Maybe your client has finally given up on doing their own kitchen repairs, or maybe they have decided to replace their whole kitchen after they replaced their sink. Either way, the result is the same: they’ve hired you to install their new kitchen.

A kitchen remodel is much more than replacing and installing the correct fixtures. Your client may end up coming to you for advice about their new kitchen’s look, even if you aren’t a professional kitchen designer. Here are a few simple ways to guide your client through the kitchen renovation process.

Past Experience Can Be a Great Place to Start

You don’t have to be a master of good design to help your clients find a style for their new kitchen. All it takes is a willingness to help them talk their options through; often clients just want a listening ear to work out what they need in a kitchen. If your client wants more than just a person to listen, however, you can always start by relying on your experience.

If you’ve remodeled a kitchen before, either personally or professionally, you can share about your past design experience. It’s always nice to hear what worked and what pitfalls to avoid from someone who’s been through it before, and your client will rest assured that your expertise makes you the perfect person for the job.

Checking out sample kitchen designs or kitchen showrooms made by professional kitchen and bath designers, like the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), can give your clients plenty of inspiration to design their dream kitchens.

Even if you don’t have experience in kitchen remodeling, other design process principles still apply: you always want to start with the big picture and work your way down into specifics. Don’t start looking at countertop materials on the first day. Start by asking what emotions or feelings they want the new kitchen to inspire, and what purposes they want the kitchen to serve. Is it going to be primarily a workspace? A social space? A combination?

Once the client has a vision for how their kitchen should function and feel, you can start looking at color schemes and materials that align with those goals.

Choosing a Color Palette

When picking a kitchen color scheme, you want it to feel like a natural part of the space without overwhelming the senses. Picking all bold or bright colors can lead to a lot of visual stimulation that can reduce the homey feel, so you always want to make sure that one of your kitchen colors is a nice neutral. White, gray, and wood make for great neutral colors that play well with nearly every other combination of colors.

If your client wants the kitchen to feel like a natural extension of the house, you might look at the surrounding rooms for color palette inspiration. What colors do they want to tie into the kitchen, and what do they want to leave out?

Kitchen designers recommend that your client keep colors limited in smaller kitchens. Having five colors in a small space is far more visually distracting than having two or three. That doesn’t mean you can’t have pops of color in a small kitchen; it just means that committing to a few primary shades will help the space feel open and inviting.

A few suggestions: Olive green and wood make a nice natural combination, while bright summer colors like yellow and robin’s egg blue work well with white to make an overall bright kitchen. And of course, you can never go wrong with white or black as a primary kitchen color.

Finding the Right Sink

An essential space in any kitchen’s work environment is the kitchen sink. Your client will want to choose their kitchen sink carefully to ensure that it is the most functional sink for their style of kitchen, and matches the style.

Depending on the size of the kitchen, and how often they plan on using the sink, they’ll have to choose either a single or a double sink. If it’s likely they’ll spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or if your client tends to have multiple people working in the kitchen at once, a double sink is the better choice. Doubles allow different tasks to happen simultaneously. For instance, one family member could be washing up salad while the other washes dishes, or straining pasta at the same time that a newcomer washes their hands.

Kitchen sink trends vary, but stainless steel and granite composite sinks are always popular due to their durability and tendency to work well with the style of any kitchen. Communicating with your clients about exactly what they expect of the sink and what purposes it serves can help your installation to be exactly what they want.

A Look at Kitchen Islands

Kitchen islands are the central feature of any kitchen that features an island, and they can heavily influence the tone of your client’s kitchen. If your client’s kitchen has an island, then you’ll want to make sure they know all of the options available to them.

Everyone is familiar with the rectangular kitchen islands, but in recent years curved kitchen islands have been making a splash for interior designers. Adding a structure with soft edges to a space full of the hard lines of kitchen cabinets and countertops can create an interesting visual space that catches the eye.

Curved islands come in a variety of styles, but no matter what style your client ends up going with, you’ll want to make sure all materials and finishes tie into the overall kitchen. A kitchen island isn’t attached to the rest of the kitchen, but it’s still a part of the greater whole.

Silicone Depot Can Make A Great Kitchen Last!

If you follow these tips, you’re sure to help your clients design a kitchen that they’ll love to spend time in! After the design is done, you can get started on a quality installation that will keep their kitchen looking great for years.

For a quality guarantee, use Silicone Depot for all of your kitchen sealing needs. Silicone Depot’s premium silicone sealants will eliminate leaks and keep kitchen sinks and spaces watertight for years to come.

For more design and installation advice, check out our blog! If you’re ready to start on your installation job, find exactly what you need on our product list.

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