Thanks to the burgeoning market for home improvement shows peppered across the television landscape, everybody has some sort of dream kitchen or bath space floating around in their head. Most of us, however, are at a loss to actually refine that dream space into an actual blueprint, let alone follow through with the creation of that eye-popping place we all would love to call our own. Fortunately for the current marketplace in Michigan’s Great Southwest, there’s an amazingly talented designer advancing her business to the next level ready to help you achieve the dream.
Erin Bennett has variably operated under the name The Final Design, and Erin Bennett Design dating back to the late 90s. Now, however, she is returning to her Final Design roots and establishing a showroom and office inside MarketHouse Interiors at the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Lakeview Avenue across from the Dairy Korner.
Erin actually launched Final Design while she was still earning her Bachelor of Science in Interior Architecture/Design degree and working as a draftsman at a local cabinetry shop in Brighton, Michigan outside of Detroit. Ever since those early days you’d be hard-pressed to find Erin anywhere far from her own pencil and paper dreamspace where she loves to craft uniquely different Kitchens and Baths for clients and contractors from all walks of life.
She loves that people are increasingly into HGTV programs because it stimulates the desire to change and make over existing homes and condos, or better yet the ultimate desire for a brand new space literally starting from scratch, because that’s where she excels.
Erin’s total emphasis is on consulting with the client, builder, contractor or interior designer and determining what their sense of style is before sitting down to envision how all of the pieces go together. She is an expert at any step along the route from simply helping to find the right cabinetry, counter surfaces, and such to the finite details of every lighting and plumbing fixture, door, drawer and decor in the room.
Working with three core styles ranging from traditional, to transitional, to contemporary, Erin tells me she “love(s) to challenge the trends” by bending the looks and designs to a new and unique style for clients so that they don’t get trapped into “what everybody else is seemingly in search of.” Naturally, if you want to stick to the tried-and-true, she’ll help you accomplish the look with verve, but with new products and materials moving through the pipeline all the time, she likes to “mix it up, and deliver a one-of-a-kind wow factor” that you might not find elsewhere in the system.
As she recently told the new “Sunset Coast Living” Magazine where she is a contributor to the editorial board, “I create works of art, kitchens that inspire you to cook, bathrooms that you want to spend the whole day in, spaces that envelope you.”
Her new design studio is still being outfitted, preparatory to a late October, early November Grand Opening celebration, however, she holds court there now from 10am until 5:30pm Tuesday through Friday in the MarketHouse Interiors building at 1601 Lakeshore Drive.
She utilizes several key vendors for her cabinetry, and says Ayr Custom Cabinetry “can create anything that I can dream up, and do it with great flair and style.” She hand-selected Ayr because of their truly amazing ability to follow the dream. She also offers Shiloh cabinetry for traditional styling, and Eclipse for dramatic and exciting new contemporary looks. She showed me an example of a “hardware-free” design with channels rather than pulls or handles from the Eclipse line.
Erin is leasing a third of the space at the MarketHouse for her new showroom, and works side-by-side with MarketHouse owner Tammy Keller for clients who would like the expertise of both women and their design capabilities.
Erin says that the housing market’s incredible strength made it the perfect time to advance her business to the next level from a home-based operation to a public studio space. She has researched endlessly to bring clients, builders and contractors the very best at every step and says it must be working because she gets a great deal of repeat business and regular referrals.
While the studio hours are Tuesday through Friday, appointments can be arranged for other hours and days to accommodate the opportunity for more detailed private conferencing and idea sessions with her clientele. She also maintains a strong list of contractors who can flawlessly install the work she has created, or customers can use their own resources for the finished spaces.
While some designers become known for a repetitive “branded” look, Erin prefers to keep a clean slate and an open mind to always produce the truly individual custom look that the customer deserves. Whether you are in search of a new island design for your kitchen or would prefer to have Erin handle every single element of your finished space down to the decor and accessories, Erin’s Final Design is targeted to be the one that you will be ready to live with happily ever after — or, at least until you’re ready to do it all over again.
You can reach Erin Bennett and Final Design at the studio at 1601 Lakeshore Drive during regular business hours or you can reach her by phone at 269-985-3610. Here’s the link to her website:
