Celebrating 65 Years of Custom Cabinets with Kountry Kraft
By / July 15, 2024 July 19, 2024Kountry Kraft is celebrating 65 years of custom cabinets! Here’s the story of how we came to be the oldest family-owned custom cabinetry manufacturer in the USA still managed by the original family.
The Gift of a Sears Craftsman Saw
Kountry Kraft’s journey to 65 years of custom cabinets begins with the Christmas of 1958. Helen Hurst, secretly setting aside money week by week, surprised her husband Elvin with a brand new Sears Craftsman Table Saw. Behold, a passion for woodworking was born.
From a Hobby to a Business
With his trusty Sears Craftsman Saw, Elvin began making quality custom cabinets for friends and family. It wasn’t long until word got out and demand for his custom cabinets grew. In April 1959, the Hursts officially launched Kountry Kraft in their garage with the support of Elvin’s parents, Reuben and Mary. Balancing the demands of a new business and family of six, Elvin and Helen’s hard work and dedication soon paid off.
Growing Demand for Quality Custom Cabinets
As demand for quality custom cabinets grew, so did the company. Expanding to a 96,000 square foot facility and employing over 100 skilled craftsmen, Kountry Kraft’s reputation for quality and service flourished. Their strong commitment to excellence and innovative spirit were instrumental in this growth, establishing them as creators of the best cabinetry on the market.
Pictured from left to right: Elvin Hurst, Jr. (President), Elvin Hurst Sr., Helen Hurst, and Dee Hurst-Funk (CKD, CFO)
The Next Generation
Two of the Hurst children, Elvin Jr. and Dolores, took an interest in the family business and learned how to manage the company alongside their parents. They purchased the company in 2003, effectively passing the reins to the next generation of Hursts. They continue to steer Kountry Kraft with the same dedication and passion as their parents, ensuring the company’s values and craftsmanship remain unchanged. The original Sears Craftsman Saw that started it all still stands in the showroom lobby today, an everlasting reminder of what dedication to quality service and products can achieve.
Innovating Kitchen Cabinet Production for the Best Cabinetry
Today, Kountry Kraft blends traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, utilizing computerized panel saws, dovetailing machines, and pneumatic assembly systems to maintain efficiency and precision for our kitchen cabinets. But, our true value lies in our hardworking team who is not only skilled in the art of custom cabinetry, but also maintaining a legacy of excellent service.
Celebrating 65 Years of Custom Cabinets
As we celebrate 65 years of custom cabinets, Kountry Kraft’s mission—to build dreams—continues to resonate through our dedication to customer service, communication, on-time delivery, and high-quality cabinetry at an exceptional value. If you’d like to be a part of our legacy, please contact one of our experts today. And to our valued Kountry Kraft community, thank you so much for all of the support you’ve given us over the years. We can’t wait to see what the next 65 have in store.
Custom Cabinets for your Home Office
By / September 7, 2022 August 22, 2022
Are you looking to upgrade the temporary home office setup you threw together at the start of Covid with something a bit more intentional and permanent? Or maybe you’ve had a home office for a while and want to give it a facelift with improved functionality. No matter your situation, custom cabinets for your home office should be on your radar. Let me tell you why.
Aesthetics
The office space should be a room that you actually want to be in. An aesthetically pleasing office encourages productivity and makes you want to sit down and say, “Let’s get this done.” Conversely, a bare-bones office reminiscent of the dreaded cubicle will have you dragging your feet to avoid the area.
When considering your aesthetically pleasing design, office cabinetry should be the first thing on your radar because it has the largest visual impact due to its size. Imagine walking into your office space and seeing a wall of custom built-ins behind an organized desk. Now imagine lining up a few filing cabinets along a wall. There is just simply no comparison.
Design by Thomas R. Kelly of TRK Design Company
Form Meets Function
An office needs storage not only as a matter of function, but also to keep it clean, organized, and aesthetically pleasing. Like I said, not only are filing cabinets not as pretty as custom office storage, but they often aren’t even adequate to store everything. Custom built-ins give you all the hidden storage you could ever need, plus bonus open shelving to display things like books, photos, certificates, and knick knacks—anything that will make you smile when you look up during a break from work.
Design by Mike Hinkle of Hinkle Custom Cabinets
Feeling Inspired?
Are you ready to transform your office space? Kountry Kraft’s design experts are standing by to help you decide what the best fit would be for your space. Find a dealer near you and follow @kountrykraftcabinetry for more design inspiration.
Meet the Cloffice
By / August 4, 2021 March 20, 2023
Meet the #Cloffice
With so many of us working (and schooling) from home this past year, the demand for home offices has skyrocketed. But what if you don’t have an extra room to transform? You don’t have to resign yourself to working from the kitchen table. Allow me to introduce you to a growing trend called the #Cloffice.
What Is a Cloffice?
A cloffice is any spare space in your home that has been transformed into an office. Think closets, a bare corner, space under the stairs – any nook or cranny that isn’t being used to its full potential.
Why Do I Want One?
I don’t think I have to convince anyone who’s been working/schooling from home of the benefits of a designed work space. But, if you want some more reasons…
- Adds home value.
- Facilitates work/school life and home life boundaries.
- Eliminates distractions while working, raising productivity.
- Creates a designated space for office supplies, eliminating mess around the house and helping to keep everything organized.
- Utilizes unused or underused space, meaning you don’t have to rearrange your house or sacrifice space.
How Do I Make One?
The most important aspect of any cloffice is shelving, both for decorative and functional storage purposes. (PS. We can help with that! Check out our custom office cabinets here.) Your cloffice desk probably won’t be huge, so keeping everything neatly stored away is a must.
Next, add a comfy chair and partition. You can decide for yourself the necessity of the partition, but I find it crucial to creating a separate space and eliminating distractions.
Those are the basics; now have fun decorating! There are so many ways you can style your cloffice, but it all comes down to your personal tastes and needs. I’d recommend searching #Cloffice on Pinterest to see what you like! Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you to design a cloffice in your home.
Home Office Cabinets
By / November 16, 2020 March 11, 2023Creating an office space in your home has been an evident part of 2020. When creating an office space, two key elements to always consider are function and organization. The beauty of custom home office cabinets is just that – they are custom built for your needs. No longer is it necessary to use the standard metal filing cabinets you see in most business offices. Instead, you can have a beautiful piece of furniture that not only looks appealing but increases the functionality of your space.
Home Office Cabinet Accessories
No more messy file drawers! Kountry Kraft takes organization to a whole new level with their custom drawer dividers. Adjustable pins hold the wood file separator in place by resting in the channel of the wood divider.
Create a clean uncluttered look by choosing double wide drawers, shown in classic stained Oak wood and contemporary drawer pulls.
Customized drawers make organizing easy. Be inspired by this trifecta of sturdy organization.
Home Office Design Inspiration
Thomas R. Kelly of the TRK Design Company designed this contemporary style office for a home located in Venice, Florida. The office features a custom-built desk that includes six drawers, each ranging in functionality.
A traditional style home office was designed by Roger Yiengst of Kountry Kraft for a home in Bethesda, Maryland. Books thrive on the custom shelves and files are happily stored in the cabinet drawers built into the wall.
For more office design inspiration, visit our website. Interested in custom office cabinets for your home? Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you!
#KountryKraft #HomeOfficeCabinets #CustomCabinets #CustomCabinetry