When Mark and Kristin Swieczkowski decided to remodel their kitchen among other projects in their house their vision started to take shape and they knew just where to secure their natural stone. In the early 2000’s Mark had worked at Great Lakes Granite and Marble as a project manager. He knew how important the stone selection, fabrication, attention to detail, and installation would be to the overall kitchen remodel. Based on his experience as an employee and seeing firsthand how GLGM treated each project, he was confident in their ability to deliver on the vision he and his wife Kristin had. Mark knew that when they visited GLGM they would be able to walk through warehouse viewing a wide selection of in-stock stone. This seemingly small detail is key for truly visualizing the way the stone will help complete your overall vision.
The Right Team
Mark and Kristin visited Great Lakes in Redford, where they were put in contact with Project Manager Brandon. Mark knew that Great Lakes Granite and Marble was one of the few fabricators in the industry to have a large quantity of slabs in stock. They were able to see a variety of options, pick out their actual slabs, and work closely with Brandon throughout the entire process. They felt that the selection was not only plentiful, but there was also a great deal of stone that was not available at other shops. When you hear “tour our warehouse” you may have a mental picture of a dirty, disorganized space where you are wandering through a maze of stone options. Great Lakes is anything but, impressing Mark and Kristen with the clean, well organized warehouse. As they found stone that appealed to them, they were able to have it pulled out and displayed where they could view the entire slab, or variety of slabs to make their selection. After browsing the vast select at Great Lakes Granite and Marble, and working with their project manager, they selected Fantasy Brown as the right stone for their project.
Working with one project manager throughout the process is key. There isn’t anything lost in translation of the slabs you want, how you want them templated, certain areas of stone that you may want highlighted or minimized. At Great Lakes, you are able to work with your project manager on these details and he can relay the information to the templator and fabricator located in the same facility. Likewise, if questions arise, the rest of the team has immediate access to the project manager for clarification. Mark was well aware that this team approach isn’t the norm in the industry where many shops are outsourcing to a fabrication facility.
The Right Touch
Every project tends to have it’s own personality, something the homeowner wants to set their project apart, or highlight some element of design or detail. One of the unique aspects of the Swieczkowski project was their island. In the previous space, the island housed the cooktop and was on the smaller scale. We all know that the kitchen is the heart of the home and the island is typically the heart of the kitchen. With a family of 6, one of the goals in this renovated space was a larger, more functional kitchen island. The new 9 foot island has a waterfall edge on one side and a 3 foot overhang with a custom made barn wood block end cap, tying the kitchen to the living room where the barn wood is utilized on the custom built-ins around the fireplace.