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Creating a design concept for a kitchen or remodeling an outdated bathroom requires an understanding of the products and services available to those looking to undertake such a project. The ProSource Podcast breaks down the home remodeling industry and highlights the merchandise and experience that it requires to achieve your vision. Join ProSource Director of Digital Marketing Content Kevin Devine, as he speaks with those who facilitate the ideal project and offer valuable information for how to choose the ideal products and services that transform your ideas into reality.
Welcome back to The
ProSource Podcast, everybody.
I'm Mollie Thompson.
I am sitting here today
with Evan Pittman and Bonnie Schmitz
they are here to talk
about Decora and B.E.E.,
which is for Schrock
Boutique, Diamond Edge and Kemper Emerge.
These cabinetry programs
are designed to bring elevated design
on trend finishes and premium
quality craftsmanship
to a broader range of projects.
I.
Evan and Bonnie,
thank you so much for joining me today.
It's it's wonderful to be here, Molly.
Thanks for having me, for having us.
Yeah, yeah.
So they are both for MasterBrand.
We've talked about this a little bit.
The last time Evan was on,
we talked about how Master
Brand oversees
a huge portfolio of brands.
So this is kind of
a small section of that portfolio
that we're getting into today.
Before we dive into these premium brands,
can you just briefly
just introduce yourself to the audience
and what you do day to day
at MasterBrand?
Yeah, absolutely.
I'll kick us off here.
So again,
like Molly said, my name is Evan Pittman.
I am the product and brand leader
for the Schrock Diamond Kemper
product portfolio as well as Decora.
And I've been at Master
Brand now for going on 15 years.
And part of my day to day
is really to examine, you know,
what are the current trends,
what are the new products
that people are hoping to incorporate
within these product lines?
We're constantly examining
how do we make these product lines
easier to use, easier
to sell,
and ensuring
that we've got the right products
in the offering.
We're constantly thinking, you know,
what's on the product roadmap from,
you know, next year to four years
down the down the road.
So it's
really an exciting position to be in
because we get to really interact
with a lot of our customers, but also,
you know,
really understand the inner workings
of of how the organization operates.
Bonnie, how about you?
Yeah, I'm Bonnie Schmitz.
As was stated,
I've been in the kitchen
bath industry for 13 years,
going on 13 years.
I've had some variety of roles,
but now I work as the product
and pricing
analyst for Schrock
Diamond, Kemper and Decora.
So I focus more on
executing our product vision
and focusing really
on voice of the customer market
trends and analytics to back up
all of our brand value propositions.
You guys both have a lot of experience
behind you,
which is great to hear
for anyone listening
that might be newer
to premium cabinetry,
whether they're a trade pro
or a homeowner,
how should they think about Decora
and be within today's cabinetry landscape
and what makes them stand out
from traditional cabinet offerings?
Yeah, that's a great question, Molly.
And it's one that,
honestly, we've been asking ourselves
over the past year or so,
we've been doing
a tremendous amount of work
to overhaul these portfolios to
to overhaul their value propositions,
to make them, again, easier to use
and make them a little more approachable
from the standpoint of
of bringing down the price,
adding a lot more value.
When you think about
using these premium offerings.
What's great about this is last year
we were talking about
the big transformation going on
with Schrock,
diamond, Kemper and Mid-Continent.
This is really continuation of that.
And so
with with Boutique and Edge in emerge
that gives you that
next level design ability,
customization, premium features.
What's great about it
though,
is that it's really a continuation of
of that.
It has the same styles, finishes, but
just allows you to do a little bit
more from a customization standpoint.
It offers really those next level
premium finishes, really
those product species,
those those wood species
you can't typically get.
And so that makes it really nice.
It makes it much easier to get into,
especially if you're new
into the premium category where decor.
On the other hand,
the core is a brand
that's been around
for a really long time.
It has a long history
of craftsmanship and and quality,
and we've been doing a lot to
to really kind of
bring down the price point,
add a lot more value to it
to make it much easier to use.
And so it really operates
as a standalone brand.
And and again,
I think that there's
a lot of elements to it,
which we'll get into later
that make it much easier to jump into,
especially if you're new to the category
for sure.
Yeah, that word premium can feel
sometimes overwhelming to homeowners
specifically,
maybe exciting for trade pros,
but homeowners might be just looking
at the price tag of that word.
How do both of these brands
like specifically,
how do they make premium
just feel more approachable?
there are a few different ways
to answer that question,
I think, between
the two different brands.
So I would
I would answer them differently.
So Decora is a bit more approachable
with things like the programs
that we offer within it.
So we have our standard offering
and then we have these add
on offerings of are for every day
our seniors would hood program
aluminum doors,
all these extras
that you can incorporate
into your designs.
Then for our Boutique
Edge and Emerge lines,
where it's really
about the walk up
from our semi-custom lines.
So if you go from Schrock
to Trademark to boutique,
you're seeing these consistencies
and commonalities
as you move up the spectrum
so you're able to look at a value
semi-custom line,
understand that offering, build
that knowledge up
as you move up that continuum.
To make that a bit
more of an approachable
premium line,
expanding on what is already offered.
Kind of piggybacking off of that.
What are some more of those,
like curated options
you were just talking about?
You talked about like the aluminum door.
Can you expand a little bit
more on some of those options?
And then also maybe like the finishes
and maybe
even some of the design features
that can help deliver that elevated
look that they provide. Sure.
So there's I mean there's quite a lot.
So when you move up,
you'll see kind of doors
consistently moving up that spectrum,
but then you expand
that as you move into the boutique
edge, emerge Antequera,
where we have inset doors
as a modification
rather than having to select
entirely from a different catalog
or something like that.
It's a modification
to get an insect cabinet that program
as well as,
like I said, our seniors would, hoods.
That's offering decor right now.
So would hood
program is something
that we're
actually going
to be expanding upon
this fall in Decora.
We're altering that program
or relaunching
and for Boutique
Edge and Emerge, we're
introducing that program.
So there's going to be really specialized
premium
hood program within both brand sets
to give a much more broad
offering of what you can do with
wood hoods.
And we also have within
the semi-custom offering,
we have aluminum doors.
I think people will be familiar
with those,
but we have extended offerings
within Boutique Edge and Emerge that.
So it's that type of step up
that we're talking about.
So you have this kind of
extra curated
offering within the semi-custom
lines and trademark, and then you move up
and you have this expanded
finishes and expanded sizes
and different things
that you can do within
We also have something
that really exciting
happening with the B series.
So later this fall, we plan to expand
the availability
of that program nationwide.
So today
it's only available really in the east
eastern half of the United States.
And later
this year, we're going to be expanding
into all ProSource locations.
And we're very excited about that
because again, it presents,
you know, that next
level of of design ability.
So yeah, looking forward to
to making some of these big enhancements.
it's also exciting
that I feel like your team,
you guys look at the trends
that's happening,
and that's probably what really informs
some of these decisions on
just expanding the portfolio
of not just decor, but,
you know,
the huge MasterBrand portfolio.
What other design trends
are you starting to see in 2026
you think are going to
continue influencing
just how you guys expand those offerings?
Yeah, this is part of,
I think, what really keeps our jobs
interesting and fun,
because again,
we're not just looking out
what's happening this year.
We're thinking about, you know,
three and four years down the road.
However, one of the big things
we're starting to see now,
which is really a fundamental
shift, is we're starting to see
consumers really prefer
staying product over paint,
which over the past
ten years, really
most people have preferred paint.
And so this really represents a shift.
And so not only
are they moving into stain,
but they're starting to prefer
some of the lighter stains.
And we've really seen that.
But even beyond that,
we're even anticipating
to move to mid-tone stains in in year
to two years down the road.
So some exciting shifts
that are happening.
But that doesn't mean that
people don't prefer paint.
What we are starting to see with paint
is really a move away from white
and gray,
which is what
we've normally gotten
pretty accustomed to seeing,
you know, over,
you know,
throughout Covid
and in that time period
and getting a little more
into demonstrating their own
personalities,
bolder choices with with color.
You're starting to see, you know,
off white spaces, things of that nature.
But, you know,
certainly greens
are a big part of the portfolio
right now.
So you're seeing a lot more personality
come out with kitchen design.
And that's
what's I think
become really exciting for us
I would like to add to that too.
So the it's that all that stain
appreciation and kind of shift towards
stain we're seeing come from this
celebration of natural materials
and really
celebrating craftsmanship
and the way you can see
within the character of the wood.
And so you might even see
3 or 4 finishes within one design.
We would typically maybe
see a paint and a different paint,
like back in the 20 tens
when we were seeing just all light
gray and white together.
Now we're seeing an island in a
walnut
and painted wood hood
in a fun pop of color to match a range
and really like varying
the palette of the kitchen,
but also not just in color
but in texture.
So that is,
I think, the main driver of that shift.
Absolutely.
And I know decor as color
by design, and the custom color
capabilities
that decor
offers really fits into this trend.
How are you seeing designers use
those programs to just continue
creating unique spaces?
the Color by Number program
that we offer that, that allows for
I mean,
sure, when Williams
or Benjamin Moore color,
we've seen a huge take off in that.
It's been really successful
and we're seeing
a huge variety of selection
within that program itself.
The Cora
also has our bespoke
custom Hues program,
which is you match anything you want.
And we see that being used really
by these high end premium design
feel designers
who are focused on this really elevated,
hyper elevated look and feel
and highlighting key elements,
key areas of the kitchen as well.
So like I said,
islands, wood hoods,
making a statement
wall, things like that,
but also just bringing
in little bits of character here
and there and showing
refinement in the color
selection
Going back to the stain trend,
Ambrose is a great example of a stain
that can look very different
depending on the wood species with
Do you have any suggestions
or I guess, tips for trade
pros homeowners?
What should they understand
about how species
stain and finish work together?
I think that this is a
very interesting situation,
because I really do
think you need to do your homework here.
As you dive into,
you know what
you want your kitchen to be,
what you want
your kitchen to look like not only now,
but even a couple of years from now.
The reason I say that is because,
you know,
when you're looking at traditional
wood species like maple, maple is,
you know, oftentimes
more closed grain texture.
It takes stain and color
differently than, say, cherry does.
You know,
I think with Maple,
you're going to see more
truer colors come through.
However, you also need to consider
that sometimes
it doesn't take stain
as evenly
as maybe some other wood species
where you could get some blotchy
has come through.
But if again,
you're looking at other species
like cherry, for example,
it tends to have redder tones
underneath it.
And so it's going to bring these colors.
It's going to change
and transform these colors.
Not to mention the reason I bring up.
You need to know what you want
your color to look like a couple of years
from now is that, you know,
cherry naturally ages over time
and certainly can speed that
if any of your chemistry
sits in direct sunlight.
And so these are things
you really need to anticipate as you're
building out your kitchen design.
anyone listening,
hopefully
they are aware of some of those factors
because I imagine
that happens all the time.
Someone gets a cherry cabinet
and then they're like,
what is happening to my cabinet?
Well, you have this huge window out
like that's shining all this light on
Is there any other ways,
any customizations
that these brands offer
that we haven't talked about?
I know we talked about the color
a lot,
but what other ways do these brands give
customization opportunity?
customization within
so inherently cabinetry is is
like an aggregate.
It's a build up of things.
It's not just you click
a button and buy your kitchen.
It's not a singular layout.
So everything is customizable
within reason within cabinetry.
And Decora and Boutique
Edge and Emerge offer
even more than that.
So I would say the biggest way
customization comes into
place is not only fitting your space
so dimensional modifications,
things like that
to just make things work,
but also functionality.
The key, I think, to a good kitchen
design
is having a really strong functional
layout
that you customize
to the need of that homeowner.
So understanding
what that's going to be used for,
what storage accessories
will be handy down the line.
Having adaptable storage.
So roll out
trays and drawers
are always really helpful.
Can you swap in and out
storage solutions over time?
People's storage needs change over time,
so how can we make those spaces
adaptable?
How can you make that function
really nicely?
You can use
modifications within Decora and Boutique
Edge, Emerge,
but you can also use
just our standalone SKUs
to make that customization
within the entire kitchen set.
These seem like really good question
to ask on.
In the process
of working with the designer.
Just the functionality of the cabinet.
Like what are you going to use this
cabinet for?
Is there any other cabinet upgrades
or design details that you think
more people should consider
in those early steps
of remodeling a kitchen or a bathroom?
You know,
really to kind of
build on what Bonnie
just mentioned,
one thing you always should consider
is organization.
I think
organization
and function of your cabinetry
is so important that oftentimes comes up,
you know,
after the fact, after
you've got your kitchen inside
or installed.
A lot of people,
I think, regret to some extent that they
they didn't spend a little bit more
on that organizational feature,
that particular function.
You know, oftentimes
when you've just got
your brand new kitchen installed
and you want to show it off,
there's always a couple of focal points
within your kitchen
or in your bathroom, right,
that that draw
a lot of attention for your neighbors.
Right.
Pull down
spice rack or something
that you can really demonstrate that,
I think
adds real function
and value to your home.
And so those are things
that I would consider.
But but in addition,
there are some things that I think
you can
you can achieve,
you can get
obviously within these series,
you know,
premium finishes like brush finishes
and not to mention these,
the standard construction of these units
is all plywood.
And so you naturally have just a
upgraded feel and a higher quality
as it lends itself to
these premium series.
To piggyback on that,
the I would agree completely,
and I think that the construction
is a really good element
to bring up where
the priorities of every homeowner
are going to be different.
So they might be looking
for a specific esthetic
that they can definitely get into.
Cora. Right.
They can get a mid-century modern,
they can get a mod,
they can get like
a very hyper traditional.
But does
did they have a flood in the past?
They have their cabinets damaged.
Like, is that their priority?
Is there something that or do
they just really want a functional space
that works for them?
And because they're really into cooking,
it matters
what they're going to use that space
for really a lot
and what their priority is down the line
I know earlier in this episode,
we talked about
some of the exciting announcements
a little bit
that's happening
over within these brands.
Are there any other exciting news,
any new products, stains
that we haven't touched based on
that you would like to share?
Yeah, absolutely. Always.
You know, that's always a fun thing.
What we do,
we just recently introduced
a new premium wood
species, cortisone white oak
that is certainly
very popular right now.
We just brought that out
earlier this spring.
We're expanding our color palette,
which is really exciting,
both from a stain
and a paint standpoint later this fall.
Like like Bonnie mentioned,
we're expanding our wood
hood program,
our Woodhead program,
to make it much easier
to use, much more on trend,
which is exciting.
We've got some new styles on the way,
so there's really a lot here
that I think people, once
they start to open the pages of the book,
will really understand
that, hey, these
these lines drive
a lot of value,
and I think that they're now
well placed in the market
from a pricing standpoint
to make them much easier
to get into,
just personally,
are there any of your favorite styles
that you would like to share
with our homeowners
trade pros that are listening,
whether they're for Decora or those BEE
lines,
what are your favorite styles
out right now?
Yeah, I'll take a first crack at that.
And I'm going to
talk more in terms of a category itself.
I really like what
inset brings to your home.
I think it just
is that element
that is really neat when you see it.
And really,
I think defines what we call premium,
so to speak.
And so that's that's
maybe how I would answer that question.
I would say I'm, I'm partial
to a very trendy thing.
So I'm really liking
the Haldon Door in Quora.
So that's our skinny
shaker has different names in boutique.
But that skinny shaker in white
oak looks so good on a stain.
I love that door
and I think it looks fantastic.
So that's
that's one of my favorites right now.
I can agree with you too.
I do like the skinny shaker
look that we've been seeing.
It just makes it the whole space
feel a little bit more elegant
and like clean.
And I'm also a big fan of the fact
that stains are coming back.
Natural wood
looks are back,
and I'm always here for color
as I have been,
but I just think, yeah,
people are not wanting their homes
to look like a hospital.
You know,
they want to add some fun color.
Kind of like what we saw,
I think in the early 2000.
Growing up,
at least for me,
I feel like my home was very colorful.
And now I move into an apartment,
you know,
and it's like it's an apartment.
So of course
it's not going to be super fun looking.
They want people
to be able to customize it,
I guess, with their little knickknacks.
But even just through the US marketing,
like when we post on TikTok,
people want to see the colorful homes
and the colorful rooms and kitchens.
So I don't think it's any surprise
that all of this is back,
and you guys are tailoring
to those trends perfectly
with your product offerings.
any final thoughts on
how these brands are helping designers
homeowners bridge
the gap between standard and luxury
cabinetry,
while also staying on budget
and of course, on trend?
it's kind of what I was saying earlier.
And the question
I answered two ways where Decora is
really focused on
being a standalone brand
and having everything
that you would possibly need
within that brand through,
you know,
set SKUs and modifications,
you can really get to most things
without having to offer
a custom quote type solution
so you can get something
out of the box
for the pros
that they can just
install and move forward,
and they'll have a perfect solution
and boutique edge and merge.
Really, it's the focus of
how does this relate to our
its sister brands.
So the the semi-custom lines
and how those tie in
and how that makes sense together.
So we can use these things together
to build out a full home.
Maybe you have a boutique kitchen
and you have trademark bathrooms
and an entourage laundry.
So working with those,
that entire series, The Enterprise,
really is our focus with the boutique
Edge and Emerge.
Yeah.
To add on to
that, Bonnie,
what I would say
is that we also really want to make sure
that you're successful
when you're designing with these
with these product lines,
we offer a world class
customer service team
that they're there for you
in case you have questions.
We've got the core by design,
which is a great service
in case you have questions.
You know,
you're midway through your design.
You need some help in terms of
how do you look for some creative ideas
or how to finish it off.
So we really want to ensure
that you are successful.
And we believe
if you're taking
your first step into premium,
these are the right product lines
to be able to do that Absolutely.
And of course,
I always recommend to people
going into your local ProSource,
looking at the samples
at your local ProSource
to really get a feel
and see it in person.
Of course,
we have options on our website
for source
wholesale, we have brand pages.
You can skim through
the different products for these brands,
but where else can
they find
more information
on these premium cabinet options?
So for our pros and for designers, anyone
with an account with us,
we can go to MasterBrand Connect.
And we'll also have some fall
launch training dates
coming up in October.
So you can look forward to
emails about that.
And then for homeowners
check out our website. So.
And decor
there's everything
you really need to understand and know
on our websites.
Okay.
Thank you both so
much for sharing your expertise
about premium cabinetry
with our audience today.
We really appreciate it
and thank you all for listening.
I.