I hear it all of the time; "I want to redo my kitchen, but I don't even know where to start."
Hey, it's a big deal, and apprehension is to be expected. In my experience, the homeowner's biggest fear regarding a major remodel is not that something will go wrong; I can tell you, when dealing with a project with so many details, so many different suppliers, and so many different trades, it's quite likely that, in spite of everyone's best efforts, yes, something can go wrong.
But that's okay. It might seem like a disaster when we're in the middle of a project that is, by definition, stressful, but the appliance delivery being a day or two late, being short a door knobs or drawer pull, or the countertop fabrication being delayed, these are mere setbacks that will make for great dinnertable stories for your guests next Thanksgiving. These things can be worked through.
No, the biggest fear is that, when it's all said and done, and the homeowner has put so much time, effort, and money into the finished product...they won't like it.
Do your homework. I advise my clients buy magazines and start putting together a Planning File. I have a great list of magazines for just this purpose at www.squidoo.com/virtualmasterpieces. Check it out. They're some of my favorites.
These magazines are full of great lifestyle photos featuring the latest fashion and design trends around today and can help you turn the abstract "new kitchen" into real ideas.
Look through as many as you can and tear out the pages of things that you like. Anything that appeals to you or catches your eye. Then put that page in the Planning File. This kind of thing is invaluable to your designer.
It doesn't have to be a picture of how you want your room to look, that seldom works out anyway, but your file can be a collection of certain elements of certain rooms that appeal to you for one reason or another.
Your designer wants to understand who you are, how you use the room in question, and how the room should look and feel when the project is completed, and this is exactly the type of thing that can help them do that.
