Hi all I'm Carolyn from Brampton, Ontario. It's nice to read the bios and meet everyone who is so committed to décor and design. I studied Interior Decorating at Sheridan College about 30 years ago - yikes, I think I was 10 - a real prodigy :-) Kidding aside, it's a wonderful time to be in this field with all of the new technology, resources and product available to us. Like Keitha I started when my children were small. I remember having to design and water colour render a 2500 square foot house for our final project and now it's almost all done on the computer. A "Diva" I'm not. For me my job is about helping my clients create spaces that reflect them, who they are, where they have been and how they live. Helping them to define what they want and show them how to achieve it. The process is a collaboration and usually involves a team of contractors, trades and suppliers who all value the same commitment to providing exceptional, professional and timely service, whether it be a small or large budget. I guess it stands to reason that since my second passion is cooking my favourite spaces to design are kitchens. Creating a kitchen that not only looks good, but works and is a pleasure to be in is a great sense of accomplishment. I don't profess to know everything there is about design but I do know where to find the answers and am definitely a pit bull when it comes to a challenge. Not sure if it’s a blessing or a curse, but my mind doesn't stop exploring the possibilities until we find the best possible solution. It's definitely a profession where you are always learning, revaluating, exploring new possibilities and ideas and growing. I feel privileged to have worked with so many wonderful people over the years, as clients and associates and have made many lifelong friends through the process. My clients range from Baby Boomers who are downsizing and starting on a new path in their lives to young urban professionals who are just starting their lives and families. I look forward to learning and seeing all of the new projects here on Houzz and wish you all well. I'd also like to thank OnePlan for starting the post. It's a pleasure to meet so many like minded people.

ksgrant . . . . . I was on a very tight budget, but knew I was going to hit a wall and need a designer consult. I had space plan drawings for my kitchen and used the design services (free w/ cabinet purchase, CAD) to complete the space. I also had very specific inspiration photos that reflected the same perspective as the space, i.e. window placement over sink (light), position of appliances, prep sink. I paid close attention to how I intended to use the space, needed prep space for a least three cooks. I read a lot about the "triangle". Mostly I spent a lot of time with the plans and considering materials in relation to the inspiration photos. For instance, I wanted soapstone but it was out of budget and went with honed black granite to get the same look. Another example is that I wanted the kitchen to have some of the same elements as the old one to reflect the period of the house, so I had venting added to cabinet piece in front of the sink. Houzz was not available at the time, I would have posted some plans/materials here for more input and suggestion. Feel free to email me at tirgoddess.com for any other questions, happy to help. More than anything, take your time and do your research.

Hi @Marie, Choosing an Interior Designer can be a daunting, and at times costly experience. It is a standard practice for Interior Designers to offer a free initial consultation to learn about the project you have in mind. Often they won't start any work on designs or drawings without agreeing a charge for the service. I wonder whether you may be interested in our new online interior design service? We created Amazing Space to make home styling more personal, accessible and affordable to everyone without the more expensive price tag of a traditional interior design service where a designer would come to your home. Dulux Amazing Space allows customers to have a 30 minute online video consultation with a Dulux Design Expert who will discuss their ideas and suggestions for your new room design. Which means it won’t matter if you are currently out of the country. After the consultation the designer will continue to work on your scheme and ideas, making any changes or amendments discussed in the consultation. Within 48 hours after the consultation you will receive the following within your Amazing Space account: · Personalised Style Guide, which is a working mood board, complete with inspirational images and a collection product suggestions on to create the look you wanted. · Floor plan of your room, giving you ideas on how to get the best of your space with special planning and advice. · Annotations and notes from your Dulux Design Expert, giving you guidance and expert tips on how to really bring the scheme together. · Interactive shopping list which will take you through to the retailer’s website where you can purchase the suggested product from, all designed to make it easier for you to source the perfect items for your room. · 3D visualisation, a 3D representation of what your room will look like once the changes have been made. All of this is available for £75 per room, regardless of the size or if this is an open plan living space (such as a kitchen / dining room). We currently have a summer offer on where you can get all of this for £65 per room – Simply use our promotional code SUMMER16. We'd be happy to discuss anything with you over the phone to see if we can help on 0115 784 2642 or on Live chat on our website https://www.designer.duluxamazingspace.co.uk/ ? Good look with your project - if we could be of any other help, please get in touch!

I'm glad you decided to move things around although I'm still not convinced you're planning it right. Why have wasted corners? Personally I'd want the sink by the window. I wouldn't want to be looking at a blank wall as you have a huge window. I'm aware you have to have the hob over here because of the extraction from previous memory. Are you going to use the some units or are you buying replacements? Take advantage of the floor to ceiling height and have tall units where possible. Consider using 900 x 900 L shaped corner bases in each corner. You will not get those wasted corners and by having these and using 170 degree hinges you will be able to open each door fully therefore gaining full access to each corner. Plan around these for the back wall. For instance 2 x 900L bases, plus a dishwasher at 600mm and a sink carcase at 600mm equals 3m so if you have that measurement available that's what I'd go with if you're adamant about keeping the sink here.