November Pro to Pro

What do you think? E-mail us your feedback, contact information and the subject line, 'Pro to Pro' with your message.

Have a question and looking for feedback from industry peers? This month KBDN listens in on dialogue between industry professionals as excerpted from the KitchenBathPros.com online Designer Discussion Forum.

Staying Current

Question
I have recently entered the world of e-newsletters to keep up with contacts. My big problem is coming up with topics to write about. Everything I’ve read says the newsletter should be useful and not a complete advertisement about me.

What Web sites do you visit to stay abreast of current trends? Somehow I have trouble translating the information in the trade journals into topics that would be of interest to consumers.

Any suggestions?
—ScottFL

Response 1
This is a good question! If you want up-to-the-minute searches of current discussions on kitchen design, I would suggest that you sign up for Google alerts. Type in a subject, such as kitchen remodeling, and you will get the most recent article across the blogosphere, in media print, and Web sites. You can refine your choices or leave it as broad as you want.

With this resource, I am never at a loss for new topics to share with consumers. For example, two topics that I find myself researching more and more are “aging-in-place design” and “formaldehyde-free plywood options in cabinets.”
—KB Design 1

Response 2
That is a great idea. You may also want to talk to allied professionals – such as real estate agents – to find out what buyers and sellers are looking for in kitchen and bath designs.

Other areas of interest may include utility/laundry rooms, closets and garages. I would also suggest that designers talk to appliance and decorative plumbing salespeople about new products and buying trends that are impacting the market.
—mccabgirl

Response 3
Another suggestion is that you can Google “kitchen bath trends for 2007,” or things like that. This also works well in regard to specific items, such as “faucet trends for 2007,” or something to that effect.
—susanckd

Collaboration Issues

Question
I need advice on a new kitchen client who contacted me today.

She already has her architect, remodeler and cabinetmaker and now wants to hire me as the final piece of the team.

I will be meeting with her for the first time soon and I would like some input from those of you who are experienced working in this type of team arrangement – especially these arrangements that are set up from the beginning of the project. It appears that this is a design consulting role that I would be taking on. I will not be providing any product, so I plan to charge by the hour.

I have never designed for a cabinetmaker before – always instead getting involved with custom and semi-custom manufactured lines. I am going to stretch myself on this one and I want to of course do my very best job, but could really use your insights!
—sks05

Response 1
This is the capacity I primarily work in. In fact, most of my referrals come from a woodworking company that does not have the time to do the design end of things. I also work with architects and interior designers.

In my experiences, I find the interior designers most difficult in that design ideas often take over function or practicality, inserting decorating ideas that shouldn’t necessarily be used in a particular application. Those are the times that I need to step back and take a deep breath, depending on the situation.

An important thing to keep in mind is that the architects usually have a concept in mind, as does the client. Your job as the kitchen and bath designer is to take all of those items and bring them together in a cohesive design set of drawings.

What I find most challenging here is that there are times when it seems like you aren’t designing all that much. However, when the drawings begin to gel, then creativity kicks in and you are able to come up with a signature element, or options to present to all of the people involved.