I must blog about this once every 6 months, but it's worth repeating. If you want to get started on your kitchen design, there is no better cheaper place than at your local home improvement big box or friendly kitchen design company.
These places have kitchen designers on staff who can help you lay out your basic kitchen design, and it's all free. They do this hoping that you will purchase through them. While you will not get contractor-ready blueprints out of the deal, you will get some fairly detailed print-outs that you can use to get started.
I recommend this if you are starting from scratch. They can help you develop some basic ideas where none existed before. As with anything free, there are limitations. Let's look at the good and the bad of this "free" kitchen advice:
Good
- No upfront cost.
- Helps with space-planning issues. Much of kitchen design is about finding out how to fit the components together.
- If you do decide to go with them, they will hook you up with all the materials and labor (well, that's the idea of it, right?).
Bad
- Not all of these store-based kitchen designers are geniuses. However, you're just looking at them for basic advice. And, yes, I've encountered talented kitchen designers in the big boxes, too. So, you never know.
- Plans are purposely vague to prevent you from taking the plans elsewhere.
- Materials are limited only to suppliers the designer or store is affiliated with. In other words, kitchen designers at The Home Depot will recommend cabinetry from Kraftmaid (and other affiliate companies), but not cabinetry from unaffiliated companies.
Image: Copyright Lee Wallender; Licensed to About.com
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