Contemporary Classic Kitchen Design

Contemporary Classic Kitchen.

Updated January 27, 2015.

What a high-end kitchen?  Sometimes, it doesnt even exist; it just a figment of the imagination, laid down temporarily in physical form as a concept kitchen at a bath and kitchen show.

Sometimes, it does exist, but it designed for commercial, not residential, spaces.  Finally, it might be in a residence, but with a price-tag that makes your mouth drop.

In any case, it a kitchen that always feels just out of reach.

But when you break it down and examine the components, youll find that many elements of designer kitchens can be transferred to your own home.

About This Kitchen

From New York-based Designs By Human. this kitchen is a perfect melding of modern with classic.  The wood chairs, solid hardwood floor. and beveled kitchen cabinets  all say classic and traditional.  Everything else--sleek bar stools, pendant lights, majority-white color scheme, can lights.  These say:   modern.

What Frustrates Kitchen Designers the Most?

I asked Designs By Human what frustrates them the most about dealing with clients on kitchen designs.  They provided the following answers (note:  answers are not associated with the pictured portfolio image).  I find it interesting that the first answer neatly aligns with a popular article of mine, 9 Truths Your Remodeling Contractor Wont Tell You. in which I discuss remodeling contractors frustration with using client-provided materials.

Generally they are focusing only on the dollar amount rather than the time implications of their cost cutting solutions. I have had two projects completely fail for this reason and the homeowner was always looking for someone to blame for costing them extra money.

One experience I had was the homeowner had a large tree in front of their home and wanted to use it for the countertops on the bar table we were designing. I agreed it would look amazing, They wanted to do it not for the look but for the money they would save, I explained the process of cutting the tree down, cutting it into boards, drying the wood and then finally fabricating it into a functional piece would be cost prohibitive.

In the end they lost a tree and were out several thousand dollars and didnt end up getting enough usable wood to make the bar top.

. [C]lients really need to be open and honest about their finances for the renovation at hand. I dont need to know how much they made last year, All I want to know is how much total they are wanting to spend. A lot of times, they hide money away from the designer and then start specifying higher end items than what we originally specified to fit the original budget. It is confusing and creates more unneeded work in the long run.

Photo Credit: Designs By Human; Courtesy of DBH

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