Kitchen Design Consultation in Atlanta

A kitchen is designed twice: once on paper, where everything fits, and once in the room, where it either does or does not. The point of doing it properly the first time is that cabinets are not adjustable after they are made.

How the design process runs

You measure. Wall lengths corner to corner, ceiling height, window and door positions with their trim, the centre of the sink drain, and the position of every outlet and shut-off. Appliance model numbers matter too, because a range and a refrigerator are sized to the manufacturer's spec rather than to a standard. How to measure a kitchen lists all of it.

We survey. The space is checked against those measurements. Walls that are not plumb, floors that fall, and ceilings that are not level all change what will fit, and none of them show up on a tape measure alone.

Then it is modelled in 3D against the sizes and the door style chosen, so the layout can be looked at before anything is ordered.

What to check on the model, before you approve it

A 3D model is worth the time only if it is checked rather than admired. Four things catch most of what goes wrong, and all four are free to fix on screen:

• Does every door and drawer open without hitting another? The classic collision is a dishwasher door against a corner cabinet.
• Is there counter beside the range and beside the refrigerator? Something hot or heavy has to be put down.
• Does the working aisle still measure 42 inches with the island in place - 48 if two people cook?
• Is the tall storage counted? Pantry cabinets eat wall length that the base and wall runs have usually already claimed.

Choosing the finish is a separate decision

Layout first, finish second. The stocked colours each have their own page - white, grey, blue, green, black and charcoal, natural wood and brown and espresso - and the only reliable way to judge one is a sample door in the actual room, against the actual floor and counter, at more than one time of day.

Sample doors are at the warehouse. See the Norcross showroom.

Related pages

Atlanta cabinetry covers the whole span of work, and Atlanta kitchen cabinets the ordering process. Installation, assembly, design and the showroom are the four sides of the same job.

Frequently asked questions

Do you design the kitchen as well as supply it?

Yes. You supply the room measurements, the space is surveyed against them, and the layout is modelled in 3D with the chosen sizes and door style before anything is ordered.

What do you need from me to start?

Wall lengths corner to corner, ceiling height, window and door positions with trim, the sink drain centre, outlet and shut-off positions, and the appliance model numbers.

Can you design from a floor plan rather than a survey?

Yes, if the drawing carries those numbers. Where the room is not a simple rectangle a survey is the safer route, because walls that are not plumb change what fits.

How wide does a kitchen walkway need to be?

About 42 inches for a working aisle, and 48 where two people cook or where a dishwasher and an oven open into the same space.

Do you install what you design?

Installation and assembly are available and charged for - see cabinet installation.