Kitchen Design Grand Rapids MI — 3D Planning, Layout & Full Design-Build

The Situation: Heritage Hill Victorian 1905. A non-load-bearing partition wall added in the 1970s separated a 110 sq ft kitchen from a 130 sq ft formal dining room. Homeowners wanted open concept but had three concerns: whether the wall was structural, what the combined space would look like, and whether they could see the design before committing to irreversible demolition. They had talked about this project for seven years.

What We Did: Structural assessment confirmed the wall was non-load-bearing. 3D design created showing the combined 240 sq ft open kitchen-dining layout with material selections. Homeowners approved the 3D design before any demolition began. Permit-ready drawings submitted to City of Grand Rapids — permit issued in 9 business days. Wall removed in one day of controlled demolition.

The Result: 240 square foot open kitchen-dining space from two separate rooms. Permit filed, inspected, closed. Seven years of hesitation resolved by seeing the space in 3D before committing to demolition.

The Situation: West Grand bungalow 1928. Kitchen was 76 sq ft. One contractor had told the homeowners “there’s nothing you can do with a kitchen that small.” They came to us skeptical that design would help but wanted a second opinion before giving up entirely. They cooked daily and the kitchen frustrated them every time they used it.

What We Did: Three genuinely different layout configurations designed and rendered in 3D — not variations on one approach. Configuration B selected: refrigerator relocated to end wall, 24-inch depth range replacing standard 30-inch, counter run extended to 14 feet using newly available wall space. All specifications finalized from design documents — no field measuring surprises.

The Result: Counter run extended from 8 feet to 14 feet. Natural light restored by relocating the refrigerator away from the window wall. Kitchen now supports two people cooking simultaneously. The homeowners reported that it functions as a completely different kitchen despite the same 76 square feet.

The Situation: Creston Foursquare 1924 with kitchen and formal dining room separated by a wall. Homeowners wanted open concept and had gotten one estimate from another contractor: “we’ll figure out the exact price once we open the wall.” They had heard stories about budgets expanding mid-project. They wanted the full price confirmed before touching anything — and walked away from the contractor who couldn’t provide it.

What We Did: Design phase completed before any construction commitment: structural assessment (wall confirmed non-load-bearing), 3D rendering of combined space with material selections, full project scope written and priced. Fixed-price contract presented and signed before any demolition. Permit submitted — approved in 11 days. Project completed on the signed price with zero change orders.

The Result: Open kitchen-dining space delivered on the fixed price in the signed contract. No change orders. No post-demolition surprises. The homeowners noted that knowing the full price before any demolition was the reason they chose to proceed.