One of my favorite kitchen remodels was for a woman who bought a house in Wallingford and wanted an estimate on ways to improve her kitchen.  She wanted a dishwasher and granite countertops.  Her base cabinets were only 20 inches deep, making it impossible to install a standard dishwasher.  And her wall cabinets were mounted only ten inches above the countertops, 18 inches is standard. 

She considered a complete kitchen remodel and we set about tackling two major challenges, adding counters where no extra space existed and working with a fairly modest budget.  I think our approaches to both challenges do a good job of illustrating how design/build is supposed to work.

Too many doorways, not enough room for cabinet spaces and too many passage ways. Eliminating the seldom-used side door allowed us to lengthen the wall where the sink belonged and correct those problems.

A project can be hindered by one key idea, an existing element the owner assumes must remain.  Once we embrace the idea of change, the rest of the design usually falls into place.  Try to keep an open mind.

The budget issue called for some serious "value engineering," to maximize our client's return on her investment.  This homeowner had very definite ideas about how she wanted her kitchen to look.  Our challenge was to suggest affordable ways to achieve her objective, like the use of manufactured stone countertops costing half as much as granite.  

We kept the original oak floors and much of the original plaster, and stock modular cabinets.  Our client was thrilled with the results.  She moved out of the area shortly thereafter and realized a significant gain on her home investment.  We were able to deliver quality and value on a modest budget.

For more information on the Master Builders Association, go to www.masterbuildersinfo.com.  Thanks to our friends at Jackson Remodeling for their ideas on this project.