Majjie's Blog

Apologies to consumers and kitchen buyers … this site is for you really … but I keep getting sucked into the industry debate about how to provide better training for kitchen designers and what, if anything, should be done to certify existing professional kitchen designers. Well – ok – it might be more accurate to say that I (and others) keep stirring up the industry debate! And it is relevant to kitchen consumers – since the quality of your kitchen design is very important in determining how good your new kitchen will look.

modern kitchens require good design skills (this is a CAD illustration of one of my designs)

I’m afraid this is another very long discussion on the topic. The problems are as follows:

1. There are no independent training or apprenticeship schemes for young people wanting to become kitchen designers (except for individual ones set up on an ad hoc basis)
2. There is no independent evaluation of existing kitchen designers and their skills
3. The in-house training that there is, tends to be very sales orientated – that’s because the industry is dominated by the big manufacturers and retailers, who are much more interested in having kitchen salespeople than kitchen designers.
4. There is a National Training Group (the KBB NTG) which is dominated by the same interests. They rubber stamp some of the in-house training courses and have certified derisory two day courses on kitchen design. Become a kitchen designer in two days! (The fact that some existing kitchen designers find these courses useful is just a further indictment of the training – or lack of it – that they have received). In spite of being in existence for around eight years, the KBB NTG has done virtually nothing about proper training for kitchen designers.
5. There are no text books or databases available to all kitchen designers; no independent provision of information; no source for specifications of kitchen units, components and appliances; no interpretation of regulations as they apply to kitchens. The vast majority of information available comes from the press releases of the manufacturers – which are just presented uncritically, in both the trade press and the glossy consumer magazines. There are no guidelines on how to design and specify kitchens – except for the vastly outdated work triangle and some more up-to-date research from one manufacturer (of hinges and drawer runners); Blum. If you’ve done any research yourself, on kitchen design, you’ll have come across the ridiculously simplistic galley, L-shape, U-shape and island kitchen shapes … over and over again. It’s no wonder consumers complain about boring and unimaginative designs.
   

   

   This is what might be called a galley kitchen - but if I'd designed it in a galley shape - or any of the other simplistic shapes that are trotted out as kitchen design principles, it would have been a lot less functional

6. There is a culture in the industry of downplaying the importance of design. Most retailers offer “free” design services – but actually pay their designers only (or predominantly) on sales. That results in the cost of, on average, three kitchen designs, being loaded onto the price of each kitchen. Charging, even a small amount, for a professional design service would help to alleviate this problem and would provide a much better service for consumers – who would be able to take their designs away to study and discuss with their friends, family – and architects (retailers rarely release their “free” plans, at the moment, without a sale being made and payment of a deposit).
7. There is no way for a consumer to tell how skilled and knowledgeable a kitchen designer is, or how experienced they are (except by asking, and trusting to the honesty of the reply). The only exceptions, are a few independent kitchen designers (like me) and some small kitchen showrooms (run by retailer/designers) … who have websites showing examples of their work (and you should check that you’re getting that same designer – because there may be more than one)
8. The Society of British Interior Design (SBID) – a relatively new organisation for graduate interior designers – is making a very aggressive bid for kitchen design to become the preserve of interior designers. On the face of it, that isn’t a bad idea, given the poor skill levels of some existing kitchen designers … and a few interior designers have already successfully specialised in kitchens. They, of course, charge for design services but they too have had to learn about kitchens the hard way, just like the rest of us. Interior design courses rarely cover kitchen design, except in passing, so interior designers don’t have the right training either. The vast majority of them collaborate with a “proper” kitchen designer when they’re asked to design kitchens. A Master’s degree in kitchen design is a possibility for those wanting to specialise … but they’d still have very little experience … and they’d be expensive to employ, either directly by consumers, or by kitchen retailers. Properly qualified, interior designer kitchen specialists would become an elite group, just for the top end of the market.

Personally, I think kitchen design is an ideal occupation to be covered by an apprenticeship scheme for school leavers. Three years of working for a kitchen supplier and being trained about kitchens and their design, should result in some competent young kitchen designers. If only there were external training schemes available to supplement the on-the-job training. Many of the potential employers in the industry are small showrooms, for whom a kitchen design apprentice would be an affordable option.

I also think the industry is short changing existing kitchen designers. There may be a high proportion of inexperienced, poorly trained, pushy salespeople out there, designing your kitchens badly … but for every one of those, there’s probably another one – or two – experienced kitchen designers, who are passionate about their work, have learned from their experience, have searched out information and taught themselves what they need to know … and really care about providing you with a good service. They deserve to be acknowledged, rather than passed over in favour of inexperienced interior designers with qualifications.

designing kitchens - whether modern or traditional in style - is a specialised skill
this is another of my CAD illustrations - this time with much more traditional handmade furniture

In October 2010, I came up with the idea that there should be a professional association for kitchen designers – at the KBB Review’s Kitchen Conference. They were discussing the possibility of setting up an umbrella organisation to represent the whole of the KBB industry – but the panel wasn’t very enthusiastic about my idea. They thought designers should just be a part of that umbrella organisation.

I wrote about my idea then (Calling All Kitchen Designers …) but what I didn’t know, at the conference, was that a Federation of Kitchen and Bathroom Designers (FKBD) had already been set up by Garry Milligan. Garry later asked me what I’d like to see in the curriculum of a kitchen design training course … and invited me to join the FKBD. In the meantime Sean Phelan (who had commented on the original thread) had set up the iKDi (the Irish Kitchen Designers Institute).

I published my proposed kitchen design curriculum on this blog ... What a Kitchen Designer Needs to Know ... which was followed by a somewhat heated debate. I don’t think the FKBD fits the bill for a designers association. Garry wants his organisation to be concerned with the supply and fitting of kitchens too – more like the umbrella organisation originally discussed at the Kitchen Conference. I see that attitude as part of the problem … the traditional downplaying of the role of the designer. I don’t want to exclude kitchen installers and retailers from becoming kitchen designers. I just want them to take kitchen design seriously, as a separate discipline, in which they need to be trained (or certified as being already skilled).

If there was to be an umbrella organisation, to represent (and police) the industry as a whole … it would need to include the KBSA (Kitchen Bedroom and Bathroom Specialists Association – which is a trade association purely for retail showrooms) and the iKBBI (the Institute of Kitchen Bedroom and Bathroom Installers) … and there would need to be separate sections representing designers (as originally suggested), manufacturers, internet suppliers and bespoke kitchen cabinetmakers. The KBSA could probably have grown into just such an umbrella organisation, if they had had the vision to do it … but they didn’t … and the FKBD, in my opinion, has no chance of becoming that umbrella organisation now (although Garry has updated and modernised the website since the organisation first appeared).

The position has changed, though, since I first started writing on the subject. Sean Phelan has set up the BKDA – the British Kitchen Designers Association. It is an association just for kitchen designers and, in my opinion; it makes the idea of the FKBD completely redundant (although, of course, I could be proved wrong!).

I would dearly love to see kitchen designers creating their own professional organisation, proposing their own training and certification scheme and becoming independent of the big brands. It may never happen but I’d encourage any kitchen designers who might stray into this blog, to join the BKDA. Nothing can happen unless kitchen designers get up off their backsides and fight for professional recognition.  It’s free (for now). There’s a forum for us to discuss these matters – and any other topics that might be of interest – and you never know where it might lead. It might just lead to an improvement in the overall quality of kitchen design in the UK …