Given how essential kitchens are in our homes, there’s much pressure to get it right. We want it to look good and impress guests as we tour them around the house. We want to feel good and enjoy the time we spend preparing and cooking meals for our loved ones. This is why it often pays to hire a professional kitchen designer.

A kitchen designer will know the fine details that make your kitchen work. They will have extensive knowledge of construction techniques, proper design standards, utility systems, and the like. Their experience will help you prevent any costly mishaps and guide you to the kitchen of your dreams. Here are some tips to help you choose the right one.

Establish Kitchen Goals

Before you go out looking for the perfect kitchen design for your renovation project, you first need a general idea of your own goals. You don’t need to see every small detail down to the size of your cabinet doors. That’s what you’re enlisting a designer’s help for, after all. However, it would be best if you had some more general items planned out. Do you want an extra-deep countertop? How about a dedicated baking zone? Maybe you need to have 2-3 people working in them simultaneously. There’s also the issue of your budget and overall design style. Knowing the basics of what you want in advance will help you see if the kitchen designer you’re interviewing is a good fit for you.

Examine Previous Works

When you have a basic idea of what your new kitchen will be like, you’ll want to pick a designer who’s done something similar before. Check their website or ask them for a copy of their portfolio. These will often represent their best works and give you an idea of what they specialise in. Aside from these, you can also ask the prospective designer for references from previous clients. If you’re able to talk to them, you can find out more about how the designer works and approaches problems. Do they respond promptly to concerns? Were they proactive in giving suggestions? Examining previous work is about looking at finished kitchens and seeing what kind of work ethic and reputation they have.

Check Their Qualifications

Now that you’ve established what kind of work they do, you need to double-check some things. Make sure they have the right certifications. Research if they have any professional affiliations, such as the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) or National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). Also, find out if they’re even a registered business and allowed to work on your project's scope. Knowing these is especially important, the more complex your project will be. Confirming these types of certifications assures you that you’ll be working with a professional who knows their way around a kitchen renovation.

Conduct an Interview

At this point, you would have a shortlist of kitchen designers to choose from. It’s time to bring them in for an interview. Aside from asking about credentials and previous works, there are other details to iron out. You need to ask your prospective kitchen designers things such as project schedule, how much input you’ll have if you can choose your contractor, and many more. You also need to clarify the full scope of services they can and will offer you. The interview process is the time to iron out any concerns you have about your kitchen project. Also, by talking to your prospective kitchen designer, you’ll get a first-hand experience of their personality. You want to hire someone who’s going to work with you and not against you. Someone may have the most outstanding portfolio and credentials, but it might not work out if you don’t click with them.

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