Here is background on where Danielle and her family started and some of the frustrations with their current kitchen. (1) The current layout has limited countertop space making meal prep a challenge, especially when 2 people are working at the same time.  (2) There is dead space in the corner near the stove and they feel like they’re losing valuable storage space.

The First Meeting – Exploratory

We paired our homeowner, Danielle, with our Certified Kitchen Designer, Shannon.  Their first meeting helped lay the groundwork for the overall design and prioritized what was important to Danielle and her family.  You should expect to spend 60-90 minutes at this first meeting.  Be sure to bring other ‘decision-makers’ along so everyone’s input can be gathered. A decision-maker is anyone who will have a say in what design, materials, colors, or style your kitchen will become.  Having all decision-makers together allows the designer to create something that will meet everyone’s expectations (or at least try to!).  It is important that you speak openly with your Designer so they can provide the best solutions and their expertise to your unique project.

The Home Visit – More Discovery

With the initial exploratory meeting complete, the next step was for Shannon to visit Danielle’s home to see the kitchen and take measurements.   This brings to light the special challenges and will generate more ideas for Shannon to solve them with.  The result of this meeting is where the fun begins and technology enters the picture.  Shannon generated a 3D floorplan view of potential layouts for Danielle’s new kitchen as shown below.

What’s Your Style?

Once the general layout is agreed to the next step is selecting cabinetry and countertops.  This lays the visual groundwork for what style you’re aiming for – traditional, country farmhouse, or modern.  Bring ideas from online boards (think Pinterest or Houzz) or from our Kitchen Design & Remodeling page.   Can’t decide on a color for the cabinets and counter top?  Danielle and her husband had different ideas on how to use white in their kitchen, so Shannon created a rendered design showing a few options to bring them together.  See Danielle’s all white version on left and her husband’s grey and white on right.

Digging Into the Details

Once Danielle and her husband selected a cabinet style and a specific brand, Shannon was able to dig into the details drawer by drawer and cabinet by cabinet.  To Danielle’s surprise, there were unique options to maximize space in a corner cabinet.   Another surprise was the idea of using drawers in the base cabinets instead of doors – this allows the contents to be seen fully instead of bending down to see what’s inside (of course door, base cabinets also come with pull out drawers!).  Another interesting idea was a vertical, pull-out spice rack; while this one didn’t make it into the final plans, it sparked conversation on other unique solutions to utilize the space. Danielle and Shannon continued to work through the fine details of cabinet door styles and overall layout.  See the final result at right.  Start your kitchen remodel today, connect with a kitchen designer or visit one of our Kitchen Design Showrooms and be inspired.

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