Design, Selection, and Planning

Your home is an extension of your personality, lifestyle, and individuality. These unique aspects of your personality are reflected in the choices made in your home, particularly in its cabinetry. In order to begin the design process, it is helpful for us to have a general idea of the scope of the project, so that we can be prepared to meet with you.

Where will you be using cabinetry provided by DeRita Woodworking? What are your needs for storage, or display? What functions will the cabinetry perform?

Generally, we provide cabinets in the kitchen, pantry, baths, and laundry, but we also offer built-ins and fine cabinetry for libraries and dens. In order to proceed with preliminary drawings, we will need working blueprints or room dimensions (this includes ceiling heights of each room receiving cabinetry).

Prior to our first meeting, consider the style of cabinetry you will select. Cabinet styles range from traditional to country, rustic, contemporary, and mixed. Think about the overall design style of your home and neighborhood, your furnishings, and lifestyle, in determining cabinet style. Cabinet styles can be mixed from room to room, but it is usually more effective to stay with a consistent theme throughout the home.

Creating a “Wish List” is a helpful way to begin designing your project, be it an entire kitchen, or a simple corner built in.

If you have pictures from magazines that reflect your tastes, bring them to our initial meeting. Carefully consider your budget. One of the first topics we will discuss is your budget range. A realistic budget estimate at this stage is critical–it will help us guide you toward achieving a high quality product at maximum value.

The First Step: Form and Function

The best kitchens have one thing in common–good design! A good design is less about aesthetics and more about function. Function in a kitchen refers to how efficiently the sink, stove, and refrigerator relate to each other. In the 1950’s Cornell University conducted a study of the most successful kitchen designs. The now well known “work triangle,” was developed to describe the path between the three points of the sink, stove, and refrigerator. The beauty of the “triangle” is that it applies to all layouts: open, galley, L, or U shaped. Creating optimal workflow within your layout ensures that your kitchen will function as beautifully as it looks.

Whether you are designing your kitchen alone, or with the help of a builder or decorator, your first task is the selection and placement of the appliances. We cannot design a cabinet layout until you have completed this step. Research appliances by visiting stores, looking through magazines and considering your needs, preferences, and budget. We will ask you and/or your representative to sign an Appliance Specifications Sheet that we will provide. This specification sheet will give us everything we need to give you a detailed design and a firm bid. Changes in appliance type or location after plans are drawn may require an additional charge.

Please review the Appliance Specification Sheet (attached). This sheet includes all the details we will need to begin our drawings. Appliance manufacturers also provide “cut sheets” which provide other technical information. These sheets are helpful, but not necessary to begin preliminary drawings.

Also please review our Cabinet Specifications Sheet.