November 20, 2024 • 28 mins
Unlock the secrets of innovative home transformation with Wayne Stephens, a seasoned veteran with 37 years of experience in the cabinetry world. Wayne opens the doors to his Fort Mitchell, Kentucky showroom, where over 30 stunning displays showcase a myriad of design possibilities. Discover how his expert team guides clients from uncertainty to satisfaction, crafting designs that cater to every style and budget, while ensuring that each kitchen emanates the client's vision through custom finishes and thoughtful design.
Explore the magic behind turning traditional kitchens into open-concept marvels. Wayne's team starts with an in-home consultation to dive deep into client dreams, transforming them into reality with structural integrity and style in mind. Learn how they break down the design process into digestible storyboards that simplify decision-making, from color palettes to material selections. By embracing flexibility, they ensure that each design iteration brings clients closer to their dream kitchen, transforming what could be an overwhelming journey into a smooth and rewarding experience.
Wayne's impact extends beyond cabinetry; he's a pillar of his community, creating spaces that enhance lives. Discover how word-of-mouth has been the cornerstone of his business's success, fueled by the high-quality craftsmanship and client satisfaction he and his team deliver. With a focus on free consultations and a welcoming showroom, Wayne and his daughter Katie, who brings fresh contemporary insights, continue to enrich homes from kitchens to libraries. Celebrate Wayne's dedication and the profound trust the community places in him, underscoring the essence of what it means to be a good neighbor.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Charlie McDermott (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Mike Murphy (00:12):
Thanks, charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We interview local businessowners and influencers here in
northern Kentucky so that youcan get to know them as humans
and not just logos that youmight see on a truck or the side
of a building or on theirbusiness card.
So the human that I aminterviewing today so that you
(00:34):
can get to know him is WayneStevens with W Stevens Cabinetry
Design, and he's going to tellyou about his business and we're
going to get to know Wayne alittle bit better.
So, Wayne, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, you'rewelcome.
So, w Stevens, Cabinetry andDesign many of us as we drive
(00:56):
through.
Is it Fort Mitchell proper?
Is that where you're located?
Wayne Stephens (01:01):
Yes, we're located at 2497 Dixie Highway,
which is on the corner of DixieHighway and Orphanage Road,
right across from the GreyhoundTavern.
Mike Murphy (01:12):
Okay, I've driven past the building many, many
times without knowing what'sinside, and I'm sure a lot of
people are the same way.
I have since come to know allabout what's inside, but today
we're going to let people knowthe good news coming out of your
building and everything thatyou can do for the community.
So why don't you explain to usall about W Stevens Cabinetry
(01:38):
and Design?
Wayne Stephens (01:40):
Yes, well, this is my 37th year of doing this
type of work.
I've been very fortunate, verysupported by the community.
I started my own business manyyears ago and we started in Fort
Mitchell and then, in 2016, werelocated to the location that
we're at now.
We remodeled this building andmade it very conducive for
(02:03):
displaying and designing andworking with customers in the
design field.
Mike Murphy (02:10):
So when somebody walks into your showroom, what
do they see?
Wayne Stephens (02:16):
Well, when they walk in they see a lot of
intricate architectural designfeatures.
We have over 30 displays ofdifferent cabinetry.
We have a selection room withall of the different door styles
, all of the different colorsthat are available and they can
be matched and matched to getjust hundreds of thousands of
(02:37):
different design profiles thatyou know would uniquely satisfy
pretty much any customer that wehave.
Mike Murphy (02:44):
you know would uniquely satisfy pretty much any
customer that we have.
Okay, so, to that end, whensomebody walks in and they don't
really know what they want,what they need, they just know
that what they have is old andready for a refurb, but they
(03:07):
don't really know the trendstoday.
They don't know what they don'tknow.
So if somebody comes in andsays I have no idea what I want,
help me.
So how do you help them inthose moments?
Wayne Stephens (03:16):
Okay, that's a great question, actually, and
that's our specialty.
Our design ability is whatwe're known for.
You know you can buy cabinetryat different places, but you
know, getting the design fromreal architectural designers
that have been doing this formany, many, many years and have
the architectural background andeducation in this, that's
(03:37):
something you don't find veryoften and we're really, really
proud of that.
If a customer comes in and theysay, well, I would like to redo
my kitchen, I don't know whereto start, don't know where to go
, and I'm like well, you've cometo the right place.
We have a lot of differentdesigners that work for us.
We have different designers fordifferent folks.
You know that some may like ayounger designer, an older
(04:00):
designer, you know.
So we have someone to suit justabout everyone.
And when someone comes in theysay, well, I don't really know
what I want, can you help us?
We say absolutely so.
We have so many differentdisplays, so many different
design theories.
We walk them through theshowrooms, we show them benefits
and features of all thedifferent cabinet lines.
(04:21):
And someone may say you know, Iwant to spend not much, or I
want to spend a lot, or we havesomething for every budget, no
matter if somebody's doing anapartment or somebody's doing a
$2 million house, we haveproducts and design features for
them.
You know, and we're proud ofthe fact that we have something
(04:43):
for everyone.
And I always tell folks, youknow, we don't care what you
pick, just please buy somethingand tell someone.
That's that's what we tellfolks often, you know.
And then another thing that wedo if somebody comes in they
don't know what they want, wehave a large selection room with
all of the different doorstyles.
If somebody wants a shaker door, somebody wants a traditional
(05:12):
door, a transitional door, amodern door, a contemporary door
, we have all of those differentfeatures and we have, you know,
painted finishes, stainedfinishes.
We have laminate finishes.
You know people will come inand they'll want to do
mid-century, modern design.
So we have those veneer flatdoors that work well.
Design theory you know, a lot ofwhat we do in today's time is
(05:34):
the transitional look is whatyou see in most homes, the look
that people are going for rightnow.
We've moved away from thetraditional door style, but the
transitional is really prettyand we can just do so much with
that.
The design trends that we'reseeing now is, you know, we're
seeing a lot of painted finishand any Sherwin Williams color
(05:57):
that's in the Sherwin Williamspaint deck, we can actually
create that finish.
And then we have a lot of otherfinishes that are standard
finishes and we have hundredsand hundreds of those.
So whatever somebody wants tocreate, we can help them find
that.
And then, as far as not knowingwhat they want, we start with,
okay, you know, do you, do you,what kind of budget do you have?
(06:20):
And we talk to them there.
We show them, you know,something to fit in their budget
so that they're not likepicking something that's way
more than they want to spend.
It doesn't matter to us whatthey spend, as long as they buy
something.
Then that's how we kind of getour get.
Get get.
Our reward is just by makingsatisfied that a significant
(06:44):
amount of the folks that come inand actually sit down and
design with us we actually endup doing the job.
Sometimes it takes two to threeyears for them to actually do
it, but we're very fortunate wedo get to do that.
So, and walking them throughthe design process, that's what
we're kind of proud of, andwe'll help them pick door styles
(07:04):
and colors and then the designlayout.
You know, working with someonebased on ergonomics or maybe
some significant desires orwants that they may have, we can
work with that.
You know, each kitchen isspecifically and uniquely
designed for that individualperson, so we take a lot of
(07:26):
pride in that.
Mike Murphy (07:28):
Well, I can tell how much pride you take in it
just by the last few minutesthat you've talked.
You know your stuff.
You're used to people coming inand saying Wayne, help me.
Wayne Stephens (07:44):
And a funny thing that we've had.
We have actually had peoplecome in and say and it's people
that we've worked with in thepast, obviously, and they know
about us and how we work butwe've actually had folks come in
and say here's my key, go, doyour thing.
I'm going to Florida for thewinter.
(08:04):
I'll be back in the spring.
And I'll say well, that's athat's a big responsibility.
How about I go do my thing andthen we get together that some
way, you know via the internetor a phone call or or you know
Facebook or something, and Ishow you kind of how it's going
to look, what it's going to looklike and how we go from there,
(08:27):
cause you know, I wouldn't wantsomebody to come home and say,
oh no, that wasn't what I wasthinking.
So we have actually had peopledo that and they've actually
turned out great.
Mike Murphy (08:37):
Okay, Well, that's.
That's a lot of trust thatthey're placing in you.
Well, but I think that it saysa lot about your reputation,
though.
Wayne Stephens (08:48):
The kitchen is the kind of the hub of the home,
for sure.
And so you know people, youknow they cook there and they
prepare their meals there.
But they also congregate there,they socialize there, they do
homework, you know they dothings together, they have
family conversations, they sitdown and have dinner.
You know the formal dining roomis kind of a thing of the past.
(09:12):
Most of the people they makethe food eat the food all in the
same room and so we kind ofdesigned on that.
A big thing we do is peoplewill call us, you know, and they
love their neighborhood, theylove their house.
They've been there for manyyears but it kind of came with a
builder grade kitchen and nowthey know they want to stay and
they want to spend the money tomake it more, more usable for
(09:35):
their family, grandkids, youknow, and they have the people's
families have growntremendously since they bought
their house.
So one thing we do is a kitchen.
Sometimes you'll have a smallerkitchen and a dining room next
door, smaller kitchen and diningroom next door, and we'll take
the wall out between the kitchenand the dining room and make
the make it just a large eat inkitchen.
That's a big thing right now.
(09:57):
And so you know, we know how todesign that way and we look at
walls and we know what can moveand what can't move, and and
that's just such a differentthing from the old days when
people would go to a big boxstore and you would take your
measurements.
Then they would shove it into acomputer and whatever it spit
out, you would say OK, you wouldpay the money and sometimes it
(10:20):
would fit, sometimes it wouldn't.
We actually, after we talk toyou and introduce ourselves and
show you a little bit about us,then we come out to your house,
we measure everything.
We talked to you about your joband I usually say, before I
corrupt you in any way, pleasetell me what you're thinking,
because we like to get theperson to get what they want and
(10:43):
as long as it's engineeringlypossible, then we do it.
So we go out to the house, wemeasure the job, we come back,
we create the design for them.
Then they come back into ouroffice and they look at the
selections and things that theypreviously looked at and they
can reconsider and make changes.
And then we show them ourdesign and basically what we
(11:04):
have where and what all thefeatures are the cabinets and
rollout trays and garbage cansand all those things that we
built in and crown moldtreatments.
A big thing is taking out theold soffits and taking the
cabinets up higher and thendoing like a nice crown
treatment to the ceiling.
So a lot of times when thepeople come in for that first
(11:25):
visit, you know they look ateverything and sometimes are
like, nope, that's exactly whatI want, let's do it.
And then sometimes it's like,hey, can I change this a little?
Can I change that a little?
And I always hold up a penciland eraser and I always say it's
only pencil and eraser, we canabsolutely take it for you.
Mike Murphy (11:42):
And then we make changes as needed and then the
process starts and we get thingsordered and, you know, move
down the road from there, dopeople come walking into a
showroom with, say, maybe, aphoto they've torn out of a
magazine or something they'veprinted off online, or hold up
their phone and say this is whatI want.
Can you do this?
(12:03):
Absolutely.
Wayne Stephens (12:05):
We get people that come in often with
Pinterest or pictures out of amagazine, and a lot of times
it'll be for more door stylesand colors, which that's so easy
for us because we have sodifferent lines that we go to
and we're like, ok, you likethis color?
Well, here are four or fivecolors that are in that range.
(12:29):
You know, here they are live,and so you can actually see them
on wood.
What do you think?
And so then they'll pick someand then we'll give them any
that they pick to take home andlook at them in their own light
also so that they can see ifthat color works good in the
light that they have in theirroom.
(12:51):
So, and then a lot of times youknow, something they bring in
might have a particular doorstyle.
You know you can do fulloverlay doors and inset doors
and all of that.
So, and then we'll pull doorstyles down for them and we'll
put it all together.
And then we'll actually pullcountertop samples and put it
all together for them.
So by the time we do the designand we've been out to measure
(13:13):
and they come back, we have atotal storyboard for them of
designs, elevations, colorselections and door selections
and countertop selections basedon what they like, and then you
know there may be two or threethat they've picked and they
haven't narrowed it down, butthen at that point they narrow
it down.
So that's kind of how we dothat.
(13:34):
It's a pretty easy process forus.
People are definitely sometimesoverwhelmed when they come in,
but when they come back for thatsecond visit.
That all just goes away for them.
Mike Murphy (13:47):
Okay.
So when people come to you,education is a big part of it.
You educate them Because, likeI said earlier, people don't
know what they don't know, soyou make sure to do some of the
thinking for them in a good waythough.
Yes, to make sure that they'renot doing something that's maybe
not appropriate or isn't goingto work or whatever.
Wayne Stephens (14:09):
Yes, so we actually see that.
We see that and folks will havedone a kitchen, you know,
redone a kitchen and it hasn'tworked out the way they thought
it would.
And they'll come to us and say,well, can you come and check
(14:29):
this out?
And we always say, of courseand I always talk about folks,
you know, we get pretty much allof our business by word of
mouth and I'm very thankful forthat.
Most of the time it is, hey, myfriend used you and said you
were great, can you come out?
And I'm like, well, sure, I can, but every great once, once in
a while, we get the hey, myfriend didn't use you and she's
(14:51):
really sorry about that.
And she told me and that'sprobably the biggest compliment
that I can get right there yeah,because every job you do you're
making a billboard for yourcompany, you know.
Mike Murphy (15:05):
And every time people get the point and say
Wayne did that and you go seeWayne.
Go see Wayne, because this iswhat the experience I had, is
what you're looking for, so gosee Wayne.
Wayne Stephens (15:16):
Right, it's a very personal thing and you know
our pride that we take in whatwe do.
You know, with all thedesigners that work with me, I,
you know they're all the sameand that's a big deal for us.
We take a lot of pride in whatwe do.
Mike Murphy (15:34):
How many people do you have working with you, Like?
How many designers do you have?
Who's on your team?
Wayne Stephens (15:39):
Actually we have .
You know, we have fivedifferent folks that do design
work with us and they all havetheir unique skillset and
they're all good at things.
You know, one person that workswith me is my oldest daughter.
Her name is Katie and she is afantastic designer and she
(16:04):
definitely has appeal for thatyounger generation and that more
contemporary styling.
Just, she's very, very talented.
Of course, you know I'm her dad, but I'm also really proud of
how well that she has done.
And then Mark Prince that workswith us.
Mark and I have been friendsfor over 25 years and we have
worked together long before Istarted my own company.
(16:28):
And then, after I started myown company for a little while,
mark came and said, hey, Ireally like the way that you
used to do things.
I have my customers that I needto take care of and I'd like to
come and do that with you.
And I'm like, absolutely.
And he came and so and we haveanother young designer and she's
(16:48):
fantastic.
And then we have another personthat just does fantastic work.
So you know, I'm pretty proudof our staff and the folks that
work with us and, like I said,we have someone to fit with
everyone.
If someone comes in and look atme and says well, you're an old
guy, I don't want you.
I'm like well, just follow me,I got somebody right here for
you.
Mike Murphy (17:12):
So yeah, if you're if you're too old for their
taste, you just take them overto introduce them to Katie.
Wayne Stephens (17:18):
Yeah, but you know I take a lot of pride that
I can design just about foranyone.
So yeah, yeah.
Mike Murphy (17:25):
There's a lot of knowledge in that noggin of
yours.
I'm sure People just have totake the time to seek, seek and
ask and you'll gladly share withthem.
You know, one thing that I'venoticed in talking to you during
this interview is you arepassionate about what you do.
I can see it in your face, Ican hear it in your voice.
(17:47):
You have a lot of knowledge andwe've barely scratched the
surface of it in your face.
I can hear it in your voice.
You have a lot of knowledge andwe barely scratched the surface
of it in this interview.
And so I think anybody who iswatching this or listening to
this that's thinking about aremodel in their home.
You have a lot of knowledge,not just for kitchens and
(18:07):
cabinets and countertops andwhatnot.
But do you, can you help peoplein other places in their house?
Wayne Stephens (18:14):
Oh, absolutely we.
You know we do bathrooms, we dolibraries, we do lower bar bars
lower bars, you know prettymuch any place that has
cabinetry and casework.
We have knowledge and theability to do it.
When I started off as a youngperson, I used to draw house
(18:35):
plans for folks.
So you know, I would draw houseplans and you know, and then I
would help the folks, I wouldhelp them with building
materials and then we kind of,as we went along, we discovered
that our niche was cabinetry andcountertop and interior
spacescapes and you know,getting the proportional
dynamics of that room and thearchitectural flow, the feeling
(18:58):
that that room gives off, that'sa niche for us and we just work
really hard at getting that andwe're proud of those spaces.
The most that we do so that'swhat we focus on is anything
that has cabinetry or caseworkwe can do.
Some folks come to us andthey're like, hey, you know, I
don't want to spend a wholebunch, but I just need a
facelift, what can I do?
(19:19):
And we're like, well, you know,we could add an island, we can
add a buffet, or sometimes thekitchen's really small and we
can't really do a lot with thecabinetry.
It's like, hey, we could changeout your countertops and do
quartz tops and stone tops andthings like that.
So we help folks in all ofthose different ways.
Or even sometimes people justwant a little adjustment and so
(19:43):
we're like, okay, well, howabout new hardware, you know?
So we have all of that righthere in our showroom for folks
to look at Okay.
Mike Murphy (19:52):
So if people want to take a little bit of a peek
behind your curtain beforecoming to visit your showroom
and meet you in person, usuallypeople will pick up their phone
or they'll sit at their computerand they'll go to a website.
So when they go to your websiteI'm assuming, being in the
(20:13):
business that you're in Peoplecan get a lot of ideas there as
well.
I noticed that, as we've talkedabout here in this interview,
the consultation is a big partof what you do.
That consulting, that initialconsultation that's free Is that
correct?
Wayne Stephens (20:31):
Yes, that the initial consultation is free.
We get our customers usuallywill either get a phone call at
the office or we will get a.
Someone will ask forinformation or a call or a call
back via our Web site at WStevens dot com and there's a
little thing you click for, youknow, to fill out your name and
(20:52):
number and we'll give you a call.
That's how folks come to usmost of the time.
Sometimes they just stop by theshowroom and they walk in and
we're like, hey, how you doing?
And we get somebody and we helpthem.
You know there's alwayssomebody here to give them a
hand.
We're open six days a week.
But when they look at ourwebsite, it's a really nice
website.
(21:13):
There are videos on there ofjobs and things like that.
There are tons of photographsof jobs that we've done.
There are testimonials fromcustomers.
There's a little blurb aboutall of our staff members.
We've had people get on thereand look at the staff members
and say you know, read about thestaff members and say I want
that person.
(21:33):
You know we're like, okay, well, we'll get that person for you
and it's great if people callahead to schedule a time because
we like to take an hour or so,even if they're just the initial
visit, to show them theproducts, walk them through the
showroom, get to know them,because an important part of the
design process is getting toknow the needs of each
(21:57):
individual person, because everyperson is different.
You know that's for sure, anddoing it all these years that's
what I found out.
No job is exactly the same.
You know we don't do cookiecutter kitchens and you know we
don't service large.
You know production builder wedo.
We're very fortunate to havetwo very nice home builders that
(22:22):
build custom homes that I haveworked for for over 25 years
with both of them, and that'ssomething in these days when you
keep a customer that long.
And then we have lots ofcustomers that have come back
and I have worked for four andfive times.
They just moved to differentplaces and that's how we kind of
get most of our business andkeep it going.
(22:43):
But if folks check out ourwebsite they can get a lot of
ideas and see a lot of our workon there.
So they know kind of a littlebit about us before they come in
.
But a call asking for anappointment is always the best.
Mike Murphy (22:57):
Okay, so the website is wstevenscom and
that's S-T-E-P-H-E-N-S, correct?
Yes, wstevenscom.
Yes, very good, and the phonenumber would be 859-394-8066.
Is that correct?
Wayne Stephens (23:17):
Actually that's my cell number, the office
number People can actually callthat if they want, because I
wear hearing aids, but theoffice number is 859-331-8100.
Mike Murphy (23:34):
8100.
Okay, I'm glad I asked that.
Yeah, we don't need peopleblowing up your cell phone.
But if they call you on yourcell I'm sure you're not going
to.
You're not going to mind thateither.
Wayne Stephens (23:46):
Cell phone numbers on my business cards,
and I do wear hearing aids, andso that's an easy way for me to
communicate with people.
Mike Murphy (23:53):
Okay, well, very good.
Well, you know what, wayne?
Our time is ended together heretoday.
We could have talked anotherLord only knows how long,
certainly at least another halfan hour.
But we'll have to have a secondpodcast together where maybe we
can talk a little more personalstuff about you know, like your
(24:16):
family, and where you like tovacation and what do you do for
fun, that sort of thing.
But for now I just want to saythat I have been struck by your
passion for what you do, andI've always said that the best
compliment one guy can giveanother is to say he's a good
guy.
He's a good guy and, wayne, youare a good guy.
(24:38):
I can tell that you are a goodguy, and so I encourage people
to come and meet with you, comesee the showroom, come get to
know Wayne and, as you say, buysomething, buy something, and
you've got a lot to offer people.
So I want people to go visitwith you.
(24:59):
So is there anything else wehaven't covered, wayne, that you
want to make sure you get tosay to the people before we sign
off today?
Wayne Stephens (25:10):
I would just like people to know that.
You know there's a lot of folksout there that sell cabinetry
and a lot of folks say thatthey're good at selling
cabinetry but they don't reallyhave the passion for design and
that's the most important thing.
You can buy cabinets at a bigbox store, for sure, but that
(25:32):
design is the most importantthing and you know I I don't
like to boast or anything else,but I will say that our design
ability and the folks that workhere with me, I will put their
ability up against anyone.
And you know and some folks say, well, you know, all that makes
(25:52):
things more expensive.
But what I have found out andpeople have told me, when you
compare what a job from us to ajob from someone else that has
less ability or something likethat, the service that we
provide, if you compare applesto apples, we're our prices
(26:13):
right there.
Our pricing is very reasonablefor what we do.
You know we're not getting,we're not getting rich off of
every job, but you know we justwant to do enough just to make
sure we're here in 10 years.
Mike Murphy (26:26):
Yeah, well, that's a good way to look at it.
You know, people aren't justcoming to see you to make you
know, to get a pretty kitchen,let's say.
They're also increasing thevalue of their home.
They're also making a decisionfor, in many cases, the people
that are going to own the homeafter they sell it.
(26:47):
Yes, so you're making adecision not just for your
family, but for some otherunnamed family in the future.
Yes, so it's worth doing right.
Wayne Stephens (26:58):
Yes, it is, it's worth doing right.
Yes, it is it's worth doingright and we definitely do it
right and we have a lot ofpassion about what we do.
But I would like folks to know,most of all, you know, give us
a chance and look at what wehave, because if you compare to
what some folks are doing outthere I guarantee it's my
(27:18):
personal you'll get more with usfor sure.
Mike Murphy (27:23):
Okay, well, that means a lot.
Well, wayne, thanks forspending time with us today.
This has been, in essence, agreat 30-minute commercial that
we've just recorded heretogether and I'm proud to have
you on the podcast, and I justwant to let everybody out there
know that you sometimes you knowyou've said today you don't
(27:46):
like to toot your own horn, butI came to know you because there
are many people in thecommunity that love tooting your
horn, so that means a lot to mepersonally, and I know anyone
that comes to see you and useyou for your services.
They're in great hands.
So, having said that, we'regoing to sign off today and this
(28:10):
is the Good Neighbor Podcast,so I'll always tell people out
there everyone be good to yourneighbor and until next time,
everyone out there, have a greatday.
Charlie McDermott (28:18):
See you soon, soon, bye-bye thanks for
listening to the good neighborpodcast union.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpunioncom.
That's gnpunioncom, or call usat 859-651-8330.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Mike Murphy.
Mike Murphy (00:12):
Thanks, charlie.
Yes, I am Mike Murphy, host ofthe Good Neighbor Podcast.
We interview local businessowners and influencers here in
northern Kentucky so that youcan get to know them as humans
and not just logos that youmight see on a truck or the side
of a building or on theirbusiness card.
So the human that I aminterviewing today so that you
(00:34):
can get to know him is WayneStevens with W Stevens Cabinetry
Design, and he's going to tellyou about his business and we're
going to get to know Wayne alittle bit better.
So, Wayne, welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, you'rewelcome.
So, w Stevens, Cabinetry andDesign many of us as we drive
(00:56):
through.
Is it Fort Mitchell proper?
Is that where you're located?
Wayne Stephens (01:01):
Yes, we're located at 2497 Dixie Highway,
which is on the corner of DixieHighway and Orphanage Road,
right across from the GreyhoundTavern.
Mike Murphy (01:12):
Okay, I've driven past the building many, many
times without knowing what'sinside, and I'm sure a lot of
people are the same way.
I have since come to know allabout what's inside, but today
we're going to let people knowthe good news coming out of your
building and everything thatyou can do for the community.
So why don't you explain to usall about W Stevens Cabinetry
(01:38):
and Design?
Wayne Stephens (01:40):
Yes, well, this is my 37th year of doing this
type of work.
I've been very fortunate, verysupported by the community.
I started my own business manyyears ago and we started in Fort
Mitchell and then, in 2016, werelocated to the location that
we're at now.
We remodeled this building andmade it very conducive for
(02:03):
displaying and designing andworking with customers in the
design field.
Mike Murphy (02:10):
So when somebody walks into your showroom, what
do they see?
Wayne Stephens (02:16):
Well, when they walk in they see a lot of
intricate architectural designfeatures.
We have over 30 displays ofdifferent cabinetry.
We have a selection room withall of the different door styles
, all of the different colorsthat are available and they can
be matched and matched to getjust hundreds of thousands of
(02:37):
different design profiles thatyou know would uniquely satisfy
pretty much any customer that wehave.
Mike Murphy (02:44):
you know would uniquely satisfy pretty much any
customer that we have.
Okay, so, to that end, whensomebody walks in and they don't
really know what they want,what they need, they just know
that what they have is old andready for a refurb, but they
(03:07):
don't really know the trendstoday.
They don't know what they don'tknow.
So if somebody comes in andsays I have no idea what I want,
help me.
So how do you help them inthose moments?
Wayne Stephens (03:16):
Okay, that's a great question, actually, and
that's our specialty.
Our design ability is whatwe're known for.
You know you can buy cabinetryat different places, but you
know, getting the design fromreal architectural designers
that have been doing this formany, many, many years and have
the architectural background andeducation in this, that's
(03:37):
something you don't find veryoften and we're really, really
proud of that.
If a customer comes in and theysay, well, I would like to redo
my kitchen, I don't know whereto start, don't know where to go
, and I'm like well, you've cometo the right place.
We have a lot of differentdesigners that work for us.
We have different designers fordifferent folks.
You know that some may like ayounger designer, an older
(04:00):
designer, you know.
So we have someone to suit justabout everyone.
And when someone comes in theysay, well, I don't really know
what I want, can you help us?
We say absolutely so.
We have so many differentdisplays, so many different
design theories.
We walk them through theshowrooms, we show them benefits
and features of all thedifferent cabinet lines.
(04:21):
And someone may say you know, Iwant to spend not much, or I
want to spend a lot, or we havesomething for every budget, no
matter if somebody's doing anapartment or somebody's doing a
$2 million house, we haveproducts and design features for
them.
You know, and we're proud ofthe fact that we have something
(04:43):
for everyone.
And I always tell folks, youknow, we don't care what you
pick, just please buy somethingand tell someone.
That's that's what we tellfolks often, you know.
And then another thing that wedo if somebody comes in they
don't know what they want, wehave a large selection room with
all of the different doorstyles.
If somebody wants a shaker door, somebody wants a traditional
(05:12):
door, a transitional door, amodern door, a contemporary door
, we have all of those differentfeatures and we have, you know,
painted finishes, stainedfinishes.
We have laminate finishes.
You know people will come inand they'll want to do
mid-century, modern design.
So we have those veneer flatdoors that work well.
Design theory you know, a lot ofwhat we do in today's time is
(05:34):
the transitional look is whatyou see in most homes, the look
that people are going for rightnow.
We've moved away from thetraditional door style, but the
transitional is really prettyand we can just do so much with
that.
The design trends that we'reseeing now is, you know, we're
seeing a lot of painted finishand any Sherwin Williams color
(05:57):
that's in the Sherwin Williamspaint deck, we can actually
create that finish.
And then we have a lot of otherfinishes that are standard
finishes and we have hundredsand hundreds of those.
So whatever somebody wants tocreate, we can help them find
that.
And then, as far as not knowingwhat they want, we start with,
okay, you know, do you, do you,what kind of budget do you have?
(06:20):
And we talk to them there.
We show them, you know,something to fit in their budget
so that they're not likepicking something that's way
more than they want to spend.
It doesn't matter to us whatthey spend, as long as they buy
something.
Then that's how we kind of getour get.
Get get.
Our reward is just by makingsatisfied that a significant
(06:44):
amount of the folks that come inand actually sit down and
design with us we actually endup doing the job.
Sometimes it takes two to threeyears for them to actually do
it, but we're very fortunate wedo get to do that.
So, and walking them throughthe design process, that's what
we're kind of proud of, andwe'll help them pick door styles
(07:04):
and colors and then the designlayout.
You know, working with someonebased on ergonomics or maybe
some significant desires orwants that they may have, we can
work with that.
You know, each kitchen isspecifically and uniquely
designed for that individualperson, so we take a lot of
(07:26):
pride in that.
Mike Murphy (07:28):
Well, I can tell how much pride you take in it
just by the last few minutesthat you've talked.
You know your stuff.
You're used to people coming inand saying Wayne, help me.
Wayne Stephens (07:44):
And a funny thing that we've had.
We have actually had peoplecome in and say and it's people
that we've worked with in thepast, obviously, and they know
about us and how we work butwe've actually had folks come in
and say here's my key, go, doyour thing.
I'm going to Florida for thewinter.
(08:04):
I'll be back in the spring.
And I'll say well, that's athat's a big responsibility.
How about I go do my thing andthen we get together that some
way, you know via the internetor a phone call or or you know
Facebook or something, and Ishow you kind of how it's going
to look, what it's going to looklike and how we go from there,
(08:27):
cause you know, I wouldn't wantsomebody to come home and say,
oh no, that wasn't what I wasthinking.
So we have actually had peopledo that and they've actually
turned out great.
Mike Murphy (08:37):
Okay, Well, that's.
That's a lot of trust thatthey're placing in you.
Well, but I think that it saysa lot about your reputation,
though.
Wayne Stephens (08:48):
The kitchen is the kind of the hub of the home,
for sure.
And so you know people, youknow they cook there and they
prepare their meals there.
But they also congregate there,they socialize there, they do
homework, you know they dothings together, they have
family conversations, they sitdown and have dinner.
You know the formal dining roomis kind of a thing of the past.
(09:12):
Most of the people they makethe food eat the food all in the
same room and so we kind ofdesigned on that.
A big thing we do is peoplewill call us, you know, and they
love their neighborhood, theylove their house.
They've been there for manyyears but it kind of came with a
builder grade kitchen and nowthey know they want to stay and
they want to spend the money tomake it more, more usable for
(09:35):
their family, grandkids, youknow, and they have the people's
families have growntremendously since they bought
their house.
So one thing we do is a kitchen.
Sometimes you'll have a smallerkitchen and a dining room next
door, smaller kitchen and diningroom next door, and we'll take
the wall out between the kitchenand the dining room and make
the make it just a large eat inkitchen.
That's a big thing right now.
(09:57):
And so you know, we know how todesign that way and we look at
walls and we know what can moveand what can't move, and and
that's just such a differentthing from the old days when
people would go to a big boxstore and you would take your
measurements.
Then they would shove it into acomputer and whatever it spit
out, you would say OK, you wouldpay the money and sometimes it
(10:20):
would fit, sometimes it wouldn't.
We actually, after we talk toyou and introduce ourselves and
show you a little bit about us,then we come out to your house,
we measure everything.
We talked to you about your joband I usually say, before I
corrupt you in any way, pleasetell me what you're thinking,
because we like to get theperson to get what they want and
(10:43):
as long as it's engineeringlypossible, then we do it.
So we go out to the house, wemeasure the job, we come back,
we create the design for them.
Then they come back into ouroffice and they look at the
selections and things that theypreviously looked at and they
can reconsider and make changes.
And then we show them ourdesign and basically what we
(11:04):
have where and what all thefeatures are the cabinets and
rollout trays and garbage cansand all those things that we
built in and crown moldtreatments.
A big thing is taking out theold soffits and taking the
cabinets up higher and thendoing like a nice crown
treatment to the ceiling.
So a lot of times when thepeople come in for that first
(11:25):
visit, you know they look ateverything and sometimes are
like, nope, that's exactly whatI want, let's do it.
And then sometimes it's like,hey, can I change this a little?
Can I change that a little?
And I always hold up a penciland eraser and I always say it's
only pencil and eraser, we canabsolutely take it for you.
Mike Murphy (11:42):
And then we make changes as needed and then the
process starts and we get thingsordered and, you know, move
down the road from there, dopeople come walking into a
showroom with, say, maybe, aphoto they've torn out of a
magazine or something they'veprinted off online, or hold up
their phone and say this is whatI want.
Can you do this?
(12:03):
Absolutely.
Wayne Stephens (12:05):
We get people that come in often with
Pinterest or pictures out of amagazine, and a lot of times
it'll be for more door stylesand colors, which that's so easy
for us because we have sodifferent lines that we go to
and we're like, ok, you likethis color?
Well, here are four or fivecolors that are in that range.
(12:29):
You know, here they are live,and so you can actually see them
on wood.
What do you think?
And so then they'll pick someand then we'll give them any
that they pick to take home andlook at them in their own light
also so that they can see ifthat color works good in the
light that they have in theirroom.
(12:51):
So, and then a lot of times youknow, something they bring in
might have a particular doorstyle.
You know you can do fulloverlay doors and inset doors
and all of that.
So, and then we'll pull doorstyles down for them and we'll
put it all together.
And then we'll actually pullcountertop samples and put it
all together for them.
So by the time we do the designand we've been out to measure
(13:13):
and they come back, we have atotal storyboard for them of
designs, elevations, colorselections and door selections
and countertop selections basedon what they like, and then you
know there may be two or threethat they've picked and they
haven't narrowed it down, butthen at that point they narrow
it down.
So that's kind of how we dothat.
(13:34):
It's a pretty easy process forus.
People are definitely sometimesoverwhelmed when they come in,
but when they come back for thatsecond visit.
That all just goes away for them.
Mike Murphy (13:47):
Okay.
So when people come to you,education is a big part of it.
You educate them Because, likeI said earlier, people don't
know what they don't know, soyou make sure to do some of the
thinking for them in a good waythough.
Yes, to make sure that they'renot doing something that's maybe
not appropriate or isn't goingto work or whatever.
Wayne Stephens (14:09):
Yes, so we actually see that.
We see that and folks will havedone a kitchen, you know,
redone a kitchen and it hasn'tworked out the way they thought
it would.
And they'll come to us and say,well, can you come and check
(14:29):
this out?
And we always say, of courseand I always talk about folks,
you know, we get pretty much allof our business by word of
mouth and I'm very thankful forthat.
Most of the time it is, hey, myfriend used you and said you
were great, can you come out?
And I'm like, well, sure, I can, but every great once, once in
a while, we get the hey, myfriend didn't use you and she's
(14:51):
really sorry about that.
And she told me and that'sprobably the biggest compliment
that I can get right there yeah,because every job you do you're
making a billboard for yourcompany, you know.
Mike Murphy (15:05):
And every time people get the point and say
Wayne did that and you go seeWayne.
Go see Wayne, because this iswhat the experience I had, is
what you're looking for, so gosee Wayne.
Wayne Stephens (15:16):
Right, it's a very personal thing and you know
our pride that we take in whatwe do.
You know, with all thedesigners that work with me, I,
you know they're all the sameand that's a big deal for us.
We take a lot of pride in whatwe do.
Mike Murphy (15:34):
How many people do you have working with you, Like?
How many designers do you have?
Who's on your team?
Wayne Stephens (15:39):
Actually we have .
You know, we have fivedifferent folks that do design
work with us and they all havetheir unique skillset and
they're all good at things.
You know, one person that workswith me is my oldest daughter.
Her name is Katie and she is afantastic designer and she
(16:04):
definitely has appeal for thatyounger generation and that more
contemporary styling.
Just, she's very, very talented.
Of course, you know I'm her dad, but I'm also really proud of
how well that she has done.
And then Mark Prince that workswith us.
Mark and I have been friendsfor over 25 years and we have
worked together long before Istarted my own company.
(16:28):
And then, after I started myown company for a little while,
mark came and said, hey, Ireally like the way that you
used to do things.
I have my customers that I needto take care of and I'd like to
come and do that with you.
And I'm like, absolutely.
And he came and so and we haveanother young designer and she's
(16:48):
fantastic.
And then we have another personthat just does fantastic work.
So you know, I'm pretty proudof our staff and the folks that
work with us and, like I said,we have someone to fit with
everyone.
If someone comes in and look atme and says well, you're an old
guy, I don't want you.
I'm like well, just follow me,I got somebody right here for
you.
Mike Murphy (17:12):
So yeah, if you're if you're too old for their
taste, you just take them overto introduce them to Katie.
Wayne Stephens (17:18):
Yeah, but you know I take a lot of pride that
I can design just about foranyone.
So yeah, yeah.
Mike Murphy (17:25):
There's a lot of knowledge in that noggin of
yours.
I'm sure People just have totake the time to seek, seek and
ask and you'll gladly share withthem.
You know, one thing that I'venoticed in talking to you during
this interview is you arepassionate about what you do.
I can see it in your face, Ican hear it in your voice.
(17:47):
You have a lot of knowledge andwe've barely scratched the
surface of it in your face.
I can hear it in your voice.
You have a lot of knowledge andwe barely scratched the surface
of it in this interview.
And so I think anybody who iswatching this or listening to
this that's thinking about aremodel in their home.
You have a lot of knowledge,not just for kitchens and
(18:07):
cabinets and countertops andwhatnot.
But do you, can you help peoplein other places in their house?
Wayne Stephens (18:14):
Oh, absolutely we.
You know we do bathrooms, we dolibraries, we do lower bar bars
lower bars, you know prettymuch any place that has
cabinetry and casework.
We have knowledge and theability to do it.
When I started off as a youngperson, I used to draw house
(18:35):
plans for folks.
So you know, I would draw houseplans and you know, and then I
would help the folks, I wouldhelp them with building
materials and then we kind of,as we went along, we discovered
that our niche was cabinetry andcountertop and interior
spacescapes and you know,getting the proportional
dynamics of that room and thearchitectural flow, the feeling
(18:58):
that that room gives off, that'sa niche for us and we just work
really hard at getting that andwe're proud of those spaces.
The most that we do so that'swhat we focus on is anything
that has cabinetry or caseworkwe can do.
Some folks come to us andthey're like, hey, you know, I
don't want to spend a wholebunch, but I just need a
facelift, what can I do?
(19:19):
And we're like, well, you know,we could add an island, we can
add a buffet, or sometimes thekitchen's really small and we
can't really do a lot with thecabinetry.
It's like, hey, we could changeout your countertops and do
quartz tops and stone tops andthings like that.
So we help folks in all ofthose different ways.
Or even sometimes people justwant a little adjustment and so
(19:43):
we're like, okay, well, howabout new hardware, you know?
So we have all of that righthere in our showroom for folks
to look at Okay.
Mike Murphy (19:52):
So if people want to take a little bit of a peek
behind your curtain beforecoming to visit your showroom
and meet you in person, usuallypeople will pick up their phone
or they'll sit at their computerand they'll go to a website.
So when they go to your websiteI'm assuming, being in the
(20:13):
business that you're in Peoplecan get a lot of ideas there as
well.
I noticed that, as we've talkedabout here in this interview,
the consultation is a big partof what you do.
That consulting, that initialconsultation that's free Is that
correct?
Wayne Stephens (20:31):
Yes, that the initial consultation is free.
We get our customers usuallywill either get a phone call at
the office or we will get a.
Someone will ask forinformation or a call or a call
back via our Web site at WStevens dot com and there's a
little thing you click for, youknow, to fill out your name and
(20:52):
number and we'll give you a call.
That's how folks come to usmost of the time.
Sometimes they just stop by theshowroom and they walk in and
we're like, hey, how you doing?
And we get somebody and we helpthem.
You know there's alwayssomebody here to give them a
hand.
We're open six days a week.
But when they look at ourwebsite, it's a really nice
website.
(21:13):
There are videos on there ofjobs and things like that.
There are tons of photographsof jobs that we've done.
There are testimonials fromcustomers.
There's a little blurb aboutall of our staff members.
We've had people get on thereand look at the staff members
and say you know, read about thestaff members and say I want
that person.
(21:33):
You know we're like, okay, well, we'll get that person for you
and it's great if people callahead to schedule a time because
we like to take an hour or so,even if they're just the initial
visit, to show them theproducts, walk them through the
showroom, get to know them,because an important part of the
design process is getting toknow the needs of each
(21:57):
individual person, because everyperson is different.
You know that's for sure, anddoing it all these years that's
what I found out.
No job is exactly the same.
You know we don't do cookiecutter kitchens and you know we
don't service large.
You know production builder wedo.
We're very fortunate to havetwo very nice home builders that
(22:22):
build custom homes that I haveworked for for over 25 years
with both of them, and that'ssomething in these days when you
keep a customer that long.
And then we have lots ofcustomers that have come back
and I have worked for four andfive times.
They just moved to differentplaces and that's how we kind of
get most of our business andkeep it going.
(22:43):
But if folks check out ourwebsite they can get a lot of
ideas and see a lot of our workon there.
So they know kind of a littlebit about us before they come in
.
But a call asking for anappointment is always the best.
Mike Murphy (22:57):
Okay, so the website is wstevenscom and
that's S-T-E-P-H-E-N-S, correct?
Yes, wstevenscom.
Yes, very good, and the phonenumber would be 859-394-8066.
Is that correct?
Wayne Stephens (23:17):
Actually that's my cell number, the office
number People can actually callthat if they want, because I
wear hearing aids, but theoffice number is 859-331-8100.
Mike Murphy (23:34):
8100.
Okay, I'm glad I asked that.
Yeah, we don't need peopleblowing up your cell phone.
But if they call you on yourcell I'm sure you're not going
to.
You're not going to mind thateither.
Wayne Stephens (23:46):
Cell phone numbers on my business cards,
and I do wear hearing aids, andso that's an easy way for me to
communicate with people.
Mike Murphy (23:53):
Okay, well, very good.
Well, you know what, wayne?
Our time is ended together heretoday.
We could have talked anotherLord only knows how long,
certainly at least another halfan hour.
But we'll have to have a secondpodcast together where maybe we
can talk a little more personalstuff about you know, like your
(24:16):
family, and where you like tovacation and what do you do for
fun, that sort of thing.
But for now I just want to saythat I have been struck by your
passion for what you do, andI've always said that the best
compliment one guy can giveanother is to say he's a good
guy.
He's a good guy and, wayne, youare a good guy.
(24:38):
I can tell that you are a goodguy, and so I encourage people
to come and meet with you, comesee the showroom, come get to
know Wayne and, as you say, buysomething, buy something, and
you've got a lot to offer people.
So I want people to go visitwith you.
(24:59):
So is there anything else wehaven't covered, wayne, that you
want to make sure you get tosay to the people before we sign
off today?
Wayne Stephens (25:10):
I would just like people to know that.
You know there's a lot of folksout there that sell cabinetry
and a lot of folks say thatthey're good at selling
cabinetry but they don't reallyhave the passion for design and
that's the most important thing.
You can buy cabinets at a bigbox store, for sure, but that
(25:32):
design is the most importantthing and you know I I don't
like to boast or anything else,but I will say that our design
ability and the folks that workhere with me, I will put their
ability up against anyone.
And you know and some folks say, well, you know, all that makes
(25:52):
things more expensive.
But what I have found out andpeople have told me, when you
compare what a job from us to ajob from someone else that has
less ability or something likethat, the service that we
provide, if you compare applesto apples, we're our prices
(26:13):
right there.
Our pricing is very reasonablefor what we do.
You know we're not getting,we're not getting rich off of
every job, but you know we justwant to do enough just to make
sure we're here in 10 years.
Mike Murphy (26:26):
Yeah, well, that's a good way to look at it.
You know, people aren't justcoming to see you to make you
know, to get a pretty kitchen,let's say.
They're also increasing thevalue of their home.
They're also making a decisionfor, in many cases, the people
that are going to own the homeafter they sell it.
(26:47):
Yes, so you're making adecision not just for your
family, but for some otherunnamed family in the future.
Yes, so it's worth doing right.
Wayne Stephens (26:58):
Yes, it is, it's worth doing right.
Yes, it is it's worth doingright and we definitely do it
right and we have a lot ofpassion about what we do.
But I would like folks to know,most of all, you know, give us
a chance and look at what wehave, because if you compare to
what some folks are doing outthere I guarantee it's my
(27:18):
personal you'll get more with usfor sure.
Mike Murphy (27:23):
Okay, well, that means a lot.
Well, wayne, thanks forspending time with us today.
This has been, in essence, agreat 30-minute commercial that
we've just recorded heretogether and I'm proud to have
you on the podcast, and I justwant to let everybody out there
know that you sometimes you knowyou've said today you don't
(27:46):
like to toot your own horn, butI came to know you because there
are many people in thecommunity that love tooting your
horn, so that means a lot to mepersonally, and I know anyone
that comes to see you and useyou for your services.
They're in great hands.
So, having said that, we'regoing to sign off today and this
(28:10):
is the Good Neighbor Podcast,so I'll always tell people out
there everyone be good to yourneighbor and until next time,
everyone out there, have a greatday.
Charlie McDermott (28:18):
See you soon, soon, bye-bye thanks for
listening to the good neighborpodcast union.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpunioncom.
That's gnpunioncom, or call usat 859-651-8330.
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