THE FAMILY TABLE

This family-owned business gives customers dream kitchens

BY LESLIE J. THOMPSON

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then The Kitchen Source is the heart of the Dallas Design District—with a warm and welcoming space that invites visitors to make themselves comfortable and enjoy uplifting conversation with its team. The 7,500-square-foot showroom on Slocum Street features more than a dozen kitchen vignettes, from Tuscan-inspired dark wood cabinets to sunny French country designs and ultramodern, high-gloss laminates, each area is accented with paintings by local artists. Clients are invited to explore freely, to touch countertops and tile, and to try out various features as they glean ideas for their own home.

“Our first step in the whole design process is getting to know the client and their family and how they’re going to use the space,” says Jennifer Johns, who joined the family business as director of operations in 2013. Her grandparents were representatives for custom cabinetmaker Wood-Mode, and her father, Robert Johns, followed in their footsteps. After opening a kitchen store in Little Rock, Arkansas, he moved the family to Dallas in 1991 with a dream of having a world-class showroom, and The Kitchen Source was born.

The company added a second location in Fort Worth in 1993 and expanded to its current space in the Design District in 2008. Its continued success is driven by the Johns family’s unwavering commitment to fostering lasting relationships with their designers, clients and vendors. Says Jennifer Johns: “We’re not in the business for the money. It’s about a passion that started with my grandparents and carried through my father to me of transforming everyday spaces into something that people are proud to share with friends and family.”

That passion is exemplified in the spirit and vision of the company’s five lead designers, four technical designers, and a talented team of project managers and production coordinators. Individually and collectively, they help customers craft living spaces that are both functional and visually captivating.

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After a detailed conversation about the client’s needs and design preferences, the designer will conduct an in-home consultation whenever possible to explore additional ideas and determine the optimal function of a space.

“It’s easy to be excited and pick things out,” says designer Ashley Keating. “But when it comes to tearing up their house and making a mess, still being able to keep that smile on their face, that’s the key.”

Throughout the course of a project the designer works closely with the production team to ensure that all of the details envisioned at the outset are put into place and every project ends as well as it started. “We close out the execution and avoid dragging on,” notes Johns. “And we also make sure we don’t lose contact with the customer throughout the project.”

This type of genuine concern for the customers’ satisfaction and peace of mind drives a high number of referrals and also keeps past clients coming back with other remodeling projects.

“I have one client whose kitchen I did 10 years ago. Since then, we’ve done the laundry room, kids’ bath, a powder bath, two guest bathrooms and the master bath,” says designer Corinne Danicki. “As people are using these spaces every day throughout their lifetime in the house, the quality and the experience they had with us is highly reflected in the craftsmanship and the workmanship of the materials we put in.”

Cutting-edge technologies have led to remarkable improvements in appliances, lighting, fixtures and home automation, as have revolutionary new design materials. The Kitchen Source can provide turnkey services, not only offering custom cabinetry by Wood-Mode and Brookhaven, but also stateof- the-art appliances by Wolf, Sub-Zero and Miele; countertops by Caesarstone, Vetrazzo, Elements by Durcon, Dorado Soapstone and Cosentino; and countless options for fixtures, backsplashes and other elements to create a picture-perfect kitchen, bath or laundry room. The Kitchen Source also ships to all 50 states and has taken on design projects as far away as New York, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Leslie J. Thompson is a Dallas-based freelance writer with a passion for interior design.

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