They serve different functions. A kitchen designer will help you come up with a kitchen plan and will suggest a cabinet line to use. A cabinet maker will (usually) need to know what cabinets you want where and what style/color/wood/inserts you want. He/she may make suggestions, but will not design your kitchen for you.

I had the so-called "kitchen designers" from Lowe's and a local hardware store come to the house; no charge from Lowe's, $100 initial planning/measuring charge from the other store. Neither was what I would consider to be a real kitchen designer and neither came up with a viable plan.

We came up with our own plan, with the wonderful assistance of those here. We then selected a cabinet maker. He did offer a few suggestions on the plan, but mainly wanted to know what we wanted and where.

Agree with Oasisowner. The designer we met with for a master bath was so expensive we shied away from a KD when it was time to remodel the kitchen. In retrospect, there are a few things I would have done differently; I assume a KD would have discussed them with us. And it would have been nice to have a trained designer to bounce ideas off of. But our cabinet maker was great. We told him what we wanted where and he did the rest. Trash pull outs are in good spots, big drawers for pots are where they belong and so on. I'd say go with a KD if you think you want/need that extra design input. If not, a cabinet maker alone might be enough.

I agree with what the other two have said. If you don't need design assistance then a cab maker may be just fine. It's what I used.

HOWEVER, if you want factory finish or a specific brand of cabinets then you will need to go with a KD because you can't order them on your own.

Your choices are basically limited to big box, RTA, KD to get brand name, or custom cabinet maker.

A KD is an invaluable tool though if you need design assistance. They can even suggest things you might never have thought of.

I have notices that at the top end custom cabinets are best, in the upper middle price and lower factory finished comes out better. Below top of the end, factory finish quality and consistency usually beats the custom cabinets in the same price range (especially in painted cabinets) as it is done in a factory with better equipment. Also before you spend $$$ on a custom cabinet maker make sure exactly how custom they are...too many supposed cabinet makers buy RTA boxes and doors, finish them onsite and charge you "custom" prices.

KD's services are usually FREE with the purchase of cabinets. There is zero reason to not use one.

Sophie, actually I will be utilizing my house builder's expertise in making my cabinets for me. I've seen the work he's done and it is wonderful, and it fits into my style. They will be pine (to go with a log home), and with his work I won't be getting a KD for free.

I do have a consultant, not specifically a KD, who is pointing out ideas for me throughout the house - she is associated with the log home kit company. I'm lucky she lives near my current home, and has a log home of her own.

The builder likely has someone designing the layouts of the kitchen for them...you could try to interface with this person to come up with a design that works for you.

It really helps to have the help of a design professional who both cooks and understands cabinetry. It's not as easy as it sounds to find that combo. Cabinet makers don't often understand some design decisions and non specific designers can sometimes not understand constraints of cabinets and clearances. That's why a KD can give you the best of both worlds. IF you find the right one.

I am lucky. My designer is very talented, and is also a great cook, as is her husband. She has her own business and her husband has his own business, which just happens to be furniture and cabinet making. One does not come with the other, but since I am a bit more informed than most (thanks GW!) she is able to run my ideas by him. Win-win in my books!

I struggled with this decision while planning my kitchen remodel. I interviewed 3 Design/Build Teams, 2 GC's and 2 cabinet company's. I think I have good taste and while I am pretty certain of my choices I hired a KD for several reasons. 1) This was something I had dreamed about for 11 years and I wanted it to flow right! 2) I really wanted a catalized conversion finish on my cabinets for durability and living in Ca. that is hard to obtain without ordering through an out of state cabinet company. After all the interviews I picked a Design/Build firm with a KD I clicked with, she does great work which I saw in person. We entered into the relationship with this company because we liked both
the GC and KD. We were not locked in but we did pay a Design fee for
the 4 sets of plans and if we liked them the cost came off the cabinets,
if not we had some design ideas. She drew up 4 different options for our kitchen/den with ideas we had never thought of. She listened to what I wanted in functionality which was extremely important to me. I knew I could not figure out cab sizes, fillers, and all the pieces I needed. She provided space planning, design, electrical/lighting advice and showed me how it all would come together with the elevation drawings. We went with this team. She is an excellent resource but does not choose for me, she lets me show her what I am drawn to then she helps me work through the best choice. We have not yet started the demolition, we have a contract, a set of plans and firm decisions on the appliances and cabs. We shop this weekend for Granite and flooring. Hope this helps, Good Luck with your choices.

Funny, I just realized that out of all my friends, family, and co-workers, only one person used a kitchen designer. Most just do updates - painting, new counters, or flooring.

A true Kitchen Designer can be invaluable - but I'm talking about a real KD, not a cabinet salesperson who says s/he is a KD (there are a lot of those out there - I know, I ran into many of them when I started my Kitchen remodel!)

Builders and architects are usually not good KDs. A smart builder or architect has a trained/experienced (and credentialed) KD on staff. Unfortunately, based on what we've seen here, most do not.

Even here, we can help you come up with a good design, but a KD will know the idiosyncrasies of the cabinet lines s/he works with and has on-site knowledge of your project, so my advice is to come up with a design here and then talk to a (real) KD for the details.

This is one reason why you need an experienced kitchen designer.

I used a cabinet maker, and I supplied the plans. I knew what I wanted and where; he made sure everything fit, and everything worked - things like adequate filler where drawer banks met in a corner, and ensuring that the sink cabinet was just the right size for the sink I bought. I've been in the new kitchen for two years, and there isn't anything I would have done differently.

I lived in the old kitchen for 20 years, and had been thinking about how best to make it more functional for at least 10. It took me that long to get it right (and save up to pay for it).

And just a warning, not all cabinetmakers know about designing a space either.

"...imagine having your new drawer pulls keep you from opening your dishwasher because you shoehorned the cabinets in without fillers...."

My SIL did not use a KD (she didn't need one, she said), she said her (custom) cabinetmaker was good enough - now she cannot open the top drawer of the cabinet on her peninsula without first opening her oven (the range is around the corner from the drawer)! The cabinetmaker (who was supposed to be this great/knowledgeable person), didn't realize you had to use filler in the corner to clear the oven door. She closed off the corner (voided it) to avoid a corner susan or blind corner cabinet. (This is one reason I wince when people recommend voiding a corner - it can so easily go wrong!)

Oh, and the door on that same cabinet doesn't open much past 45 degrees b/c the oven door is in the way.

(If she had just talked to me, I would have told her to use a 30" (or whatever it would take to allow the other cabinets to work properly) cabinet turned 90 degrees - no need to void and the turned cabinet would have acted as filler!)

Thank you all for the great input. I will go with a KD! Now.... Finding one that is good seems to be a whole other issue!

You might start at the NKBA website which is the professional organization for kit designers. They have a search feature for members by locale.

I went to an established kitchen design center that sold Woodmode cabinets. The KD person was not very good - several times she told be I couldn't do things (like have a trash pullout under my sink) and I had to explain to her how it "could" be done. I knew because I had spend many hours here. And she came up with inferior designs that were costly (in terms of cabinets) and did not suit my style (clean lines, minimal decorative touches). I ended up developing the design myself, but when she screwed up the order (gave to me to approve) I walked away and went to another shop that sold the same cabinets. So while I understand "conceptually" the value that a KD can bring to the table, I think they rarely have the level of knowledge required or the customer's best interests at heart. To "rely" on the KD is a risk I would not take given my personal experience.

Having said that, I think for many people it is a necessity because they do not have the time, or interest, or ability, to become their own designer. And they make very expensive mistakes.

My advice is to use the best one you can find/afford, but don't trust them exclusively. Listen and learn, and do your own research to verify, and post your plans here before pulling the trigger. I think this group is excellent - and free!

My advice is to use the best one you can find/afford, but don't trust them exclusively. Listen and learn, and do your own research to verify, and post your plans here before pulling the trigger. I think this group is excellent - and free!

^this! I know there are talented KD's out there but not all of them are. And even good ones can miss things. There have definitely been KD-designed plans presented here for feedback which the talented gurus have improved. Sometimes significantly. Sometimes just a tweak or two. services but I would never rely only upon them. The folks here at GW a