What Happens in a Kitchen Design Consultation

Plenty of kitchen remodel horror stories are not about bad work. They are about decisions made too late.

The cabinets are out, the counters are gone, and now someone is asking which range you want, where the outlets go, and whether the sink can move. Every one of those answers changes the price, and every one is being made while you have no kitchen.

A kitchen design consultation moves those decisions to the front. It should end with an approved layout, a selections list, a rendering and a written, itemized price. In Florida, the file should also hold the contract notices state law requires and a recorded Notice of Commencement before work begins.

Below is what happens in a consultation, what to bring to it, and the checklist to hold any contractor to before the kitchen comes apart. For the full project, start with kitchen remodeling in Southwest Florida.

What a Kitchen Design Consultation Actually Covers

A consultation is the start of the design, and it should cover four things.

How you use the kitchen. Who cooks, how often, and what does not work today. A designer needs to hear that the dishwasher door blocks the pantry before drawing anything.

What the room allows. Where the plumbing, the electrical panel and any load-bearing walls are, and what it would take to move them. This is where a layout that looks easy on a phone screen meets the actual house.

What you are choosing. Cabinet style and construction, counters, the sink, appliances, backsplash, flooring and lighting. You do not have to decide everything in one meeting, but you should leave knowing which decisions are still open.

What it will cost. The price should come as a written, itemized number once the design is settled, rather than a guess at the end of the meeting.

What to Bring to the First Meeting

The more you bring, the more the first hour is spent on your kitchen instead of on questions.

• Photos of kitchens you like, and one or two you do not. The second set is often more useful.
• A short list of what is not working. Maybe there is not enough counter space, nowhere to put the trash, or a corner cabinet nobody can reach.
• Anything you are keeping. If the refrigerator or the floor stays, the design has to work around it.
• Appliances you already want, with the model if you have it. Cabinet openings are built around them.
• Your fuel situation. Natural gas is not available in about 90 percent of Lee and Collier County, so a gas range here usually means propane from your own tank. Bring what you know about yours, because it shapes where the range can go.
• Your HOA or condo association rules, if you live under one. Our guide to remodeling a condo kitchen or bathroom in Southwest Florida covers what to look for in them.
• A budget you are comfortable with. A range is fine. It lets the designer tell you early which choices fit and which do not.

Decisions That Get Built Into the Walls

Some choices can wait until the cabinets are in. These cannot, because the work done in the first days of the job depends on them.

None of this means every tile has to be picked on day one. It means the things that are built into the walls and the cabinets are decided before anything is torn out.

Florida Paperwork That Comes Before the First Inspection

This is the part a generic checklist tends to leave out. Three Florida statutes put specific documents in front of a homeowner at the start of a remodel. What follows is a plain summary of what each statute says, not legal advice. Questions about your own contract or liens belong with a Florida attorney.

The construction lien notice in your contract

Section 713.015, Florida Statutes, says any direct contract over $2,500 between an owner and a contractor, for work on a home of up to four units, must contain a printed notice about Florida's Construction Lien Law. It must be in no less than 12-point, capitalized, boldfaced type, on the front page of the contract or on a separate page, and signed and dated by the owner.

The notice explains that people who work on your property or supply materials and are not paid in full "may look to your property for payment, even if you have already paid your contractor in full." It also suggests that you require a written release of lien, before any payment, from anyone who has sent you a "Notice to Owner."

The recovery fund notice

Section 489.1425, Florida Statutes, says each contract for residential repair, improvement or construction must contain a written statement about the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund, unless all labor and materials total $2,500 or less. The statement tells you that payment, up to a limited amount, may be available from the fund if you lose money on a contracted project because a licensed contractor violated specified parts of Florida law, and it gives the Construction Industry Licensing Board's contact details.

The Notice of Commencement

Section 713.13, Florida Statutes, says the owner or the owner's authorized agent must record a Notice of Commencement in the clerk's office before starting the work, and post a certified copy or a notarized statement that it has been filed. Small jobs with a direct contract price of $2,500 or less are exempt under Section 713.02(5).

The statutory form carries a warning to the owner. It says the notice "must be recorded and posted on the site of the improvement before the first inspection," and that payments made after the notice expires are considered improper payments that "can result in your paying twice for improvements to your property." Under the same form, the notice expires one year after recording unless a different date is specified. If you intend to finance the remodel, the form also says to consult your lender or an attorney before work starts or the notice is recorded.

What You Should Have in Hand Before Demolition Starts

This is the checklist. If any of it is missing, demolition is early.

1. A layout you have approved, drawn to your room's measurements.
2. A rendering of that layout, showing the cabinets, counters and finishes you chose, so you can see the kitchen before it is built.
3. A selections list, with the cabinet line, counter material, sink, faucet, appliance models and range fuel written down.
4. A written, itemized price, line by line, not one round number.
5. A contingency, disclosed in writing, so you know before work starts how much room the price has for what the walls reveal.
6. A contract that says what was promised. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance on how to avoid a home improvement scam says the contract should include "any promises made during conversations or calls related to issues such as the scope of work and the cost of labor and materials." Our guide to choosing a remodeling contractor in Southwest Florida covers what else the contract should say.
7. The Florida contract notices, meaning the construction lien notice and the recovery fund statement described above, in the contract you sign.
8. A permit plan, meaning who is pulling the permit and when. Section 105.1 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Building says an owner or the owner's authorized agent who intends to alter a building, or to install, alter or replace an electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system regulated by the code, "shall first make application to the building official and obtain the required permit." The building department for your address enforces the code, and it can add local amendments and its own procedures, so it has the final word on whether your project needs a permit. Our guide to kitchen remodel permits in Lee and Collier County goes further.
9. A recorded Notice of Commencement, posted at the house, where the job is large enough to need one.

The FTC line in item 6 is the whole point of a design consultation. Whatever was agreed in the meeting belongs on paper, where everyone can read it the same way.

When the Kitchen Gets Designed During Demolition

You can often tell when the design phase was skipped, because the questions start after the old kitchen is gone.

• The price was a single number given at the first visit, before anything was chosen.
• Nobody asked which appliances you want until the cabinets were being ordered.
• There is no drawing or rendering, only a description of what it will look like.
• The contract says "kitchen remodel" and very little else.

Each of those can turn into a change order or a delay later. A change order is not always a sign of a bad contractor, but a run of them often means decisions were left until the walls were open.

If you are planning an outdoor kitchen instead, the decisions are different, and our outdoor kitchen design service checklist covers them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a kitchen design consultation free?

At HomeWorks there is no design fee in the normal course, and the first hour is free. Ask any other designer or contractor directly, before the meeting, whether design time is billed.

What is the difference between a kitchen designer and a remodeling contractor?

A designer settles the layout and the selections. A contractor builds it. When both sit inside one company, the design is drawn by the people who will be accountable for building it.

Do I need a designer if I am keeping the same layout?

You still have to choose cabinets, counters, appliances and lighting, and those choices still have to fit the room and the walls. Keeping the layout makes the design simpler, not unnecessary.

Who records the Notice of Commencement?

Section 713.13 of the Florida Statutes puts that duty on the owner or the owner's authorized agent, and it has to happen before the work starts. Ask your contractor at the consultation who will prepare it and when, so it is recorded and posted before the first inspection.

Decisions on Paper, Then a Hammer

A consultation is only as good as the paper it produces, so here is what ours produces. HomeWorks is owned by Chad and Lyndee, and Chad is on every project. Our kitchens start with a recorded site visit. Our in-house designer works out the layout, and the proposal includes Design Flex renderings, so what you approve is what we build to. The price is itemized, with a 15 percent contingency disclosed up front. There is no design fee in the normal course, and the first hour is free.

We are a Florida Certified Building Contractor, CBC-1261775, and we hold permits in Lee and Collier County. We have completed more than 100 projects, including more than 40 kitchens, we run 81 percent on schedule, and we carry 4.8 stars across 60 Google reviews.

See a kitchen renovated by HomeWorks in Southwest Florida, or request a quote and tell us about your kitchen.