Wise Decisions on a Budget

A functionally beautiful kitchen is the result of many design and product selections. Making choices for this space becomes particularly difficult when budgets are tightened. Forfeiting the perfect tile design, your favorite high tech appliances or an exquisite cabinet detail are concessions that most don’t want to make. Hiring a qualified design professional is a great investment in making the most of your remodeling dollars. When consulting with a designer, wants and needs are prioritized and money is allocated to the details that are most important to the family and the design solution. Consider these budget-saving designer tactics. 

When deciding on a tile design to enhance your solid countertop, one can use a limited number of expensive tiles in a creative pattern with a less expensive field tile. This holds the cost down without sacrificing impact. The balance of varied materials adds to the enriched overall effect. Instead of assuming that one must have all top of the line appliances, consider which appliances are most important to you considering your kitchen uses and splurge on those models only. Do your homework and understand new products on the market that might fulfill your needs less expensively. A counter depth, free-standing refrigerator might suit your needs as well as a more expensive built-in model. 

The money saved in one decision can allow for your favorite detail. Understand what you are paying for in cabinets. Make sure that the features you are paying for are really essential to the success of your design. There might be existing elements that are appropriate to reuse in the new design. Perhaps a favorite antique piece in an alcove is a better solution than building in new cabinets. A design professional can help you make these money saving decisions.

Many feel that a smaller budget doesn’t allow for the fees a designer will charge. A mistake made in the name of saving money is too costly to risk. The knowledge and creative ideas that a design professional brings to project adds value at every budget level. Invest in wise choices to create your own functionally beautiful space.

MaryJo Camp, CKD, CBD, CID, is Vice President-Marketing and Business Development, Standards of Excellence Appliances and Decorative Plumbing, www.standardsofexcellence.com. For a list of Certified Interior Designers in your area or to view the CID Pages (a visual directory of CID’s), visit www.ccidc.org/cidpages.