Post by Kevin Reese; kreese@tharpcabinets.com

It’s December and we survived Thanksgiving. We’re in the middle of the holiday season. Here in Colorado, it’s the season of cold weather, snowy walks, love, laughter, family and most of all, giving. Today, we have a really great story to share. This is an interview we had with our good friend Mike, the Founder of a Denver-based design, fabrication, and multimedia marketing firm. Mike shared with us that his parents are gifting his family a kitchen makeover. What a creative and generous gift.

The Joy of giving

“The gift is from my parents. My parents have worked so hard their whole lives. They taught me the same. Work hard. Play hard. Celebrate. Share. They get a lot of joy out of being able to share their success and seeing other people happy. They live in Connecticut and we are in Colorado so they also love to see the improvements we make to our happy home each time they come out. My parents tend to really come through when we are trying to figure out more complicated and practical gifts that change the quality of life for our whole family.”

How do you know when it’s time?

“We have been in this 1,800 square foot house for 16 years. When my wife, Allison, and I moved in we had a puppy and almost no belongings. Now we’re really settled in and have two children, a dog, a cat and soon, another puppy. The kids are bigger and need more space, especially right now with home schooling and more work from home. We have made so many modifications and improvements to the house on our own including new kitchen appliances. The cabinets and counters are really the last step.”

Do it yourself or hire the professionals?

“I love doing certain things on my own. I built several hundred square feet of deck and welded all the railings. I’ve rebuilt our road several times and excavated our yard so that it functions better; redid our wood floors and interior custom metal railings; completely redid our master bath; and added a steam shower. Also, built a gear shed and a detached shop so I can do all my projects. We added a carport to the house after we converted the garage to living space. I’ve modified the kids’ rooms including adding a loft to my daughter’s and a loft and a ‘Ben Den’ to my son’s. Really, there is not much besides the kitchen cabinets and counters that we haven’t updated. The kitchen remodel is something that I know the professionals at Tharp are not only going to design better, but it will be built better than I can do. I am stubborn but I am not completely blind to this.”

A sense of progress

“We’ve been sharing a lot with my Parents. Don’t think they really want to give opinions on design, but they love seeing the drawings and hearing about colors and materials and all of that. Our 15 year-old daughter is the one who is super involved. Maybe as much as my wife. She has a serious design and functionality sense and researches the heck out of things.”

Bring your family together and stay connected

“Different members of the family get involved on different levels for different projects. My daughter has completely redesigned and decorated her room and just blows me away with her style. My son loves the outside stuff. When COVID first hit we borrowed an excavator and he ran it for days. We moved several thousand pounds of dirt which I got the job of doing with a wheelbarrow while he ran the machine. Then the whole family mixed 7,000 lbs of cement by hand. Now we have a new entry into our house. This was a quarantine highlight for sure.”

No place like home

“There are so many things we love about where we live. The indoors are out. The outdoors are in. When it’s freezing outside we get to enjoy the view while watching the fireplace. This is our dream. But our dream was not a huge house, it was the right house. We have had so much fun improving the way our home works. We don’t need more space, we just need better use of the space we have. The kitchen was the biggest challenge and now this project with Tharp will completely change it. I bet we are doubling the amount of effective cabinetry and yet it will just feel new and better, not more crowded or filled up.”

The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way people celebrate major events — how are you adapting?

“I can’t wait for the kitchen to be done. I just hope COVID is done on the same day. Then we can have the biggest party ever. My parents will be out in a second, when they can. Everyone is just trying to be smart with health right now. This whole thing is really tough on them not being able to come out and see the Grandkids. Plus, my Dad loves skiing as much as anyone I know and he’d sure love to be in Colorado hitting the mountains. So, as soon as we can, we will have a party in this new kitchen.”

Thanks Mike!

It’s such a pleasure working with you and your family. Looking forward to sharing some behind-the-scenes photos and videos of your kitchen makeover. More to come…