully someone from the NKBA website will be talented with both contemporary design and kitchen function, and will be available for some independent consultation... I can hope, right?!...See MoreUpdating - what comes first - the chicken or the egg?
Comments (8)If you don't have a clear vision of what you want, I would invest in a few home and decorating magazines, and go through them page by page, tearing out things that appeal to you, perhaps making a post-it-note on them as to what you like in the picture or ad. When you are all done going through a bunch of magazines, or printing off things that you see on decorating sites like bhg.com, then sit down and look at the pile of tear sheets. What things do you consistently pick out, or what colors are you drawn to, or what overall look appeals to you? You should see a pattern of things that being to appear regularly with regard to furniture or fabrics or color. Cut those things out that really appeal and paste them on a big piece of cardboard - your design board. Then decide what on the overall style you want - casual, formal, modern, country, etc. Decide what kind of budget you have, and what things are must changes, where you want to spend your greatest dollars. Then make a plan. If the cabinets aren't changing in the kitchen, likely the appliances have to work with them as far as size and placement and functionality. Appliances are also probably less affected by the overall style of the home, and more by price and features and color. So those can happen first if you like. Unless you make changes often, you are probably wise to keep the big things on the neutral side - flooring, major furniture pieces, etc. Bring in drama and color and fun with smaller furniture pieces, accessories (which happen way down the line) and window treatments. Also keep in mind that sometimes it is best not to try and finish every single item and every detail all at once. Get the major stuff in place, then live with those decisions as you pick out minor furnishings. Have fun!...See MoreDesign Center vs General Contractor - Help!
Comments (10)Probably you are having a good experience with this remodel because the design center is in charge and overseeing the project. I would stick with that. You'd have to make sure these guys have the right insurance coverage for every worker who enters your home, are pulling the right permits, doesn't put a sub on the job that you don't know and just shows up ones day, are scheduling the inspections, does the flood test, keeps the schedule rolling along without big delays, etc, etc, If something goes wrong, you won't have the design center boss to call. I'd stick with the design center....See MoreJoseph Corlett, LLC
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