Photos by Joe Buzzeo
Karen Berkemeyer Home has been designing kitchens and baths in Westport since 1990. In that time the showroom has grown and the work has taken us across Fairfield County and beyond. But the structure hasn’t changed: every project belongs to one designer. One person who knows your house, your budget, and your family’s morning routine, and who stays with the project from the first consultation through the last day of installation.
A kitchen is a long conversation. Somewhere between the first sketch and the last drawer pull, you get to know the person designing it — how they think, what they notice, whether they’ll tell you the truth about that stone you fell in love with.
Over the next few posts, we’d like you to meet each of our designers. You’ll learn a little about who they are and how they found their way into design, and we’ll take a closer look at one of their projects.
Since Karen is the one who built the studio, it seems fitting that we start with her.
Karen was teaching high school math and working part time in a kitchen and bath store when she bought the company in 1990. She rebuilt it around a straightforward idea that was, at the time, not especially common: a homeowner shouldn’t have to drive to five places to build one kitchen. Cabinetry, tile, stone, countertops, plumbing — all of it under one roof, guided by one designer.
More than 35 years later, that’s still the model, and Karen is still designing. She keeps her own clients and her own projects alongside the team she built, which means the person whose name is on the door is also the person who might be standing in your kitchen with a tape measure. Her instinct for solving the problem in front of her — the awkward corner, the load-bearing wall, the budget that needs to stretch — is what her clients tend to remember most.
This is a transitional kitchen in a very traditional house. The owners wanted two islands: a large center island for family life and prep work, and a second island for dining that opens straight onto the deck.
The cabinetry is shaker, flush inset, in a vibrant blue, with brass hardware and quartz counters. At the sink, a mini stone herringbone in crème, blue and white runs around the window. The appliances are Wolf and Sub-Zero, with tall wine storage near the dining island and the deck.
The living room is open to the kitchen and carries over its blue theme, with blue walls under a peaked white ceiling. Karen designed the fireplace wall as well. It’s paneled in white from floor to ceiling, with a recessed overmantel above the firebox and a pale, veined surround. Arched niches on either side hold open shelving above and cabinets below.
Designer: Karen Berkemeyer, Karen Berkemeyer Home / Architect: John L. Downs / General Contractor: Allwood Craftsmen / Photos by Joe Buzzeo
Every project starts the same way: a conversation. We want to hear how you actually use the room — who cooks, who does homework at the island, what drives you crazy about the space now.
From there, your designer develops a concept. Then comes the part that makes this studio different: you make your selections here. Cabinetry, tile and stone, countertops, plumbing and fixtures, lighting, hardware — all of it in one showroom, at a range of price points, with your designer beside you seeing how the pieces work together in real time. No driving between five vendors trying to remember what the tile looked like.
Then we coordinate through installation. Timelines vary with scope, and your designer will walk you through what to expect at your first meeting.
Our showroom on Post Road West is two adjacent buildings — kitchen displays in the front, a bath annex in the back with tubs, vanities, and fixtures, and a wide selection of tile and stone throughout. We’re open Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, and Saturdays by appointment.
If you’re thinking about a project, the best first step is to schedule a consultation. That way we can make sure a designer is free to sit down with you and talk through what you have in mind. You’re always welcome to stop in and look around, but the conversation is the valuable part, and it’s worth booking.
