Mini Makeover To Be Featured In Online Show
By Marci Hummel
Bryan Times Business Editor
Coming soon to viewers everywhere: Tami Roushia and her new kitchen.
The Bryan resident will soon be featured on “(Up)Date Night,” a kitchen makeover video on the Facebook page of countertop-maker Wilsonart International.
The video also features the L. E. Smith Company, which fabricates Wilsonart countertops, and the Bryan Building Center, local retail outlet for the countertops.
Andrea Bredow, a spokesperson for Wilsonart, said this is Wilsonart’s third video for “(Up)Date Night.” The others were shot in Minnesota and California. She said the company’s goal was to create a three-series video and that included a fabricator such as L. E. Smith.
“Tami is our third series on the “(Up)Date Night” video,” she said.
Bredow said “(Up)Date Night” was created in 2010 to tell the story of families who are in the process of remodeling their kitchens and how the families interact with their kitchen. She said Wilsonart stresses that families can be involved with personalizing their kitchen design and that the makeover can be accomplished with minimal disruption.
To view the videos already posted, go to www.leanremodeler.com. Bredow said the Roushia videos should be released by the end of October.
She said the Roushia family fit the company’s profile of personalization. “one of them is that Tami had just moved into this home, and her kitchen was acceptable … but Tami really wanted to take this time and personalize it. She wanted to make her house her home, and so that is the story we’re trelling through Tami’s transformation of her kitchen.”
Although the new countertop and undermount sink were provided by Wilsonart, Roushia took care of other kitchen updates.
Bredow said leanremodeler.com is a great way to get kitchen remodeling ideas.
“A lot of people want to remodel, and remodeling with this economy, you know, is something people are taking more time to think about. And we just want to (the public) know there are options that will make big changes on a very cost-effective budget and not disrupt your family life. You can get a countertop in and out in one day.”
Craig Francisco, chief operations officer for L. E. Smith, said the Bryan company is one of Wilsonart’s top clients. “And (during) their last visit with their senior managers, they asked if we would want to help partake in brining [“(Up)Date Night”] to Bryan, and we said we’d be honored.”
He said the idea is to feature someone with children who has a busy lifestyle and is looking to improve his or her kitchen. “We were able to find that person (Roushia has two teenage children) … They spoke with her as well, and it looked like it was going to be a perfect fit.”
He said Wilsonart provided the material, and L. E. Smith provided the fabrication and installation of the countertop and sink. Rich Roehl, a kitchen designer with Bryan Building Center, helped Roushia with countertop selection.
Francisco said Roushia chose one of Wilsonart’s high definition laminate countertops that mirrors granite but is less expensive and does not require the maintenance of granite.
“We’re really honored to be part of something that’s so neat,” Francisco said. “They’re from Temple, Texas – that’s a long way away from Bryan, and it’s neat we’re the first area they’ve come to to help a family here in the Midwest.”