More on Rushing the Design Process

Kelly Morisseau, over at her Kitchen Sync blog, has posted on the angst of consumers who wish they had taken more time or spent their money a little differently AFTER they have completed their kitchens.

Read Kelly's post Rushing the Design Process and then come back and read the rest of this.

Kelly advises her clients and readers that the process of planning a kitchen well and thoroughly takes about three months, and I agree. But there are some caveats that are unknown to the designer and the client when they are just beginning the process.

Kelly, and I, or any other experienced designer; can do the work and take our clients through the process of selection of products for a kitchen in three months, and produce a well thought out finished product. Sometimes we can even do it faster. But we never know up front how decisive the client is going to be.

I have had clients who, when presented with a choice of cabinet dealer, cabinetry manufacturer, door style, wood and finish; made their selection and moved on to the next decision in one day. Others may take weeks to decide the same question. The same goes for all the other myriad choices that are part and parcel of our work as kitchen designers.

My point is: To design a kitchen efficiently, we need choices efficiently. Hundreds of them; from the very big, to the minuscule. And we can't proceed, efficiently or otherwise, until we have them.

In fact, I make it a practice to not even ask for choices that come toward the end of the design process until they are needed. Because so many choices are predicated on other choices that must be made before. And I don't want to overwhelm my client with too many decisions at once.

So, to make a long story short, I tell my clients to give the process three to six months. Just in case they are among those who have a hard time making up their minds or (worse) change their minds when they see something they didn't know existed in a showroom or friend's home.

Better to give the process the time it needs than to feel pressured or rushed. The journey, from beginning your work with your designer to the day your new kitchen is finished and ready to use, will be a lot more enjoyable if you don't also have to deal with the "time factor".

Peggy