Advice

Reply to: @paddykk - I have model #HBN8651UC. I have never run the self cleaning all the way through. I set it for an hour or so and it gets it clean enough and I only do this a few times a year, usually after holidays. There were threads on Gardenweb years ago that offered this suggestion. This way you are less apt to blow the oven's circuit board or whatever it's called due to the very high heat produced by self cleaning.

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Reply to: This will be the second custom kitchen in this house . . . the first was when we built it 14 years ago. As I planned for this new (total gut) redo, these were the things I most wanted to change . . . the things I've been regretting for the past 14 years: ~ should have done drawers instead of so many cabs with pull out shelves. It's been a PIA to open the doors and then pull out the shelves. The shelves are always getting caught on the doors when pushing them back in. With this new redo I'm getting lots of drawers. ~ wish I would have thought about where I would be doing most of my prep work and put in a bank of drawers right there to hold all my prep tools, ziploc bags, aluminum foil, etc so that I wasn't running all over our kitchen getting the things I need. ~ Planned for other work stations in our kitchen. We're a family of cooks and at present we're always running into each other. ~ wider walkways ~ wish we'd have not blindly trusted our builder's choice for a custom cabinet maker. Wish we would have done our research first and talked to many of his other clients . . . we'd NEVER have hired him! We have a gorgeous, totally custom home with horrible cabs that have been falling apart for the past 13 years. ~ wish we would have thought more about the view from our family room into the kitchen. For the past 14 years we've had a lousy view of our refrigerator! ~ a bigger pantry ~ a big drawer to store my Tupperware.

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Reply to: My dish/hand towels are going in a 6-8" wide open front base cabinet with a pull-out towel bar. I saw quite a few in mag photos and liked the look.

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Reply to: I would second the notion of reading the "new to GW" link and post your layout ideas -- there are so many talented, experienced folks here who generously offer guidance, feedback and not to mention great support in the reno process. Here is a link to the National Kitchen Bath Association -- plug in your zip code on the right side of the page and it will link to plenty of web sties to sift through of folks offering services in your area. Here is a link that might be useful: National Kitchen & Bath Association

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Reply to: Another option, before you go hiring people, is to let the fine people here help you. Read the thread I've linked below (most specifically the part about Layout Help), post your current layout (lots of measurements and details about what you have, what you want to keep, what you want to get rid of etc.) I feel kind of bad offering up the services of the layout gurus considering I'm not one of them, but everyone here is so helpful I wouldn't have been able to start this whole thing without them...thanks all! Here is a link that might be useful: RE: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens! [Help keep on Page 1]

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Reply to: antss beat me to it. Go to the NKBA website and do a search to find a KD in your area. If you're in Portland (I am), a search turns up quite a number of choices. I asked a friend of mine, a CMKBD in another state, for advice on how to find a good kitchen designer. She suggested that I start by checking the extent of their experience and knowledge, often designated by AKBD, CKD, CMKBD (see link) after their names. However, there are designers who have the skill and knowledge base who haven't undergone the testing to receive the above designations so she suggested I also check how many years they've been in the business, the type of projects they've done, what other designations they have, and their work portfolio. Beyond that, I also check their rating with BBB and Angie's List (wish they had a category for kitchen design) and I do a Google search to see if I can find additional information on them. Some designers have a pretty healthy on-line status while others barely register in a search. That's not to say that the former is better than the latter. I found an excellent seamstress via word of mouth who has no on-line presence. Check references, too. Another place to meet KDs is at the Portland Home & Garden show (starts today, runs through Sunday) although I think I had better luck meeting KDs at Portland's Home Improvement and Remodeling Show but that's in the fall. There's also the Tour of Remodeled Homes coming up in a few weeks. I've met a few designers that way. Sometimes they are part of a design/build firm and the only way to work with them is to hire their design/build firm but I've also met independent designers on the tour. In fact, I met one last spring whom I'm considering hiring. If I haven't already met someone I'm considering hiring, I call to chat to get a sense of how well we might work together. I have hired a KD once already but it was a disappointing experience. I saw her work (she designed a friend's kitchen) and she came highly recommended so I had high hopes but it was not a successful partnership. All I wanted was for her to trouble-shoot my design. I have already spent a lot of time planning my kitchen, considering multiple options for more than 2 years. She insisted that she should start from scratch, bringing fresh eyes to the task. I agreed. $500 later she offered me 4 designs, 3 of which included elements that I had told her were no-gos (for instance, she eliminated my walk-in pantry). The 4th design was the same exact lay-out that I had started with. I wish I had remained firm on how I wanted to work with her. So my final bit of advice is to be clear about your expectations and what you want the designer to do for you. Unless there are compelling reasons not to, stick to your guns. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: NKBA Certifications

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Reply to: I think you might be going about this wrong. If you're meeting with a KD, don't bring him/her a series of layouts you've crowd-sourced for them to validate, bring the KD a list of (a) your must-haves for the space, e.g. must seat X people at the dining area, must have (2) ovens, must have a 48" refrigerator, etc., (b) a list of things you'd like to have but could potentially live without, e.g. a coffee station or a baking surface, (c) your budget, and (d) a bunch of photos from Houzz or other sources of kitchen styles/materials/colors you like. Then let the KD do his or her thing. If they are good designers, they should give you more than one option for layouts (usually 2 or 3) and then once you've figured out which layout you like best, then they will do the detailed design with elevations, materials samples, 3D renderings, etc. Talk to them a lot about how you and your family live, how you cook (more than one chef?) and you'll get a great result back.

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