This couple focuses on both form and function
The kitchen and the bathroom are at opposite ends of life in a home.
The former is often the center of the home, a place where family and friends can gather and share. The latter is a place of supreme, blissful solitude. And while their functions are vastly different, each is an important living space.
For not quite eight years now, Designer Kitchens and Baths Inc. has built a reputation for creating perfect spaces in Charleston. But quality and craftsmanship are not the sole reasons for this company’s success. Owners Morelle and Rhoda Jones pride themselves, first and foremost, on customer service and an ability to listen to their clients. They create kitchens and baths that are tailored to clients’ specific needs. The result: everyone feels really good about the finished project.
“I love taking an ugly duckling and making something grand out of it,” says Rhoda Jones, the visionary half of the couple, who honed her customer service skills during a long career at BellSouth. “I try to guide people to make choices they’ll walk in and still love five years from now.
“Working in kitchens and baths, you’re affecting a person’s life everyday,” says Morelle Jones, a licensed architect, Vietnam veteran and a stickler for design details. “Hopefully, you’re improving their quality of life.”
The two met at St. Andrew’s High School in West Ashley. Both had previous marriages. Both had long careers working for others. Casting about for a business opportunity, the two bought into a cabinet and flooring company in late 2003.
After a year, wanting to put Morelle’s architectural skills to work, they created a company that would offer custom design for both new construction and renovations. They would oversee their projects from beginning to end, from manufacture of the various pieces to installation. Designer Kitchens and Baths Inc. was born.
Two years ago, the company relocated from North Charleston to St. Andrew’s Boulevard in West Ashley. The move was challenging. On one hand, they were locating to a safer, more centralized part of Charleston. On the other, they were losing 1,000 square feet of showroom space.
The Joneses rolled with the changes, becoming more selective about what they would carry in the showroom. In the end, they felt the move increased the morale of their employees and their ability to help their clients have an easy, pleasurable experience with Designer Kitchens and Baths.
Today, the company designs and builds more than 40 projects per year. Some are new construction, but most are remodels or additions, lines of work the company entered almost immediately after opening.
Designer Kitchens and Baths has the ability to build a kitchen literally from the ground up.
“We’re a mini design-build firm and licensed builder, so we can pull permits,” says Rhoda. “Morelle does the drawings for custom cabinetry, then has them manufactured and installed. Often we will do a kitchen, then the client will invite us to do the bath, and viceversa.”
The Joneses attribute their success to their emphasis on giving clients exceptional, personal customer service.
“We start with a home consultation and look not only at what the current kitchen has or what the remodel needs, but also at the lifestyle of the homeowner and how the kitchen will be used,” Rhoda says. “I cook a lot. That’s why I love working in kitchens.”
“She’s a stickler about the function of everything,” says Morelle with a nod to his wife. “And he’s a stickler for precision and detail,” Rhoda says. “Ask him the time, and he’ll build you a clock.”
Rhoda often accompanies their clients through the many hurdles of redesign, helping pick the tile, the paint and the plumbing fixtures. She admits there is a tinge of vanity in her work. “In the end, I want to be proud of it,” she says as she pulls one of her volumes of “before & after “photos off the bookshelf and displaying the pages. “I like to show it off later.”
As with their design and construction work, the Joneses take a philosophical view of their role in ensuring customer satisfaction. “There’s a certain amount of altruism we bring to our work,” Morelle says. “In the end, we really try to help people. Ethically, we feel we owe our clients the very best we can give. With our kitchens, we want to help give people a sense of family and togetherness.”
“The home is really an investment,” Rhoda says. “But, then, again, we’re conscientious of our clients’ needs. You might be on a budget, but I can make your kitchen look like a $100,000 kitchen for much, much less.”
The couple’s kindness, sincerity and honesty in doing business is what has kept their customers coming back and spreading the gospel of Designer Kitchens and Baths.
“We both have a strong sense that there are a lot of other people that do this kind of work in town,” Morelle says. “The comprehensive nature of our business is primary. And we think customer service is first and foremost. Our clients are our biggest salesmen.”
“The key,” says Rhoda, is how happy you leave them.”
Designer Kitchens and Baths, Inc.
1106 St. Andrew’s Blvd., Suite A
Charleston, SC 29407
843-763-7717
www.designerkitchensandbathsinc.com
