Finding the Best Chicago Kitchen Remodeler for Your Project
There is a good reason that kitchen remodeling is so popular — the rewards are well worth the time, cost, and dust involved. A remodeled kitchen can transform your entire home and can significantly increase the resale value on your property. It is an investment that enhances your quality of life.
Once you make the choice to step forward with your kitchen remodel, you’ll need to select a qualified, reliable, and experienced Chicago kitchen remodeler for the job. But how do you choose who designs and builds your kitchen?
As Chicago kitchen remodelers, we can give you the inside scoop on how to find the kitchen remodeling company that best fits your needs. The process is easier than you might think, as the best builders send all of the right signals.
Without further ado, here are five steps to find your ideal kitchen remodeler:
1. CHOOSE TO GO WITH A ONE-STOP SHOP
It is a best practice across many industries to have designers, engineers, and builders all working as a unified team. The feedback loop is invaluable, production costs are less, the creation cycle is much shorter, and there is one party taking full responsibility for the project. This is especially true when it comes to home remodeling.
By hiring a kitchen remodeling company that operates with the design-build approach, you get all of the benefits of superior teamwork and production. Homeowners appreciate how the single-source responsibility on the project means that they only have one relationship and one contracted party, and thus it avoids the headache of working with two teams. As the designer and builders are on the same team, their fluid relationship and common project management make your experience that much easier. It is hassle enough to have dust and noise in your house for weeks or months on end — the last thing that you want is poor communication and project delays.
2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Get online, do a little research, and shortlist the Chicago remodelers whose work appeals to you. When you find a remodeler who has worked on a variety of styles, this is your best bet, because versatility is how they can specifically meet your needs. You want a designer that understands how to make the space unique to you — not one who has their signature style and tries to fit you into that box. We all have our personal styles, tastes, and preferences, so it’s important for a designer to hone in on your unique ways so that your personal style can be expressed in the design.
In addition to finding a kitchen remodeling company with strong designers, you also want one that never compromises on build quality. This is more difficult to discern on their website, but it really helps to read their reviews and hear what their customers are saying.
3. LISTEN CAREFULLY
Look for customer reviews on Google, Houzz, Angie’s List, and/or Yelp to hear about the experience of past customers. This a great way to gauge the goodwill of the firm with regard to their clients. The better the reviews, the more confidence you’ll have in stepping forward.
Just beware as many businesses post “testimonials” to their website along with images of 5-star reviews, yet when you actually search on your own accord, you find many complaints. Website testimonials are NOT reviews. To get the real deal, you need to go directly to the main review sites: Google business listings, Houzz, Angie’s List, and/or Yelp.
What you read in reviews is your best way to set your expectations. There is, however, unfortunately, review fraud out there. How to avoid getting deceived? As it is too easy to have a couple of friends post positive things to get 5-star reviews for a new business, only consider kitchen remodelers with over 30 online reviews. And, notice if the reviewers are active reviewers or just one-timers. (The more reviews they have, the more legitimate their review is likely to be).
Don’t let a couple of negative reviews discourage you — they inevitably happen to any busy business. There will also be some client who finds any mistake to be unforgivable. And there will always be people who expect more than a company commits to deliver (you know, the ones that want a $100k kitchen for $20k and then they are disappointed with the results). The point is to look at what 95% of the people say. That reflects the company.
4. VALUE FOR MONEY
Be wary of remodelers who promise too much for too little. In a bid to nab the job, unprofessional kitchen remodelers sometimes underbid a project. To compensate for this, they often deliver results far below the client’s expectations. If your kitchen remodeler cuts corners to meet a low budget, it’s you and your space that will suffer.
Also, many general contractors intentionally underbid their projects and then they come up with every excuse to invoice you more during the design and build process. The end result of this is that many homeowners that are looking for a steal end up getting stolen from. Do yourself and your pocketbook a favor and stick with a reputable company with a strong history of customer satisfaction. You’ll get high quality at a reasonable price.
5. IF IT’S FREE ADVICE, TAKE IT
Most Chicago kitchen remodelers offer a free consultation. Remember that this remodeler will be designing one of the most important and highly-used spaces of your home. It’s important to work with someone you’re comfortable communicating with and someone whose abilities you have confidence in. A free consultation can give you a great opportunity to assess compatibility. These allow you to hear the vision of the design once he/she knows you and your space.
By carrying these five tips into your process of hiring a Chicago kitchen design-build company, you’ll surely find the reputable and reliable company that you require.
We encourage you to carefully evaluate our company using all of these best practices. Explore our kitchen portfolio here. Hear why we are Chicago’s highest rated kitchen remodelers (yes, we maintain a 5-star average!) in over 250 customer reviews on Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, and Houzz. Take us up on our offer for a free consultation so that we can help you define your design vision and provide you with a reliable estimate on your project.
We welcome you into our world of design excellence and pride in craftsmanship. We aim to take the messy process of construction and make it a smooth experience for you.
