The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is the premiere association for kitchen and bath professionals, comprised of more than 50,000 members serving homeowners across North America. As a Certified member for over 20 years, I uphold the NKBA Code of Ethics. The core of which is integrity, fairness and communication. I have been actively involved with the association both at the Chapter level as well at the National and volunteered in various positions.

CMKBD, CAPS and CLIPP are industry certifications demonstrating acquired qualifications. CMKBD is instituted by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), CAPS by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and CLIPP by The Living In Place Institute.

CMKBD stands for Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer and is a program which recognizes extraordinary experience and achievements in the kitchen and bath industry. The CMKBD must possess both their CKD (Certified Kitchen Designer) & CBD (Certified Bath Designer) Certifications and must have a minimum of 17 years of industry experience.

By Choosing to work with an NKBA Certified – CMKBD (Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer), you will be working with a professional who:

• Has demonstrated comprehensive knowledge in Kitchen & Bath design, as well as construction, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.
• Adheres to a strict Code of Professional Conduct.
• Is an expert in the NKBA Kitchen & Bath Planning Guidelines & Access Standards, which recognizes the importance of consumer health, safety, and welfare in K & B Design.
• Is a member of the NKBA, the K & B Industry’s leading professional organization that provides them with the training and tools needed to succeed.
• Is skilled at assessing consumers’ individual needs and wants, creating designs that meet and exceed these requirements.
• Remains current on local building codes, safety and environmental regulations and the wealth of new products and equipment on the market.

(courtesy of the National Kitchen & Bath Association)

CAPS stands for ‘Certified Aging in Place Specialist’. CAPS professionals are educated in the strategies and techniques for designing and building aesthetically pleasing, barrier-free living environments. CAPS graduates pledge to uphold a code of ethics and are required to maintain their designation by attending continuing education programs and participating in community service.

‘Aging in place’ is defined as ‘remaining in one’s home safely, independently and comfortably regardless of age, income or ability level.’

‘Aging in Place’ is for homeowners who wish to continue living in a familiar environment throughout their maturing years. It is about creating and living in safe, comfortable and inspiring living spaces. ‘Aging in Place’ Design is about applying a sensible and conscious design approach to creating user friendly and age friendly spaces.

A Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) has been trained in: the unique needs of the older adult population; Aging-in-Place home modifications; common remodeling projects and solutions to common barriers.

CLIPP stands for Certified Living in Place Professional. A qualified professional, who is a part of the solution to improving independence and dignity for all homeowners through sharing their skills to identify safety concerns and recommend solutions in any home, regardless of the homeowner’s age or needs. Living In Place is the practice of making all homes Safe – Healthy – Comfortable to everyone.

Full-service interior Design means creating a turn-key design for your project, from initial concept to the final installation. It is about letting our team handle all the details from design to research to selection, purchasing and coordinating to installation. Full-service applies to a full room or group of rooms or entire home in a single installation. Many of our clients like to work in phases, and so many of our full-service projects are done one complete room at a time.

As a design firm our main goal is to create spaces that are functional, beautiful and unique expressions of our clients. With 70 – 80% of our business being residential (whole home remodels, kitchens renos, bathroom remodelling, basement renovations, customized closets, bedroom interiors) our clients tend to be homeowners and about 20 – 30% small business owners (office design, boutique store design; medical / dental clinic design; Physiotherapy clinic design) who are in pursuit of a full service design firm who can understand their needs and wants, and help them in transforming their lifestyle and personalize their space uniquely.

We believe that inspiring spaces enhance happy, content and joyful feelings in homeowners. As such we have focused our design processes around a homeowner’s specific needs to support this inspiration. Our Clients often struggle with what the best options in design possibilities are for their home comforts. Some find it challenging to discover their style and or making choices through all the endless options available. While others struggle to manage all the parts and pieces of the puzzle – outdated, dysfunctional and outdated spaces and having to manage and coordinate the renovation.

Our typical clients tend to be those who excel at what they do and seek guidance where they need the help. They are clients who will trust us to do what we do best. They are decisive and ready to take action. They appreciate exceptional interior design and are committed to creating homes that improve their lifestyle and give them better functionality and accessibility. They see value in the creative process, experience, expertise and processes of a professional design team. They are willing to invest in what they desire their home to look and feel like. They appreciate the value of high-quality design.

We believe that the home is where life begins and aesthetically pleasing, organized and functional environments create joy, happiness and contentment. We focus on creating family friendly spaces for homeowners who are in the remodelling phase of their home whether it is a kitchen, a bath or any other space in their home. We help them ease through the entire design and renovation process from concept to design to construction through to the final transformation of their space.

The expertise that we bring to projects comes from over 25 years of experience as interior design and project management consultants on hospitality, commercial and residential projects, which is backed by ongoing and continuing professional development. We are one of the very few who have a design team of highly qualified professionals with the highest level of Certifications through the National Kitchen & Bath Association – a Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer and Certified Aging in Place Specialists from NAHB.

…A Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer (CMKBD), Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) from NAHB and Certified Living in Place Professional (CLIPP) from The Living In Place Institute.

Absolutely, we are all unique individuals with our own personal preferences – some of which may be pretty strong. We tend to start the design process working with the couple or partners to understand their individual needs and preferences. By skillfully combining what is important to each individual, a design and space is created that reflects a stunning balance of their styles & preferences.

We have the most success with clients that have already had some experience doing some renovations in their home. Typically, they will know the value of paying for expertise to get better and faster results. Having said that, we have worked very well with others that have renovated for the first time knowing they needed the help. Your actions and results are totally in your hands. Our favorite clients are ready to get started, open to ideas, take action and very willing to do what it takes to accomplish their goals. We have the most success with people who are motivated, enthusiastic, quick decision-makers and open-minded.

A successful relationship between a designer and client is more about trust, honesty and a willingness to think and be open to creative ideas than about personalities.

Creating a home to your desired lifestyle begins with understanding what your needs and wants are; what your challenges are in your space, what are the limitation of the space and how we can overcome them. Then, it means taking serious action on it. Here’s what we do to help you:

You can expect to:

• • Clearly define the EXACT needs, wants, style preferences that will make your home unique to you, enjoy living better with design and enhancing your lifestyle
  • Learn how to make decisions on your projects more easily (as options are simplified for you)
  • Create a strategy for the transformation process
  • Manage your time more efficiently so you actually have time to do what you love doing while we create your ideal space
  • Get professional guidance throughout the entire process to ensure timely & smooth progression
  • Have well planned, highly organised, functional and customized spaces
  • Create aesthetically appealing & beautiful environments
  • Get concepts/elements that are important to you transformed to a functional reality
  • Be cost efficient and work within your budget

Absolutely! We encourage you to check our references out! Please go to the Client Testimonials page, watch and read them all.

This totally depends on the type & size of the project and the scope of work involved, as well as how quickly you are able to make your decisions during the design and selection process. Having said that, practically all our clients see results within the first couple of months or sooner in the form of a new design and even possibly the beginning of construction and sometimes even completion.

We will always do our part on design creativity, design process through to execution in a systematic, methodical and timely manner. However, your attention and focus on the project is essential too and being available for meetings, approving selections and plans, etc. in a timely manner. Please understand that it’s not a “quick fix”, it’s not like you see on TV. It takes time to create your unique space plan, select & procure products, execute the construction process and have your space transformed to one that you love and enjoy. All our clients who have attentively followed through the program have successfully transformed their homes in much less time than they would have on their own. Having made the right decisions, selections and within their budgets are now enjoying higher efficiency, functionality, comfort and enhanced lifestyles’ in their newly renovated spaces.

Yes, a resonant yes! Many clients are excited to report that they were able to cover their investment often when ready to sell and move some even mentioned that it was their renovated kitchen or bath that sealed the deal. We want you to stop reading for just one moment to ask yourself, “what does my home mean to me, how would this transformation affect my lifestyle, my family, what is the average time we spend in the space and what is that worth to me?” Chances are, that amount will more than cover your investment. Most likely, you will net several times over in the span of the next 10 to 20 years enjoying your newly designed and renovated space…something to think over.

What you will get with this ‘project transformation program’ along with our expertise and guidance is what we call a series of insights that will help make your planning, transformation and home renovation process smoother and simpler than you would on your own. Expect to get a lot of these as well as the Designer resources that you’ve been looking for and haven’t found until now. That’s what you’re investing in professional guidance, quality design and products to suit your needs, enhanced lifestyle and more pleasure from your home not just information.

We do offer a FREE initial Design Discovery Call – every project at Kimaya Designs begins with this. The In-Home/Virtual Design Consultation is a fee based consultation, which is a ‘Working Session’ where we block out a specific time on our calendar as per your convenience for our Design Experts to meet with you in the comforts of your home or virtually. We assess the space, discuss possible design solutions, make recommendations, give solid design advice and direction for the next steps. Most clients understand that this is a small price to pay in order to avoid potentially expensive mistakes that could be incurred if a professional is not called from the start. Clients have appreciated and thanked us for the insight and guidance that they receive during this consultation, and for them, it is absolutely worth the minimal investment into making their home renovation project run smoothly, easily, and successfully.

After the initial Design Discovery phone conversation, once we have determined that we are prospectively a good fit, the next step is the In-home / virtual consultation. This appointment lasts up to 2 hours. This is a working session where we will discuss your project needs and wants and provide you with valuable and expert guidance, ideas and information to get you on the right track with your project. We will take a tour of your entire home, and help you focus on a defined project scope. We will discuss your style and lifestyle needs, your vision, budget (we help you establish one if you are unsure), timeframe based on scope, manage your expectations about the process (the good and the not so good things that can happen and how we solve them), review our design process in more detail, and details about how we work, how we bill for our services and how we manage every detail of your project.

To outline, on initial telephone contact we will gather as much information as possible about your needs and desires for the space. We then come out to see the space in-person or virtually, listen to your ideas and vision, discuss the design process and provide you with solid ideas and a direction for your project. We provide you with a Fee Proposal following the consultation, outline the scope of work, the minimum estimated design fee, and the advance on our design fee required to get started. Once the advance on our design fee has been paid, that initiates the start of the project, and we bring trades as required to acquire quotes, and work on the comprehensive design plan. Every detail is accounted for – drawings, fixtures & fittings, furnishings, finishes, fabrics and the budget breakdown for final approval. One revision is included. We require 75% – 100% of the total budget and signing of the Furnishings Proposal to move forward with the purchasing and project management phase.

We will discuss right at the beginning how you prefer to work and create the scope of work with that in mind. We enjoy working with all personalities, some clients prefer to entrust everything into our very capable hands or where some like to be very hands on and involved in the process. We value our client’s ideas and input which ensures that the space will reflect their style and lifestyle. We have found through years of experience, that the design process runs smoother, and your design dollars go further, when we fully manage the project after understanding your vision for your home. We simplify the process by presenting you with great choices and options, making recommendations and guiding you through decisions while educating you in the process. We strive to make the process simple, fun and exciting for our clients. We take a very personable approach and make it an enjoyable collaboration. We take care of all the details and do all the work.

Congratulations on making a decision for your home transformation! We are honoured and happy to work with you to achieve your goals for your home renovation….

For almost 25 years, we’ve worked with clients with diverse projects customized to suit their needs. To get started with your Home design and remodelling and to ensure smooth and hassle-free renovation process, here are the different services we’ve created for you:

1. We highly recommend that your start with the In-Home/ Virtual Design Consultation. This is where all design process begins. It contains absolutely ALL the basics to help you make designing your new space a priority, get clear on what you want to achieve, articulate your requirement of the space, define your style. It is the starting point for your home renovation and transformation. With this service, an initial fundamental assessment of your space and a basic analysis of your needs, wants and wish lists is done to strategize and get direction as to what would be involved specific to your home renovation and the steps in the process required to achieve your envisioned space and what you would need to do to proceed towards your goal.
2. The second option of the design process is the My Customized Home Design, If, you are ready to jump start your project – you may wish to choose this program directly. This includes the ‘My Home Customized’ In-Home Consultation refined and in-depth. Once we have worked through the basics of your project, and an intensified evaluation of your needs, wants and budgets, we have a purpose and idea of your design aspirations we proceed to the concept design and then depending on your project requirements to the actual design detailing of the space and specifications as needed so that you get total clarity on the design, products and or construction.
3. Our third option is the ‘My Home Customized’ Full Service’ which is a ‘Concept to Completion’ service which includes Option 1 and 2. This is where your designs are conceptualized, implemented, constructed and managed, products ordered, deliveries and installations scheduled – we take care of this completely. Here’s where you see your dreams for your project become a reality for you to enjoy and delight in without having to worry about how to put it all together and trying to juggle everything.
4. Our fourth is our global option ‘My Home Customized’ eDesign’ – This is for our global and long-distance clients at the request of whom we’ve introduced this program. This program is suited to those who are located out of our geographical area and are seeking a qualified designer to help them create good design with professional, realistic, and personalized design solutions. We connect with our clients virtually to create designs and offer product & process solutions for them to implement, to transform and renovate their homes.

Good, sounds like you are ready to better your lifestyle through design! Yes, if you have a few questions, email us or call us directly at 289.814.0850 and we will be happy to walk you through the different options to see which one will be the very best for you. We can’t wait to see you transform your space and are honored to be the ones to help you. Let’s get going!