Good designers should charge for everything, says Graham Vandeleur-Smith from GVS Design Company, Dorchester...

I have just read the excellent blog by Peter Hill of Urban Myth and fully agree with his comments. 
Having been in the industry for 23 years and drawn thousands of plans that were just given away, I have often said to my various employers that if we were, as we said, professional, then why were we not charging for our design and planning service?

The answer was always the same: 'no-one else does, so we can't'. I thought this was a crazy, negative attitude so I started up my own business as a freelance kitchen designer. I don't sell kitchens at all and I charge for all work I do; the design, the drawings, time spent with client, home survey visits, further site visits, everything. 

I have been going for seven years now and have charged for all of my designs so have no 'I think this one's dead' plans lying around - they've all been paid for.

My theory was correct that if someone wants independent advice and a kitchen design drawn by a professional then they will be happy to pay. The client takes my drawings to their chosen kitchen supplier and then it's over to them - often I don't even know which company the client uses and that doesn't matter as the company isn't paying me. 

If you advertise a free design service then, in effect, you're saying it has no value. If you advertise that you offer a professional design service then you should be charging a fee for it.

When I go to clients' homes, some produce seven or eight plans that various kitchen companies have provided at no charge - well more fool them. I get the design job and another company gets the kitchen order. It could be said that if these various companies had put more effort into listening to their clients' needs and truly designing the kitchen, rather than just trying to sell it, they may have got the work. 

It could also be said that if the client had paid for the design, they would have made sure it really was as they required and would have bought their kitchen from that company. I'll keep doing what I do and hope to see lots of various companies' plans really soon - keep then coming!