Just Another Christmas Carol! wrote:

We're redoing our kitchen (entirely even!) and it's exciting but
overwhelming at the same time, so I thought it might be nice to work
with a designer; however, by our third meeting it was fairly clear
that we didn't quite speak the same language.

Undaunted, I contacted another designer recommended to me. Our first
meeting went well but by the end of our second sit down, I really
didn't feel as if she grasped the concept of what we were looking for.

My husband and I sat down and asked ourselves some tough questions.
Were we as clear as we could be? Perhaps we had competing visions?
Were we ready for this? But I can't quite put my finger on what's been
going on.

I don't want a designer to come into my home and push their vision of
what my home should be. I want a designer that's going to sit down
with us, get to know us, and help us transform our kitchen to our
tastes, not theirs. It seems as if both of these women pretended to
listen to us (taste, preferences, budget), nodded their heads in
agreement, and offered us a design we couldn't relate to.

Has anyone else had an experience like this or is it just us?

Carol B.

I suppose that there are designers out there that do what you
want them to do. I have never worked with one and I have
worked with dozens of them. (Being a general contractor, I
usually work with the homeowner, but the designer is often the
one with the final say on decisions.)

I was present when a client told the designer that she wanted
a light green paint on the walls of a dining room and the
designer said: "No way, not in this house!" I was stunned
and expected the client to argue, but instead, she just
acquiesced.

I would have told her to go to hell, I want green! But that
is just me.

I had an argument with a designer about window coverings for a
bank that I built. The plans, the budget, and the material on
site was for painted window trim. The designer wanted stained
and the bank did not want to pay extra for anything. I made
up a change order and handed it to the designer. I said if
you will sign this (the change order stated that payment was
to be made in advance of any work by the signer) I will begin
the process to do stained trim. No more argument!

They are very useful sometimes and if I ever use one, I am
going to get them to do a design, pick some colors, pick some
fabrics, etc. As soon as I get all of the choices done, then
I would send them on their way and either use their advice or
not. I am not going to argue with them about my own house.
They will do what I want, or hit the road.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX