May 2009: Downeast Kitchen's Award
Brunswick, ME May 4, 2009- It’s not difficult to spot an ugly kitchen but figuring out how to transform it into a beautiful living space is a process more complicated than a princess kissing a toad and, poof, you have a prince. Dennis Tefft from Downeast Kitchens in Brunswick knows the process all too well and has recently been honored for his work. The Maine Chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association holds an “Ugly Kitchen” Design contest every year. Dennis’s kitchen design for a contemporary home in Harpswell won first place in the Large Kitchen Transitional category. “This was a little bit of a surprise. I have been at this for more than 20 years and only 12 years full-time,” said Tefft, whose title at Downeast is kitchen designer. “I started in the saw mill, as a planning mill foreman, and now I am just starting to get some recognition as a kitchen designer and its really fun. It is really nice to keep learning and achieving at this level that ultimately improves people’s home lives.” Dennis had to take 1970’s kitchen and design it for homeowners who wanted an informal dining surface on which multiple cooks could work while having easy access to the oven and refrigerator, as well as the kitchen equipment now stored in the large central island’s cabinetry. The new kitchen opens up a once-isolated room, capitalizing on the home’s expansive water views. For this project Tefft worked closely with architect Todd Worthley from Building Resources, Inc. Worthley designed the overall rejuvenation of the house, gutted it and added on some space to the house. This contemporary style home renovation improved the lines of the house dramatically to make it more contemporary and the proportions were drastically improved. Dennis Tefft added, “This project was a great collaboration with the developer and the architect. The kitchen was fairly dark and completely cut off from the water view and they took out a wall to open up the view. My design was based on the architect’s improvements by using a transitional mix of traditional and contemporary elements resulting in a clean and homey appearance.” This is the second award for Dennis from the Maine chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. In 2006, he won the large contemporary design award. Dennis has been with Downeast Kitchens in Brunswick for nearly 25 years. About Downeast Energy & Building Supply Downeast Energy and Building Supply operates 13 offices in southern and central Maine and Dover, NH, and a building supply store and lumber yard in Brunswick, Maine. For more information, please visit www.downeastenergy.com.