A great kitchen doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of creative planning, detailed research, and assembling a team of skilled professionals. Whether you’re building a new home or considering remodeling your existing kitchen, the thought of building a new kitchen can feel like an enormous and intimidating task.
A frequent question is,
“Where do I start?”
By William Martin
Define your project
How long will you live with this kitchen? Is this remodel for you or are you considering the project as a facelift to help sell your home? If your project is a new home, are you building it to sell or are you planning to live there? The answers to these questions will help determine where to put your money.
For example, if the kitchen is intended to be an eye-catching amenity to aid in the future sale of your home, direct your design budget towards attractive cosmetics such as cabinet door styles with eye catching finishes, name-brand high-end appliances, granite counter tops, and lighting or accents that create pizzazz. Forget costly internal cabinet convenience features like rollout shelves, full extension drawers with solid wood sides, plywood interiors and pot and pan organizers. If the kitchen will be for your personal use, you will appreciate adding those internal cabinet features and the efficiency they offer in daily use.
If your project is a remodel of an existing kitchen, define the scope of the project. Are you going to keep the same basic layout and only replace cabinets and appliances, or are you envisioning a complete change, a new floor plan and possibly changing the shape and appearance of the room? The scope of these two examples will dictate very different design considerations, costs and construction times.
Define and develop a theme
Theme is the artistic design of your home. Examples may be Colorado rustic, Mission, Shaker, contemporary or a mix of several complementary themes. Whether you’re considering replacing an old kitchen or your home is new construction, there will already be established design themes. A well-planned kitchen should incorporate elements of the existing design themes in your home. It is important to create some design continuity as you move between rooms that are visible to each other.
Once you have established or identified a theme, analyze the elements such as metal, glass, wood texture, color and tone, lines, general colors and textures, and use variations of these elements to create interest and continuity. Pay close attention to light, both natural and artificial.
Start collecting ideas
Whether you’re in the process of planning and building a new kitchen or just dreaming, start a file of ideas long before actual construction begins. Clip articles, pictures and advertisements from kitchen magazines. Don’t look for that one perfect kitchen but focus on more specific ideas you like such as floor plans, cabinet styling, storage, appliances, floor coverings, colors, textures, accents and lighting. Clip any ideas you find that catch your eye. Do your friends have a kitchen you like? If so, identify what you find attractive. How about your existing kitchen? What do you like or dislike? Make notes.
Visit dealer showrooms. Many kitchen cabinet suppliers have attractive displays and live vignettes (functioning complete kitchens). The sales people should be knowledgeable and helpful with the features of their products. Be sure to pick up brochures. This is only a fact-finding and cursory visit for ideas, not the time to commit to purchase cabinets or the company’s services.
Appliances are the heart of the kitchen. Your research process should identify features, manufacturers and models that interest you. There are several outstanding appliance showrooms in the Denver area that offer the retail customer the opportunity to see a full range of appliances and speak one-on-one with appliance specialists. This is the opportunity to learn about the latest “green” technology in appliances. You’ll get a terrific education about the products and features available. Your appliance choices should be decided early in the designing process.
Roth Distributing showcases Wolf and Sub Zero while Kimball Distributing represents the Viking line. BSH Distributing features Thermador, and Gagenau. In addition to their premier lines they also represent other lines at different price points. These companies are wholesalers only; you won’t purchase your appliances directly from them. They have impressive showrooms with many live vignettes and not only welcome, but encourage, retail customers to visit them to learn about the features of the appliances they carry.
Other idea gathering sources include exploring on-line kitchen related sites. Be sure to visit HomeLink Magazine at www.homelinkmag.com. They have terrific archive of articles and a trades and services directory.
Consider hiring a professional kitchen designer
Your kitchen is a highly specialized and complex room. In an average home roughly half of the electrical wiring is associated with the kitchen. The kitchen is by far the most expensive room in the home.
Whether your project is new construction or a remodel you will need a detailed kitchen plan. A detailed plan by a qualified kitchen designer will enable you to visualize your new kitchen before you begin the construction. Your contractor, sub contractors and kitchen component suppliers need a detailed plan to give you accurate estimates for their products and services.
Here’s where your idea file is valuable. You’ll be off to a quick start with your designer when you can show them what you like. If the kitchen is in a new home, an architect will already be involved. Today many architects recognize the technical complexity of a modern kitchen and prefer to turn over a blank kitchen area to a kitchen design specialist. A skilled kitchen designer will carefully integrate the architect’s design, vision and themes with the owner’s ideas and desires. Additionally some designers may be trained in lighting design and capable of integrating a lighting plan within the kitchen plan. Lighting should not be left as an afterthought; it’s as important as the cabinets.
Most retail kitchen cabinet shops have designers on their staff. Many offer design services for free or for a nominal fee if you first agree to contract with them for the purchase of your kitchen cabinets and appliances. Some will charge for design services and rebate the fee if you purchase your kitchen components from them. The experience and skill level of staff kitchen designers varies greatly. Ask for references and credentials.
It is important to understand that most retail kitchen shops make their profits from cabinet sales, not from design services. Any designs a kitchen shop produces for you will be proprietary; they own their designs and in most cases you will not be allowed to share their designs with other cabinet shops to get competitive estimates. You will be limited in the products available to those the kitchen shop represents. This marketing structure also creates an incentive for kitchen retailers to complete the design process as quickly as possible to close the sale. Under this arrangement you may not receive the personal attention or see creative design solutions developed that will best fulfill your criteria.
On the other hand, independent kitchen designers provide only design services and have no bias in their opinions of products or components. A skilled kitchen designer will incorporate your ideas, ask you many questions about how the kitchen will be used, offer a wealth of technical knowledge and create a detailed kitchen plan with you, not for you. You will own your kitchen plan and be free to distribute it to any suppliers to get competitive estimates. Often the savings from receiving competitive estimates will offset the cost of an independent designer.
Many qualified kitchen designers have received training from the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). The NKBA is accepted as the industry standard in training for kitchen and bath design. The best professionals in kitchen design are Certified Kitchen Designers (CKD). They have been certified by the NKBA after rigorous training and testing. To locate a qualified kitchen design professional near you call the NKBA at 1-800-843-6522 or go online to www.nkba.org.
Set a budget
Your architect, kitchen designer and contractor can assist with creating a budget. The average new kitchen in the United States costs about $50,000; in Steamboat Springs it’s about $75,000. A remodel of an existing kitchen using the same basic layout will probably be less. As the project progresses, unforeseen questions, problems or delays may occur. Be mentally and financially prepared for this. If there are no delays you’ll be way ahead. If there are delays, you’ll be prepared.
Assemble a construction team
Determine if you will need a general contractor. If the home is new construction, you will need a general contractor. If this is a remodel and there are going to be substantial changes to the kitchen area, a general contractor or remodeling specialist may be appropriate. If there are no significant modifications to the room, the cabinet supplier may be adequate. A contractor will coordinate the project with the proper sequencing of events, hire competent subcontractors and see that materials and products are delivered to the job site at the appropriate time. A contractor is the gate keeper in charge of keeping the project moving and on schedule.
Place your orders
At this point, well before actual construction starts, you’ll want to confirm your selection of the products, services and suppliers. Products like the cabinets may have a lead time of three to sixteen weeks from the time you place your order. With a construction team in place, your contractor is ready to create a schedule for completion of your new kitchen.
Enjoy your new kitchen
The average kitchen in the United States is used about fifteen years before being replaced. Construction trade experts estimate that the average kitchen remodel will return roughly 100% of your investment. In other words, your home’s value will increase by about the amount you have invested.
Other than your bedroom, you’ll spend most of your time at home in your kitchen. A well planned kitchen, ergonomically designed, artfully embellished and skillfully executed will offer years of service and pleasure. There are few other ways you may invest your money where you can enjoy it on a personal daily basis. 
© 2008 HomeLink Magazine | Park Range Publications
All Rights Reserved
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Winter 2007