Kitchen and Bath Business Coaching for interior designers – The Design Paradigm

Establishing the Scope of Work and Budget for Kitchen and Baths

The first step in any remodel project is working with your prospective client to establish what the scope of work is for their space, and selling them on why you are the perfect person to help define and solve the major aesthetic and functional pitfalls of the present space. In the case of a kitchen remodel or new construction bath design, this still holds true. And while that fact may seem obvious, being able to accomplish this is a struggle for many designers and sets a bad tone for the project they have ahead (or leaves them vulnerable to more work, indecision, and wishy-washy clients who don’t understand their role in the overall collaborative dynamic). If you are looking to land better kitchen projects that are profitable and can showcase your most creative ideas, look no further than this!

Process and Planning for Kitchen and Bath Design

By developing a process from day 1 that hammers home the information intake required to understand a client’s druthers, we’ll review how to gather the intel, professionally present & sell solid ideas and design rationale, and how product knowledge will save your hiney in this realm of design.

Kitchen and Bath Design Solutions and the approach to creating the wow

Whether the vantage point is the development of schematic plans for an entire home, or the remodel of a single bathroom in a house, bathrooms are often the red-headed stepchild when architects, builders and honestly – clients – get to talking about design priorities. There are so many creative ways to solve layout, storage and material obstacles in these spaces though, and here we’ll identify how to give bathrooms and kitchens the attention they deserve.

Tile and Flooring for Kitchens and Baths

Never assume. Don’t get in a rut. Exploring how these materials install, and being the visionary when it comes to demonstrating the design concept in your resource or meeting space with a client are all facets of how we design and sell hardscape solutions to clients. Become a wizard with this and you will absolutely find profitability in designing bathrooms.

Material Selections for Kitchens and Baths

Here is where we start really talking about the expenditure that can be associated with a bathroom design. When meeting for an initial consult and reviewing what the scope of work for the project will be, do not forget that affirming a global approach will help your client understand why ALL the surfaces matter and lay the groundwork for opportunities to sell more product to them that will be a part of the design’s execution.

Bathroom Considerations

All the 1,000,000 things we have learned in 22 years of bath designs. This checklist is invaluable to your business. We will discuss and go over any of them we have not touched on yet and probably repeat a few too–for good measure:)

Electrical, HVAC and other Mechanicals

Here we’ll discuss how to understand why you must have some working knowledge of these elements and how to rock your client’s world by being the expert in the room about how they integrate. From under cabinet lighting (and ensuring the cabinet maker prepares properly for it) to how the panel ready fridge will actually integrate to the kitchen perimeter cabinetry… we will explore a multitude of examples that are great for designers and talk about upping your game if you’ve been doing this awhile and looking for ways to elevate your service and charge more for your fee.

Forms and Specifications

These are the keys to the kingdom, if you want the honest truth – Every aspect of the design of a space takes on finish, form and function and these elements of every single selection should be clear not just for your client, but for every sub stepping foot on the job! This is a primer in how to document, what to document, and the FAQs that often get people in trouble with their subs before the project has even hit the rough in stage.

Cabinetry and Countertops for Kitchens and Baths

This is the primo  opportunity for something magical to come together in an interior space. Do not neglect this chance to do something unique, out of the box, and really keyed in to your client’s dreams because you are stuck in what you typically do and how you usually design things! Plus, these are the biggest price points in the overall kitchen design budget – so make them count! Know how to navigate conversations about scale, integration of materials and limitations of what’s feasible in the space so that you can make these bulky core elements totally amazing.

Plumbing for Kitchens and Baths

One of the most critical categories of product and functional topics when it comes to bathroom design – understanding plumbing – how it works, why is costs the big bucks, and when to say when on what you don’t know are part of the core of this section. Covering everything from shower valves to what makes moving a toilet drain the sticky wicket in a bathroom layout – here we deep dive into what you need to know to navigate the plumbing aspect of your project like a champ!

Kitchen Considerations

The functional needs, subcontractor involvement, order of operations and assessment of detail and transitions that come together to make a kitchen design GO must be assessed as thoroughly as possible before demo starts to prepare your client and your team for when they may need to pivot! Here we sort through the heavy stuff!

Kitchen Materials 

Here you’ll have access to guides for ALL THE THINGS – types of product, how to sell them, experience we’ve had and things we would not recommend! The list goes on and on. We’ll identify what you can sell, and how to reinforce the sale so that your client feels good about the investment and you can get the best photos all said and done!