Cabinets & Designs: Our Stories

This month Cabinets & Designs is celebrating our 40th anniversary. We are so honored that so many Houstonians chose us—decade after decade after decade after decade!—to make their homes more beautiful and functional.

This week we turned to our staff to ask them some of their favorite memories  over the years at Cabinets & Designs.

MAGGIE– I enjoy the fact that I have done multiple kitchens for many customers. A couple of times I have designed kitchens for families whose children grew up and came back to me to design their own kitchens. It’s a nice feeling knowing that I must have done a good enough job the first time to be remembered and thought of for the next project.

MARIA– One of my favorite days was an event we offered for ASID Designers.  Mark O’Brien of Morrison Supply was our guest chef and he stayed busy in our display kitchen making delicious pear quesadillas!  We enjoy hosting events in our showroom and being able to showcase our beautiful cabinetry.  Our showroom is always open for groups that need a place to entertain or hold an event.

GRACE– There are two moments during the renovation process when the cabinets are being installed that are my favorites.  First is when the client is seeing an actual kitchen layout; the countertops and plumbing are not even in yet and they are walking through opening everything, playing with the accessories.   One of the first things they always say is, “I love the cabinets.  I’m so glad we did this.”  And then at the end of the renovation when the clients are showing you, the designer, their completed kitchen with everything in its place, they are just so happy about how the project turned out.  That’s the part that I look for!

ASH– One of my favorite and most challenging projects was having the opportunity to design a custom “hidden” gun room.  It was a very detail-oriented job: measuring antique rifles and shotguns for accurate placement of barrel holders, creating the perfect angle to showcase pistols and other handguns, and researching linings for the cabinets as to not damage the guns or the cabinets. (Leather or rubber is the best option, due to durability and longevity.)  It was a wonderful experience all around.

One of my favorite days at Cabinets & Designs was the Grand Opening of our new showroom.  There were a collection of old and new friends, coworkers, and clients experiencing the new showroom with us.  We ate, drank, and talked about design… what more could I ask for?

LAURA– I am currently working on my most challenging project.  This particular home was originally built in the 1940s and has come with its fair share of challenges, from code upgrades for plumbing and electricity, to structural, storage and design dilemmas.  We are due to install in September and I cannot wait to see the finished design.  I do enjoy a challenge!

BOB– My first kitchen remodel was in the summer of 1945. I was in Junior High School at the time, helping my dad do the work. We used 105 siding and yellow pine for the cabinet doors and sides. The counters were red linoleum with aluminum edging that would rub off black on your clothes if you weren’t careful—that was all the rage back then—almost … what, 70 years ago? That really does make me feel old!

DAVE SR.– One of my favorite memories from the old showroom is when a sleek black limo backed into a parking space at our front door and out stepped Barbara Bush!  I asked the driver why he backed in and he said, “In case we have to make an emergency exit.”  Thank goodness they didn’t have to and she was able to make all the cabinet selections for their new home.

There are so many great memories with clients, colleagues, venders, and family at Cabinets & Designs over the past 40 years.  We are looking forward to many more in the next 40 years!