Ah well! The next bold attempt to start writing! Can't believe it is 6+ years since I am picking up today from where I left off.
A lot happened that changed the course of my professional life, and I am so much happier for the events that I can look back upon proudly. I actually came to be known as a "Designer" and created over 500 kitchen designs, many of those are installed in peoples' homes all over the DMV area, and the cabinetry that was ordered or even custom-spec'd by me, is being used on a daily basis by dozens of homeowners! The island that I rotated on my CAD layout, to make space for a microwave drawer to open, now exists in "finish and wood" in someone's kitchen.
What a heady feeling!
More than the pride I feel at my own achievements - the growth from a nobody in the segment, to someone recognized for her talent - I feel humbled by the trust that homeowners placed in me, my knowledge, my expertise, and my dedication to the craft of kitchen design.
The starting of this journey was uneventful enough - a longing for creativity in a mundane job. Lack of interest in the industry in which the family-owned business falls. A wish for the time to utilize DIY and wood-working, mechanical, drawing skills. The passion for CAD and 3D visualization skills. The desire to utilize a background in research, a childhood dream of becoming an architect, , insane detail-orientation, the desire to help others, creative problem-solving.....
And in the process of internet research, and soul-searching, came the surprising answer - Kitchen Designing! It checked off all the boxes from my Holland's Personality Types test - Realistic, Artistic, Conventional and Social - in which I scored almost equally highly on four of six personality type traits.
I found out that although Kitchen design falls under the category of "Interior Design" per BLS categorization, most interior designers do not do kitchens. I could not for the life of me do what interior designer and decorators do. They have the ability to take a blank canvas and turn it into gorgeous finished spaces with powerful visualization and artistic talents.
Kitchens are more like building with Lego, you need to have a plan, you need to have the head for measurements, you need to have an eye for 3D figures, and as with more complex models, you need to be able to in your mind, foresee issues if some form will interfere with a part that is put into place 6 steps later. Unlike interior designers, the final looks of cabinets are of lesser importance to a kitchen designer, because they can be swapped around depending upon the selections of the clients, and their budgets. What really really matters, is measurements! And memorizing details from dozens of brands of products, so that the designer may offer the best match for the clients' dream list.
It seemed like an exciting prospect, after all, I had been working error-free in banking for nearly eight years, I had spent endless hours searching the internet for storage accessories and drooling over jaw-dropping gadgetry that make things pop-out from inside cabinets, or magically hide clutter. An obsessive fascination with “What is behind the doors in a remodeled kitchen?”, and a dire need for renovating our own kitchen was anyway leading me down that path.
I luckily got one opportunity to work as a kitchen designer, and grabbed it with both hands. My first few fascinating days flew by, I couldn't wait to go to work and couldn't believe that I was getting paid for something I loved doing so much already.
And five years later, here I am, looking forward to solving more exciting challenges from each kitchen space that comes my way, to help more homeowners with a dedication that hopefully comes across as genuine, and a passion to do my best to be a client advocate, so they will each feel they have a Kitchen Designer by their side.
