Opening up my living space

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Hi,
I'm looking at knocking through my current kitchen/dining room to make it open plan. My new kitchen will be grey gloss & white tops.
I'm looking for ideas for flooring and also to see if my current oak effect dining table & living room furniture - only 18 months old will match? Have put up a photo of my table.

Im also wondering what to do with the decor throughout. I was looking at a lovely grey sofa. Is that too much white and grey?

Thank you!!

Featured Answer

User

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

So they are forcing overall project responsibility on you. You are acting as the GC of the job and hiring individual trades that are not accountable to them, and coordinating and scheduling all of everything falls on you to coordinate. You might want to take a step back and reevaluate the whole here. You obviously need more design help for the overall project. And I suspect that you need additional project management help as well. Help that is not being provided you by the people you hired.

Why the heck NOT? That is what a design and build firm does! Except the one you hired, it seems. They should be providing the painter, the flooring professional, the paint colors, and the flooring selections. If they won't do that, then you need to stop paying them to do anything. They aren't giving you the assistance that you need. You need an actual designer and actual GC involved.

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Comments (6)

Tracy Valley
Original Author
10 years ago
User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
So, a 100K+ project. You really need the services of a local designer to help you coordinate the SINGLE space that your open concept will become. There is No point in doing it at all unless you unify the entire space. Single flooring, paint, trim, molding, etc. All coordinated. Are you prepared for that level of project and expense?
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Tracy Valley
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi, yes I will be putting new flooring throughout and am planning to get a new sofa. Because my furniture isn't that old I was hoping to be able to keep it though. At least for now... The kitchen designer is arranging the bulk of the work, warrants & structural engineer, but I have to get my flooring myself and have a painter organised to paint the whole downstairs. I'm just unsure as to what colours to go for? Thanks
User
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
If your kitchen designer isn't offering you the complete design package that you need, perhaps it's time for a talk. Why isn't she? Is she just a cabinet salesperson rather than a true KD? If so, then you need to be talking with someone like an ID who will assume overall project design responsibilities and just have her deal with her cabinet selections only.

And you better be sure that your new ID and chosen GC are compatible and on the same page. Because you are headed for a Problem here if you don't have someone in charge of the entire job. And NO true GC allows a homeowner to interfere with his scheduling and job control by hiring trades outside his control. Nor does he not have a paint or flooring subcontractor. You've already got a mess of finger pointing ready to happen. BIG issues.

Sounds like she wants to get her piece of the pie before the money runs out for everyone else actually. Cabinets are only around 30% of an overall kitchen budget, and you want structural too. She gets paid and is out of the picture while the rest drags on without anyone running the show.
Tracy Valley
Original Author
10 years ago
It's a local kitchen/bathroom company who are going to project manage the kitchen installation and taking down the wall. They will be getting my building warrant and have their own structural engineer to check it aswell. The rest is for me to sort though. Thanks