FAQs | Drury Design

FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

What are your hours?
  • Monday thru Friday 9 – 5
  • Saturday 10 – 5
  • And by appointment at the studio or your home, just give us a call
How long have you been in business?

Since 1987 – 36 years

Where are you located?

Drury Design has one location in Downtown Glen Ellyn, IL  at 512 N Main St. 60137

Do I need an appointment to visit your studio?

No, all walk-ins are welcome. And,  a Drury designer will be available to you to answer any questions you may have during your studio visit. 

Who will I be working with?

You will have your very own talented professional designer working with you one-on-one throughout, along with a team of other professionals including a project manager that oversees the construction and installation of your project, a purchasing manager, assistant designers, and others in leadership and supporting roles.

Do you install your designs?

Yes, with the help of our professional subcontractors, we provide all the necessary carpentry and specialty trades for each design project, regardless of the room or scope of the project.

How do you figure out the final design of my remodeling project?

In a nutshell, we have a method of uncovering all of your ideas and goals. We call it “Client Focused Design” and have it trademarked.  Our first design step is to prepare different floorplan options to explore and address your ideas and goals, resulting in a final approved floor plan. We then design the remainder of the space by further exploring options, educating, and guiding you for final selections and design approvals – cabinetry, materials, and final choices.

What if we have our own contractor we want to use for the construction and installation?

We can provide just the design and cabinetry for kitchens, allowing homeowners to use their own contractors.  This, however, does not include a work schedule or our supervision of your contractor, and it would make the homeowner the de facto general contractor. We generally don’t work this way with bathrooms which can be more complicated to install due to the limited space, engineering, and mechanical requirements.

What type of proposal or purchase contracts are provided?

We provide a line-item lump sum contractual agreement with exact pricing with everything included – all the needed materials, trades, and services to complete your remodeling project.  We refer to this as Precision Pricing and is based on trust and transparency, which helps to avoid misunderstandings and ensures our client’s satisfaction.

Is there a cost associated with a Design Consultation?

No, there is no cost or obligation. It is an opportunity to find out how we can help by spending a couple of hours with you by visiting your home to review and discuss your ideas, goals, requirements, and educate you on the possible design solutions and fixes.  Then, let you decide if you would like to move forward.

Does it cost anything to get started?

Yes, we work on a retainer basis, meaning that there is a retainer cost for each room. The costs are variable depending on the room or rooms.

How do you work?

We design your remodeling project upfront through a series of focused 2-to-3-hour meetings every two weeks in our studio.

In our first design meeting, we review an extensive questionnaire so we understand how you live, your daily routines, and what is important to you and review our notes from our initial design consultation.

We then go through a series of additional client meetings in which we educate you on the options of design details, appliances, materials, and pricing.  We don’t stop until everyone is sure we’ve reached the perfect solution through this series of meetings and project review meetings for your remodel.

For these reasons, we are unable to provide “traditional” quotes upfront as they can be inaccurate, or worse, misleading. Visit our Process Page for more information.

How do you establish pricing for projects?

Only after we fully understand your design project and your expectations, we guide you through the design process and let you know what your choices cost upfront.  This creates a consensus about your investment and puts you in control of the cost of your design project, not us.

Do you do Design Only work for a fee?

No.  We recommend finding a qualified freelance kitchen or bath designer.

How long will my project take?

During the design consultation with you, we will give you some general guidelines regarding the duration of your project. We do our best to set realistic timelines upfront and provide a work schedule. We keep you informed at all points along the way with project updates that include changes to the timeline and expenses if needed. Our installers stay on your project until completion once we have started construction.

Do you work out of state?

While most of our work is in the Chicago Metro area, we can work out of state. There are; however additional expenses incurred for travel and other expenses, which we will estimate upfront.  

Can you paint or reface cabinetry?

Generally, we don’t paint cabinetry, nor do we do reface cabinetry.  In both cases – painting or refacing cabinetry it has been our experience that it is hard to meet client expectations of – aesthetics, longevity, and our customers’ investment. The outcomes can be less than anticipated and neither painting nor refacing cabinetry is like replacing old cabinetry with new. 

What Cabinet Lines do you carry?

We have four different cabinet lines – Rutt, Grabill, Mouser, and Ultracraft. These brands are all custom, meaning they are built to our exact specifications and design applications. We have all of these brands in our studio, including some full-size room displays.

Do you employ your own tradesmen and installers?

No, we do not.  We use subtractors that we know and trust. In the end, it offers us more flexibility and capability vs. in-house trades.  There are also meaningful cost savings by working with subcontractors vs. employing full-time tradespeople.

Do you sell appliances?

Yes, and we install them.  We are factory authorized direct dealers and certified installers for most professional high-end brands like Wolf, SubZero, Thermador, Viking, and Bosch.

Do you provide a warranty?

Yes, we provide a limited two-year warranty on all installed design projects. Additionally, almost all of our long-standing vendors also provide product warrantees if there are defects with any appliances or other materials like cabinetry.  

Can you help us choose all the needed materials?

Yes, with the help of our 8,500 sq ft studio, with our experience, extensive library in-house, and online resources. Drury Design will provide options and help you choose everything you need. We utilize our many displays and selection center to help with making all material choices such as cabinetry, tile, countertops & flooring.

We also have long-established relationships with select suppliers, some with showrooms and specialty trades of wood flooring, home A/V automation, shower glass, art glass, decorative tile, metal specialties like kitchen hoods, lighting, water purification.

How do you handle change orders?

We try to avoid them like the plague. We conduct a thorough upfront review of each home’s structure, mechanicals, and obvious signs of potential design issues on each of our design projects and work around them if we can. We often go into attics, basements, crawlspaces, and even poke holes in walls.

Nobody likes surprise change orders, especially us. Frankly, they do happen on occasion despite our best efforts. When faced with surprising changes, we figure out the solution and present them to our clients ASAP.

Wondering how your ideas and goals for your space might look when designed by one of our Certified Professional Kitchen Designers? To get started, we’d love to send one of our qualified professional designers to your home and explore the options with you.  Contact us HERE or chat with us below to find out more. 

About Drury Design Kitchen and Bath Studio

Founded by Gail Drury, CMKBD in 1987, Drury Design’s Client Focused Design™ approach integrates design recommendations, materials selection, and construction management into one seamless customer design, project management, and build experience. For kitchen, bath, and home remodeling ideas view Drury Design’s design portfolio or stop by the studio at 512 N. Main Street in downtown Glen Ellyn, Illinois. 

Let’s Design Your Space Today!

What does your dream look like? Let’s find out.