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Kitchen designers have many passions; howev- er, it's rare to fnd one whose business devel- oped out of a love for woodworking. When she moved with her family to the Cape Cod area in 2001, Gail O'Rourke, owner of White Wood Kitchens in Sandwich, MA, immersed herself in woodworking as a way to save money – her frst ebony wine rack is still an integral part of their dining room today. Woodworking started out as a way to create her dream home, but soon became part of her lifestyle and career. FROM HOBBYIST TO BUSINESS OWNER With a degree in operations management, O'Rourke had previously worked in sales and project management in a diferent feld. However, after fnding woodworking, O'Rourke transferred her business skills to the cabinet- making industry. For 15 years, she honed her abilities in custom cabinetry and also added kitchen designer to her repertoire. She started her own business, Hometown Woodworking, which she ran successfully for seven years, before opening a showroom and changing her business to White Wood Kitchens, specializing in kitchens and baths. White Wood Kitchens is now in its third year of business, and includes an 800-sq.-ft. showroom. The most popular design for her home- owner clients is the open-concept kitchen. Her biggest challenge is fnding functional stor- age solutions within this space plan. In fact, O'Rourke says that the most innovative work she does is "getting cabinets to meet clients' needs when they don't want cabinets." The key, she believes, is to balance their design expectations with the functional expec- tations and the reality of what can actually be done with the kitchen space available. "You have to try to work with people and create an expectation that they're still going to get what they want, even though what they think they want isn't really what they want or what's going to work for them," notes O'Rourke. She adds: "I think you have to be really cre- ative and innovative with design with the new open-concept foor plans. It's about using every cubic inch of every cabinet space and making sure that every single thing has a purpose." A BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END The entire design process is important to O'Rourke, and she loves seeing a project through from beginning to middle to end. Even though she has a staf of four, she has her hand in every project, acting as both designer and project manager. She feels that her cabinetmak- ing background gives her perspective not just from the design end, but from the construction end, and she starts on a job site at the framing stage in order to work closely with the builder to get the design right from the get-go. "Any project that I'm involved with has a be- ginning, middle and end. So it's very rewarding to see the beginning, work through the middle, but then see the end result," says O'Rourke. This theme extends to her client process as well. O'Rourke lets her clients know that it will take at least six meetings to ensure everything is in order before beginning construction. "Design is a conversation, so it's going to take us multiple meetings to get there and get [the client] to a place where [they're] 100% with the design, 100% with the price and 100% with Woodworker Crafts Hobby into a Business BY ASHLEY LAPIN OLIAN What began as a simple pas- sion for woodworking evolved from hobby to career, as this MA-based professional shift- ed gears from sales to custom cabinet making to kitchen and bath design. With a seaside theme, this open foor plan kitchen features much needed storage and counter space. The range was made to be the focal point of this kitch- en. The backsplash ties the countertop and cabinets together and the beach wood shelving adds a rustic feel. Horizontal fooring was used to complement the large open space, and gray cabinets create a warm, welcoming kitchen. A large kitchen island works for entertaining, and pull-out storage options are featured throughout. Photo: Albert Tousignant Photo: White Wood Kitchens Photo: Paul Blackmore – Blackmore Photography 38 Kitchen & Bath Design News • March 2016 DESIGNER PROFILE