Compliant kitchens: building error-free design into the DIY planning experience
The opportunity to invest in a kitchen redesign isn’t one that comes around often a prospect that is both daunting and exciting for a customer in the market for a remodel. As well as the enjoyment found by many in planning and designing home improvements, there is always an element of caution – a reassurance that is needed from trying out and visualizing different ideas – before going on to validate their plans with a professional. Shoppers are increasingly turning to online planning and remodeling solutions as a result, allowing them all the time they need to experiment and explore from the comfort of their own homes before heading in store.
But of course, there is more to remodeling a kitchen than finding the right design, and for all their research and work, customers run the risk of presenting plans to an in store sales professional only to be faced with the practical considerations they have overlooked – the space between cupboards and other units, the height of countertops or the practicalities of clear working space. Not the opening interaction either the customer or sales professional were hoping for. Even worse, if the customer moves straight to the point of purchase.
Clearly, a combination of the right design solutions and consultation needs to be factored in to make the kitchen design experience perfect. There is a gap that retailers can bridge by building omnichannel, error-free design into the DIY planning experience with the HomeByMe for Kitchen Planner 3D planning solution.
Starting with a template
Of course, all design requirements are governed by space and a successful remodeling project must be built from the ground up with the original room layout and dimensions. For the growing number of shoppers who want to start planning from home, it helps to provide them with a custom designed template as a framework, where the basic concept of their kitchen design has already been established.
The HomeByMe Kitchen Planner 3D planning solution can be white labelled for use on a retailer’s website as well as in store, and caters to the practicalities of DIY kitchen remodeling across all of its design concepts. By laying out a few established design rules, it eliminates many common mistakes that can be made – by in store professionals as well as DIY designers.
Once the user has entered their preferences and layout, the solution does the rest to incorporate a design with the correct dimensions and proportions. The design can be altered and adapted, but the essential elements start off in the correct dimensions, in accordance with industry standards and guidelines.
Adding intelligent business rules
Providing an online remodeling solution that can pique the interest of a shopper in the research stage of their kitchen remodeling project has obvious benefits for a retailer. With access to their entire catalog of products, instant pricing and with rules and regulations built in as standard, the onus is taken away from the customer and taken on by the retailer – via their 3D planning solution. Now, those with no prior design experience can create kitchens that take into account such principles as the kitchen work triangle, recommended distances between open doors and workspaces, important health and safety considerations, and more.
The 3D planning solution from HomeByMe has more than 300 rules and regulations built into its engine, including guidelines outlined by the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association (NKBA). Not only that, but it is sophisticated enough to incorporate different regulations spanning countries and regions, notifying a user of any potential problems with their design and providing a warning to the retailer of any issues that might create a challenge at the end of the line. If it is time for intervention from a professional store designer, then they can step in to offer advice or recommendations.
The practical benefits of working with a cloud-based 3D planning solution is that it can be constantly updated and refined. For a global retailer, with a footprint of hundreds of stores, having a solution that provides the assurances that regulations are up to date can save a business an untold amount of time and investment in inputting the latest developments.
Providing a helping hand
To implement the rules and recommendations of successful kitchen design takes study and qualifications that the average home enthusiast won’t have. Even experienced professional kitchen designers need refreshers to keep them up to speed.
That’s why a sophisticated 3D planning solution, such as HomeByMe for Kitchen Planner, provides the cutting-edge when it comes to redesigning a kitchen. Customers can then head into the store with a design that is 100% saleable – and, most importantly, continue on a journey that is 100% enjoyable. For the sales professional, a safety net of guidelines is also in place, for the purposes of quality control and guaranteeing a design that is error-free ahead of processing the sale. Guidelines such as those provided by the NKBA are an extremely useful framework, but remain open to interpretation by the sales professional at the planning or layout stages of a design. Integrating these into the realms of a retailer’s 3D planning solution establishes a standardized framework for ensuring consistency across the entire business.
Stepping outside the boundaries won’t stop the user completing a design; it will merely highlight an area that needs attention before completing a concept. A professional kitchen designer can then finesse a design to provide a final finished result based on their recommendations. With a helping hand from the retailer at every stage of the process, consumers can constantly build upon their dream designs, moving the customer journey onwards and upwards within the realms of what is practical and kitchen compliant.
To further explore how you can add value to your kitchen retail designs using 3D planning solutions to understand the rules and regulations of kitchen designs, visit our website built specifically to serve kitchen retailers, where you can organize a demonstration of the platform with a member of our team of experts.