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Most Kitchen Designers know that details matter.  When reviewing a design that you believe to be complete, take your time to review the details that remain to be done to complete the look.

Consider, for example, the cabinet over the refrigerator.  The is one area that most people don’t give too much thought to, other than to be sure it fits over the refrigerator that your client is purchasing.  There is, however, one part to think about that can seriously annoy your client if it is overlooked.

When doing an area such as this, it is common to be able to see the underside of the cabinet above due to the space needed underneath for the refrigerator.  If you are using a light stain or paint for the finish, this may not be an issue, but if you are designing this with a darker stain or paint, it could be troublesome for your client to see that light color on the bottom of the upper cabinet every time they walk by.

Consider finishing the underside of the cabinet to avoid this.  Depending on the brand you are using, this may be as simple as specifying a finished bottom, or a finished interior, which sometimes will also finish the bottom.

Another solution could be to add a filler or piece of valance underneath to close the gap, which could easily be removed if the refrigerator needs replacing.

Below are images of exactly what I mean:

There is one all-important thing to remember though when reviewing this design with your client.

If there is any cabinet that you have altered or done something special with, such as here, show the client what you have done and explain why.  Why is this important?

• You will show your client that you are thinking of the small details in their new space.
• You will build trust with your client because of your thoughtfulness and insight.
• You build up the expectation in your client’s mind that this will be expensive.

On this last point, if you present each and every alteration or modification you have done to each piece in your design, your client will better understand why it is there, but also, you will set their expectation that each little change will add cost.  They will even sometimes ask you if what you have done to a particular cabinet will make it cost more.  Then, simply explain that it will make it a little more but then also explain the benefit your client will experience.

Every time you do this, you can almost see the build-up in your client’s head about how expensive this job will probably be.  The goal here is so that when it comes time to present the final figure, your client will be somewhat pleasantly surprised that this quote includes all these details that you included in the design. They may even ask you if the quote includes certain things that you already pointed out.

“Does that include the glass in those doors?”

Practice this with every design presentation and your clients will be better prepared for the final price reveal. 

I want to know how this works for you!  Your thoughts and comments are welcome, and as always, I wish you the best possible success!

Thanks for reading, subscribing, and sharing. As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome!