There is a particular sort of client who calls for additional meetings (and happily pays the additional cost), usually because of the need to validate his/her discoveries in the marketplace and get my opinion. I respect that need and am flexible enough to meet that client's expectations. This is not the norm however. Most clients choose their own finishes with my advice, and prefer to do so, saving their resources for the products they want in the space. It's easy when we can narrow down the choices to a manageable few in the logical order.

I am also a capable Internet consultant when a client sends me photographs and measurements of the problem space and its surrounding rooms. (It is important that I understand the context of the room within the home). I realize people from all over the world might view this site and gain from its content. My only limitation is my time.

What's different about Kitchen Artworks?
Kitchen Artworks once was a dealership for better cabinetry and design services in Millbrae California. Prior to owning my own showroom I worked for other showrooms. Some years ago, in 1996, I decided to close my showroom and work out of home as an independent kitchen designer. There are very few independent kitchen designers in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in the nation. Most are affiliated with showrooms and make their commission incomes by selling cabinetry and design services. Other independents sell product but remain unaffiliated with a showroom. I have always disliked the selling part of the business and loved the design part. Now I can offer my clients the world of knowledge I have amassed from my many years of showroom and design experience, without the strings attached that are inherent in selling product. I can be an advocate for your best interests and you can trust me and depend on my advice.

Why should I hire you instead of another independent designer?
Good question. Working with a designer is a little like a (short) marriage. We need to develop a fit. I think the best way to find out if the fit is right between us is to first thoroughly examine this web site, then talk to me, investigate me by talking to previous clients, and analyze your comfort level.

I am a very pragmatic individual who prefers an open relationship with my clients. If you are looking for a designer who sprinkles rose petals at your feet, keep looking. My specialties are space planning for maximum efficiency, cabinetry planning for maximum storage and convenience, and remodeling inconvenient, outdated space. I recommend products that are high quality and will last for the lifetime of the kitchen or other space, so if you are doing a low-budget project, unless it is DIY (do it yourself), keep looking. I look to the architecture of the existing home for inspiration, so if you are doing a French-Country theme kitchen in a Georgian Colonial, keep looking. I work with middle-class families of all persuasions, so if you are a Pacific Heights gazillionaire, keep looking.

What is your "style"?
I do not have a "style." Instead, I work at bringing out the style of you the client and your home. Many times clients will get stuck on a particular style of cabinetry, because of their childhood kitchen or a beloved magazine clipping. If it fits, we go with it. If not, I point out the fact that the new kitchen will look like it dropped from Mars in the context of the home's architecture and we negotiate until we find a solution. It's not usually so black and white as the aforementioned, because clients hire me for my sensitivity to their architecture to begin with. Indeed, a good part of the joy I take from what I do involves the variety of my work. I do repeat good ideas often, any good designer does, but my "style" I save for my own kitchens.

I want my kitchen to be "light". How will you achieve this?
This is truly the request I receive most often and with good reason. Many of the kitchens my clients are contemplating remodeling are dark, both in terms of light absorbing materials and surfaces, and natural and man-made light sources. To combat this problem in their remodeled kitchens I take a number of approaches. First, I discuss and design superb lighting schemes, utilizing general, task, and even mood lighting, to create well-lit scenarios for every possible need in the new kitchen. Second, I address natural lighting with windows, glass doors and skylights to enhance the light available to the space. Third, I point out to clients when their decisions regarding materials and surfaces will result in a dark or light-absorbing effect. We then discuss what measures can be taken to counteract the effect and create a "lighter" result. I really don't think I have helped design a dark kitchen at all in the past twenty-odd years.

How much will it cost?
This is a question that is on every potential client's mind as soon as the thought of remodeling their kitchen, bath or other residential space enters their mind. The best way to find out is not necessarily to go through the entire process of designing the space and putting the project out for bid. Instead, ask people like me who do remodeling for a living, both design professionals and contractors, what their average kitchen, etc. is costing the homeowner. The Bay Area is a remodeling hot spot and has been since the last (major) recession in the early nineties. Costs have skyrocketed in the past years because of a shortage of qualified contractors, and also because we are doing more to our homes and buying more expensive products to put in them. I did a survey among members of our remodeler's association NARI SFBA in the spring of 2000, asking what the average kitchen remodel was costing consumers. The answers came back in a range of $60-$110K, with most clustered around $65-$70K. These were professionally designed kitchens remodeled by professional contractors, but that was some years ago now. I myself have seen prices escalate to the point where many of my extensive remodels top 150K, although I would agree that my average kitchen is probably $70-$80K. I would say that if you don't have a minimum of $50K or more to invest in your kitchen, or $25K in your bath, you will probably not find a contractor of this level to consider your project. I also often encourage people with limited means or budgets to consider DIY and assist those who decide to go that way with advice on the task at hand. I started out as a Do It Yourselfer many years ago so I can relate to the work.

By the way, the 2005 average upscale kitchen remodel nationwide was $81,552K (Bay Area was considerably higher). For more information on nationwide costs in remodeling, updated annually, see Remodeling Magazine's Cost vs. Value Report. Also the amount most clients pay me on their complete, one-room projects, averages at $2-4K.