We sat down with Dawn Tiesman, a cabinetry designer from Dewitt location for a casual interview about her design process. Get to know Dawn more here….
What is your favorite thing about your job?
My favorite part about my job is having the opportunity to be invited into an individual’s most personal space and have the honor of working hand in hand with them to create where they will live day to day. I love listening to their design ideas and the way they use their space, then shape and develop that info into a beautiful and functional space that works for the way they live their life. Being able to build a friendship with and make an impact in the lives of the people I meet along my journey is SO humbling and gratifying.
What is your favorite display at your location and why?
Our newest kitchen display of Wellborn Forest Cabinetry is my favorite right now. It was fun to design and utilizes a combination of one their newest paint colors, “Layka” for the perimeter cabinetry and their newest wood specie, “Rustic Cherry” with a rich Kodiak stain on the island. We then paired that with two gorgeous Cambria Quartz countertops, Gladstone and Huntly and it makes an eye catching display as you walk into our showroom. . Layka is a rich nay blue color, and it sure is a conversation starter!
What is a fun fact about yourself?
My husband and I love to do projects to improve our homes (6 of them so far) and one of our most interesting was a 1940’s massive brick, 9000 square foot, three story Catholic School with nun’s quarters in north central Iowa that was converted to a home. It had gorgeous hardwood floors and trim work, soaring ceilings and huge windows with deep “sit-able” windowsills. We put the home in the Christmas parade of homes the first year we lived there so members of the community who had attended school in it could see how it had been converted lovingly into a living space. It was such a fun place to call home, though we did “misplace” our daughters a time or two in that big house!
What has been your favorite project you have designed?
I truly enjoy all of the projects I work on, small to large, remodel to new construction, but one that stands out most is a 1920’s bungalow remodel that we used a combination of crisp white shaker cabinetry with inset doors and warm oak shelf accents to blend with the homes original craftsman trim. The layout was completely unconventional and required rethinking the “work triangle”, a number custom depths, heights and interior features in the cabinetry, and thinking waaay outside the box, but when complete looked so timeless that though it was obviously new, it also almost looked as though it had always been there, fitting the home’s personality perfectly.
What is your best advice to someone looking at remodeling their kitchen or bath?
My best advice is to be sure to think about how you USE your kitchen or bathroom space. Many homeowners simply want “more space”, or want to update to the newest trend, but some of the hardest working kitchen and bathroom spaces I have created were not necessarily “big” or “trendy” they just utilized the space wisely for how the client used them and fit the era of the home in terms of design. Being creative with interior features, capturing storage space in unexpected places and using cabinetry styling that blends with the homes architecture is what I feel creates the most “character”!
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