What does a kitchen designer do?
A kitchen designer develops and creates designs for kitchen set-ups for clients. They are responsible for installing flooring, equipment, tools, cabinets, and other paraphernalia. They prepare a plan and recommend a timeline for the project. They need to ensure that all the equipment and appliances in the kitchen are functional, efficient, conveniently placed, and cost-effective. Often, a kitchen designer works for restaurants, pastry shops, cafeterias, or even schools and hospitals.
Kitchen designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real kitchen designer resumes:
- Project manage by effectively communicating client's ideas to vendors and subcontractors from design through installation.
- Manage multiple residential kitchen and bath projects simultaneously from design inception to delivery in a fast pace energetic environment.
- Provide courteous and interactive support to customers by offering kitchen design according to their requirements.
- Design, modele and render graphically intensive exteriors and interior environments and animations utilizing the latest in visualization technology.
- Originate designs from blueprints according to NKBA guidelines.
- Meet customers' needs in designing their kitchens as needed for visual appeal and functionality while meeting NKBA standards.
Kitchen designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Kitchen Designers are proficient in Math, Laundry Room, and Design Projects. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Visualization, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Kitchen Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Math, 10%
Provided excellent service while ringing up purchases and answering phone calls; comfortable and accurate when working with math and currency.
- Laundry Room, 9%
Designed bathrooms, entertainment units, mud rooms, laundry rooms, entertaining areas in addition to kitchens.
- Design Projects, 8%
Created and maintained client accounts leading to long-term design projects and improving the company's reputation via outreach projects.
- Product Knowledge, 8%
Utilized extensive material and product knowledge to provide comprehensive and innovative solutions for design problems within budgetary constraints.
- Project Management, 7%
Project Management responsibilities included scheduling, budgeting, and analysis, purchasing, obtaining permits and maintaining subcontractor relationships.
- Customer Service, 7%
Provided quality customer service to residential and commercial consumers through project education sessions and demonstration on Do-It-Yourself products.
"math," "laundry room," and "design projects" are among the most common skills that kitchen designers use at work. You can find even more kitchen designer responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a kitchen designer to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what kitchen designers do because "interior designers need to be precise in measuring interior spaces and creating drawings, so that their drawings can be used by workers such as engineers or other designers." Additionally, a kitchen designer resume shows how kitchen designers use detail oriented: "provided detailed cad designs of kitchen cabinets for client approval. "
Visualization. Many kitchen designer duties rely on visualization. "interior designers need a strong sense of proportion and visual awareness in order to understand how the pieces of a design will fit together to create the intended environment.," so a kitchen designer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways kitchen designer responsibilities rely on visualization: "provided residential design, graphic design, and 3d visualization services. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of kitchen designers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday kitchen designer duties, as "interior designers need to be able to communicate effectively with clients and others." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "used interpersonal and customer service skills to discover customer needs. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what kitchen designers do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to kitchen designer responsibilities because "interior designers must address challenges, such as construction delays or unavailability of certain materials, while keeping the project on time and within budget." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical kitchen designer tasks: "resolved customer issues, understood appropriate actions to resolve an issue as it arrived. "
Artistic ability. A commonly-found skill in kitchen designer job descriptions, "artistic ability" is essential to what kitchen designers do. Kitchen designer responsibilities rely on this skill because "interior designers use their sense of style to develop aesthetically pleasing designs." You can also see how kitchen designer duties rely on artistic ability in this resume example: "create design drawings and work with construction staff to revise and adapt based upon production, artistic or budgetary needs. "
Creativity. Another skill commonly found on kitchen designer job descriptions is "creativity." It can come up quite often in kitchen designer duties, since "interior designers need to be imaginative in selecting furnishings and fabrics and in creating functional spaces that serve the client’s needs and fit the client’s lifestyle." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day kitchen designer responsibilities: "provided creative kitchen and bath design assistance utilizing cad oriented computer programs within retail environment. "
The three companies that hire the most kitchen designers are:
- The Home Depot5 kitchen designers jobs
- Riverhead Building Supply5 kitchen designers jobs
- Gulfeagle Supply2 kitchen designers jobs
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Compare different kitchen designers
Kitchen designer vs. Decorating consultant
A design consultant is an individual who provides expertise incorporating functionality and aesthetics to a space or product based on the evaluation of the needs of customers or clients. Design consultants may collaborate with other professionals such as architects, graphic designers, or fashion designers to cater to the needs of their customers. They assist in improving existing designs, either in interior designs, fashions, or graphics. Design consultants may also work in different work settings like retail stores, architectural companies, or graphic design firms.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between kitchen designers and decorating consultant. For instance, kitchen designer responsibilities require skills such as "math," "laundry room," "design projects," and "project management." Whereas a decorating consultant is skilled in "in-home sales," "clients homes," "design consultations," and "customer complaints." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, decorating consultants reach similar levels of education than kitchen designers. Decorating consultants are 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen designer vs. Interior decorator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real kitchen designer resumes. While kitchen designer responsibilities can utilize skills like "math," "laundry room," "project management," and "general contractors," interior decorators use skills like "in-home," "custom furniture," "trade shows," and "real estate."
Interior decorators earn similar levels of education than kitchen designers in general. They're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen designer vs. Home decorator
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a kitchen designer is likely to be skilled in "math," "laundry room," "design projects," and "project management," while a typical home decorator is skilled in "add-on sales," "in-home consultations," "clients homes," and "pos."
Most home decorators achieve a similar degree level compared to kitchen designers. For example, they're 3.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Kitchen designer vs. Design consultant
Types of kitchen designer
Updated January 8, 2025
