The problem with HD is that you might not get a good person to install your kitchen. They ar hit or miss and I would not trust them. But, go ans see if they can give you a design plan.

I bet the layout experts here can do a better job! Do you want to post a layout of your space and dimensions?

I am not sure what you mean by 12" cabinets cut on a corner, do you mean it is a diagonal?

If you go to Home Depot you do not have to use their installers. I have designed a couple of kitchens that I then went to Home Depot, had the KD plug it in and make sure I got all the right bits and pieces and used the client's own contractor for the install.

Well we've had poor luck too so I can definitely relate. Just because they "do kitchens" and "sell cabinets" doesn't mean they are good at offering suggestions to fix space issues. Think they should if they are a KD. I would post what you have so far on here and see how much help you get.I've gotten a lot of good tips and will be posting my layout soon.

making a diagonal in the corners? that uses more space...

12" in frameless might not be too bad. my sister's framed that measure 14" has 9" of inner use. she can fit her every day silverware in it. So probably towels, cooking utensils, misc utensils etc. You'd just have to use 2 for what you'd otherwise get in 1 larger drawer.

but nick-nacks? good grief!

post the layout here for people to redesign...

Thanks. They are both Certified Kitchen Designers and have been doing this for many years. The designer we had the meeting with yesterday has won some awards designing high end kitchens. And both designers took 12" wide by 12" deep cabinets cut on a diagonal and decided that it would be the finishing touch for my kitchen. I see them as at least $1,000 worth of nothing. The one yesterday put 2 as base cabinets and one to end a run of wall cabinets. I also had told him in our first meeting that I wanted drawers in the base cabinets. I really thought he got it... then got a design with the standard doors with pullouts.

I posted my kitchen here a few months ago, it is hard to do much with it because its small, has 3 entrances and has limitations due to a plumbing stack. I just expected that I would get a better design from a CKD than I did using IKEA software. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't go with HD as an installer because I'm having a load bearing wall removed. I think I need to find a woman KD.

Katsmah--we just moved our load bearing wall and Lowe's will do our install. "Chris" is doing the bulk of our work. You really need to find yourself a Chris. He is awesome, strong as ox, works all day and charges $20/hr.

In case you haven't read any of my posts today, I am in love with my Lowe's experience. So far, so great. It really depends upon who you get. Check out HD and just see what they come up with.

But do try posting again on here. These people are mean kitchen strategists! They will totally straighten out your tiny space.

I'm not a fan of those diagonal cabs either, to be honest. If you're gonna have diagonals, go full hog and make them curliqued open shelves a la 1920's, for goodness' sakes.

Can't they design the regular cabs wider to cover the same wallspace?

I think you might need to find not a woman KD per se (lots of men cook!), but rather a KD that isn't wedded to a particular cabinet line that doesn't fit so well into your space, perhaps? I may be totally wrong, but those goofy little end cabinets scream "filler!" to my eye.

Sabjimata, I need to find a "Chris" like you have. When you're done with him, I'll take him.

Circuspeanut, I can understand if they use the cabinets on the wall, but these were base cabinets. I don't even think I could fit more than a couple cans of cat food in one. They screamed expensive filler to me.

Both of these KDs work for local shops that have multiple cabinet lines, from mid line to custom. One is the owner of the shop. But I just don't think they get it.

it could be that when you posted it before there were numerous others posted also - there have been some busy times on here!

post it again - there are KDs on here also!

Katsmah - Instead of passively "looking forward to seeing what the designer came up with", make it VERY clear in the initial interview that your primary concern is maximizing usable cabinet and counter space.

Don't be intimidated by their design awards. Tell them what is most important to you.

Have you by any chance priced out custom? I ask because when I was initially pondering my kitchen, I went to a big box store to get design ideas and wound up with lots of weird corners and fillers (there are 3 doors to my small kitchen). Turns out I used recycled cabinets instead, so it became a matter of shoehorning/rebuilding to fit.

But why I'm going on here -- we have a trim carpenter friend who did our install, and he had brilliant ideas for tiny spaces. Instead of useless little end cabinets, he moved our fridge over 8" and gave us some extremely useful pullout pantry bins, for instance. Stuff I'd never have thought of:

So: I wonder if you might find more options with someone who thinks in terms of available space and wood, not so much a "designer" who wants to create a "look"?

"I posted my kitchen here a few months ago, it is hard to do much with it because its small, has 3 entrances and has limitations due to a plumbing stack."

I always approach how the house flows first then each room after that. It maybe cheaper in the end for you to move the doorways or to move the plumbing stack. My husband told me that moving a plumbing stack would be impossible due to physical and financial limitations. I just "bought" it. I insisted that I need to know if it was "possible" and what the cost was. It turns out it will "only" cost $500 to $1000 per the plumber. This was very worth it to me. BTW, plumbers can do just about anything for a $1000 to $2000 (except concrete slab) if only moving a short distance, if it is physically possible.
Years ago, my MIL redid her kitchen without moving any doorways. It is the most awful kitchen to work in. Yes, it looked shiny and nice but it was not worth the $ put into the kitchen, IMHO.

This is what you have to do to really see what the possibilities are. Yes, moving things around costs money but layout is more important than granite countertops, IMHO. Moving nonload bearing doorways generally is not that expensive. You already have the dry wall sub and painter coming. It will only add marginally to that cost.

Asking subs for bid does not cost any money. if your husband is handy, have him open up the walls where the plumbing stack is. So you can expose what the work will entail. Then have the plumber give you a bid.

Good luck.

I agree with circuspeanut - you need to find someone who is more focused on creating a functional space than a showplace. There was a thread here a while ago that featured pictures of kitchens from magazine spreads and kitchen websites that had some very serious "functional" design flaws. But they sure looked nice!

There is a thread here on "Hidden Gems" that has some fabulous ideas for gaining extra storage space. I would find a few ideas from that thread and present them to the next KD as examples of what you are looking for (maybe toekick drawers?). And also give some specific examples of what you are NOT looking for (diagonal cabinets). I think if you lead a horse to water, you can sometimes make them drink.

And of course, post your layout here again. I've seen some great ideas come from this board, but it can be hit or miss.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hidden Gems

Kaismom said it well. And everyone will tell you everything is expensive, no matter what it is. But it is a relative concept so do look into it!

I have a meeting with the owner of a custom cabinet shop this weekend. We'll see how that goes.

Kaismom, I'm opening a load bearing wall and taking out the wall to my dining room. Thats about the most I can do, and it will take care of one of the doorways. The others are entrances to the family room and the door to the basement. The plumbing stack... I may end up having to move it a few inches, but I really would prefer to not mess with it.

I can live with the design that I have, I like the peninsula to give me extra counter and storage space. I'm thankful that Buehl posted her peninsula cabinet setup. It will be perfect for my needs and really gave me the push to open the dining room wall. Neither of these designers would have thought of it. I just expected that they would be able to tweek it better - not that they would stick in expensive filler. I will post the floor plan again when I get home later tonight.

Our kitchen has four doors. We moved only one - to the back porch - and WOW what a difference it made to the functionality of our kitchen. I don't think it added much cost at all; maybe a few hundred dollars.

We do have one corner upper and one corner lower cabinet. They are at the end of our only run of uppers and next to one of our infamous 4 doors. I was surprised how little space they have. You are sure right about that! Howerver, that cab. run is adjacent to the door from the dining room where we to turn and have an aisle to the back porch door. We come through there and cut that corner, walking around, so a full square cabinet hanging there on the end would really be a "hip check" and "eyeball poker" for me! Anyhow, we use the lower corner for tupperware, plastic ziploc containers, plastic cups and such and it's ok for that. The corner upper really has little space and we use it for flower vases, candle sticks...and it does store our travel coffee mugs off the counter - handy storage for grab and go mugs. That's about it.

I found this site too late in our remodel to post floorplans, but I certainly am with the others in encouraging you to post your floorplan here again. I bet you'll get helpful feedback from the great people here.

I own my own kitchen and bath store and do deisgn order build and oversee type projects from chinese cabinets to fully custom. I never follow the heard in anything I do. Amazingly very few trust someone who is different than the norm so with my 15 years in construction and remodeling from entire homes to just kitchens I am overlooked as not the normal place to go. When in reality I am exactly what people need. In my view the "heard" of CKD's of the world are all about making your kitchen the next picture for a publication. That is where they went wrong for you as you well know.

The KD or certified as a CKD who is what you want will have the approach of helping know what they know so you can make your ideas reality and take the product line to make it fit your space togehter. Not in a know it all fashion but a roll up your sleaves and figure it all out together. I am told every time I meet with some one they have information overload when done with me. I teach them the methods behind cabinets and what things are, what do they do. I then listen to their reaction. My customers design the space with me I just put their Ideas to a computer screen showing what is available in a product liine to make the dream fit peice by peice.

The consumer does not know all the products that are available in a given product line. The KD's job is to bridge the gap between your wants and the product line. The challenge is to make the budget match. You can be offended with a price that is driven by product line where the same company can do it another product line and arrive at a completely different price. Do not always shoot the messenger!

I see so many posts that mention that there are too many fillers in semi custom cabinet designs. It should not be that way. Even custom companies will put an extended stile on their cabinets because it never fits perfectly without somewhere to make an adjustment in width. I know my generalization is simplified but still fairly true. You should not have more then 3" horizantoly (sp?) in each run except with fluted fillers on angles or straight and turned posts for example. Custom comapnies will build these components into the box which you pay more for the more talented product.

Find someone who will listen to you and teach you all about the options you have and you work out the details together.