Frequently Asked Questions

Design Glance is an independent online kitchen plan review service. You send us the kitchen design you already have from a big-box store or any other retailer or designer, and an experienced kitchen designer takes a second look for potential problems and opportunities to improve how the kitchen functions. We return clear feedback you can share with your original designer before you order cabinets.

Design Glance is ideal for homeowners who received a kitchen plan from any retailer or designer and want professional validation before placing an order. It's also a great resource for real estate investors and flippers who want to avoid layout mistakes, and for contractors who want to double-check a client-provided plan before bidding.

No. Design Glance is completely independent. We have no affiliation, partnership, or financial relationship with Home Depot, Lowe's, or any cabinet or appliance supplier. That independence is the point. Our only incentive is to give you an honest, accurate review of your plan.

Yes, and here's the full picture. Our founders are Co-Managing Partners of Cabinet Designers, a kitchen and bath firm in Kingston, New York. That experience is why they know what goes wrong in kitchen plans. Design Glance is deliberately separate from that business: your reviewer earns nothing from what you buy, no product or supplier makes a dollar from your review, and we will never use a review to sell you cabinets, including our own. The review answers to you and no one else.

Yes. Design Glance is 100% virtual. You upload your plan files through our order form, we conduct the review, and return your marked-up plan with written notes as a downloadable PDF, all within your chosen turnaround window. No appointments, no showroom visits.

We specialize in kitchen plans from any source: big-box stores, independent designers, or any other retailer. We review layout, clearance issues, layout errors, workflow problems, and more, all the critical details that need to be right before you commit to a cabinet order.

Store designers work for the retailer, and their role is to help you select and purchase products. That's a valuable service, just a different one than an independent design audit. They're also often working under time pressure and high volume, which limits how thoroughly any single plan gets reviewed. Design Glance is entirely focused on catching problems. We have no financial stake in what you buy.

Design Glance is meant to supplement, not replace, your existing design process. A second set of professional eyes from a fresh perspective can only strengthen your results. Many contractors and independent designers actually recommend getting a third-party review before finalizing any plan.

Not at all. We're not here to replace your retailer's designer or talk you out of your plan. We're the second set of eyes every big purchase like this deserves. Most homeowners take our findings back to their original designer for a quick, free revision.

Every plan is reviewed by an experienced kitchen designer on our team, following the standards our founders built the company on.

We accept PDF, PNG, JPG, and HEIC files. A PDF from your retailer or designer is ideal, but a clear phone photo of your printed plan works too. Your plan needs to show readable measurements. Include any additional drawings, cabinet details, and appliance specifications you have so we can better understand your kitchen. No design software is needed.

A plan without cabinet-level dimensions isn't enough for us to review, since without them we can't verify the clearances, aisle widths or appliance fit that cause most install problems. If your reviewer finds the measurements missing, we'll reach out and ask for a dimensioned version before starting, rather than send you a review that checked half of what it should. Most retailers and designers can send one on request. Ask for "the plan view with dimensions."

We aim to assign a reviewer within 24 hours of receiving your payment and plan files. Your review turnaround does not start at checkout. Essential Glance and Expert Glance: your review is returned within 72 hours of a reviewer being assigned. Complete Glance: your review is returned within 48 hours of completing your 30-minute discovery call. If you prefer to skip the call, Complete Glance’s 48-hour priority window starts when you let us know.

You receive your original plan back with professional annotations directly on it: a colored pin at each finding, carrying the number that matches it to your written summary (storage findings are lettered), plus dimension notes and written notes, as a downloadable PDF. All markups are created using industry-standard professional markup tools.

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Most homeowners take the marked-up plan back to their store designer and request revisions based on our findings. Store designers are generally receptive to specific, professionally documented feedback. Your contractor can also use the report as a pre-construction checklist. If you purchased the Complete Glance tier, you and your designer will have already talked through your kitchen on a 30-minute discovery call before the review began.

Yes, and we encourage it. The review is yours: the marked-up plan and the written report are meant to be shared with whoever is working on your kitchen. The findings carry specific dimensional notes and layout references, so a revision round starts from an agreed list rather than a conversation about what might be wrong.

It's not too late if installation hasn't started. If your order is placed but cabinets haven't been installed, a review can still identify issues that may need to be resolved before your contractor begins, saving you from costly mid-installation changes. If installation is already underway, contact us and we'll let you know honestly whether a review can still help.

We look at the measurements shown on your plan, where cabinets and appliances sit, how much counter and storage space you have, and whether there’s enough room to open doors, move around, and cook comfortably. We assess these details using published kitchen planning guidelines. Every option covers both potential problems and suggested improvements. Essential Glance includes brief notes. Expert Glance and Complete Glance add detailed written explanations of the findings.

We assess your kitchen as shown in the plans and information you provide. We do not visit your home, take measurements, or verify conditions on-site. You or your contractor should still confirm the final room measurements and the requirements for your exact appliance models before ordering. Every review includes our one-page Appliance Verification Tip Sheet to help you know what to check.

Yes, the review is remote and we work with plans from every state. We check against published kitchen planning guidelines, which are national, plus manufacturer clearance specifications. We don't certify local building-code compliance; your contractor and local building department own that step, and our report is written so you can hand it to them.

Yes. We review kitchen plans from home centers, local cabinet dealers, independent designers, online design tools, and other sources. The same professional standards apply, regardless of who created your plan or where you intend to buy your cabinets.

Essential Glance ($199) gives you a professional review with brief notes directly on your plan, a one-page summary, and an appliance tip sheet. Choose it for a straightforward check of potential problems and opportunities to improve your kitchen. Expert Glance ($349) includes everything in Essential Glance, plus detailed written explanations of our findings and recommendations. Choose it to better understand what’s worth changing and why. Complete Glance ($699) includes everything in Expert Glance, a 30-minute discovery call, and 48-hour priority turnaround. It also includes Storage Optimizer, our cabinet-by-cabinet storage review, and Final Plan Check, a follow-up review of your updated plan. Choose it for more personal guidance and support before and after changes are made.

The Storage Optimizer ($149) is a cabinet-by-cabinet organization review that recommends specific inserts and accessories matched to what you actually store. It's designed to help you get the most functional use out of every cabinet before you finalize your order. It's available as an add-on with Essential and Expert Glance, and included with Complete Glance.

Final Plan Check is a follow-up review of your updated plan after your kitchen designer or retailer makes revisions. We compare the revised plan with the original findings and flag anything that still deserves attention. It can be added to Essential Glance or Expert Glance for $129 and is included with Complete Glance.

We stand behind the professional quality of our work. If you believe your review was conducted improperly or missed an obvious problem, contact us within 7 calendar days of delivery. We’ll assess your concern and respond with our findings. Our commitment is to a thorough, professional review, not a particular number of findings. A completed review fulfills the service whether we identify several potential problems, a few, or none.

No. A review that finds few or no concerns is still a completed professional review. The service is the evaluation itself, not a promise that a particular number of problems will be found.

Refunds are available only if we miss the stated review turnaround, or if you cancel within 24 hours of purchase and before a reviewer has been assigned. To cancel, use the Cancel option on your order status page, or email support@designglance.com with your order number.