Independent Kitchen Design In Somerset
Add value to your new kitchen though great design
I believe that everyone can have the kitchen of their dreams for the budget of their choice whether that be £5K or £50K. In the competitive market of kitchens, the size of your budget directly corresponds to the quality of the materials, the game is to balance these elements to create the perfect kitchen for you and your family.
I want to offer you the luxury of time whilst we design your dream kitchen together. With no agenda, sales pitch or time constraints, we will discuss your needs and desires, creating your perfect kitchen that fits with the way you and your family live for any sized budget.
Guiding Hand
Emily can help to point you in the right direction, discussing the different possibilities with you and offering you an independent and expert guiding hand whether you're looking at buying off the shelf, or commissioning something bespoke.
You will then be armed with plans for your dream kitchen which can be taken to any supplier of your choice, be that off the shelf, online, or your own furniture maker, allowing you to manage your own budget, haggle your own deals and compare like for like prices.
Sourcing Support
If you would like help sourcing your new kitchen, either off the shelf or from a cabinetmaker, Emily has curated a large Black Book of local cabinetmakers and suppliers so she can help source the best craftsman, appliances and worktops for your style and budget if required (geographical restrictions apply).
Stay In Control of Your Budget
By offering design in hourly rather than service packages, it gives you the flexibility to spend the time on the questions YOU have and help you in the areas you most want support and advice. Time is not limited to just these packages, but these will give you a discounted block of time and an idea of what can usually be achieved within each block. This keeps you in control of your budget so you can spend it where you most need it.
Bounce ideas around with me
It's a big decision and so Emily offer a free, no obligation chat via Zoom where we can meet each other over a cup of tea and bounce some ideas around together. In this time, we can work out what you are looking for from your new space, which direction is the best way for you and whether Emily is the right designer to help at this stage. It is completely free and there is no obligation to go ahead with The Kitchen Lady packages unless they feel right for you.
Single Hour £70
Are you 90% of the way there with a design you have made yourself or in store but it's not quite there yet? I will very happily chat through your designs with you to test your ideas and check that the design will work for you and your family. I can give you some pointers to guide your purchasing and give you that final bit of confidence in your last few decisions.
Site Visit £250
A site visit can be useful to give a really good sense of space and how you move through the rooms. It is particularly useful if you are thinking of moving the kitchen into a different room or moving doorways - something that changes the way you move around your house.
This visit can be added to any of the above packages, however, over Lockdown, I have found Zoom to be an invaluble tool in giving a really good sense of your room so it is completely up to you as to which you would feel happier doing.
Design Your Own Kitchen - Online Course - £150
Those looking for:
✔ You love designing and decorating but want that professional guiding hand to help take your design to the next level
✔ You have a tight budget and want to save money on professional design fees but still have the input of a trained designer to give it that wow factor
✔ Free designs from in-store are disappointing and you feel like no one is listening to you.
✔ You have a free weekend, or a few hours over the next few weeks to put towards designing your new space
✔ You are excited to learn something new
Free chat with Emily included at any point during this course
5 Hours - Perfect For Smaller Projects - £330
Those looking for:
✔ Bathrooms
✔ Second Hand Kitchen Layouts in 2D (Used Kitchen Co/Kitchen Exchange etc)
✔ Outdoor kitchens
✔ Wardrobes and Dressing Rooms
✔ Larders or Pantries
✔ 2D Inital layout plans for long term projects/extension ideas before discussing with Architects and Builders
✔ One off Bespoke Furniture Pieces such as dressers, kitchen islands, TV stands or bookcases
additional time available at £65/hr
10 Hours - Perfect For Off The Shelf Kitchens - £650
For those looking for:
✔ Off The Shelf Kitchens from any supplier such as DIY Kitchens, Magnet, DeVOL, British Standard etc.
✔ Design & Layout with 3D renders and annotated 2D plans and elevations
✔ Worktop materials and where to source
✔ Lighting plans so your kitchen looks and works perfectly
✔ Electrical and Plumbing Plans for your builders
✔ Schedule of works so you know which trades to contact and when
✔ Ongoing impartial support & advice throughout the project
additional time available at £65/hr
15 Hours - Perfect For Framed and Bespoke Kitchens - £950
For those looking for:
✔ Bespoke and Framed Kitchens from local cabinetmakers
✔ Design & Layout with 3D renders and annotated 2D plans and elevations
✔ Specifying down to the smallest detail to create furniture that works for you and truly belongs to your house.
✔ Worktop materials and where to source
✔ Lighting plans so your kitchen looks and works perfectly
✔ Electrical and Plumbing Plans for your builders
✔ Schedule of works so you know which trades to contact and when
✔ Working Plans created so your cabinetmaker can turn these plans into reality
✔ Ongoing impartial support & advice throughout the project
additional time available at £65/hr
Access to Our Black Book - Sourcing & Quotes - 10%
At The Kitchen Lady we have been carefully curating our Black Book of over 20 cabinetmakers, suppliers and trades which we can share exclusively with The Kitchen Lady's clients. Unlike other companies who will hide margins of up to 50%, we can gather quotes from our trusted suppliers on your behalf, removing the hassel and confusion for you. We maintain our transparency and independence and you know exactly what you're paying for. With our in depth knowledge of your project, continuity of information helps to reduced confusion and errors.
✔ Only pay for the quotes you proceed with, quotes are sourced FOC
✔ Quote gathering for bespoke cabinetry
✔ Online Shopping Lists complied for off the shelf kitchens (DIY Kitchens, Units Online etc)
✔ Quote gathering for appliances & worktops
✔ Clear and consistant handover of designs to supplier
Case Study 15 Hours - Emma's Home
Emma has a beautiful Victorian home in Bath which she was extending to create a home that worked better for her family. She had been in contact with other design companies like DeVol but they hadn't listened to her brief and sent her a design and quote for double her budget so she was feeling confused and stressed as the builders had now started work and time was ticking on.
We met on Zoom to have a chat over a cup of tea and see what Emma was looking for and how I could help. The big decision that needed making was where in the newly combined kitchen and dining room did the kitchen go. Both had amazing views but how could we make the room work the best for both guests and family.
Emma was keen for a personal approach and so we arranged a site visit where we weighed up every option together over several cups of tea. We planned out what the kitchen would look like for each room and then weighed up the pros and cons of each design. We looked so silly acting out how the new rooms would be used, from welcoming in guests and giving them a comfortable seat, to unpacking shopping bags and making a cup of tea. Eventually the answer became obvious and we were both really excited about the new space.
Back in the office, I drew up our first ideas, taking inspiration for the sink unit from an original dresser that has survived in a neighbours house from the same period. I felt that it was important for some items to be sourced elsewhere such as Antique shops to bring character into her home such as the centre island and large dresser as not everything needed to be new. It also helped stay on budget as not all of the items needed to be there immediately.
I also gave her a walk through video to give her a real sense of what the new space would feel like. The new circular dining table creates a snug, square feeling room rather than a long and thin waiting room and is made homely with the opened up fireplace and comfortable seating for guests. An antique dresser gives additional kitchen storage for lesser used items but without making this zone feel like the kitchen.
In the kitchen, we created a new pantry under the stairs so that the room could be kept as traditional as possible, although the long desired Smeg fridge was proudly placed, and matched with a similar style freestanding bin as Emma much prefers them to built in bins. A statement canopy was designed to be the real focus of the room.
Because we had talked through all the options on our site visit, the first design was 99% there with very few tweaks. Emma made my week when she emailed her first response.
"Couldn't stop myself looking. I LOVE it. Thank you so much for all your hard work on the kitchen design. I absolutely love it - I feel like you really got under the skin of what I want."
This meant that we had plenty of time to work through the details from working plans for her cabinetmaker including fun details such as spice steps and bespoke scalloped drawer dividers.
I have suggested ideas to help her source furniture from antique shops to bring character and personality into the room as well as a lighting plan that creates schemes for both cooking and relaxing. We even had all three of us on Facetime when the builder was positioning the new pantry wall so that we were sure it was in exactly the right place. Emma has sourced her own appliances using brands that I have recommended so that she can find the best price. She has chosen some really bold colours for the cabinetry and I was able to accurately add these to the render so she can see how the new space will really look before taking the brave step.
This has been a really fun project for around £1000 investment in design and I can't wait to see photos of the finished result.
FAQ's
Why Pay For Design?
Good design elevates the value of your kitchen both aesthetically and functionally. Most kitchen companies offer free kitchen design services, however, they employ Sales People, not Designers. Their job is to fill your room with as many cupboards as they can in the shortest amount of time. With a kitchen remodel requiring an average of 2,500 decisions and adding up to 6% to the value of your home, The Kitchen Lady strives to ensure that designing and installing your perfect family kitchen is a fun and stress-free experience.
How Does a Typical Project Work?
All design packages start with a free and no obligation design consultation via phone or preferably Zoom. Here we will bounce ideas around together before deciding which design package will best suit your needs and if Emily is the right designer for you. If you decide to proceed, Emily will typically spend half the time drawing up plans based on your conversation. The remaining time is spent bouncing tweaks between you both and advising on purchasing everything from cabinetry to hardware, appliances and worktops, putting shopping lists or working plans together. By the end of the time, you will normally have a comprehensive plans and be ready and confident in what you are purchasing and from which supplier. However, every project is different and it is completely up to you to focus on what you most need help with, you need only ask.
This package can easily be done remotely as well as in person, Emily has completed projects as far away as America.
How Does Remote Design Work?
Before our Design Consultation, it is really useful for you to send some photos of the room or short video if you prefer. I love images, so if you have photos that make your heart flip flop or a big Pinterest Board, send them over! At some point I will need some sizes of your room, whether scaled architects plans or a scribble on the back of a piece of an envelope, I can work from most drawings. We will always get these measurements double checked before purchasing, these are just a guide for me to work from for now.
We will then have a chat together, if you want to use a tablet or phone so you can walk around the room and point, that is brilliant but don't worry if you have a desktop, the photos will be fine. I can always ask if I need more information.
From this point, the design process is the same whether I've been to site or not, drawings will be sent via email and we can tweak and bounce from there.
At what point should I contact Emily?
The earlier the better really! I have been in touch with clients up to 5 years before they are planning to install their kitchen. Getting the rough plan in advance means that you can schedule other work around the final design. How annoying would it be to realise that the ideal location for a cupboard is where you decided to put a window, or that you will have a kitchen island but there isn't power or water installed.
Is The Kitchen Lady UK only for bespoke kitchens?
No! Emily offers kitchen design for ALL budgets and can advise on where to source them yourself. For those with budgets £20k+, using a Cabinetmaker gives you much better value for money and Emily can help to find the perfect cabinetmaker for you to work with to deliver your dream kitchen
How long does it take until I can have my new kitchen?
It normally takes around 6 months from the first hello to the final goodbye but timescales can range from 3 months to 5 years. Typically projects are completed within 6-12 months depending on the building work needed. The design phase can take around 3-4 weeks with manufacture taking 6-12 weeks, finally installation will take another week or two and then you're in!
Does The Kitchen Lady UK Supply Kitchens?
The Kitchen Lady UK primarily offers design work for clients to use a supplier of their choice. However, we have a Black Book of over 20 cabinetmakers, plumbers and electricians around Somerset who we will happily recommend as well as help gather quotes from on your behalf for bespoke kitchens.
For off the shelf kitchens, we have several suppliers who we can recommend for you to approach, and for online kitchens, we have priority quoting with some so that we can get quotes faster for you during busy times.
We can also help with some appliance and worktop sourcing on your behalf if required.
Anything is possible, just ask!