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“It’s an exhaustive process,’’ said Geragi, the general manager of Klaff’s Cabinetry and Design business unit. The store has locations in Norwalk, Danbury and Scarsdale, N.Y. “Communication from the start is the most important part. It’s finding out who, what, when where and why. At some point it’s the technical aspect, but the first part is all about ideas, ergonomics, who’s cooking, who you entertain, the family lifestyle and the architecture of the home.”
Geragi said communication is important from the outset to determine the scope of the renovation. Some kitchen projects are partial renovations, while others are major overhauls.
There are a lot of moving parts to incorporate in kitchen redesign projects, including cabinets, appliances, countertops, hardware, installation and budget. Designing the project and ordering materials can take as much as six weeks. Renovation time varies depending on the scope of the project.
“We try to make it a multiple choice query,’’ Geragi said. “We don’t just say, ‘Tell me what you want.’ We look at a lot of different factors and then make multiple suggestions. We’ll tell the customer here’s three or four ideas for this, here’s how we manage the budget, this item is more durable than that one, and we go through it step by step. It involves a lot of factors.”
Geragi said once the plan is in place, the customer faces more choices regarding style, color and even whether the primary family cook is right- or left-handed. “We balance all these decisions to see if they fit,’’ he said. “Design is as much what to do as it is what not to do. It’s all about having the right information.”
Information becomes key when Klaff’s orders parts, Geragi said. “You can’t unring a bell,’’ he said. “Once a decision is made, you’re pretty much locked into it. We try not to rush that part of the process. You’ll have to live with the selection for a very long time.”
Kitchen design has evolved in the past decade, Geragi said. “There are traditional and contemporary designs,’’ he said. “You put them together, and it’s transitional. That’s what people want these days, cleaner lines, a lot less ornamentation, traditional elements and contemporary styles. It’s cleaner, linear and simple.”
Many families are even designing outdoor kitchens for year-round entertaining. An outdoor kitchen extends living space and square footage. “It just comes back to comfort, which is food and family,’’ Geragi said.
No matter the size or scope, kitchen redesigns excite Geragi and the rest of the Klaff’s staff.
“I think the motivation for me is to get people to look at a space and a design and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t think I could do that.’ We’ve interpreted it in ways they didn’t think. To me, that’s the most exciting part.”
To learn more about kitchen redesign projects at Klaff’s, visit the store website. Klaff's can also be reached at 1-800-552-3371.
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