Custom Kitchens versus Flatpack Failures
Life and Times of the Family Kitchen...
Embarking upon a new kitchen installation is a major investment in the life of your home. A well-designed, quality kitchen has the potential to transform both your lifestyle and your property resale value. The average family kitchen will service the growing-up years of a whole generation, enduring up to 25 years of wear and tear; not to mention several cycles of design and style trends!
Flatpack Failures...!
The era of the ‘kit’ kitchen has made this real-estate facelift all the more attainable, but with a standard set of modules, finishes and styles rolled out across the suburbs, a kit kitchen is immediately identifiable. Of course there is a valid place for flat-pack kitchen solutions, and they have long been the go-to solution for quick-flip investors. But unfortunately the true investment potential of a kitchen renovation is often undermined by taking off-the-shelf short-cuts in the valuable heart of the family home.
Invest in Custom Kitchen Design.
Engaging a professional interior designer to produce a custom kitchen design for your home is an investment that quickly pays for itself in resale value, not to mention quality, longevity and functionality. Your kitchen design will be a customised solution, embedding genuine value within the fabric of your home. It will be tailored to fit the functional needs of your family, both now and in the future, and will by a unique expression of your character.
Return on your Design Investment
Once you have engaged your Interior Design professional for your new kitchen design, they will commence a briefing, design development and documentation process and will be able to offer a wealth of knowledge on effective space planning. They will also be able to guide you throughout the appliance selection process, advising on makes and models and assisting you to keep aligned with your budget. An interior designer can usually pass on significant cost savings and trade discounts to their clients, which cannot be accessed if clients make a direct retail purchase.
The Professional Process (no paper tape-measures here...)
The kitchen design journey will progress through a series of design stages until the project is ready to be submitted to a Joiner for pricing (also referred to as a Cabinet-Maker). After establishing a detailed functional and aspirational brief with the client and a clear project budget, the designer will produce schematic kitchen plans and establish a concept design that includes look and feel, materials and finishes and a set of appliance, fitting and fixture recommendations. Once the client approves this, the design will be developed in more detail, before being formally documented for pricing and then construction.
Professionally drafted kitchen documentation will capture every aspect of the design to your Joiner, enabling them to offer a fixed price for your kitchen, with no surprises. Any changes to the design (suggested by either the client or the joiner), should be coordinated through the designer, so that they can ensure there is no compromise to the design. A professional interior designer will always be their client’s advocate and will confidently engage in the construction process and tradesman liaison to ensure a smooth delivery of the project.
Talk to CoLAB Design Studio about your dream kitchen today!
