You don't need one, but you may find value in hiring one.

I have personally used and recommended certified kitchen designer's in the past. It is a specialized profession and certification requirements are met through education, experience and examination. A good CKD will not break your bank, but will work within your realistic budget and add value to your project--with their experience and knowledge of the latest trends, resources, products, etc.

You could always ask for references and speak to past clients about the designer's creativity, value added to the project, and staying within budget.

I agree with musings in that you should speak to past clients and even look at previous projects he/she has done. We used one and it was very helpful. It's kind of just one of the pieces of the puzzle--I looked at many kitchen magazines, used a kitchen designer, and used this site. There is great information on this site, i.e., people listing their favorite things about their kitchens. Also, go into model homes and new homes that are on the market and open their cabinet drawers/doors and see what things you like.

I endorse prior suggestions; and emphasize absolutely check prior jobs.

DD just finished with a "highly recommended" KD from the cabinet company. Nightmare: mismeasured depths for built-in cabinets; mismeasured length of cabinet areas; sent measurements to cabinetmakers before refrigerator was ordered (requiring new overhead cabinet to be made and installed); accepted and had installed erroneous maple for *some* of the cherry panelling; threw a screaming hissy-fit when DD pointed out that microwave cabinet was on wrong end of counter but could be easily corrected with simple switch of identical-sized cabinets; very, very, very poor lighting layout (imo worst was countertop island stove in total shadow); many delays in proffering design and more delays in making corrections (talking months here, not weeks); ignored and/or 'misunderstood' DD's specific detailed requests including design of spice shelves and food pantry... and on and on. Ended up with company VP doing a personal inspection which resulted in most items being corrected. For the record, DD is a very congenial upper-level management person noted for superb people skills and equanamity in difficult situations and with difficult personalities...

A good KD is a marvel, and a bad one is a horror.

Thanks! meldy_nva what a nightmare you describe! I'm getting references today.
soesoe75

Nip over to the "Kitchens" forum. IMO most people don't need a specialized 'designer', but I don't know what you know about kitchens! LOL

I second the kitchens forum suggestion. Great sources of info over there.

Some people think they can't afford a KD, but I would say that those same people can't afford to make mistakes that would be their own problem to fix or live with. This would probably be most important for kitchens with some design challenges: multiple entrances, low windows, angled walls, irregular shape, etc.

I didn't use one and luckily have a friend who made the best recommendation (drawers instead of lower cabinets) and I had a really good cabinet maker who made some suggestions. But there are also a few options that I wish someone had told about me ahead of time. (I didn't find GW until after our reno.)

I have a neighbor who is a certified KD (that happened after my reno). The way her pricing works for kitchens is that she gets a discount from the sources she uses; the difference between the retail price and her discount is her pay. So customers pay the same that they would without her, but are getting the benefit of her expertise. (In addition, she deals with all the BS if something goes wrong.)

Like any other profession, there are good ones and bad ones. In addition to references, if you go with a KD make sure your contract spells everything out: who pays if measurements are wrong, if the wrong materials are accepted and installed, etc. Who approves deliveries, things like that. People on the kitchens forum could probably give you a list of things to check for on a KD contract.

I did post it in kitchens forum as well and had many responses in support of using a KD. I've gone ahead and checked references and we're going to move forward with the process.
I consider myself pretty good at design and I know what I like - however I think there are nuances in making a good kitchen great that I'm not aware of.
Thanks for the feedback.

All of my clients have used kitchen designers of one kind or another. They range from free services from a cabinet sales person to expensive custom designers who offer custom cabinets so it is difficult to generalize.

One thing that I have found is that, with the possible exception of the most expensive designers, they have all had difficulty integrating the kitchen design into the overall design of the house. That may be because they were not involved in the earlier design process or that they have little architectural design training and experience.

To avoid that problem, I layout the kitchen and draw preliminary elevations and leave the drawer vs door and special cabinet features to the cabinet people.

To me it is the overall architectural design of the kitchen that is most important and clever cabinet configuration is a bonus. As for the cabinet styles and special sinks, there is no accounting for what people like so I'm happy to let the cabinet people wrestle with those issues. But I won't draw arch top doors; there's just too much already going on in a kitchen for "decorator effects" to be added to it IMHO.

I don't think a KD is necessary.

It's your house and your kitchen (not the KD's) and it's worth it to put in some extra effort yourself to create a kitchen design that you like.

A KD is never necessary but depending on a homeowner's skill, it might be a very good return on the investment. It's not just a matter of selecting cabinets and counters that you like.

I suspect that most people become habituated to whatever layout they have, and usually only are aware of the most inconvenient or unusually convenient features they presently use. And a lot of folks don't want to take the time or be bothered with the information-gathering and decision-making process of having a truly personalized and convenient kitchen.

I sort of dragged DD into really thinking about what she wanted (imo, KDs earn every penny for that alone) and she actually had a reasonably comprehensive set of specific details ready for the KD. DD's problem apparently was that the cabinet company (which she had thoroughly checked and had a excellent rep) provided the KD as one of their services, and she didn't consider that more referral info was needed. I think the warning in this is that no matter how good a company's general rep is, you'll be better off knowing more about the individuals who actually provide the specialized services within the company.

I used a Lowe's KD and it worked out very well. It's a high volume Lowe's in the DC metro area so the KDs have lots of experience overall and with higher-end kitchens. She worked with me, e-mailed designs back and forth, etc. For a cost of free(!) it was well worth it.

If you have good sense of design, style and know what you what..I do NOT think you need a designer. I designed my own kitchen, had second thoughts like yourself..paid $1000 for a 'designer' and ended up using my own plans instead!

Here is a link that might be useful: Flickr Kitchen Photos

Three friends of my own moderate income level used kitchen designers. All three "designers" provided attractive but uninspired designs for kitchens that cost waaay too much and were based design-wise almost entirely on mass-produced cabinet lines and tile/stone. They all looked like they were pulled from a cabinetry brochure. One of the designers kept ignoring my friend's wishes and drawing the kitchen she wanted her to buy, eventually driving her to tears but not to firing her--unfortunately she was considered "good," so my friend made the mistake of going into dept for a very disappointing kitchen. Frankly, none of them had the ability to produce a genuinely good design.

My daughter's SIL, who owns a business with her husband and has a significantly higher budget, hired a designer in her town who was wonderful. I came out worried and fell in love in short order--very talented and committed to creating something her clients would love within their budget, and her lovely kitchen never reminds anyone of something they saw in a sales brochure.

So-It depends. I feel I'm good at laying out what I want and more competent than the average kitchen designer at aesthetics (which still leaves me sadly lacking in any real talent), but I could never create for someone the special, personal style she did, which didn't cost anything extra at all in materials. She was worth every penny x100. The others were all a waste of money at best and should have been sued at worst.

If you can't find, or afford, a good one, I definitely recommend the free advice from the Kitchen Forum over a bumped-up cabinet salesman. At very worst you'll save money and get a good layout with standard aesthetics (not all of them endorse my feeling that visual appeal performs an extremely important function). Just don't seduce yourself into sacrificing half your active living space to it. :)