Design Services
Design Services
Have you spent hours researching your style and know what you want but need help turning your ideas into concrete drawings?
Maybe you have ideas but would like some guidance to ensure your ideas are practical in the hurly burly world of a busy kitchen.
Maybe your kitchen always feels cramped, and you feel you nowhere to put everything, yet you don’t know where to start.
Maybe you have a small area and are wondering whether you can get a more functional kitchen within the same footprint.
Whatever your situation, and whatever your budget, a qualified, experienced kitchen designer is your answer to ensure you end up with a kitchen that functions well and is good value.
A qualified interior designer, I have extensive experience designing kitchens. People come to me seeking solutions for all the above scenarios and much more.
No job is the same. My skill is turning people’s ideas into a quality kitchen that will last, will bring joy, provides good value for money, and is in harmony with surrounding rooms and the character of the house.
I love the collaborative process of working with clients to help achieve their design vision.
Whether you have spent hours researching or are looking for inspiration, it all starts with a quality kitchen design.
I offer different levels of service:
- Initial Design Consultation– if you are not sure where you are in the process and whether signing up to a full design service and just want to talk through ideas, I offer a one hour in-home service to discuss design ideas. The cost is $120 (inclusive of GST). If you decide to continue with a Design Pack, this $120 is deducted from the total cost.
- Design Pack*– following our consultations, I create a design based on all your ideas and provide you with drawings and digital boards. You can take these to a cabinet maker of your choice for quotes and go from there
- Design Pack & Design Consultant– I continue working with you from creating the initial designs through to the end of the project. I co-ordinate the process, from the quoting of the job, through to the final decision-making with you, the cabinet maker and the required trades people.
Do you need a cabinet maker and trades?
I can provide you with the design services and drawings (Design Pack) for you to seek competitive quotes, or I can provide the full service from the design to the installation. I have a preferred cabinet maker and trades people with whom I have worked and therefore trust to do a quality job. I can engage their services.
I work with you in the best way that supports your needs to ensure you end up with a quality kitchen.
*Design Pack
At the first meeting with you, I gather information on your preferences and requirements. From the start I will also identify, and discuss with you, any potential difficulties based on your preferences. For example, you may want a very large oven, yet this will take away some bench space. I am alert to all the potential problems that arise when designing a kitchen. This is important because we can talk through all the options so you choose what works for you.
Once we have talked through all your requirements and resolved any issues, I take basic measurements. From there I develop a design concept and create design drawings. These CAD (computer aided design) drawings allow you to see your design from all angles.
I then give you a digital Design Pack that comprises:
- Design Brief
- Mood Board
- Materials Board
- Fittings, Finishes and Equipment (FF&E) Schedule
- Design Drawings – Floorplans and Elevations
- 3D Rendered Images
Most Design Packs take about three days to complete and cost approximately $1,000, plus GST.
I can also other services at an hourly rate, including:
- Lighting Plan
- Storage Plan
Appropriate lighting and storage complete a kitchen. Lights not only make a work space more functional but they enhance the ambience.
Similarly, sufficient storage in appropriate places ensures a kitchen is fit for purpose.
A Kitchen Design Pack provides you and your cabinet maker with detailed, easy to follow blueprints and enables you to visually understand the end goal.
Who needs a Kitchen Design Service?
Whether you are building or renovating, if you are keen to create a dream kitchen then a well thought through design service can assist to achieve your goals. If you have enlisted the services of an architect, then they may provide a detailed kitchen design or they may provide an outline of the kitchen location and cabinetry. If this is the case, I can work from your plans to design your kitchen with the required level of detail.
Some clients are looking for something between full architectural services and being an owner-builder. They are happy to invest in one off design services for one of the most important rooms in your home. My services are there to create and document the design and support you to make detailed material selections.
Many clients have a rough vision of what they like or, more importantly, what they don’t like. Some clients enjoy visiting suppliers and making some selections but get to a point where they are overwhelmed to bring the schedule of materials together. My design services are there to guide you towards achieving a solution and a design schedule.
Some of the pain points for designing a kitchen include the number of decisions that need to be made and knowing the ‘unknowns’. It is also being able to bring together all parts of a well-considered custom design and being able to visualise the result. My role is to work this process through with you, track, and document changes, bring clarity out of chaos and present the end vision so that you know what to expect and can enjoy your beautiful new kitchen.
Is it worth investing in a Design Service?
Investment in a new kitchen is often the biggest financial outlay of all home renovations. If the design is not considered upfront, then you may find items are missed or selections are made on the run or mistakes made which can have an expensive knock-on effect – all resulting in not getting the kitchen you planned or wanted.
Kitchen renovations can be most disruptive as the space is utilised more than any other room. A well-planned kitchen and coordinated approach are more likely to result in minimising the disruption and managing time without a kitchen.
Kitchens are the central location to gather, socialise, work, create and spend time with loved ones. It is important to thoroughly plan the design so that you can enjoy this highly used and highly invested space for many years to come. In the end, it is important that you have a kitchen that is not just satisfactory, but to be the best value possible that delights all users of the space.
Engaging in a Kitchen Design service is good preparation at a tiny fraction of the cost of a kitchen renovation – do it once, do it right!
