If you’re planning a new kitchen and wondering whether to hire an interior designer or approach a kitchen maker directly, the short answer is this: it depends on the scope of your project. For a standalone kitchen renovation, going direct to a skilled cabinetmaker typically gives you the most design involvement, the clearest working relationship, and no unnecessary middle layer.
For a whole-home project coordinating multiple trades simultaneously, an interior designer adds genuine value. But here’s what most homeowners don’t realise: an interior designer doesn’t actually make your kitchen. They still have to choose a kitchen company to do that. The real question is always which kitchen maker ends up at the table, and how much influence you have over that choice.
At Higham Furniture, our design studio in Fulham works with both routes. We’re a direct-from-maker cabinetmaker with our own dedicated design process, and we also collaborate with architects and interior designers across London and the South East on projects where that kind of coordination is the right fit. You may also find 5 Kitchen Design Mistakes That Cost Thousands to Fix useful before finalising your plans.
What Does an Interior Designer Actually Do in a Kitchen Project?
Interior designers are project visionaries. They bring an overall creative direction to a space, balancing proportions, selecting a palette, coordinating materials across multiple surfaces, and managing the relationship between a kitchen and the wider living environment. For a whole-floor or whole-house renovation, that kind of overarching design intelligence can be genuinely transformative.
In practical terms, an interior designer will typically:
Develop a comprehensive design brief and mood board
Specify cabinetry, worktops, tiles, lighting, and appliances
Coordinate multiple trades: kitchen fitter, electrician, plumber, tiler, decorator
Act as a project manager on your behalf, managing timelines and handoffs
Attend site visits and liaise with each supplier
For projects spanning 3 or more rooms, or where a kitchen opens into a living and dining space that all needs to work together, this coordination role is worth the fee. A good interior designer earns their place by making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.
However, it’s worth understanding what an interior designer does not do: they do not design or manufacture your kitchen cabinets. That is still the job of a kitchen maker.
The interior designer acts as the specifier and coordinator; the cabinetmaker is the one who actually builds what goes in your kitchen. So if you hire an interior designer, you’ll be paying both their fee and the kitchen maker’s price. The question is whether that’s the right model for your project. For more material inspiration, read How to Choose the Right Worktop for a Luxury Kitchen.
What Does Going Direct to a Kitchen Maker Look Like?
Going direct means you brief the kitchen maker yourself – no intermediary. You sit down with the design team, explain your space, your priorities, and your lifestyle, and the design process unfolds between you and the people who will actually build the kitchen.
At Higham Furniture, this starts with a 30-minute design call, by phone, video, or in person at our Fulham studio. There’s no cost and no obligation. The purpose is simply to understand what you’re thinking and whether Higham is the right fit. Most clients arrive without a finished brief. That’s completely normal. The design call is specifically designed to help you get clarity before you’ve committed to anything.
After that initial conversation, the process moves through design development, material selection, and then production in Higham’s Denmead, Hampshire workshop.
Because there’s no showroom layer, no franchise model, and no separate retail company involved, you’re speaking directly to the people designing and building your kitchen from the first conversation to the final installation.
This direct model has a number of meaningful advantages:
No design fee markup: When you go through an interior designer, they may charge a fee on top of the kitchen maker’s own design time. Direct clients avoid this layer entirely.
Faster iteration: Because there’s no third party to relay information, decisions are quicker and changes are easier to implement.
Genuine creative access: You have a direct line to the cabinetmakers who are making design decisions about your kitchen. If you want to see a different door profile, discuss a joint detail, or visit the Hampshire workshop to see your kitchen being built, that’s all available to direct clients.
Clearer accountability: One relationship. One team. One point of contact for design, manufacturing, and installation.
When Does It Make Sense to Use an Interior Designer?
There are circumstances where working with an interior designer first, and then choosing a kitchen maker, genuinely makes sense.
Large whole-home or multi-room projects. If your kitchen is one element of a 12-week, whole-floor renovation that also includes a utility room, boot room, family room, and study, an interior designer can provide enormous value by holding the creative vision across all of it and managing the sequencing of trades. Without that coordination role, a project of that complexity can easily drift.
When you genuinely don’t know where to start. Some clients have never renovated a kitchen before and want someone to translate their instincts into a coherent brief. An interior designer can be a good early-stage investment for homeowners who need that level of conceptual support before approaching a maker.
When the kitchen isn’t the main event. If you’re renovating a period property and the kitchen is part of a wider interior transformation, an interior designer may already be retained for the project, and selecting a kitchen maker becomes one of many decisions within a bigger brief.
In all of these cases, the interior designer still needs to specify a kitchen maker. If you’re in this position, it’s worth suggesting Higham Furniture to your designer early in the process, we work regularly with architects and interior designers across London and the South East, and we have the experience to translate a design brief into cabinetry that meets both the aesthetic vision and the practical demands of the space.
To prepare for your first consultation, take a look at How to Brief a Kitchen Designer: What to Prepare Before Your First Conversation.
When Does It Make Sense to Go Direct?
For the majority of kitchen-only or kitchen-led renovations, going direct to the maker is the smarter route. Here’s when that logic is clearest:
The kitchen is the primary project. If this is a focused kitchen renovation, even a substantial one, rather than a whole-home transformation, the design relationship you need is with the people building the kitchen. You don’t need an additional creative layer; you need excellent cabinetmakers with real design capability.
You want design involvement, not design management. Many clients tell us they want to be genuinely involved in the design of their kitchen, not just signing off someone else’s choices. Going direct puts you in the room with the designers. You’re part of the process, not a recipient of it.
You’ve already done your research. Discerning buyers who have looked carefully at different kitchen companies, visited makers’ studios, and formed a view on who makes what they’re looking for don’t need an intermediary to brief the shortlist. They know where they want to go. The direct route is simply the most efficient path from that point.
You value the direct relationship with the maker. One of the things clients at Higham Furniture consistently mention is the value of knowing exactly who is making their kitchen, of being able to visit the Hampshire workshop, speak to Tim Higham directly, and follow the progress of their cabinetry from raw timber to finished installation. That transparency is only available when you go direct.
Can an Interior Designer Work with Higham Furniture?
Yes, and this is a question we’re asked regularly. Higham Furniture works with architects and interior designers on projects where that collaboration adds value. Our Fulham design studio is specifically set up to facilitate professional trade relationships, we can receive detailed briefs, work within an established design direction, and integrate seamlessly into a wider project team.
For interior designers who are specifying a premium handmade kitchen for a client, Higham offers something that many showroom-based kitchen brands cannot: a direct relationship with the cabinetmakers, a workshop in Hampshire that designers can visit, and a manufacturing process that is genuinely bespoke, not a customisation of a standard product catalogue.
If you’re an interior designer looking for a cabinetmaking partner for a London or South East project, a conversation with our Fulham studio is a sensible starting point.
Four Questions to Ask Before You Decide
If you’re still weighing up which route is right for your project, these questions will help you reach a clear decision:
1. Is this a kitchen project or a whole-home project?
If it’s the former, go direct to a kitchen maker. If it’s the latter, an interior designer may earn their place in the team.
2. How much do you want to be involved in the design?
If you want genuine creative involvement in your kitchen, not just sign-off, going direct puts you closer to the process.
3. Are you already working with a designer?
If so, discuss Higham Furniture with them early. We work well with professionals who value craft, design detail, and transparent process.
4. What kind of relationship do you want with the people making your kitchen?
If the answer is “direct, honest, and straightforward,” then going straight to the cabinetmaker is almost always the right answer.
Clarity Before Commitment
Whether you’re approaching this directly or through a designer, Higham Furniture’s 30-minute design call exists to give you clarity before you commit to anything. It’s a conversation — by phone, video call, or in person at our Fulham studio, about your space, your priorities, and whether Higham is the right fit for your project. No pressure. No sales pitch. Just the information you need to make a well-informed decision.
Most of our clients tell us the design call was the moment the project started to feel real, and far less daunting.
Book a 30-minute design call with Higham Furniture.
Written by Higham Furniture. Higham is an award-winning British cabinetmaker, designing and building bespoke handmade kitchens from their workshop in Denmead, Hampshire. Their design studio is in Fulham, London.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use an interior designer or go direct to a kitchen maker?
For a standalone kitchen renovation, going direct to a kitchen maker is usually the better choice, you get a more direct relationship, clearer communication, and no extra fee layer. For a whole-home or multi-room project where trades need coordinating, an interior designer adds genuine value. In either case, the kitchen maker is always the one who designs and builds the cabinetry.
Do interior designers charge more for kitchens than going direct?
Interior designers typically charge a design fee or a percentage of the project cost on top of the kitchen maker’s own fees. Going direct to a cabinetmaker like Higham Furniture removes this additional cost layer. The kitchen maker’s own design service is built into the relationship from the outset, there’s no separate charge for the design process.
Can Higham Furniture work with my interior designer?
Yes. Higham Furniture works regularly with architects and interior designers across London and the South East. Our Fulham design studio is set up to receive detailed trade briefs and work within an established design direction. Interior designers can visit our Denmead, Hampshire workshop to understand how we build and what our cabinetry looks like in production.
What happens if I go direct to Higham Furniture without a designer?
The process starts with a free 30-minute design call, by phone, video, or in person at our Fulham studio. From there, we work through a full design development process with you directly: space planning, material selection, finishing details, and cabinetry specification. You have a direct line to the people designing and building your kitchen throughout.
Is it better to brief a kitchen maker before or after hiring an interior designer?
If you’re hiring an interior designer for a wider project, it’s worth identifying your preferred kitchen maker early, before the designer’s brief is fully set. That way, the kitchen maker’s capabilities and aesthetic can inform the overall design direction, rather than being added as an afterthought. If the kitchen is your primary project, you may not need an interior designer at all.
What makes Higham Furniture different from a showroom-based kitchen company?
Higham Furniture builds every kitchen in their own workshop in Denmead, Hampshire, and sells directly to the client, there’s no showroom mark-up and no middle layer between you and the people making your kitchen. They won the British Design and Manufacturing Award at the Designerati Awards UK 2025, and their Fulham design studio offers a genuinely consultative experience rather than a retail one. Clients often describe it as a professional relationship rather than a sales experience.
