I think I’m not being irresponsible, pretentious or arrogant when I say that one of the biggest pleasures we, interior designers, have in our area of work is to visit showrooms in order to help our clients to choose the right products for their homes.
Those visits can be carried out either with them or alone, in which case we are acting on their behalf.
This process applies for the choosing of every product: from tiles, wallpapers, fabrics, etc up to furniture, lighting and kitchens among others.
For one of my projects a client and I visited some kitchen showrooms aiming to collect enough information that would allow him to choose the right supplier.
All the companies received the same information, design, finishes, appliances and details so we could compare their prices like with like.
Once we had all the data of those that were similar in look, he asked me:
Diego what do you think of their quality?
It was a very good question and certainly one that you always should ask to yourself when facing a similar task.
However there is a catch here.
I think this question needs to be divided in two parts for giving a totally comprehensive and fair understanding of what is involved in the right decision:
1.- In what environment the product is going to perform and
2.- What do you understand by quality?
Let’s analyse each of them in more detail so we can measure their implications.
1.- The environment:
Two scenarios:
a.- Let’s say that you have kids ages 1-7 years old or that you organise parties on a regular basis at home that tend to go a bit… wild.
Choosing leather fronts, expensive natural lacquers or veneers may not be a very good idea as mischievous kids or careless adults can hit, puncture or damage drawers or doors when handled wrongly.
b.- You love cooking and a good glass of wine. And you love concrete worktops.
This mix is not a great one as concrete worktops can stain easily if you leave certain liquids and organic material for too long on their surface.
Knowing exactly the conditions in which your kitchen is going to perform on a daily basis is going to allow you to take the right decisions about materials and finishes.
In both cases after three months probably your very well made kitchen will look not that great any more.
Would you say to the supplier you are not satisfy with the quality?
The problem was not the kitchen.
It was not having a clear idea of the conditions that the kitchen had to face on a daily basis.
2.- What do you understand by quality?
Which of these aspects are important for you?
-Design
-Mechanism
-Craftsmanship
-Finishes
-Materials
-Detailing
-Sustainability credentials
-Beauty
All of them can be present in a product or one of them can take over the others.
A very good looking kitchen can collapse after one month of normal use if badly made and/or installed.
A beautifully made kitchen can look terrible with a bad installation.
For every one of these attributes there is a scale, let’s imagine from 1 to 10.
Identifying what is important will allow you to choose the right level that matches your ambitions and your budget. It will give you a very good indicator of your level of understanding and expectation of quality.
Do not be afraid of using the right words for describing your interests. The clearer they are, the higher the probability to get exactly what you want and need.
