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We invite you to visit this page from time to time for articles of interest on kitchen and bath design, the latest products, the newest innovations and other resources of interest to homeowners.

Choosing a Kitchen and Bath Design Firm
by Larry Lowenthal, Gilmans Kitchens and Baths

Shopping for a kitchen and bath design firm can be a weighty task. The marketplace is full of kitchen and bath retailers of all sizes and descriptions. Some sell from their cars with door samples, others sell kitchens alongside disparate other products, while still others specialize in Chinese imports. Additionally, there are big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes. These stores are cavernous in their nature with plenty of product, but generally not up to date with the most innovative design concepts.

As you research your options, consider a “local kitchen and bath design firm”. A “local kitchen and bath design firm” is defined as one that has roots in your community and whose owners and employees are your neighbors, friends, associates, perhaps relatives and all truly appreciate your business and your referrals.

Among the local kitchen and bath design firms there a number of signs that will help you separate the good from the great!

Showroom Appearance
A showroom should be neat and clean. If a design firm can’t organize itself, how will its staff organize your home with new cabinetry? Does the showroom look finished or is it missing pieces, moldings, or knobs? You should feel comfortable and able to enjoy a showroom that is complete, well organized and makes you feel good. Make sure the showroom you choose has a wide range of styles and colors and that the kitchen designer can give you a tour of the showroom.

Showroom Education
Your kitchen is not about products or the latest designer brands, but rather an extension of yourself, your lifestyle and your family’s lifestyle. As you tour the showroom, be sure your personal kitchen or bath designer shows you the different features and benefits in all of the displays. The showroom should be your personal library, with information to teach you about kitchen remodeling, bath remodeling, tile, flooring, lighting and many different and unique kitchen interior accessories.

The kitchen and bath cabinetry on display should show a multitude of styles, colors, construction and prices. Consider your own concerns and budget. Is there information about “green cabinets and building practices”, what is the difference in construction at various price points, or how does the finish affect the cost? Make sure the kitchen designer shows you the “hall of fame”, a special section that shows the interiors and construction of all the cabinet lines the dealer carries.

Value
Your happiness, knowing that you got the most out of your investment, is True Value. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the big box stores always have the lowest price, and therefore the best value. Many or our customers find that we are extremely competitive in price and provide the better value.

Gilmans Kitchens and Bath has affiliated itself with the SEN Design Group, a national buying group that affords us the lowest prices because of volume discounts. Five kitchen cabinet lines, four lines of bathroom vanities, and fourteen designers with over one hundred years of experience proves to our customers that we, in fact, offer the best value.

Personnel
Are you buying a pile of boxes, or the potential for an award-winning kitchen or bath? Kitchen and Bath design cannot be learned overnight, it takes years of experience, as well as intense training from cabinet manufacturers, and continuing education from industry experts. Look for “certificates of completion” from different education sources including product knowledge (PK) seminars from the plumbing suppliers, countertop fabricators, and lighting technicians and others.

Ask your kitchen or bath designer for testimonials from past clients, as well.

The Paper Work
You would never try to create a work of art or a kitchen remodel without a detailed plan. With the newest design programs, you should receive comprehensive floor plans, elevations, and perspectives. All warranties and delivery information should be detailed for you. Payments, terms and conditions should be in your contracts, as well.

At Gilmans Kitchens and Baths, when you take advantage of our design build services, all products will be detailed out to you and you will receive your own personal product coordinator in addition to your kitchen designer.

Full Service or Ala Carte
At Gilmans Kitchens and Baths we can fulfill all of your dreams for your new kitchen or bathroom. Our kitchen designers can work directly with you, your contractor or designer. We can work with the designs of your architect or designer and supply you with your new cabinetry, countertops, sinks, faucets, hardware and accessories. We can refer any number of qualified contractors if our own team is not available in your time frame. If you want we can design the kitchen and supply you the cabinetry to take to your vacation home, even in Hawaii.

We have a full service design build team at Gilmans Kitchens and Baths with very competitive prices. Our DB (Design Build) manager will come to your house and work with you and your kitchen designer to develop a workable plan within your budget. All steps of construction will be documented with you and you will be assigned a product coordinator. At this time your finishes, fixtures, appliances, accessories, flooring and other surfaces with be selected. Your final plan will be reviewed in detail with our design build manager who will be in contact with you regularly during construction. Your product coordinator will be your daily liaison to answer any and all of your questions. If there are any contingencies or delays your project coordinator will be there to keep things going on track and make this a happy kitchen remodeling experience for you.

The Firm
Gilmans Kitchens and Baths formally Gilman Screens & Kitchens has been in business for 26 years showing the integrity you should demand of your kitchen remodeling company. We have five showrooms making one of our locations within a short drive from anywhere in Marin County, San Francisco, San Mateo County, and Santa Clara Counties. All of our employees are local to this area as well and many have worked for GK and B for many years and are like family.

We know that Gilmans Kitchens and Baths fulfills all the criteria we have suggested you look for in a kitchen and bath design firm – that is by design. We have worked hard to make ourselves the bay area’s premier kitchen and bath design firm and to a ensure your kitchen and bath remodeling project is as easy and smooth as possible – from your initial shopping experience to the design phase through the construction to the day we leave you to show your neighbors how great your new project looks!

Enjoy the insights and advice from other members of the SEN Design Group

• “Understanding Good Kitchen Design” by Cabinet Factory Plus in Omaha, NE

Or gain inspiration for your new kitchen from other members of the SEN Design Group

• Kitchen Design from Lorey Cavanaugh, CKD, CBD at Kitchen + Bath | Design + Construction in Connecticut
• Kitchen Designs from Kitchen and Bath Experts in San Diego
• Kitchen Designs from The Kitchen Gallery in Knoxville, TN
  
  
  

5 Bay Area Locations:
Burlingame: 650.340.2890 | Foster City: 650.286.0433
Mountain View: 650.691.6850 | San Francisco: 415.550.8848 | San Rafael: 415.455.5363

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