4 Things You Need to Have for your Designer

August 14, 2008

Time is money.  We wouldn
Time is money. We wouldn’t dare waste either of yours.

Have you ever gone to a kitchen showroom, found the perfect set of kitchen cabinets, only to have to double check the dimensions of your kitchen? Walking into a kitchen showroom without the necessary information can be a real time sink. Here are four simple things that all kitchen designers need to design your perfect kitchen:

Ceiling Height

Knowing the ceiling height is important because it will determine what the height your wall cabinets are going to be. If you have a lower ceiling height, you have to have shorter wall cabinets in order to have enough space from the countertop to the bottom of the wall cabinet. This ensures that you have enough space to work with.

Back Wall Dimensions

Back wall dimensions are important because it’ll allow your designer to know what size kitchen cabinets can be fitted along your wall or walls.

Appliance Sizes

Appliance sizes have standard sizes, but many of them vary depending on manufacturers, brands, etc.

Window Size and Placement

Knowing where the window is will allow the designer to omit wall cabinets where the window is, ensuring a more accurate estimate.

Don’t Use DesignMyRoom.com For Kitchen Design

September 9, 2007

Ridiculous design

DesignMyRoom.com can yield some silly, but fun, creations

Have you wanted to design your own kitchen, but don’t have the tools?

My 3D CAD software frequently impresses my clients, because my software lets them design in real time. I can rearrange cabinet layouts, change countertops, and appliances with only a few clicks. They can tweak the kitchen to their heart’s desire.

DesignMyRoom.com locks you into their set kitchen layouts and carries a poor selection of countertops.
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How to Use Ikea’s Free Kitchen Planner for Visualization in Three Steps

February 27, 2007

Ikea Home Planner HeaderIkea has a free Kitchen Planning Tool, which looks like a stripped-down version of our design software. It’s a nice tool to play with, but ultimately, it can only give you an idea, because the cabinet templates are not stock cabinets. We can beat out many prices because we can design your kitchen using standard sizes. Stock cabinet sizes usually start at 9″ and increase every 3″ up to 42″.

However, you can see how appliances and furniture (tables, chairs) fit in with your cabinets, so you can get it here. The following is just a few quick instructions to get you started:
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Do you know these Guidelines to Kitchen Design?

February 12, 2007

Kitchen seating

There’s lots of room for multiple cooks in this kitchen

A lot of design goes into a kitchen. While some kitchen design guidelines are intuitive, the National Kitchen and Bath Association standardizes the minimum distances. Here’s a few of the more important design areas:

1. The Work Triangle consists of the cooktop, refridgerator, and the sink. There are the “work horses” of your kitchen, so we minimize excessive movement and give you a good flow.

2. Walkway Clearance matters when you have an island or a peninsula in an enclosed space — aim for at least 36″. In higher traffic areas, or with multiple cooks, that number bumps up to 42″+.

3. Appliances, such as the microwave, should be placed in high traffic areas. You don’t want to have to walk all the way across the kitchen just to use the microwave for two minutes.