For the rest of us who dream of additional storage, better flow or more appealing aesthetics in the kitchen, thankfully we have Barbara Dompier, daughter of the Skaug Family business founder, sister to the brothers still working and leading their enterprises, and head of the team for cabinet and kitchen projects at Skaug Bros Carpet One in Moses Lake.
What better way to approach the kitchen, ‘the heart of the home’, than with heart? Barbara’s approach is with “EQ versus the IQ. The emotional quotient is what happens in the kitchen,” she said,” where you bake cookies and have birthday parties and Thanksgiving. It’s where you learn to be an adult while amassing all those memories with friends and family.”
“A customer once told me, ‘You changed the way we live,’ which I thought was weird, because I was new to the industry,” Barabara said, “but, the kitchen can change the way you live… if you need more space, more functionality, that can change the way you live, the way you move through your day, the way you entertain.”
Barbara encourages people to come visit the Skaug Bros Carpet One. “We have a pretty store!” she said.
She wants the chance to show customers you won’t pay less at a big box store – either in the long run, or immediately. “A budget could be $20,000 or $100,000 or $5,000. Making a nice kitchen on a small budget is just as important as a nice kitchen on a big budget and something I work just as hard on,” she said, “I know what I sold before [at a big box store] – and in the long run, sometimes in the immediate, you don’t get as good of a deal… I would say every time I beat them [at Skaug Bros Carpet One].”
“I was taught by a few people with over 100 years of experience between them, 15 years ago,” she said, “The average person designs 1.2 kitchens over their lifetime, I’ve done so many more than that.”
When dreaming of design for your own kitchen or bathroom, Barbara has some ideas of what, and what not, to focus on. “We need to surround ourselves with color and design that we not only feel good in but LOOK good in,” she said. She encourages you to dress your kitchen the same way you dress yourselves. Never wear green? Then, don’t get those green cabinets! Never wear cool white? Then, don’t get those white tiles and countertops! Whatever the current design trends are – which she summed up in one word: biophilic, “The concept that increases occupant connection to nature through design features,” she said, “This means we’re seeing lots of greens, woods, yellows and reds. Much of this starts with fashion, but also going back to the EQ needs of family, function and relaxation,” plus black countertops and whites that “aren’t really white”… the most important part is that it’s what you want for your home. “Don’t get a white kitchen thinking of the resale value ten years down the road,” she advises.
If you’re thinking of an update in your home – whether it’s all new cabinets, counter tops and tiles, or new cabinet faces and countertop, or new cabinet paint colors with new flooring, or maybe that kitchen island you’ve been dreaming of – Skaug Bros Carpet One is the place to go to get personable service by a family who cares about your family. Ask for Barbara!
