Home Show Specials

Thank you to all of you who helped make this past weekends East Coast Consumer Show a huge success. We enjoyed meeting all of you who stopped by to chat about your project. If you registered with us at the show, we will be in touch within the next day or so to schedule a meeting to discuss your project in detail.

Perhaps the most rewarding conversations were with the former clients who stopped by to tell us about a project that we had done for them many years ago. Numerous couples stopped to share their story with us and to relate how pleased they are to this day with the project we worked on in their home. One couple stopped to ask if Brian (the boss) was still with us. When told he was they mentioned that he had done their kitchen twenty five (25!) years ago and have since moved to a new home in need of renovation. A customer for life!

Many of the people who stopped by our display asked about the counter top. We fielded many guesses as to what the product was. It looked like granite and felt like marble (sort of). Many people guessed that it was quartz counter top like Zodiaq or Silestone. Most were surprised to find out that it was in fact DuPont Corian, one of their new family of colors that have veining that replicates the natural movement of granite. Corian is a fantastic product that is making a strong comeback in the market.

If you attended the show but did not register with us please let us know that you read here about the show specials. Many of our vendors offered special discounts for those of you who registered at the show and we can now share those with those of you who have visited this blog.

S & W Kitchens designers earn award in NKBA design competition!

S & W Kitchens designers earn award in NKBA design competition.

LONGWOOD, FL—-Designers Krista Agapito and Brooke Edwards, AKBD of S & W Kitchens, Inc. have earned the third place award in the National Kitchen and Bath Association design competition.

The NKBA Central Florida Chapter design competition was open to any current member of the chapter. The chapter boasts over 350 members. Of the 31 official entries, the S & W Kitchens designers bested all but two.

“Our approach to the space was to create a kitchen that introduced sculptural elements and focused on composition, color, and texture. The fridge, wine cooler, and pantry were set apart from the rest of the cabinets to create an interesting furniture piece.” said Edwards. “Additionally we created a presentation board with full color renderings for the entire project”

The prizes were awarded at the Chapters bi-monthly meeting at the Historic Casa Feliz Museum home of Winter Park, Florida. S & W Kitchens in conjunction with the NKBA recently remodeled the kitchen in the home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We are proud of Krista and Brooke for their outstanding effort in this competition” said Brian Cummings, president of S & W Kitchens. “This award is truly an indication of their creativity and passion for designing beautiful kitchens and living spaces”.

The unique format of the competition was the brain-child of Cathy Bame VP of Programs for the local chapter. The goal was to create a design for a yet to be built townhouse in the Siesta Key area. The top designs would then be granted the right to be the first to bid on the twelve luxury townhomes for the builder. Cash prizes were also awarded.

S & W Kitchens has showrooms in Winter Park, Longwood and Palm Harbor, Florida.

Did You Know? . . .

Your budget doesn’t have to be flexible if your selections are.

Many people go into remodeling their kitchen or bath not knowing how much they want to spend for the entire project.

After some discussion and preliminary selections, a budget can be set at an amount with which you are comfortable.

This is the point were S & W Kitchens will really stand apart from the competition.

We are empowered to act as your agent. We will search and shop your products for you, using all of our many resources and industry contacts to find the best available products for the best price.

We leverage our good name and standing on your behalf.

Recently one couple came to us with their budget in mind and asked if that was a reasonable amount for the entire project.  They were told that if they were flexible on their final selections, that yes, it is a workable number.

At this point priorities are established. For this couple, the design was paramount. Therefore the construction costs came right off the top of the budget amount. Next they wanted cherry cabinets and granite counter tops.

We looked at many options and searched the current promotions from our vending partners.

They wanted Cherry, but chose Alder to save some money. Alder and Cherry look almost identical, but Alder is about 5-10% less expensive. As a trade off, the granite was selected from the more expensive “B” category in lieu of the least expensive “A” category. Along with the Alder wood, the vendor was offering free glazed finish promotion. And with the granite tops, the fabricator was offering a free stainless steel sink for our customers.

The bottom line is that which some minor changes the client was able to get the kitchen of their dreams and stay within budget.

The time is right to remodel your kitchen or tackle that bathroom renovation you’ve been dreaming of. Please contact one of our fine designers and put them to work for you!

Extraordinary Promo’s

Please contact us for your remodeling projects. WE have alot to offer and so do our cabinet makers!

For the first time in our 32 years of business, our manufacturers are offering consumers unprecedented promotions. Some are offering premium cherry for the same cost as maple (approximatley a 10-15% value). Several are offering free premium glazed finishes and other enhancements. Others are offering free plywood construction upgrades.

Whether you purchase from S & W Kitchens or any of the other fine NKBA endorsed kitchen and bath remodeling firms in town, now is perhaps the best time to do so.

In the upper left side of our home page there is a link to our current promo’s. Please check them out or call for details.

Moving Quickly Now-Official Press Release for Casa Feliz Restoration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE with attached renderings and “before” photos. To arrange interviews and/or photography, please contact Rosemary Antonelli at (407) 788-1981. LONGWOOD, FL—-S&W Kitchens, Inc. has teamed with the National Kitchen and Bath Association to donate, design, and install an authentic restoration of the 210-square-foot kitchen and butler’s pantry at historic Casa Feliz. Casa Feliz is the Winter Park, Florida estate home, built in 1933 and now a special event venue and public museum, that was saved from a planned demolition by a Winter Park citizens group. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places late last year. The kitchen and butler’s pantry are the only areas of the house that were not previously restored, said William Burke, lead designer for the project at S&W Kitchens, a Winter Park and Longwood, Florida supplier and designer of products for kitchens and bathrooms. Burke also is treasurer of the NKBA’s Central Florida chapter. “We plan to formally unveil the restoration at a September 24 meeting of the NKBA of Central Florida at Casa Feliz,” he reported. The installation of approximately $60,000 worth of cabinetry, countertops and appliances, which will be utilized by caterers and chefs at weddings, parties and other events, will begin September 7. S&W Kitchen’s expertise was used to ensure that the kitchen’s new design will adhere to the home’s historic period while still being modern and functional for today, noted S&W Kitchens president Brian Cummings. For example, the countertops will be made of soapstone, a mixture of natural limestone and talc that is similar in appearance to slate and was used widely in kitchens in the 1930s. Most of the custom-designed, high-end Omega line of cabinetry by Master Brands is being donated by Master Brands. It will be made of dark alder wood with a chestnut finish. The base cabinets will have simply designed swinging doors without bottoms so that caterers can slide their carts right underneath the doors, said Cummings, while a tall storage unit with pocket doors will be able to comfortably fit a caterer’s hotbox. Burke said that studying the blueprints for Casa Feliz’s original kitchen determined the need for cabinets that would be 14 inches in depth, which is two inches deeper than standard ones. Custom designed scrolled valances over windows and under countertops, and muntons on windows will complete the new look. The NKBA’s Central Florida chapter has been actively seeking donations of products and labor from its member companies, and S&W Kitchens was one of the first to respond to work on the project, said chapter president Mark Warren. “We’re honored to have this opportunity to give back to the community and to this magnificent museum,” said Warren, who also is owner of The Kitchen Director, a kitchen and home cabinetry design firm in Lakeland, Florida. In addition, Kristin Sellers, winner of the NKBA’s 2008 student design competition, is assisting with the kitchen design’s decorative accent pieces and other accessories. Others involved in the restoration project include Betsy Owen, who is director of Casa Feliz and daughter of Winter Park architect Jack Rogers. Rogers, whose noted father, James Gamble Rogers, designed the home, was instrumental in forming the citizens group that saved Casa Feliz from demolition and began its restoration as a public site. Burke and staff at S&W Kitchens have enthusiastically immersed themselves in researching the home’s period style as well as designing and installing the project. “We’re hoping an historic restoration can become an annual event for us,” he said. Cummings added that “it is a tribute to the professional quality of the work of NKBA members that they were selected to update this historic landmark. Homeowners planning kitchen projects are encouraged to visit Casa Feliz when the restoration is finished to see the level of quality they also can receive for their own homes.”

More on Casa Feliz

This blurb was included on the Casa Feliz E-newsletter. 

CASA FELIZ KITCHEN AND BUTLER’S PANTRY GET RENOVATION DONATION

 The National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Central Florida Chapter has generously taken on the task of restoring the kitchen and butler’s pantry at Casa Feliz.  Chapter President Mark Warren shares that, “We’re honored to have this opportunity to give back to the community and this magnificent museum.” Warren has called upon the local NKBA community to contribute to the much-needed update of this space.  One of the first members to answer that call was Brian Cummings, President of S & W Kitchens, Inc.  S & W has four Central Florida locations, including Winter Park. 

“We have been very blessed in our business over the years, and felt compelled to contribute,” Cummings says.  “We will be installing all of the cabinetry in the kitchen, and have acted as the lead design and conduit between the manufacturer, the caterer that uses the facility, the contractor and Casa Feliz Board members.”  Especially involved in the process is Jack Rogers, Chairman, Architect and son of Casa Feliz’s original architect, James Gamble Rogers II.

 Two major goals of the restoration are to bring the kitchen and butler’s pantry aesthetically in line with the rest of the period home, and to make it a more functional space for the caterers who handle the myriad events at Casa Feliz.  To achieve those goals, Cummings secured the donation of Omega custom cabinetry.  “It became apparent pretty early in the process that we were going to need a vendor that had complete custom capabilities.”  Cummings notes that the retail value of the cabinets and installation would total about $50,000. 

“The idea that NKBA and the Board of Directors for the Casa Feliz house, named on the National Register of Historic Places, would trust us to replicate an historic kitchen is truly ‘a feather in our cap’ for all involved,” Cummings shares. 

Mark Warren, the local chapter president, concurs.  One of the trade association’s goals is to showcase the professionalism of its members to the local community.  “NKBA members are specialists in the kitchen and bath profession, and uphold the highest industry standards of design and performance,” he adds.  “If Casa Feliz entrusts us with their landmark home, Central Floridians can feel confident in working with our members on their homes, too,” he concludes.

Casa Feliz Historical Restoration Project

The photograph below captures the moment that the destruction of a Historic home site was halted. This home is one of approximately thirty homes designed and built by noted architect James Gamble Rogers in Winter Park, Florida. The black Sharpie writing says it all…. “DEMO REVOKED”

 

From the Casa Feliz website:

Casa Feliz, or “Happy House” in Spanish, is the signature residential work of noted architect James Gamble Rogers II. Initially known as the Barbour Estate, this Andalusian-style masonry farmhouse has significantly influenced the architectural and cultural aspects of this community. In 1932, when Massuchusetts industrialist Robert Bruce Barbour commissioned Rogers to design a home on the shore of Lake Osceola, the young architect described it as a “dream come true.” Barbour offered Rogers unheard-of freedom for an architect; “Design it any way you like. If I don’t like it, I’ll sell it.” Thus, perhaps more than any of Rogers’ buildings, Casa Feliz bears his imprimatur. Built during the Great Depression for a cost of $28,000, the house was Rogers’ only project at the time. He set up hid drawing board on site, rolling up his shirt sleeves to help with the carpentry and masonry.

 If you lived in Central Florida at the time, you will remember the battle for the preservation of this home. It was in the news locally for months.

 In 2000 the home was going to be destroyed. Local outcry led to protest which led to fundraising which ultimately led to the preservation of the Casa Feliz home.

 The entire home was moved about three hundred yards to its present location on Park Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. Read more about it here http://www.casafeliz.us/index.html

 The home has been entirely restored, except for the kitchen area.

 Now, in conjunction with National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) and Omega cabinetry, S & W Kitchens has been selected as the Kitchen Remodeling Company to bring back the original styling’s and finishes of this living piece of history.

 Using copies of the original Blue Prints circa 1933 we have undertaken the task of this restoration. The home is currently a museum and hosts private parties.We are currently working with the caterer that has exclusive use of the working kitchen, the Board of Director’s of the Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum and the son of the original Architect, Jack Rogers. Please check back for updates on this project.

A Customer from 1979

S & W Kitchens recently went out to a customers house for an estimate on Cabinet Refacing.  We started the project and when we removed the countertops we discovered this label dating back to the original installation of the cabinets.   The sticker is the original cabinet mfg. shipping label and is dated March 27th 1979 which is when we installed this kitchen.   The current refacing customer was looking for a fresh new look, but was comforatble with the cabinet boxes, drawers, and interiors which were as strong as the day we installed them.     The cabinet brand Quakermaid, was our flagship brand 30 years ago and we were proud to discover that 30 years after installation the kitchen was still in fine shape.   Simply in need of a facelift.   Another example of why S & W Kitchens is a company with a reputation for quality that you can  trust.   Weve been here for 32 years and will be here for at least another 32.