Kitchen Design
Cabinet retailers will do more than just sell you
cabinets. They will handle the design of your kitchen as
well. They will sit down with you and hear your concerns and guide
you through the design of your kitchen. Each
retailer has a different arrangement for the design. We will go
over Home Depot and Lowes, as well as the independent dealer we chose.
If you think you are going to go through a "big box" store such as Home
Depot or Lowes, you should check with them concerning their current
policies, which may change at any time, and therefore differ from the
description provided here. You are about to
invest a lot of money into your kitchen. For most people, this is
a once-in-a-lifetime remodel project. Spend the time up front to
evaluate each of your options. Get referrals. Talk to people
about their experiences. It is absolutely vital to do your
homework up front. It will make the difference between being the
next horror story in which you were without a kitchen for months as you
fought the cabinet installers, and a success story where in two weeks
you had a dream kitchen.
Home Depot
Home Depot will design your kitchen for a fee. If
you decide to buy your cabinets through Home Depot, the fee is deducted
from the sales price of the cabinets. Even
though you pay a fee for the design, Home Depot will not let you take
the design with you.
Lowes
We went to Lowes for an initial design estimate. At
Lowes, we selected the Diamond line of cabinetry because they did not
carry Decora.
Lowes did the design for free but like Home Depot, they
are not allowed to let you leave the store with the design.
Independents
Our independent contractor worked with us on the design
after we decided to use them. Because small business has
limited resources, you can not expect them to invest in your kitchen
without assurances that you are going to do business with them.
That said, the small business we selected had an even
better computer system to do the kitchen design than the big box store.
They had a nice big high-def monitor that was great for my wife and I to
sit with the designer as she designed our kitchen.
We selected the independent small business because
because we got a superior product (Decora cabinets) at competitive
prices. We also received great customer service and project
management. Your mileage may vary-- do your homework! |
