Buying Your Kitchen

Using an Independent Kitchen Designer

You might for whatever reason prefer the idea of using an independent kitchen designer to that of dealing with a kitchen company’s in-house designer.

Some people will be attracted to the idea of employing a well known or award winning designer. Sometimes it will be a friend who recommends the marvellous person who designed his/her kitchen.

For others it is preferable to only deal with one person who manages the whole process from start to finish. This might be the only person you deal with in buying your kitchen. You will hold this person completely responsible for the outcome.

What do Independent kitchen Designers do?

Well for a start they design kitchens. However, there are very few who can make a living out of drawing up kitchen plans alone. Most wish to make some money from the manufacture, the appliances and the installation as well. And this is where you need to be cautious. Look into the fee structure carefully.

Independent Kitchen Designers can provide a valuable service. However they come in various hues, for instance:

• Trained and qualified in kitchen design with a certificate of competence
• Trained and qualified in interior design and with an interest in kitchens
• Trained and qualified in catering, real estate, whatever, and an interest in kitchens
• Not trained or qualified in anything, self-taught and making a go of it.

Any of these could provide you with the service you want. Any of them could be a poor choice. It pays to interview a prospective Independent Kitchen Designer carefully and find out what their background is and to check their track record. In particular see their recent kitchens and speak to their recent clients. Remember that the photograph cannot lie but it can disguise a multitude of incompetence’s.

What do you want the Independent Kitchen Designer to do?

1: You might just want a set of kitchen plans to take to your chosen kitchen maker. For this the Independent Kitchen Designer will charge a fee and you will own the copyright on the plans. Make sure that you will own the copyright when you have paid for them, before you start, because it is a sensitive issue.

2:  You might want the Independent Kitchen Designer to recommend a kitchen maker. They will be more than happy to do this because in the majority of cases they will get an introduction fee, typically 10% of the total kitchen price. That is the kitchen maker will add 10% to his quotation to you so he can pay that amount over to the Independent Kitchen Designer. The great majority of Independent Kitchen Designers have a stable of kitchen manufacturers with whom they have an understanding about introduction commissions.

3: You might want the Independent Kitchen Designer to act as project manager. Most will be more than happy with this too because they get to charge you for the plans, earn an introduction commission, charge you for the work and earn commissions on appliances, etc. To be a project manager for a naive client is a crock of gold for some of them.

None of this is to suggest that Independent Kitchen Designers are necessarily incompetent or dishonest. Some are of course. It is not uncommon for some of them to charge you an up-front fee, which you have agreed to and then get an under-counter commission from the kitchen maker. The author was more than once asked by Independent Kitchen Designers to build in a secret commission that the client was not to be told about. It has to be said that many kitchen makers are very happy to agree to this. Independent Kitchen Designers feed a lot of business into the industry and do hold some power and influence.

The trick is to be able to spot the shady ones. You will wish to have a designer who works for you under a transparent fee structure. That is anything they earn from your new kitchen project is above board and agreed by you. It pays to talk openly and frankly at the outset. Let them know that you know the score; you insist on openness and will not tolerate subterfuge. It is also a good idea to insist on a written contract. This can be done politely but firmly. You are the customer; it is your money, your kitchen and your decision. Being polite but up-front earns respect. Your business is valuable to everybody in the kitchen food chain and respect will save you money and improve the end result.

The following suggestions may be considered for the remuneration of your Independent Kitchen Designer:

You do not ask. Give them a free hand to charge whatever they think is reasonable, by any method they choose.

• Pay an hourly rate. Ask at the beginning for an estimate of how much it is likely to cost, give or take a reasonable margin.
• Pay an agreed percentage of the cost of the kitchen.
• Negotiate a fixed rate at the outset and stick to it under written contract.

Be wary of anybody who is unable or unwilling to produce a written contract for you to consider. Do not just accept the contract you are offered. Take it away and consider in carefully, under legal advice if you prefer.

The process of choosing your Independent Kitchen Designer is essentially the same as that of buying a kitchen. Unless that is, you have already decided to go for the award-winning designer or your friend’s recommendation, in which case you just have to manage the process to your benefit and satisfaction.

Your aim when you employ your Independent Kitchen Designer is to have a person you can trust, who will work diligently on your behalf to produce the result you want for reasonable remuneration. A good Independent Kitchen Designer will be an asset to you and deserves to be adequately rewarded. Your job is to manage them, keep the upper hand, manage the cash and take the important decisions.

Protecting your investment