Went with Wendt

If you went with Wendt anytime in the last 40 years, you probably know this custom cabinet shop in Moorhead, MN, is rooted in family talent. These days, Wendt Custom Cabinets is welcoming clients into a larger, more immersive designer showroom, setting the perfect stage for their new Wendt Goods bar stool collection and CNC machine. To get the goods on the move, the showroom, the streamlined software, and the bar stools, we met up with Wendt’s interior designer and co-owner, Kaeli (Wendt) Bernier, to take a tour... and a stunning seat.

BY Tracy Nicholson
PHOTOS BY Dan Francis Photography

Kaeli (Wendt) Bernier has worked in the family business since 2005, officially joining her dad, Dale Wendt, in 2011 after graduating from NDSU’s Interior Design program. These days her dad is a “mostly retired” partner, so Kaeli and her other partners, including her uncle Jeremy Wendt, her cousin Josh Wendt, and Josh Fankhanel, are now leading the way.

“Our team is wonderful and our installers really pride themselves on being perfectionists and bringing their best, which we love,” said Wendt. “My grandpa and uncles built houses for years, and I remember as a kid going to the Parade of Homes and filling nail holes with my grandma, working with my mom, and helping pick out the wallpaper,” shared Wendt. “I’ve always had an interest in design. Growing up, my parents let me paint my room as many times as I wanted. I was always changing things. They were super supportive, so they let me be creative from a young age, and it stuck.”

Kaeli (Wendt) Bernier [left] & Megan Grote

Designer Dream Team
After eight years of design sales and nearly 16 years of interior design, Kaeli has honed her kitchen and bath cabinetry design skills as an owner and interior designer. She and Megan Grote, the Business Development Director, often work together during client meetings, with Kaeli working on drawings and Megan taking finish notes to manage the ordering and accounting for the project. Megan brings over 10 years of experience in the home building industry and is now Kaeli’s go-to colleague for managing a streamlined process.

“I love being able to focus on just one specific area of the homebuilding process,” said Grote. “It’s been really fun to see how we’ve been able to enhance people’s experience in the new showroom. We don’t just sit through meetings, it’s very interactive and we pride ourselves on creating a personal experience in getting to know people. We know it can be stressful picking out everything, so we like to make it a simple, fun, and comfortable experience.”

Reimagining the Showroom
Although Wendt’s move wasn’t far (just across the street), it was a major milestone and size upgrade; an opportunity to re-imagine the showroom experience and cabinet design process.

“When we moved over here, it was just one big open space with a bathroom, so I drew it up on our drafting program and created drawings that defined how we were going to bring this space to life, from framing to cabinet placement,” Wendt explained. “We wanted to provide our clients options without overwhelming them, so we have different wood species, stain colors, paint colors, stone, hardware, and laminate countertops in a variety of settings.” Here, everything is staged and ready to be explored, including two large offices, the Design Studio client meeting space, the full-kitchen break room, the restroom, a small mudroom, a second full kitchen, a fireplace feature wall, storage, and an entry drop zone.

Kaeli refers to the new space as more of a ‘gallery’ than a showroom, a calming environment that hides the chaos of thousands of finishes and samples. “I get super overwhelmed when I walk into a space that’s completely cluttered, so we have a lot of our samples tucked away,” explained Wendt. “In our meetings, we’ll get a good feel for the client and what they like, then start pulling out what we need to achieve their vision for their new home or space.”

To pull together the finishing touches throughout the showroom’s distinct spaces, Kaeli worked with her friend and designer, Christen Anderson of Christen Joy. “She did all the accessorizing,” said Wendt. “She did an incredible job adding the perfect touches throughout the showroom that help give the space a cheerful and more feminine feel.” Eyeing the neon ‘Went with Wendt’ sign, Kaeli laughed, “We just needed it, we thought it would be fun!”

“This is a really interactive showroom because we’re constantly moving between the spaces to show different features in use, like the countertops in Megan’s office, the cabinetry in my office, or the features in one of the kitchens. We have a lot to show our clients, so it’s designed to be more immersive than a typical showroom.”

Wendt Design Studio
Just beyond a dreamy, creamy kitchen display, clients can take a seat in the open-concept studio, where Kaeli and Megan host their design meetings. Here, Wendt showcases a popular full-height quartz backsplash around the TV, with a unique library ladder, Wendt’s standard bright white-painted cabinetry, and a push-in to show stained options. For contrast, Kaeli chose to finish the over 10-foot island in a Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black. The island also demonstrates cabinets on the backside for additional storage. “These cabinet doors show our newer tab pulls on top of the cabinets, underneath the snack bar and islands,” said Wendt. “The pulls are functional, yet blend in, making it look more like panels, instead of cabinet doors.”

One of the Design Studio’s most popular features is the ability to connect their computers to the TV, which displays live drawings to clients during meetings. “They can see everything as we work, and we’re able to switch out colors and renderings so clients know exactly what they’re getting,” said Wendt. “We know this is a big ticket item for people, which can be stressful, so it’s fun to show what their space is going to look like. Seeing them get excited about their design is one of the many reasons I love my job. A lot of clients have a hard time reading plans, so they love being able to see their design come to life on the screen. We want to give everyone that HGTV-type experience, that instant ability to change out the colors or woods with just one click.”

To keep the studio space clean and uncluttered, Wendt showcases just the stock or most popular quartz colors from Spaulding Stone, also located in Moorhead. For those who want something truly unique, Wendt and Grote accompany clients to the Spaulding showroom, where they can see thousands of samples from a variety of vendors. Wendt also carries premium natural quartz from MSI Q Quartz, which has an array of sleek and budget-friendly options. Nearby is the Jeffrey Alexander and Elements line from Hardware Resources, along with Wilsonart and Formica as Wendt’s two main laminate lines.

Stylish Storage
Also within reach, Wendt puts to use and display a push-in cabinet wall of Chocolate-stained Rustic Alder storage, including wall sconce art light installations and Berenson Hardware. This storage area features a newer cut-out design Wendt customized on their CNC machine. This is both a decorative and functional detail that can be custom-cut in an array of patterns, designs, and monograms. The cut-outs can also be used to provide ventilated storage for media, tub decks, mudrooms, or pantries.

“Having a CNC machine is awesome for us and our clients,” said Wendt. “I’m proud to say that for years we built all of our cabinets by hand, but the CNC machine brings new innovation and technology to streamline our building process. We still put together the cabinets by hand, but the CNC machine cuts out all of our cabinet parts, so it ensures a lot less room for error.”

Creamy, Dreamy Kitchen
Just off the drop zone and walnut built-ins is a dream in cream, showcasing painted cabinets in a Sherwin-Williams Creamy, with a three-panel hood and double wall oven. “Typically clients have nine-foot ceilings on their main level and want their kitchen uppers designed to go to the ceiling. Although our ceiling height in the showroom is higher, we showcased these uppers at nine feet, so our clients can see exactly what their uppers will look like. In this kitchen, Wendt chose a honed finish quartz countertop from Spaulding, with a popular hardware choice from Top Knobs. For hidden storage options, they’ve included many different pullout components in the base cabinets, like towel hangers, cutting board storage, utensil and knife block storage, spice drawer inserts, coffee bars, and a popular lift-up appliance garage that keeps small appliances out of sight. “This is the new way to do appliance garages, we don’t do the roll-top ones anymore because they just don’t function very well,” said Wendt. “Butler pantries are really popular right now, so we do a lot of the cabinets that come down to the countertop in pantries.”

Warm Welcome
Surrounding the studio in all directions is a showroom of immersive displays, starting at the entry’s granite countertop with a waterfall edge and a built-in bench drop zone; a fun and functional way to show clients painted cabinets in a Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green. Nearby is a custom fireplace built-in displayed in a natural Walnut surround, with a mantel, display cabinet, wall-to-wall floating sheleves, and a floating bench.

Take a Beautiful Break
Around the corner in the bathroom, Wendt demonstrates a custom door monogram leading to a Red Oak Boho-stained vanity and Calico White Quartz, with an Ogee edge and rectangle undermount sink from Spaulding Stone. In the adjacent mudroom is another custom-painted cabinetry design with CNC cut-outs.

In the breakroom display, Wendt shows base cabinets with flat-paneled slabs and uppers with a shaker detail and a different trim. Within this display are different edges and laminate top samples, with an under-mount sink option in laminate. “In the larger kitchen, we have the corner cabinets squared off, and in this one, we wanted to show an angled option with a Lazy Susan,” said Grote. This space also shows another location for microwaves. “With the rising trend of custom-designed hoods, deciding where the microwave should be placed — whether it is in the island or in an upper, it tends to be a tough decision for some clients,” said Wendt. “The triple panel, angled hood in the kitchen displays a beautiful and popular design. It has been a helpful for clients to see a microwave in an upper cabinet with a trim kit in the breakroom.”

Drama in the Office
Technically, this is Kaeli’s office, but since she prefers to work in the open Design Studio, her husband, Jordan, has claimed the space. He works at Wendt on his days off as a Fargo firefighter, helping with showroom installations and writing code for the software that controls and programs the new CNC machinery that cuts, shapes, and assembles cabinetry components. When they aren’t working together or raising their two kids, 1½ and 3, they’re tackling the renovation of their 1926 home. This home is the third major renovation they’ve worked on together, and Kaeli’s fourth. She was barely a college graduate when she flipped her first house by MSUM.

To showcase contrasting palettes with their favorite cabinetry styles and countertops, both of the offices deliver a distinctly different style. Kaeli and Jordan’s office has a moody vibe with modern and sleek features, including a perimeter snack bar with a mini sink and microwave drawer. Here, Kaeli chose to bring the drama with a painted cabinet in Iron Ore. Jordan installed all of the showroom’s tile, including this office’s bold black and white backsplash. Their design also features glass doors, interior stained and lit cabinets, and a maple-stained shelf, all accented by the glow of a Midcentury modern sconce and globe pendants from Visual Comfort & Co. While many of their island or peninsula designs feature legs or posts, this one shows extended side panels that enclose the snack-bar. The offices, breakroom, and studio feature bar stools at work, all available through the new Wendt Goods line.

At Home At Work
In Megan’s office, Wendt fabricated and finished the stained White Oak wood slats, setting the tone for a brighter, home-like office setting illuminated with Visual Comfort & Co. lighting. This design showcases painted cabinetry in Simple White by Sherwin-Williams, with a custom-stained White Oak island/ desk and posts. “All of the stains we do are custom formulas that our team puts together,” said Grote. “White Oak is the most popular right now, so we get a lot of requests for that specific wood and stain. This countertop is also a really popular choice — a Cararra Breve.”

In-Demand Design
White Oak may be one of the more expensive options, but according to Megan and Kaeli, it’s still the most in demand. “People also really like the stained Maple,” said Wendt. “Stained Maple and White Oak are very durable and easy to maintain; they’re both very hard woods. And, stained cabinetry is a great longterm choice, it will always hold up better than painted.” If you’re one of the many captivated by hints of color, Wendt says Sherwin-Williams Gossamer Veil, a greige neutral tone, is one of the more popular choices right now. For the style of cabinetry, Wendt is seeing a growing interest in slab fronts versus traditional shaker. “We also have the option to do a slim shaker or a vertical reeded slim shaker, which is really unique,” added Wendt.

Demanding an Overhaul
As far as renovations and cabinet overhauls go, Wendt is still predominantly seeing homeowners ready to replace their Honey Oak, raised panel doors, and outdated laminate tops. “We have been doing a lot of full kitchen remodels, which have been really fun to see the transformation of our client’s spaces,” said Grote.

Booming Biophilia
Many of Wendt’s clients are favoring an earthier vibe, through the use of natural wood and warmer-toned stains. “We’re also starting to see more of the creamier whites and beige variations versus bright whites,” said Wendt. “Slat material is really popular, and many of the newer homes are doing this feature at least somewhere in their house,” added Wendt. “We’re designing them for fireplace walls, ceilings, to accent the back of islands, and on range hoods. It’s really about bringing that warmth and natural wood into different areas of the home in unique ways.”

“There’s also more demand for natural stones like marble or quartzites, but the majority of countertops that we do are still quartz because of the brightness, consistency to pattern, and zero maintenance,” explained Wendt. “We are still seeing that our clients are typically drawn to a more subtle pattern which is why I think our clients haven’t been choosing granite as of late. Marble and quartzites still have natural movement, but don’t seem to be as loud as granite.”

Coming Soon: Wendt Custom Closets
Looking ahead, Wendt is busy making plans to branch off into closet systems, a natural extension of the family business. Part of this plan will be to bring in more laminated cabinet options for closets, garages, and pantries to provide a more economical wood alternative. “We’re excited for all the growth opportunities,” said Wendt. “People often ask about our office tile, or mention how much they love our light fixtures, so one day, it would be really cool to expand our showroom for a one-stop shop full-service design center.”

For more information, contact:
Wendt Custom Cabinets & Countertops + Wendt Goods
2210 26th St. S., Moorhead, MN
218.227.0440
wendtcustomcabinets.com
Follow @wendtcustomcabinets

DESIGN DETAILS

Front Entry Drop Zone
Painted Cabinetry: Sherwin Williams “Pewter Green” Granite: “Ganache” Waterfall Edge, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Top Knobs Creamy Kitchen
Painted Cabinetry: Sherwin Williams Creamy
Quartz: Calacatta Versailles honed finish, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Top Knobs Design Studio Island
Painted Cabinetry: Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black
Quartz: Corian Calacatta Villa, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Hardware Resources

Design Studio Cabinetry
Painted Cabinetry: Wendt’s Classic White
Vicostone Quartz: Diamante, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Rejuvenation

Breakroom Kitchen
Cabinetry: Maple-stained Toast
Custom Laminate Tops: Lisola, Formica - matte finish
Hardware: Top Knobs

Kaeli & Jordan’s Office
Painted Cabinetry: Sherwin Williams Iron Ore
Floating Shelf & Cabinet Interiors: Maple-stained Mission Oak
Stone: Vicostone in Java Noir - honed finish, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Hardware Resources Megan’s Office
Cabinetry: White Oak-stained in Sandalwood
Painted Cabinetry: Sherwin Williams Simply White
Slat Material: White Oak for slats & waterfall ceiling detail
Stone: Carrara Breve quartz, Spaulding Stone
Hardware: Hardware Resources