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Design | Products | Countertops | Cabinetry | Hardware | Staff
Design Co-owner Neil Oakes is the heart and soul of the Oakes Brother Kitchen and Bath Design Department. His reputation for honesty, kitchen design expertise, and customer satisfaction has built a loyal following among contractors and homeowners. Neil and his staff of professional designers offer custom kitchen design services. Whether you’re renovating, making minor changes, or building new, they will visit your home at no charge and take measurements on-site, consult with you, your architect, engineer, designer, or builder, and work with you through the entire process, from blueprints to final coat of paint, to be sure you get the kitchen or bath you’ve dreamed about. Neil began designing kitchens and baths in the early 1980s, when the industry was in its infancy. At that time customers had little to do with personalizing their own kitchens. Manufacturers had not developed many options for cabinets, fixtures, and appliances, and contractors generally decided how kitchens would be laid-out based on available space. Today, kitchen and bath design at Oakes Brothers is an art, and the customer is an integral part of the design process. As customers have become more sophisticated, Oakes Brothers’ Kitchen and Bath Design has stayed on the cutting edge of services and products. Neil was initially one of the few designers in the Connecticut River Valley to use 2020 Design and other computer-aided design programs. He and his staff create fully rendered elevation and perspective drawings of kitchens, complete with color and texture changes to illustrate customer choices. The company’s kitchen and bath product line is constantly evaluated, and new, improved cabinets, sinks and fixtures, countertops and other products are introduced as they become available. Oakes Brothers once built its own custom wood cabinets, but they soon found that specialty cabinetmakers in the Midwest offered cabinets of equal quality with a greater variety of furniture styles, options, wood species and fine finishes, with good customer service and lower prices. Oakes Brothers now buys cabinets from a select group of these cabinetmakers who have passed Neil’s rigorous evaluation process for excellence. “It’s been an evolution,” said Neil. “The new cabinets and other kitchen products available today are much better than what we sold in the 1980s.”
Natural Surfaces Solid Surface
Lighting Plumbing
Lauren came to Oakes Brothers in 2008 with seven years of experience as a kitchen designer, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Her first experience in the kitchen design industry came at EXPO Design Center in Braintree, Massachusetts. “I worked in almost every department in the store, including plumbing, electrical, lighting, appliances, tile and flooring, kitchen cabinets and countertops, and finally the design room. There I learned to use the 20/20 Design software that we use today to create our designs. It was in the design room, where all materials for a project come together as the final design package, that I fell in love with kitchen design. …the geometry and spatial relations along with the aesthetics involved with the kitchen and bath design world interested me.“ She really began to flourish as a young designer when she went to work for JB Kitchens and Baths in Weymouth, Massachusetts, a firm with 25 years of experience and an excellent reputation on the Bay State’s South Shore. “JB Kitchens is where I have done the most growing as a designer to date,” says Lauren. “By working closely with each of the designers, I was able to grow my knowledge base, and learn as much about what TO do, as what NOT to do!” “For most people, a home is their biggest investment, and decisions about that investment can be very emotional and hard to make,” Lauren says. “I love being a part of those decisions. Having a background in psychology has helped me tremendously in aiding homeowners as they make tough decisions… It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you helped someone create a new space that works specifically for them and their family.”
Neil is a founding co-owner of Oakes Brothers, Inc. He began designing kitchens and baths in the early 1980s. Initially he designed custom kitchen cabinets built on-site at Oakes; his expertise, skill, and knowledge grew as the industry, and as his customers, became more sophisticated and more demanding. He was one of the first kitchen designers in the Connecticut River Valley to begin using 2020 Design computer software, and he often tests other new software programs to consider them for his department. “I don’t sell kitchens just to sell kitchens,” Neil says. “I only sell products that I would have in my own house. Actually, I DO have Candlelight Cabinets in my own home. They are solid wood and beautifully made, and they will last for decades.” “My biggest focus is always to listen to the customer,” Neil says. “Some of my best kitchens have come from the customer’s idea, something I might never even have thought of myself, even after all these years in the business.”
Greg is one of Oakes’ most experienced designers and building professionals. He has spent 14 years in kitchen design, and a total of 29 years working in all aspects of running a home building and supply center. During that time he trained in mechanical drawing. Greg knows kitchen and home design from the ground up; he started in 1979 by stocking the shelves of a home building center and moved his way up through the industry, becoming an expert in estimating projects like additions, decks, garages and then complete homes. He managed the lumber side of that business for 14 years. He became interested in kitchen and bath design in 1994, became proficient in computer-aided design, and eventually ran his own successful design business, Johnson’s Cabinetry Center, in West Lebanon, for eight years. “What I like the most is helping homeowners design one of the most enjoyable rooms in their home,” Greg says. “The kitchen is the gathering place when company comes. There is nothing better than creating a beautiful and functional space for a family … I love seeing the joy on the customer’s face when the work is all done and they are thankful for my help. I think my patience and willingness to add my experience to the customer’s project is what helps me win their trust.”
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Lauren Collins
Neil Oakes
Greg Walker
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