Type it in, and houzz has many articles which can advise and be encouraging:

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/where-do-i-start-when-renovating-my-house-stsetivw-vs~80418984

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-much-does-a-remodel-cost-and-how-long-does-it-take-stsetivw-vs~68606795

Forget the fake time line/ design process on a HGTV show that is not real on any level. I am not sure why you would choose HD for design work. Maybe a bit more since it seems you are already in the reno phase. There is never anything simple about renovating that is why you need pros and it really depends on what you are thinking to tell you who you need to start. It may seem simole to take out a wall or even 1/2 of one but there can be surprises lurking in thta wall now that has to be dealt with hence you need to give us a lot more info if you want some help with the next step. It also is good to share what wnet wrong with HD.

Have you looked into “floor plan designer” software? Some are free and you can put your ideas “on paper” to see how well they work out.

First is budget. And if HD is your budget, it's OK- not everyone has the bucks to go outside the big box stores. If you can afford to get a private designer, great. If you can't, there's no shame in that- you just need to learn a little more and work at it a bit more to make sure your HD budget can work for you.

Second is to evaluate what made that half wall project from hell. Lack of learning of what to expect on your part? Miscommunications? Them not being up to the task- and if so in what ways? Disappointed in materials or workmanship overall? Learn from that, articulate it, and move on to better :)

After that, the articles everdebz posted are a great start for reading :) Let's hope your next remodeling goes better than the first!

To solve a problem, you first have to define it. If you don’t understand the mechanics of a larger construction project well enough to list out the steps of your project, and the materials you will use, you need someone on your side who is trained to do that.

That person is a designer/kitchen designer. Not a box store cabinet seller. And they need to be employed by you, as your advocate in the process. Not part of the contractor’s team. Not part of the store who is selling you things team. Your team.

Contractors build what designers design. If you need a foyer painted, with a new light, and a new tile floor, call a contractor. If you’re confident in your own design decisions, and can communicate them well in writing, with product lists and diagrams, then you won’t have issues with a small project. You’re acting as the designer here, you’re running the job and providing the instructions.

But, if you ask the contractor to paint first, and then do the tile floor, is that the right order or wrong order? What about the baseboard molding that you forgot about? Are you going to have that painted? If he painted first and tiled after, what kind of issues does that have with the fresh paint? Do you want quarter round added to cover the expansion gap that the tile floor must have? Did you know if you’d asked for the baseboards to be pulled first, the tile done, and then the baseboards reinstalled after, you wouldn’t have quarter round. Yes, its more money. What’s the “right” way to do the job?

What if the 12x24 tile you buy has a prohibition against a 50/50 pattern? But you don’t read that, and you ask for that to be done anyway? And there is lippage. What then?

And there’s a million more Gotchas.

Contractors build what designers design. So multiply your 3 variable foyer project by 150 for a kitchen.

"Contractors build what designers design."

This contractor builds when he agrees with what the designer has designed. You can draw anything on paper. It may be your design, it may be the homeowner's money, but since it's gonna have my name on it, I'm going to approve.

To answer the question, beesneeds has it right. Until you have a budget, you've got no designer, contractor, or anything. Potential customers playing coy with their budget get no pricing from me.

Thank you all for those responses.

What I take from this is, ideally to start with a designer. The designer then will outsource to product purchases, contractor, installers and be responsible for coordinating all of these services.

our problems with using home depot (a big box store) is that we are not an exclusive concern. work is all subcontracted and never continuous. Lots of mistakes and many days of no work being done. We are on 3 months of no kitchen in a house we live in.