Home Carpet One

Beauty has a technical side

John has been working in the industry for 34 years, and what continues to appeal to him isn’t simply how a kitchen looks.

 “I like details. I like numbers and specifications,” he said.

Cabinet dimensions. Appliance specifications. Overhangs. Backsplash heights. Clearances. Construction methods. The details underneath the design are what allow the finished room to work.

Shelby came to residential design from an unexpected direction. She studied geography in college, joking that her career eventually took her “from macro to micro”—from looking at the world to focusing on someone’s personal space.

Residential design wasn’t originally the plan, either. Shelby expected to work in commercial design, but an internship at a cabinet studio introduced her to kitchen and bath design. She never left.Today, one of her favorite parts of the work is taking an idea and figuring out how to make it real.

 “Yes, but…”

Homeowners and designers arrive with ideas about what they want their finished space to be. John and Shelby’s job is to figure out how to get them there.

So how often do they simply tell a client no?

Almost never.

The answer, Shelby explained, is more often “yes, but.”

 Yes, but do you have the space? The budget? The time? Yes, but we may need a different cabinet manufacturer, construction method or material to accomplish it.

“There’s some nuance,” she said.

 That translation from idea to execution has always been part of kitchen design. What’s changing is where some of those ideas originate.

Along with Pinterest and other inspiration sources, clients are increasingly arriving with AI-generated images. The technology can be wonderful for imagining possibilities, but it isn’t necessarily constrained by manufacturing, physics or budgets.

“AI will show you your wildest dreams come true,” Shelby said. “But how do we get there?”

John may look at an inspiration image and recognize immediately that what appears simple is actually completely custom cabinetry—and potentially several times the client’s anticipated budget.

The idea doesn’t necessarily have to disappear. It has to be translated into something that can actually be built.

The details homeowners rarely see

Ask John what people misunderstand about kitchen design and one subject comes up quickly: clearances.

A trash pullout requires a certain cabinet width. A microwave has to fit. A refrigerator door needs room to open. Seating behind an island changes the amount of circulation space required around it.

Appliances can affect decisions long before installation, too. Different manufacturers have different specifications, and specialty appliances may require different cabinetry, dimensions and budgets.

That is why John wants appliance specifications early.

“Measurements, appliances and lead time,” he said when asked for three things he wishes homeowners understood before beginning a kitchen project.

There is another reality Shelby wishes more clients understood: houses aren’t perfect.

Walls aren’t always square. Ceilings aren’t always the same height from one side of a room to the other.

Good design has to work in the house that actually exists—not the mathematically perfect one on a computer screen.

From a workable plan to your kitchen

Technical expertise doesn’t replace the personal part of design.

For Shelby, understanding the person who will use the room comes first. She asks what they dislike about their existing kitchen and what is most important to include in the new one.

Inspiration photos help. Even when a client brings seemingly unrelated images, she looks for the common denominator.

John may first develop a layout in which everything works technically, then invite the homeowner into the details.

Maybe they prefer four drawers instead of three because of where they keep their oven mitts. Perhaps they want rollouts in a different cabinet because that is how they already use their kitchen. Someone who is shorter may want the cabinet above the sink mounted differently.

The designer establishes the framework. The homeowner brings the habits, preferences and priorities that make it theirs.

Designing for life, not simply resale

Ask Shelby to describe her ideal client and her answer is immediate:

“Someone who’s not afraid of resale value.”

What she means is someone willing to design the home for the life they are living now.

That might mean embracing color, choosing an unusual material or making a layout decision specific to the way that particular household lives.

John sees another important factor: our preferences change during different stages of life.

A family with young children may prioritize durability and easy maintenance. Years later, as empty nesters, those same homeowners may choose the painted cabinetry or glossy white kitchen they once avoided.

There isn’t one universally correct kitchen.

There is a kitchen that makes sense for the people living in it.

Education is part of the job

Material conversations are changing, too.

Shelby is seeing increased interest in natural stone, which creates another opportunity for education: explaining the differences between quartz, quartzite and other natural stones, how they perform and what maintenance they require.

Even terminology can be confusing.

John and Shelby see the same thing with cabinetry. Words such as framed, frameless, full overlay and inset describe different construction, but homeowners—and sometimes even design professionals—may use them interchangeably.

Sometimes the best educational tool is remarkably low-tech.

Blue painter’s tape can demonstrate how much space an island will consume. Standing in an actual 42-inch walkway in a showroom can communicate more than a dimension on a drawing ever could.

People need to experience space.

A product touched by many hands

There is one more thing Shelby wishes homeowners could see.

“How many hands are actually touching a single cabinet.”

Before that cabinet exists, a homeowner, designer and cabinet professional have already made decisions about it. Then come the people who manufacture it, finish it, package it, ship it, deliver it and install it.

If something arrives damaged, a replacement isn’t necessarily sitting on a shelf nearby. It may have to be manufactured again and shipped.

“It’s a labor of love,” Shelby said.

And with that many hands and moving parts involved, the partners working alongside the designer matter, too. John sees that responsiveness in working with Precision Stone Design’s Tom Trierweiler, noting that Tom stays on top of projects, communicates directly and is quick to get things moving when something needs attention.

Asked more broadly about their experience working with Precision Stone Design, John pointed to confidence in “the quality, the effort that’s going to go into the finished product,” adding that they know the customer will be satisfied.

Shelby emphasized communication and what happens when the inevitable problem arises. “When things go wrong, it’s okay,” she said. “But it’s the outcome and the attitude towards that problem” that matter. She said she feels comfortable working with Precision because when there is a problem, “it’s pretty much resolved right away.”

That combination of technical knowledge, careful measurements, communication, skilled tradespeople and trusted partners is what eventually produces a room that can look remarkably simple.

Creating it isn’t.

Maybe John’s jar really does contain a thousand jelly beans.

Or maybe Shelby is right.

There may not be a jar big enough.