professional
portfolios
 Kitchen
Remodeling:
Kathy Cvetkovich
Kathy Cvetkovich
has been practicing in the design field for nearly 25 years,
working with new construction, renovations, kitchen & bath
design, and interior design. Willowbrook Design is located in
the South Hills, enabling Kathy to bring this accumulated
experience to every new project. Her award-winning designs have
been featured in national magazines, on the cover of FANtastic
Kitchens Magazine, and have been entered in national
competitions. For more information, call 724-941-9777, or visit
www.willowbrookdesignvpweb.com.
Navigating
the Maze of Kitchen Design
Beside your home and
car, the next priciest purchase a typical homeowner makes is a
kitchen. Sorting out your options in buying a kitchen can be as
difficult as buying a new car. You’d do well to educate
yourself before setting out on this path. This applies to
everything from the materials available for countertops to the
designer that you select to guide you through the process.
There are several
sources for cabinetry. At “big-box” distributors, such as
Home Depot, you’ll find a low level of customer service, but
very economical pricing. Your local lumber yard, which may be
tied-in with your builder, can offer only slightly more customer
service. A private kitchen designer/dealer provides the most
complete amenities as far as custom design, product
availability, personal service, and hands-on attention. Finally,
private cabinet makers can produce a completely customized
product, but come up short on advanced design.
There’s a broad
variation in the actual construction of cabinetry. Within the
more economical product lines, you’ll find such things as
thermofoil doors, melamine boxes, drawers that are simply
stapled together, light-weight fiberboard boxes in stock sizes,
and loosely-fitting side-mount glides. As you step up in
quality, you begin to see dovetailed drawers, plywood boxes,
full-extension glides and wood face frames and doors, but you
may still find stock sizes in a limited number of finishes and
species. Once you reach a semi-custom line, design capabilities
expand. Finally, a total custom cabinetry line provides
limitless design options, including compound finishes and specs.
The other thing to
keep in mind is your time frame. Stock cabinetry sitting on a
shelf somewhere just has to be picked and shipped. More
customized options can expand the lead times from 5-12 weeks,
depending on the manufacturer.
Take another look at
the pictures that you’ve pulled out of magazines for the last
year and try to identify what catches your eye in each of them.
Is it the color? Maybe you’re in love with the wooden hearth
concept. Pay close attention to the detail of the cabinetry
doors. There are basically three types: standard and full
overlay, and inset - the most expensive; which both looks great
and drives the price.
Because of this
veritable minefield of information, the clever consumer proceeds
with the right reinforcements at hand. The best designers will
be able to provide enough objective information to allow
homeowners to make their own intelligent decisions. A designer
should also be open to including your ideas into the project.
The task is to consider all ideas and sort through the pros and
cons. Rather than being pushed toward a concept that the
designer prefers, a competent designer will listen carefully to
everything that you are saying and then apply sound design
principles. When considering designers, trust your instincts.
Immediately, you’ll sense whether someone is trying to bluff
their way through your questions. A good designer is not afraid
to admit that some further research needs to be done in order to
answer your questions accurately. The relationship with your
kitchen designer is a months’-long one which has to be based
on mutual trust and comfort, because you will undoubtedly face
some rough waters at times.
Today, there are
software programs that can produce kitchen layouts. In many
cases, the computer asks for the centerline of the window and
pops in cabinetry along the run - you then have a kitchen. But
does it work for your purposes? Some suppliers will hand out
these types of drawings at no charge, but a professional
designer will not get involved in these kinds of projects.
At the other end of
the spectrum is the designer who takes the extra time to draw
your custom kitchen by hand. In a project that includes
beautiful laser-carved moldings and multiple piece crown
buildups, only a human hand can render that detail for you to
examine and be sure of what you are purchasing.
In conclusion, don’t
be afraid of design fees. A truly accomplished kitchen designer
injects that special ethereal quality that is hidden from your
plain view, but provides the project with that “special
something.” This set of skills clearly justifies a fee for
those professional services. Keep in mind that as you approach a
certain level of construction and quality details, most
cabinetry manufacturers arrive at the same level. After that
point, what you are actually buying is design.
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