Kitchen 2020: your new kitchen design, renovations, remodeling, lifestyles and more

Problem Finders vs. Problem Solvers: How to double the cost of your new kitchen

My brother recently spent 20 hours working on a kitchen design after extensive feedback from the client (wife side of couple) where they looked at how the kitchen is used (it's a vacation home and they entertain a lot of visitors), its size limitations (it's small), budget, materials, appliances etc. As a designer you take this information away, along with detailed measurements, and come back with draft design options. These are shared and discussed and a final version begins to take shape.
This is the point where having a third party jump in can mean significant cost increases and that's what's taking place. The spouse, who does not cook, starts to get into the details, after the design process is complete.
There are two kinds of people you typically run into during any kind of design process:

• Problem Finders
• Problem Solvers

Problem finders are critics who see their role as the keeper of the quality and/or the keeper of the vision. Unfortunately they often are only capable of finding problems not solving them. When they are unable to stop you have a problem because an entire design process can come to a screeching halt as more and more issues are 'uncovered'.
Problem solvers are those who identify a potential problem and offer up potential solutions. Where they differ from the finders is that they can prioritize problems and then solve the real ones and let the other ones go- after all this is not nuclear powerplant design. A poor hardware selection won't blow the planet up.
In my brother's case an entire redesign done detail by detail derailed the original budget and timeline significantly as more and more 'problems' were found. This is where you start spending money you had not planned on: Hardware is upgraded, materials are found to be insufficiently immortal, appliance specifications become consequential (the refrigerator needs to have its compressor in a remote location- boom, add $4000), etc.
If you suspect this might happen with your project then make sure you engage any potential problem finders from day one so they understand how and why choices are being made. If they come in after the fact you may find yourself back to the drawing board just when you thought you were done.

European Kitchen Design

Take a look at these Italian kitchens and you'll understand why we are such big fans of Euro- kitchen styles. Richard designs and builds many kitchens each year and he is very tired of American kitchens that have to fit the trend of the minute, be it country style, arts and crafts or an abundance of red oak. We encourage you to look beyond US tastes to find some of the most innovative approaches to designing your kitchen.
One way to expand your idea gathering is to buy some European design magazines from your local Barnes and Noble or Borders. Even if they may not be in English you'll pick up ideas from the pictures. Make sure you check out design in the UK too- they often combine traditional and contemporary design in really innovative ways.
If you take these ideas to your cabinetry source and push, you can have more options without necessarily paying more. Similar styles are available here- you just don't see them because the big box retailers focus on what the (uninformed) majority are asking for.

Cheap cabinets, expensive counters? All wrong...

We were having a discussion last night about the obsession with granite and other stone countertop materials. Richard hasn't done a kitchen, regardless of budget, in the last two years that didn't have stone counters. In his case, he only uses high grade Euro-style cabinets so the subject of this post isn't an issue for his customers. The issue arises when you see new home builders installing cheap cabinetry and then putting expensive granite on top of it to give the impression of a high end kitchen.
The problem is that once installed, you really don't want to uninstall stone. If you cheap out on the cabinets below it and they start to fall apart (which they will- poor quality materials and construction mean they start loosening up not long after you start using them) you're likely looking at not only replacing your cabinetry but also your counters.
The lesson here is if you're on a budget, get high quality base cabinets and start with inexpensive counters in a material like laminate. Save your money and it will be relatively easy to upgrade to stone later. Lower cabinets need to be heavy duty because they typically contain loaded drawers, inserts and shelving filled with heavier items.

Send Us Your Questions!

Are you designing a new kitchen?
Looking for ways to spruce up the one you have?
Trying to decide between granite and marble?
Thinking about a downdraft vent? A pot rack? German vs. Japanese Knives?
How about the best way to light kitchen island?

When it comes to kitchens there are a lot of questions. We don't have all the answers but we probably know where to find the answers we don't have and we've been through the entire kitchen design/build process hundreds of times. So, pick our brains!

We'll post the answers to questions that we think apply to our readers in general and the occasional odd, funny or disastrous ones (to help you avoid going down the same path).

For the rest, we'll reply by email.
All you have to do is send us a brief question via Email. Please limit your questions to one per email. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Martin and Richard

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