A cracking kitchen is worth effort
Mikaela Wilkes knows that it takes a village of professionals to create a fabulous designer kitchen that you’ll love for a long time.
Acomplete kitchen renovation takes a village of professionals. You have two potential courses of action when it comes to organising them. You can employ a team leader – a kitchen designer, or specialist kitchen retailer– or you can be the team leader and take charge of contracting out all the moving parts – the design, electricity, plumbing, joinery, and flooring yourself. The first choice requires more money, but less time (and premature hair loss).
The second may require less money, but all of your remaining time and cognition outside the working day. I didn’t say either of these options would be fun, but both will result in a new kitchen.
A designer is to a kitchen makeover what a good builder is to a work site. They are the creative brains behind the operation, but they can also be the project management. We spoke to the people who live and breathe kitchens every day to find out how the average person can survive the process.
Independent interior designer Simone van der Plas has won international awards for her Wellington kitchens.
Often, designers will supply a whole kitchen package: all the sub-trades and the project supervision as well.
Van der Plas only does design because most of her customers are doing a new-build or a whole house renovation, and they have already engaged a builder who takes on the rest.
An independent designer versus a kitchen company are very different services, she said. ‘‘A designer offers more tailoring, more collaboration and flexibility.’’
A kitchen company is more convenient because they can manage the entire process.
‘‘But a kitchen company will build the cost of those extra services into the cost of the kitchen. So you can potentially pay more than if you had hired a designer, taken their drawings and shopped around for a joiner.
‘‘You pay a premium for a one-stop shop because there is less risk than managing the trades yourself.’’
Budget. Budget. Budget
Kitchen designer Cate Binnie, of Comber & Comber in Christchurch, has been in the industry for more than 20 years.
The end result ultimately comes down to how far the money goes, she said.
Keeping the existing layout and replacing the cabinetry and benches is a hell of a lot cheaper than a complete layout reconfiguration, which could even involve putting the kitchen in an entirely different room.
‘‘I’ve had people spend over $100,000 ripping a kitchen out and starting again. You need to know how far you want to go,’’ she said.
‘‘A detailed budget eliminates the problem of over- or under-designing something.’’
Whereas, spokesman for Builderscrack.co.nz Jeremy Gray, said he has seen total makeovers of small kitchens done for $10,000-$12,000, ‘‘at the real cheap end’’.
‘‘That would involve kitchen specialists doing the design and installation, but the homeowner being hands-on in terms of management, doing some demolition, and organising the removal and dumping of the old kitchen.’’
Do not discount shopping around at the local hardware store for bargains.
‘‘They have some quite cool stuff that can look great once it is all pulled together. Bear in mind that you can spend $100 on a tap or $2500,’’ Binnie said.
Kitchen Concepts is a one-stop shop kitchen provider in Christchurch, which does design, manufacture and installation. Glen Kelman, an installer, said budget is something people shy away from, but it is crucial from day one: ‘‘Even if we ignore the cost of the kitchen itself, there are so many other costs: pulling the old kitchen out, remediation to walls, changing plumbing and electrical, and flooring.’’
Most design companies will do an initial consult for free, he said.
Choosing a designer
Kelman cautions that not all designers are created equal. Some have their own contractors, who they can recommend to you, and some don’t.
‘‘I’ve seen standalone designers charge $3000, or up to $12,000 for their services. I always see the difference between designers who have manufacturing relationships because they can zip out to see how something is being made.
‘‘But the most important thing is finding a person who you relate to and feel comfortable working with,’’ he said.
Timing
It may sound silly, but do not attempt any of the above in winter if you plan to stay in the property throughout the process.
The kitchen is the hub of the house, where everyone gathers together at the end of the day.
‘‘If it’s a pile of rubble, especially if you have kids, that is a huge stress,’’ Binnie said.
There will be far less disruption to your daily life if you can cook outside on a barbecue for a few months after the facilities have been ripped out.
Bring in sub-trades on design
A full kitchen reno will typically involve stripping the room back to its bare bones. If you are reconfiguring the layout, the original surfaces, electrical outlets, lights, and plumbing will need to be dealt with before the space is re-clad, plastered and painted.
A qualified electrician will need to remove elements that are hardwired in, such as the oven and extraction units.
‘‘A sparky can do quite a bit of consulting pertaining to design,’’ Gray said.
‘‘There might be difficulties positioning a socket in a particular wall where a cupboard is designed to go. It is good to have them come in and do a scope of the room and offer feedback early on in the design process.’’
Putting a socket in a particular place can be the difference between half an hour of work and half a day of work. That can add $500 to the bill, he said. ‘‘Little things add up really quick.’’ During his own renovation, Gray consulted with a plumber and an electrician before consulting with a designer. He estimates that saved them about $2000.
Flow-on effects are unavoidable, and very costly. ‘‘If we upsize a window to get more views, we might accidentally take up the space where the fridge was supposed to be,’’ Binnie says.
Last, but not least
The specialism involved in joinery is often overlooked. ‘‘Handy homeowners often put in a flat pack kitchen themselves,’’ said Gray, ‘‘but then find the walls aren’t square.’’
Kelman advises using the in-house installers of whoever is providing the kitchen.
‘‘Every kitchen company has different ways of doing things. You don’t want it to be installed improperly because another company has another method.’’
The quality of the finished product ultimately comes down to the joiner, said van der Plas, who always recommends her own.
‘‘A designer kitchen and a generic kitchen are two different things. The former requires a joiner with a real eye for detail.’’