As you all know, I am a home renovation aficionado. With that being said, here is the list of the top 5 indicators of a good or great kitchen design firm (and yes, these were all showcased by Jim, our kitchen design specialist):

1. Innovative ideas

The idea of ​​removing the screens was great. We never would have thought of that. Also having any corner turned to a 45 degree angle (eliminates constantly running to the corner of the island). Have a 2-foot-deep pantry (so it can hold a lot of stuff). He, along with Bennett, the installer extraordinaire, came up with an idea to cover the support beam in the middle of the kitchen dining area that has worked wonderfully.

2. Patience

Jim was very patient with us. Yes, this is his business and yes, anyone in the business has a goal to make money, otherwise they won’t stay in business for long. He was very willing to let us take our time, ask all kinds of questions, probably all of which he has heard over and over again.

3. Cost saving tips

We wanted solid wood cabinets to match our solid wood flooring. Once we saw the price, our jaws dropped. Jim asked about our color scheme (since the house was still undergoing renovations, we hadn’t started painting the walls yet). He recommended white MDF cabinets with a brown (Tuscan canvas) veneer along with a dark countertop to match our intended dark wood floor. It worked great (as you can all see once we found our camera and can take photos to upload to our site… we haven’t unpacked everything yet)

4. Multiple visits before the deal

Jim was the only one who volunteered to go to the house to personally take the measurements. His competitors did not. He was out, I think, 2 or 3 times before he signed the deal and made the decisions. Not only were his measurements more accurate than ours (we didn’t even realize that the bedroom hallway ends in the kitchen…we thought it ended above the kitchen), but he also got that picture of how the kitchen faces the south with a picture of the forest behind our house, etc.

5. Multiple visits after the deal

During the installation, Jim was away several times. There was one time the countertop installers came and asked me where to cut the countertop to install the outlet. He was working from home that day and on the phone so I called Jim and he came right over and told the installers not to cut the counter. Now that’s service.