Idea Storming Your Kitchen

Let’s start at the very beginning. Kitchen renovations or new builds are a process, with distinct steps and milestones. The initial phases of that process have always been fascinating to me and, parenthetically, I can’t stress enough how important they are.

This early phase with your designer is commonly referred to as planning meetings, but I prefer idea storming. Oftentimes clients are so eager to get a “snackable” image of the project (a term coined by the iconic urban landscaper Michael Van Valkenburgh), they rush the ideological foundation from which the project should grow. They speed-date with alternative ideas and dismiss them too readily.

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Alternatively, some clients are fixated on the one “thing” around which their kitchen should be built. Often this “thing” is an appliance, for example an eight burner range. Of course any designer can design a kitchen around this 60” beast, but I would speculate the result would surely lack a soul.

My process of choice, and the working method we have adopted at CCW, is to take the time to explore with a client what they want their kitchen to be. Of course I love when new clients come in with magazine pictures of kitchens they like. This gives us an idea of wood, style, finishes and textures that might work. But much more importantly, are their visions of what they will be doing in the kitchen. Do they want to be able to bake holiday cookies with little ones? Do both the husband and wife like to cook together? Do they entertain, and when they do, do they want guests to be able to enjoy some wine and conversation around the kitchen island?

Renovating a kitchen or a new build is not just about creating a beautiful, functional room. It is about animating ideas and visions…and to get that right, both client and designer need to tinker and linger in those idea storming sessions longer than one might think.

Evan H. Levey

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