When Spahn & Rose Cabinet Designer Ellie Ressler talks with contractors and homeowners about Dura Supreme cabinetry, she can approach the conversation with professional and personal experience.
Based at the Spahn & Rose Dubuque location, Ellie works with Dura Supreme to create kitchens and bathrooms that combine good looks with the functionality homeowners need every day. And when it came time to design cabinetry for her own home, she chose Dura Supreme there, too.
“I designed an office and entertainment center in my basement using Dura Supreme cabinetry,” Ellie says. “The design features inset doors in Knotty Alder with a driftwood finish. It has created a wonderful home office space for me.”
That firsthand experience adds another dimension to the design expertise Ellie brings to projects. For contractors, working with a Spahn & Rose Cabinet Designer means having another member of the project team who can help homeowners navigate decisions and work through design challenges. Dura Supreme’s range of products and customization options gives that designer plenty to work with.
“Dura Supreme offers an excellent range of products, with versatile cabinet configurations and a wide selection of finish options,” Ellie says. “Their customer service is also outstanding.”
Designing Around the Way Homeowners Live
A successful cabinet design starts well before deciding which door style looks best. Kitchens, bathrooms and other cabinetry need to work for the people using them, from the way a family cooks and entertains to how they organize a bathroom or create storage within a challenging footprint.
Dura Supreme’s variety of wood species, finishes and cabinet configurations allows Ellie to tailor designs around those individual needs.
“The ability to customize cabinets when needed is also a significant advantage for designers,” Ellie says.
That flexibility can be particularly valuable when an existing room presents a design challenge or a homeowner has something specific in mind. Ellie says Dura Supreme’s customization options help designers create the right fit for kitchens and bathrooms, while the company’s customer service team and representative agency can provide additional assistance when challenges arise.
For contractors, that support can help take some of the cabinetry concerns off their plates. Rather than leaving the contractor to guide a homeowner through every finish, configuration and design decision, the Spahn & Rose design team can become a resource throughout that portion of the project.
Small Details Make a Big Difference
Ellie pays attention to the details that can turn a functional layout into a gorgeous, finished design.
“Sometimes the most overlooked details are the small touches, such as the molding that adds dimension to a design and the beauty of the door style itself,” Ellie says. “We make a point of highlighting these features to help set our designs apart from others.”
Dura Supreme’s wood hood selections are another feature Ellie appreciates, along with finish choices that keep pace with changing design preferences.
Right now, she sees homeowners moving toward lighter wood finishes, especially White Oak and Maple. Painted cabinetry remains part of the mix, but its role is changing.
“When painted finishes are used in a kitchen, they are typically not the primary feature but instead serve as a warm white accent to complement the wood tones,” Ellie says.
Homeowners looking for more contrast may choose a darker finish for a feature piece, such as a bar or coffee station. That mix of materials and finishes can give a room personality while keeping the overall design cohesive.
For Ellie, those possibilities are part of what makes Dura Supreme a useful design partner. Its combination of cabinet configurations, finishes, door styles, molding, wood hoods and customization provides room to create something specific to each homeowner.
And whether the project is a contractor’s customer kitchen, a homeowner’s bathroom or Ellie’s own knotty alder basement office, the goal remains the same: cabinetry designed around the space, the style and, most importantly, the way people will actually use it.
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