Advice From
The Experts
■
BY LISA BRODY
ou've read every article on
kitchens you can find,
you've visited the show-
rooms, seen your friends
new kitchens, and now you're ready
to take the plunge. Scared? Feel like
you're diving off the rocks into
shallow water? Here are some tips to
help you gently wade into the water:
Glen Fisher of G. Fisher Con-
struction in Farmington Hills
specializes in home renovation and
notes that even after people think
they're psyched out to renovate, it can
still be a difficult process. "People
think they're prepared, but often they
aren't emotionally." He also points
out that while the end results can be
terrific, "it's expensive today to
renovate," adding that people often
have a misconception of what it's go-
ing to cost.
Judi Jaffee, owner of Perspec-
tives in Laminate, Ind., in Troy,
echoes Mr. Fisher's thoughts. "Peo-
ple do not expect all of the costs in-
volved in doing a kitchen," she says,
"because there are more than just
cabinets. You have to budget for ap-
pliances, lighting, flooring, paint,
wallpaper and chairs."
Marcie Lipsitt, buyer/sales
manager at Herald Wholesale in
Oak Park, notes that the most com-
mon error people make is not plan-
ning the space out thoroughly, and
really thinking about how they use
their kitchen. She emphasizes that a
kitchen planner can really plan out
your needs.
"If a customer makes a list of what
is and is not important to them, they'll
end up closer to their budget and
happier with the end result," she says.
She points out that the greatest
unexpected pitfall to a budget is the
"might as well" syndrome. That's
where you figure that since you're
already spending so much, you
"might as well" add this and that.
"You can 'might as well' yourself to
death!" says Ms. Lipsitt.
"It pays to shop way in advance and
shop your appliances separately from
your cabinets," says Bill Johnson,
contract sales manager at
ly
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FALL '90
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