For the past 31 years, Preferred Kitchens has provided families in White Bear Lake and surrounding areas with kitchen, bath and home improvement makeovers. And now, with their newly remodeled showroom, they can offer an even better experience to help their clients enhance their living spaces.
With the 5,000 home projects Preferred Kitchens has completed, owner Mark Klosterman recognizes the talent and hard work each team member has contributed to create a great space homeowners will love. He also notes that the business is committed to helping clients with “real-life renovations.” “We want to do projects for everybody,” Klosterman says. “We want to find a way to come in and do a quality job, whether you have a small budget or a big budget.”
Klosterman’s first kitchen remodel was a 1924 home in northeast Minneapolis that he and his wife first bought when they were married. “We didn’t really find anyone that could help us [remodel],” Klosterman says. “So I thought, ‘I know how to use a pencil and a ruler,’ and we sat down and engineered what we thought would work out.” He enjoyed the project so much he eventually transitioned into remodeling kitchens full time.
That passion is still very evident. When you first step into Preferred Kitchens’ showroom, you probably won’t realize you are in a store. The space boasts a pleasant seating area where you can make yourself at home and take a tour of the showroom at your own pace, strolling through the kitchen displays. “We have gotten positive feedback from people that have come in,” says Klosterman. “They say it feels comfortable in here, and that’s really what we want the look to be here, and what we want to create for them in their home.”
The 4,000-square-foot space showcases kitchen and bath displays with a variety of cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, sinks and appliances, as well as a range of wood, vinyl and tile flooring. The materials and styles shown in the displays serve a three-fold purpose: “There’s the aesthetic element that we’re trying to show, there’s the functional element we’re trying to show and there’s also the budget element we’re trying to show,” Klosterman says.
Current cabinet trends include Shaker/Craftsman-style doors, with clean, easy-to-care-for lines, so you’ll see some of those at the showroom. There are painted cabinets in whites or gray stains, and several displays in the showroom also feature cherrywood, a classic cabinetry staple, among other selections.
When it comes to countertops, the showroom mainly highlights granite and quartz, the most popular styles clients are using today, shown in sleek marbled grays, whites, blacks and a full range of additional colors.
You’ll also see backsplashes. Clients still love ceramic tile, which can be applied with or without grout. Two displays show a predominantly white glass tile option, while another shows how a black tile backsplash nicely complements gray cabinetry.
Numerous flooring options are shown, including the popular engineered wood products that are ideal for bustling kitchens; vinyl wood plank and vinyl tile are perfect examples, since they are very tolerant of water and mess in the kitchen.
The versatile displays give clients the ability to visualize their project’s final look even before the project begins. Previously, Klosterman explains, the showroom had individual samples to show clients. Now the team can easily point out features within each display and discuss styles and materials with customers. “It makes their decision process a little clearer,” says Klosterman, “after they’ve had a chance to look at the options.”
With the new showroom completed and five new bathroom displays added, Klosterman and the Preferred Kitchens team look forward to providing families with home remodels in the years to come. “We want the clients to be very satisfied with what we’ve done. We know that there is a real strong sense of community here,” Klosterman says. “People stay here. They are investing in their homes.”
Notable Kitchen Trends
Form and function on a budget
“Today is more about function,” says Klosterman. “Families want something that’s beautiful and nice, and they’re looking a little bit more sharply at what things cost, so people are just a little more budget-conscious and we’re trying to work within that realm.”
Keeping it Simple
“In terms of style, simple is better,” says Klosterman. “People like clean lines; everybody’s lives are very busy, there are lots of things to do and they want cleaning up to be easier, simpler, so the products we are putting in today are generally lower maintenance than they have been in the past.”
Dual-Duty Cabinetry
Trends in cabinet-door styles are smooth without raised panels so they’re easier to clean. Full extension drawers, which come all the way out of the cabinet, are popular and come with convenience features—for example, an out-of-sight area for trash and recycling containers.
Granite, Quartz & Tile
According to Klosterman, “People like granite and quartz-type countertops; if you want to cut your bread on them, if you want to set a hot pan off the stove on them, you can do all that right on there.” And tile backsplashes are easy to keep clean. Grout-less tile is a popular trend, eliminating the task of cleaning out the grout for an easy-to-maintain feature.
