Interactive & Immersive

Keith Miller & Dana Nielsen

Starved Rock Wood Products / SR Cabinetry 

Rene Chyba

Chyba Design  

The ultimate goal for this 9,300-sq.-ft. showroom, located in Glenview, IL, was to present visitors with an immersive experience – 11 interactive full-size kitchens outfitted with all appliances and globally sourced materials – that could showcase every door style in every color SR Cabinetry offers. 

Although COVID concerns ranging from mandatory shelter orders to supply chain issues to local government furloughs dogged the project from the first few weeks of its lifespan, the company, along with Italian design firm Chyba Design, soldiered on to create four traditional and seven modern kitchens. The company compensated for what delays it could by cutting purchase orders well ahead of schedule to ensure on-time material availability.

The kitchens feature appliances from Bertazzoni, Fisher & Paykel, Hestan and more, as well as faucets and finishes from companies such as Moen and Richelieu. SR Cabinetry products such as the Byron and Darien cabinet styles are showcased alongside international and domestic products in the distinctive and clearly delineated kitchens. 

In order to provide visitors with a truly immersive shopping experience, the company added a fun and comfortable children’s play area to the showroom, featuring a television with cartoons and a large LED touchscreen TV for games.

By consulting outside electrical engineers, the company was able to work with the designers to create lighting designs that feature 90% LED light fixtures, as well as Creston lighting controls that utilize motion sensors to turn lights on and off as visitors pass through the displays. Additionally, all the company’s wood coatings are waterborne for environmental friendliness.