Home Design Center showroom celebrates fifth anniversary

By Barbara Scott
Staff Writer
    The Home Design Center showroom at the S.W. Collins, Co., in Caribou, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month and on Thursday and Friday April 29-30 from 2 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday, May 1, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,  the center will be the hub of information and customer appreciation activities.   
    The open house will feature special discounts on cabinets, door prizes, give-a-ways as well as cooking demonstrations presented by a number of area chefs including Sam Collins himself on Saturday, May 1.
    Everyone is invited to stop in and sample light entrees and appetizers prepared by Gretchen Violette, Jeff Smith, chef at MSSM; and pampered chef representatives; cakes created by Torri Huston; and a chocolate fountain featuring chocolate-covered strawberries.
    The front half of the Home Design Center showroom has recently been remodeled to showcase bath vignettes and custom spa baths, as well as kitchen designs. “It seems that everybody is doing baths these days, it’s been the trend for the last year and a half,” said Cindy Dufour, a Certified Kitchen and Bath designer who has worked at S.W. Collins for six years. “People are replacing their tubs with showers more and more,” she added.
    Dufour, who is the only Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer north of Bangor since 1991, works closely with Marcy Whipple and Barbara Michaud both who are associate K&B Designers. “We all love what we do, it’s fun to be creative and see the ‘before and after’ changes. We do projects to fit any budget — we help with the remodeling, assisting with a new design and help to select finishes and paint colors.  We start with the basic plan and see it through right to the finishing touches.”
    “We work with customers who are remodeling and those who are building from scratch. We plan the space to fit the wish list and budget of our customers. We meet our clients at their homes and talk to them about what they like and don’t like about the room(s) we will be working in — we work directly with contractors— we all take the time to listen” she added.
    Dufour said she has been involved with an estimated 600 kitchen, bath and other room projects from Fort Kent to Scarborough and beyond.
    “As a rule we have 8 to 10 projects that we’re working on every day. “It is nice to work for a company that provides all the necessary tools to work with. With Sam (Collins) ‘the customer comes first,’ and he makes sure we have what we need to do our jobs — from computers to education. We get to travel to national shows and meetings that allow us to keep up with the trends in designs. “We fix sick kitchens,” she laughed, “and we really love what we do.”
    Dufour stated, “Sam gives back a lot to the community; each of us feels very fortunate to work in this type of atmosphere. He encourages all of us to participate and be involved with community activities.”
    On a wall in her office, Dufour displays a photograph of a kitchen she designed for a client in Madawaska in 2004. The kitchen design was entered in both regional and national competition sponsored by Decora and Dufour’s work placed first in both competitions. The Certified Kitchen and Bath Designer also contributes to home remodeling magazines.
    The Home Design Center in the Presque Isle S.W. Collins Co. location was also recently remodeled and now features an expanded flooring center; at the Houlton site, the first stage of the Kitchen and Bath Center is now complete.
    “All three stores are connected by computer,“ said Dufour, “this communication is a big help if one designer working on a project runs into a problem or just needs another set of eyes, we can immediately all be in contact — it’s a continuous group effort and this benefits the customer.”
    The three-day open house will feature a number of vendors on site to offer recommendations on a variety of projects and to answer questions. According to Dufour, Lorilee Reuillard, president of the Maine  Chapter of the national Kitchen and Bath Association will be present on Friday afternoon.
    The event will also highlight a new custom closet display showcasing the newest storage ideas. Doorprizes will include gift certificates to local restaurants as well as to redeem at the S.W. Collins locations. Cary Medical Center will be providing blood-pressure checks and massage chair therapy and since the theme of the anniversary event is Custom Spas, a representative from  The Total Look will also be available offering professional back massages and paraffin hand-dips.