It is the most convenient way of shopping these days and a modern day version of catalog shopping.  We can find almost anything online.  It is also a good tool for comparison shopping before physically going to the actual store.  Although there are some things that we don’t have to see before we buy.  I’m sure you can agree that there are definitely some things that we have to “touch, feel or try on first.  Never mind the things that need to be purchased from a professional.

I remember when I was living in Sitka,Alaska. Sitka is located on the southeast panhandle of Alaska.  It is an island that is 80 miles long, with only 13 miles of road.  Keep in mind that the only way to get off the island was by boat or airplane.  It was absolutely beautiful to live there!  The only downfall was that it didn’t have any shopping malls or even any variety of discount or home improvement choices.

If we wanted to go on a shopping spree, our only choices were to hop the ferry and head down to Seattle,Washington or start thumbing threw the catalogs. Seattle was a treat because the Alaska residents didn’t have to pay taxes.  (Just like some places online now.)  If we didn’t take the trip to Seattle very often, we had to shop by catalog.  (Computers were not popular in 1991-1994)  So, we took our chances on the merchandise being what we expected.  We could only hope the sizes of the clothes were all the same.  We could only hope that it didn’t cost an arm and a leg for shipping!  Especially when it came to home improvement!

Where am I going with this?  I was thinking back the other day about how different each state is to live in.  What would it be like if I was still in Sitka and wanted to remodel my kitchen?  What would be my options?  Do they have a designer showroom with an experienced designer to guide me threw the process like we do here?  Maybe one?  What if I am not satisfied with their choices or comfortable with the designer?  Then what are my choices?  

Oh, silly me!!  I can just shop online for new kitchens!  There are all kinds of websites for anything.  I am sure I can find kitchen cabinets too.  There are even designers I can upload my measurements to so they can design my kitchen and I can just order the cabinets from the online store.  Then I wondered how this designer will know what is needed to design the kitchen so it will function for me.  So I dug a little deeper.  Do you know what I found?

I found that I can “chat now” with a designer!  Except when I was online the designer was offline.  But, I could leave a message for them to get back to me.   I could only hope that they understood what I wanted.  I guess I would have to find out when they go back online and reply.  (Who knows when that will be?)

It would be so much easier if I could sit down with a professional and find out how to get my kitchen to work for me.  There are so many options to choose from.  How do I know if the things I want will fit? How do I know if I will like the color of the cabinets?   Well, I don’t know why I am so worried.  They must be professionals if they are online, right?

I have to be honest with you.  It felt like I was having a nightmare and I AM a kitchen designer. I cannot even imagine how overwhelmed the average homeowner would be?  Even worse, how furious they would be once their new kitchen was finished and it still didn’t function for them.  They have no where to go! 

You might be able to find almost anything online, but there are some things that you just need to physically go to the professionals for.  

This entry was posted in Kitchen Design on April 4, 2013 by THblog.