Kitchen Test Drive: The smart way to finalise a design

As every designer knows, the kitchen design process is a trade-off between collaboration and inspiration.

On one hand, there’s the need to create a space that suits the many and varied needs of a family. On the other hand, there’s the desire to create something special. It’s not surprising that clients looking at a major kitchen investment sometimes feel overwhelmed by the process.

Recognising the complexity of choices that must be made, Blum has created two Kitchen Test Drive facilities, located in the company’s Auckland and Christchurch showrooms.

A collaborative space to test and optimise plans and layouts.

A Kitchen Test Drive enables customers to experience a 1:1, three-dimensional mock-up of the design. All the designer has to do is book a time, send in the plans and Blum will make them up into a real-world space that customers can encounter and walk through.

The process is designed to be hassle-free, and even fun. Blum’s helpful team sets up realistic bench units, cupboards, drawers and appliances in the configuration you have designed. It’s not about design based aspects, such as colours, materials and brands. The goal is for customers to find out whether the layout they have seen on a plan is something they could live with in real life.

Feedback is invited, and it’s simple to shift units into different arrangements. The process of walking around a space often uncovers issues where alternative placement of an oven, for instance, would improve useability.

This can provide the perfect setting to resolve issues that customers may have struggled to visualise on paper. They might see that the butler’s pantry they’ve set their heart on isn’t really practical in the space they have. And if there are multiple users involved, they can bring the whole family and arrive at a solution that works for all. And because it takes place in Blum’s showroom, clients have the opportunity to try out any soft-close technologies, box systems and cabinetry hardware their designer has recommended.

It’s also a no-pressure situation. Blum does not sell direct to the public, so any Kitchen Test Drive is purely an exercise in research.

Save time, save money.

Many designers find a Kitchen Test Drive at Blum removes the risk of costly changes at the detailed design phase. The layout can be finalised before variations and avoidable costs are incurred. Drawings can be completed, and products specified, knowing that alternatives have been fully explored rather than brushed aside.

No cost is incurred at this stage, either. Blum makes its Auckland and Christchurch Kitchen Test Drive facilities available free of charge to architects, kitchen designers and manufacturers.

In 90 minutes or less, you can lock down all the major decisions and proceed to the next stage. You don’t even have to be there – just send your clients to Blum.

It’s an exercise in ease – just like cooking in a well-designed kitchen.

Schedule your Kitchen Test Drive appointment here.