Project ADVICE FROM PREVIOUS HM CLIENTS

It was a lot of fun getting these nuggets of advice from recently completed projects, we really hope that if you’re doing a project you find this post useful. A few cautionary tales but mostly lots of helpful tips – it should make for interesting reading…

what goes where

“Write out a list of everything you have and rather than focus on how much storage you want overall, think in advance where you want to place things. If you can fit one in, a walk in pantry is a godsend for taking storage weight off the main kitchen. And mixing drawers and open storage is helpful too, we have so much stuff I need but don’t necessarily want to look out so that goes in the drawers and the nicer jars etc are on the open shelves”.

my friend told me…

“I got to the point where I wished I hadn’t told people we were doing a new kitchen because everyone had an opinion and to be fair some of it was helpful but I got so bogged down in things like colours for the cabinets but in the end this was just a small design decision compared to things like the floor. So my advice would be to follow your own instinct as what I liked first is what I chose in the end. Would have been quicker too.”

Make haste with M&E

“As you know we’d done a few projects before so we weren’t complete novices but the ultra high spec of this house was new to us and the level of MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) planning that was required meant we definitely should have started things way sooner. We thought we had plenty of time in design to confirm layouts and ideas but because the builder wanted the drawings for first fix we had to really rush (and rush you guys too, sorry) to get these done. In the end it was fine and we are really pleased with it all but it was stressful during that early stage of the project especially with travel schedules and kids, as so much hinged on those decisions for plumbing especially. As I said, it was all fine but I would advise anyone doing a project to prioritise the big electric and plumbing decisions because the fabric for the stools can definitely wait!”

honest opinion

“We spoke to a few different companies as well as HM and the reason we chose you was because of the cabinetry design and quality but it was the people we dealt with that sealed the deal – everyone is fantastic and you were our favourite company by far on the house. The last thing I wanted was “yes people” who agreed with everything we said because we aren’t designers and we don’t know cabinetry like you do. We respect the design team at HM because they know what works and what doesn’t. We had discussions and they always listened to understand the perspective we had and advised us on pros and cons. For that bit of wall build out in the main run we did look at different options but we went back to the original proposal by HM because it was the best one and I appreciate now the patience you all have. I really felt Humphrey Munson had our best interests at heart and were only interested in delivering the best project possible. Needless to say our kitchen is absolutely incredible and exceeded our expectations.”

edit edit edit

“The worst mistake I made was packing up our old kitchen and putting everything into storage for a year while we rented nearby. By the time we moved in we were about 3 months later than planned and I had about 40 boxes of stuff I had completely forgotten about. I wish I had sorted and got rid of about 2/3s of it because I bought so much new stuff and then I still had the old stuff to sort through in my lovely new Humphrey Munson kitchen including some very questionable food stuff.”

choose the team not the quote

“I think you’ll know what our advice is!! In hindsight, we learned our lesson the hard way. We chose a cheaper company for the utility and boot room, thinking we were being sensible but the delays, mistakes and poor finish ended up costing far more both financially and emotionally. We’re now having everything re-done by the HM team because they are spaces we use everyday and most of our guests come through the boot room because of where the cars are parked which I knew but didn’t think through. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: don’t be tempted by the lowest quote. It is cheap for a reason. Quality is always the better investment”.

decide early or spend late

“I honestly thought picking tiles and taps would be my moment – my time to shine as a ‘designer’. Instead, I turned into a decision-making disaster. I made about 47 Pinterest boards that were basically identical and it just confused me even more. Every choice felt huge and I dragged the whole process out way longer than I should have. When I finally made a decision on some things they were out of stock or on a really long lead time that didn’t work for the building team. If I ever renovated again I’d list every decision upfront and give each one a deadline. HM saved me on the big lead time things, especially the cooker and thank god, because the stainless steel and brass ended up being perfect.”

contingency timing

“We didn’t leave ourselves enough time in the rental and we ended up having to move back into the house long before it was finished. It was incredibly hard with the children. The builder managed to get the washing machine and tumble dryer working as a priority but there were trades coming in and out for weeks and living amongst it all was overwhelming. The children were always in the way, the noise never stopped and the dust reached every corner of the house. We’d built in an extra four weeks, thinking that would be enough, but building work takes the time it takes. Everything, and I really do mean everything, was covered in dust. It was a miserable period we weren’t prepared for. Now it’s over and we’re in the memory is fading slightly but I wish we’d been able to move into a clean and orderly home and not a building site”.

take the time to research

“There’s so much detail that goes into a kitchen and I’m genuinely glad I took the time to explore everything properly. Visiting the Miele, Gaggenau and Wolf appliance showrooms in London was brilliant as it helped me feel completely confident when choosing my ovens and hob. The HM showroom is amazing but seeing the wider world of options made the final decision much easier”.

 If you have a kitchen project in mind, we want to hear from you, send us your project details here.

Images: Paul Craig