There are basically two types of Kitchen Designers - Those who work for Kitchen Companies on a salary or commission basis and those who work independently on a " fee for design " basis.

The advantage of going to a Kitchen Company is that the Designer will not charge you for the consultation and advice and will earn their fee when you engage that Company to do your whole project. However based on the commission system , Designers earn approximately 10% of the Contract price which is added onto the cost of the Kitchen.

For example if your contract with the Kitchen Company is $15000.00 the Designer will be receiving approximately $1500.00 commission. Therefore if you were buying the Kitchen directly from the Kitchen Company with your own design, you should really be paying $13500.00 ( $15,000 - $1500.00) for that kitchen. Unfortunately by getting Kitchen companies to quote without a design and specification, you will be quoted on various products that each is trying to promote at the time and will not be able to realistically compare the quotes.

Independent Designers however work for themselves and charge a fee for doing a design. Once this fee is paid you own the design and can "shop" it around to get quotes on the project. By doing this you will be "comparing apples with apples". An independent Designer is also able to give you unbiased advice on products as they are not tied to one particular company. They also have many contacts in the industry and are able to direct you to options that may save you many dollars.

Cabinet Makers may also come out to "give you a quote" and are generally cheaper than the Kitchen Companies that run Showrooms. However, Cabinet Makers are specialists in their field (making cabinets) and usually prefer not to get involved in the design process so are happy when presented with a design and specification to cost.