Why We Charge a Design Fee: The Value Behind Our Kitchen Design Process
When clients first learn about our design fee structure—£1,150 for a kitchen design and £350 for each additional room—they often want to understand what we do to earn this. In a world where many kitchen retailers offer "free" design services, it's natural to question why we charge for something that appears to be given away elsewhere. The answer lies in understanding what true, professional design entails and the extraordinary value it delivers.
The Difference Between Selling and Designing
The fundamental distinction between Chisholm Design and typical kitchen retailers is our core mission. While many companies employ salespeople whose primary goal is to sell cabinets and maximise profit margins, our designers are focused entirely on finding the perfect design solution for each client. This difference in approach shapes every aspect of our process.
A plan view of the kitchen layout is just one way in which our designers help visualise it.
Our designers aren't incentivised to push the most expensive options or steer you toward particular brands. Instead, they're committed to understanding your lifestyle, preferences and needs to create a space that genuinely works for you. This client-first philosophy requires time, expertise, and genuine care—resources that simply cannot be offered for free while maintaining the quality our clients deserve.
Experience You Can Trust
Our design fee reflects the depth of experience we bring to every project. Across hundreds of completed projects, we've encountered virtually every design challenge imaginable. From awkward room layouts and unusual architectural features to complex family dynamics and specific accessibility needs, our team has developed an intuitive understanding of what works and what doesn't.
This birds eye render helps to provide perspective
This experience means we can anticipate potential issues before they become expensive problems during installation. We know which appliance configurations will maximise functionality, which storage solutions will actually be used, and how to balance aesthetic appeal with practical daily living. This wisdom, accumulated over years of successful projects, is invaluable and forms the foundation of every design we create.
Craftsmanship in the Digital Age
In an era where artificial intelligence is increasingly used to generate quick design solutions, we take a different approach. While we embrace technology where it makes us more productive—such as using advanced rendering software to help you visualise your space—we don't rely on AI to make design decisions. Every cabinet placement, every appliance selection, and every finish choice is the result of careful, human consideration.
A colour render really brings the design to life
This painstaking attention to detail ensures that your design isn't just visually appealing but also highly functional. Each element is chosen specifically for your needs, lifestyle, and preferences, rather than generated by an algorithm that can't understand the nuances of how you actually live in your space.
The Comprehensive Design Journey
Our design process is thorough and methodical, requiring significant time and expertise at every stage (we’ve indicated roughly how long each part takes, but these figures can vary enormously):
Detailed consultation (2hrs): Jo and one of our designers will spend considerable time understanding your needs, preferences, lifestyle and vision, with a consultation either at our showroom, or at your home, whichever is most appropriate. We don’t just consider the kitchen itself, but the whole space (dining room/living area and any adjoining rooms) meaning the whole layout works as part of the wider house.
Research phase (1-2hrs): Investigating the best options for materials, appliances, and solutions specific to your project
Initial design creation (6-8hrs): Developing the first comprehensive design proposal
Feedback integration (1-3hrs): Carefully reviewing your input and refining the design for Version 2
Feedback integration (1-3hrs): Incorporating further feedback to produce Version 3
Detailed cost estimation (2-4hrs): Preparing accurate estimates for cabinetry, appliances, worktops, and all other elements
Final refinements (1-2hrs): pulling everything together in a final design proposal
Design review meeting (2hrs): a follow up meeting to review the design and discuss next steps.
Each of these stages requires multiple hours of professional time from experienced designers who bring both creativity and technical expertise to your project.
The Value of Personalised Design
What you receive at the end of our process isn't a generic kitchen layout adapted to your space—it's a highly detailed, deeply personal design proposal that's entirely unique to you. Every element has been considered, every decision justified, and every detail planned with your specific needs in mind.
The finished kitchen is the result of a lot of hard work and thought during the design stage
This level of personalisation and attention to detail brings enormous value that extends far beyond the initial design fee. A well-designed space enhances daily life, increases property value, and provides satisfaction for years to come. When you consider the total investment in your kitchen project, the design fee represents a small fraction (typically about 2-3%) of the overall cost while ensuring that every pound spent afterwards is spent wisely.
Our design fee isn't just a charge for our time—it's an investment in getting your project right from the very beginning.