My kitchen design was no charge because the designer was affiliated with the distributor of my cabinets and countertops. And, she got me a substantial discount on the cabs.

Will that cost be apply toward your cabinet order? I am planning to remodel my kitchen too. This seems really high and what is the point of a designer unless you are doing some major renovation like knocking down walls and adding a new wing to the house? I think you can get a drawing and measurement done at big box stores for less than $100 and use that as a start to decide on the details of your remodel. I also don't understand why it would take 25 hours to draw this if the basic layout is already in place. She's basically inputting your vision into the 20/20 program she will be using, its not like she has to work with a blank canvass.

This is a largish new construction project and the designer is independent, I believe. I think the rate is about right but the number of hours to do this seems excessive.

Do you just want her to make a 3d drawing out of YOUR drawings? $100/hr is reasonable but 25 hrs isn't.

That's a "go away" price. She perceives the job as being more trouble than it's worth at the regular price she might charge. $2000 is what it would take for her to take on the issues that she perceives this job to have.

I'm not sure he perceives this as more trouble than it's worth because he repeated his interest in our project. He happens to have an interest in historic houses and, since we're trying to make the house look historic, he feels it's right up his alley. And, no, this price can't be applied to the cabinet pricing because we're not going through him to do our cabinets.
I've not found anyone able to do our drawings and I agree that this shouldn't take 25 hours, but I don't know what else to do. I'd much rather not have to pay this amount, but feel as though I'm stuck.

Hey, I've got some software...I'll do it for half price!

Only kidding. If you post the layout and your chosen options here, I can pull together a 3d picture for you in a couple of days (no charge). And the rest of the community can tell you if it's the best layout for your space and its constraints.

You need his advice much more than you need drawings here. Skip the drawings entirely and just have him assist you in selections for the home. Pay 5x for that advice if you have to. The amount of detail that this home has demands a discerning eye on site holding your hand.

Hmmm, is that fee only for the drawings? I hired a draftsman to draw plans for our entire second story renovation (we built a new second floor, perhaps I should call it a replacement). He did floor plans, structural drawings, insulation, and exterior elevations from 3 angles for just over $600.

What if you want to make changes, will it be another $2k for a modified set of drawings? I think if it was going to cost me $2k to tweak the design before construction was even started I would be tempted to settle for "good enough" as opposed to getting what I really felt was the best possible plan. That's just me, though, you might respond differently. But for me, I would not want to pay someone $2k to sketch what I mapped out.

this guy is only a kitchen designer and, therefore, will not have input in the rest of our house.

i need drawings for the cabinet guy to have something to make them from. i've been trying to go through him, but it's very hard to know if i'm going about the right direction when his elevations don't include things like the kitchen window, crown molding, or a 3d image.

anenemity, i'll post images in a moment--that'd be awesome!

I used to work for a draftsman who charged according to square footage, under roof. I think by the time I left, it was about $.65/square foot. And mind you, this was for 10 sets of construction drawings, everything to get through permitting (an engineer's fee was separate, but the vast majority did not require an engineer's stamp). So for that $2k, you could've gotten full drawings for a 3000 square foot house. I know it's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, but it might give you a little perspective as to how much that should cost.

i forgot to say, i also need help to figure out if the fridge/freezer door will bang into the wall or surrounding cabinets, and other little details like that. don't i need a designer for these things?
this is so stressful.

ok, i'm including images of the kitchen layout. i've decided against any upper cabinets on the range wall excluding, potentially, a ceiling to counter cabinet that is 24" wide in the corner near the sink wall. the window is a french casement that goes up to 8 ft high. the ceiling is 10 ft high. we have a 60" range. 2 dishwashers to the right of the sink. the island cannot exceed 54" x 84". the fridge wall will have a built-in look, but only up to the height of the 48" subzero. the cabinets adjacent to it will have appliance garages. i intend to have crown molding in the room that is more like a cornice and a flat element beneath it to add interest to the wall, especially the area above the uppers on the sink wall. i want the range hood to look like a drywall chimney with a cornice-style shelf. the cabinets will all be some sort of white, i think. i need something that will go with my marble counters. i'm leaning toward the cabinets, moldings, and walls being almost the same color. the floors will be wide plank red oak in a darker brown color, no red.

http://www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk/spitalfields-5

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen inspiration

Like I said, post the layout here and the gurus will tell you how it can be improved. If it's a French door or side-by-side fridge, you'll need a minimum space equivalent to the depth of the door plus the handles on either side of the fridge (usually nominally 3") to open fully. If you have a doorway on one side, you'll only really need the depth of the door.

just posted it, anenemity. i'm less concerned with the layout as it seems fine to me, but more the aesthetics.

Could you email me the pdf of your layout? I can't read the dimensions on the screenshot.

Depends on if they are drawing by hand, some still do, or if they are doing serious renderings on the computer. Too long for quick 2020 pics.
Sounds like you have more than a few details that will bet worked out in the rendering which would could quickly add to the time.
Here are two folks who do serious computer renderings. I don't know to what extent they will play but the sites are certainly worth a look.

Castle view and 3d diva
http://www.castleview3d.com/services.html

Here is a link that might be useful: 3d diva

I am also preparing for a kitchen Reno and just hired a kitchen designer. I live in an east coast 1920s home that due to age comes with its own problems. At this point I only wanted to commit to a design. Most of the designers I spoke with charged around $1500 for a design. I contacted designers from nkba and asid.org. The one I went with charged according to size of space so it was a little less (small kitchen). I have already received 4 different layouts for preliminary designs. Designer will provide color elevations, etc. no credit toward cab purchase, but if I purchase cabs from designer, I will get help in selecting other materials and finishes. Hope this helps

Alright, here's a preliminary look. I had to make educated guesses on a lot of dimensions because the screenshot image was a little fuzzy, but I shouldn't be off by enough to make much of a difference in the way it looks.

I'm guessing (because of your stated maximum dimensions) that your island will use up the entire marble slab, but I used it on the perimeter counters as well. It will take more fiddling to get the island exactly as it is drawn, but I think that's the basic idea. I had to guess at the doorways and openings.

Are these images helpful at all? And for the record, it took me, a nonprofessional, less than 4 hours to do that. I'm sure there's a lot of detail that remains, but 20+ hours worth? Not likely.

anenemity, thanks SO much for the time and care you put into making these images for me. this is a huge help and i greatly appreciate it. this helps put things into perspective and also highlights the fact that the designer likely won't need 20+ hours! thank you :)

I never paid for a kitchen designer...our cabinet sales person was a kitchen designer and helped with the plan and the layout to make it work, though we did the basic layout ourselves in terms of appliance location and such. It was from his drawings that his firm built the cabinets which all fit very nicely. He also did 3d renderings for us of the kitchen....it was part of the job.

I always get nervous if there are too many cooks making the soup as there will never be 100% communication and then it's when things are going together that you realize that what A heard was not what B said and now the whole thing is wrong.

And if this kitchen designer plans on making $2k for not a lot of work, no wonder he's so anxious to get the job!

If your cabinet maker doesn't do that, how about getting an architectural design student to do it....s/he would probably love the work, have the latest software at school to use and would work cheap....

I recently spoke w/a kitchen designer and her fees are $120hr for approx 25-30hrs to complete a plan.
I guess this is the going rate, but I am not sure what it gets me, I have not committed to anything yet - still trying to figure it all out.

I have learned so much fr all of you on this website. I have graphed out my plan, play around alot on Chief Architect (free on my ipad) and have a good idea of finishes that I want.

I am also considering adding on some sq ft to the back of my existing kitchen which is currently 13X18.

I am not sure what the difference is bwtn an architect and a draftsman...it sounds like a draftsman would be less expense. anenemity, when would one use one or the other?

I live in Orange County, CA. If anyone knows of a good draftsman, can you share info?

threeapples, when I came across this photo I thought of you.
I don't know if it's Georgian or not, but it evokes the same feeling I think, as the other photo, which I've looked at a million times.
If you have a chance, go to this website RoseUniche and check out the interior of the "London SW1" This is the kitchen of that property

Spelled the name wrong, here's the link http://www.roseuniacke.com/about/
and a photo of the living room
What style would you say this is?

After I met with first designer I was feeling like you; unsure. Was advised to keep looking. I did and finally connected with designer I went with. Although I had my own ideas/thoughts on layout based on what I had seen for size of small space, I did not Initially share those thoughts. I received a few different preliminary layouts and they were all better than what I had come up with and a much better use of space. I know it is stressful but don't settle. Good luck!

That's an English Georgian house. American Georgian is essentially the same because we were a colony at the time, the differences are based on styles being more advanced in England, and resources being more established in England. The first stylistic break from the UK was the next period, which was Federal, which I think is the first American style.

Gigi, i LOVE the photos you posted and can't wait to visit the website you mentioned this evening. :)

I used an independent design person for my kitchen remodel. Her fee was $100 /hr. She came to our house for an initial consultation and detailed field measuring. She drew the existing floor plan and some proposed concepts and we meet with her a second time to go over them. We choose a plan but asked for some revisions. The designer drew up the revised plan and various elevations. She drew plan views( demo plan, ceiling lighting, outlets, countertop area, and a flooring option). We meet again to give final approval. We were given complete working blue prints for ourselves, the GC, and the cabinet maker. Her travel time to our house was also included in her billable time. Our designer's bill was just over 2,500. It was a good deal of money but to us it was worth it. The plans were done so well that we had no issues with any part of our remodel. We also saved way more money than the what our designers fee was by using a Amish cabinet maker. The cabinet makers price was 1/3 to 1/2 less than other quotes we received.
We did not use the designer to help us pick out any of our finishes. She would have done so, but I certainly did not want to pay those kind of fees for someone to go with me to look at granite, lighting, hardware etc.