When we first started thinking about our kitchen design, we went to Lowe's to see what they would come up with. They were honestly no help at all and they basically ask you where you want each cabinet and appliance and they put it in the plan.

If you know what you want and just want to see how it looks in 3D, then it would work fine, but if you need help to make a functional kitchen I would get advice here on the board, or find a real KD.

We ended up hiring a KD who is also a chef, so I think our kitchen will be very functional.

I did use the Lowe's cabinet designers for my sewing studio. One wall of the studio will be a sink, cabinets, and a desk area. I had already drawn out what I wanted and the Lowe's guy just input it into the computer. The cabinets are KraftMaid and I used a maple slab door. The total for about 12' of cabinets was around $4,000.

Patti

I had a good experience at Lowe's, but I picked my salesperson very carefully. I do consider them cabinet salespeople, not KDs. Some have enough experience to be helpful, some can't even use their software.

Lowe's is the best.

We used a KD who was rotten. Didn't listen, not innovative. The installer was her husband who (according to KraftMaid) installed posts incorrectly, mislocated an island, built too wide an enclosure for the reefer, etc. In addition, they tried to use a 30" corner cabinet for a 30" wide oven stack and would not fix it (by upsizing to a 33" wide cabinet).

Lowe's bailed us out. Provided solutions to several problems and sold us pieces for about 50% of what the KD wanted (i.e. the KD "did't get the dishwasher panels ordered". Did they charge us? You bet.

Without Lowe's (and our Finish carpenter) the kitchen would have been a disaster.

I think Lowe's staff are like teachers. Some are good, some are bad. It is up to you, with your vested interest, to determine who you are talking to.

We blew it with the KD and nailed it with our Lowe's saleswoman.

Yes, some at Lowes are good, some bad. I didnt go with Lowe's, but when I met with the KD the prices she quoted me for Kraftsmaid Valencia were RIDICULOUSLY high...Expo quoted less than half the price for the exact same cabinets. The whole time she kept trying to direct me to a more traditional cheaper line, which I didnt want. When I called to double check the high prices, I was told it was correct. I dont think she knew how to accurately look up the prices, as her quotes did not match the ads I saw later. Either that or she got a bigger commission for selling the cheaper brand she was insistent that I should have. It made no sense to me at all, so I never went back. I looked at Brookehaven - outrageously expensive (although I put it in 4 bathroom cabs.) and I ended up going with IKEA for the kichen. Very pleased with IKEA.

I have nothing but the best to say about Lowes. The KD was great. The Lowes KD spent many hours with us and had great ideas. Very practical and open minded. We also went to another KD who came up with the same design. Also, Lowest had the free sink base offer, $799 install special and $500 gift card offer in January that we took advantage of. We saved about $2K with these so feel real good so far. The install is yet to happen, but so far so good.

I think this just varies a lot depending on the store and person helping you. We had a good experience at Lowes. We had our design pretty well set but he had some good suggestions for a few things. He was very resistant to our range under the window plan (even after we informed him we had cleared it with the city) so he did a whole other layout on his own (and basically for 'fun' because he had no reason to think we were coming back when he did it. We dropped by to ask some questions about something and he said 'hey-I made a whole different layout for you guys to check out'). Although it wasn't what we wanted for other reasons it wasn't a bad design and he definitely showed some serious initiative doing that.

We DIY'd the install so I can't comment on that but I understand it can also be very dependent on who your local Lowe's contracts with.

That question is kind of like asking, "How is your experience with your Walmart cashier?" It's luck of the draw with any service industry. And the individual is what will make or break your project. The employees in the big box kitchen centers rarely have much experience. Would you let the Walmart cashier plan your retirement portfolio?

Kompy, why on earth wouldn't I inquire as to anyone's experience with a certain entity? I believe that is the purpose of this forum.

Kompy is right. Ask 50 people who've had their kitchens done by a big box, and you're likely to get 100 opinions as to the quality of service, creativity of design, and experience level of the KD. THis is one case where there are no real standards across the board. If you're lucky, you'll get the KD who is CKD and has 5-6 years of experience and actually knows something, albeit within the limitations of big box existance, which usually doesn't do involved or very creative design because most customers are too budget conscious to spring for it. If you're unlucky, you'll get the "KD" who was in the back office doing schedules last week but wants to try her hand at design because she's always been "creative" and who can't read a tape measure and doesn't understand minimum clearances or anything about appliance specs or even how to order the right door style for you.

Yes, going to any KD can be the luck of the draw. But, going to a big box store is stacking the deck against yourself and a truly creative and error free outcome. There are always exceptions, and I know of several big box designers who are quite good and one who is even great. But those are the exceptions, not the rule.

So, screen your KD well, whatever source you look for them from. And be sure to ask them which department they were working in last week. ;~)

Jano, I apologize if my post came off rude. I am a KD of 23 years that competes with the big boxes everyday. A big percentage of people don't even check out the local dealers. They just assume we're expensive. I don't know about other markets, but we are very competitive. Even with my regular walk-in customer rate, my price always beats the homecenters.

And like live_wire said, going to any KD can be luck of the draw. You need to find someone with experience and that you feel comfortable working with. That was the point I was trying to make in my previous post...and Live_wire expanded on it.