Getting a kitchen customized by a professional interior designer is actually easier than you might think. Thanks to BOXI’s custom design service through Inspired Kitchen Design, you can design your kitchen start-to-finish with the help of a pro for just $279.

You want your kitchen to feel perfectly tailored to your needs, but translating that into a set arrangement of cabinets and drawers can feel like a particularly challenging game of Tetris. The pros are well-versed in everything from ideal layout to organization strategy—and with IKD’s consultation, you’ll get to see exactly how your kitchen will look before you place your order, and you’ll have the chance to make revisions.

All things considered, you can get your own custom-designed kitchen in as little as seven to eight weeks (including BOXI design time and lead time), at a price that cuts out the middleman. Here’s what to expect.

Talk With a Designer

When you sign up to design your kitchen through BOXI’s design partner, you’ll start the process by filling out a survey about your vision for your space, including details like measurements, door styles, and your priorities. The faster you submit your responses to the survey, the faster a designer can get started on your design. Generally, IKD designers receive responses in three to five days. Within one to two business days, you’ll receive a preliminary design for your kitchen.

It’s important to have a general idea of what you want your kitchen to look like, when it comes to style and hardware finishes. After all, IKD’s designers don’t just design cabinet layout—they create a concept for the entire room. “We design the whole kitchen,” says IKD designer Mike Toth. “You have to see the BOXI cabinets in the context of the whole space.”

Your preliminary kitchen design will also show you what the space looks like without any cabinet or drawer doors—which can help you to strategize internal organization. Many BOXI customers end up purchasing additional organizing inserts from Rev-a-Shelf, Toth adds.

Go Through Revisions

BOXI’s design package with IKD includes up to two revisions of your kitchen design. If you have any questions, you can chat with a designer to strategize how to make a kitchen work well for you. Toth says that customers vary in the kinds of revisions they request, but consistent changes have to do with island size and wall cabinet size. Once a customer requests a revision, they can expect to receive a new version of their design within one to two days.

Roth has also noticed a few trends that BOXI customers ask for again and again: Farmhouse sinks, floating shelves, and drawers instead of lower cabinets. 

Bring Your Kitchen to Life

Once a customer approves their design, they receive a finalized design package with exact pricing and recommendations. From there, BOXI handles the payment and ordering process. From start to finish, the design process can take about 10 to 15 days (or potentially even fewer). BOXI’s pre-assembled, American-made cabinets also arrive in six to 10 weeks. 

Working with an IKD designer is a great way to see your BOXI kitchen before you press order, Toth says—so the $279 fee can be well worth the added cost just for the assurance that your vision for your kitchen actually works, before you shell out for the full renovation. And, you’ll also get the added benefit of working with a true expert. There are so many minor design mistakes that designers are trained to catch, like cabinet layout that doesn’t account for how much space appliances take up when they’re opened. A professional’s touch doesn’t have to be unattainable.