Design Team

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Allan Carruthers

Allan Carruthers background involved the design and servicing of commercial kitchens for the hospitality sector in Western Canada. Upon moving to Ontario he became involved with the home building industry in the capacity of sales & marketing. Pursuing a change and new challenges he studied and participated in courses offered by the NKBA and in 1999 was fortunate to be hired by Laurysen Kitchens on the basis of his design, construction & sales knowledge.

Allan has been recognized within the industry by his peers with awards from the Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association. As well as single home renovations and designs, a portion of his portfolio consists of coordination of the design; installation and servicing of mill work for major condominium and single family housing projects in Ottawa & surrounding area.

Aviva Ben-Choreen

Aviva Ben-Choreen is a graduate of Emunah College in Jerusalem and expanded her knowledge with additional courses from the University of Ottawa in the '90s. She is fluently bi-lingual in English and Hebrew.

She has worked in the field of design for over 25 years with work experience in Israel and Canada. For the past 10 years, she has been a member of the Laurysen Team. She is a member of the NKBA and is one of the first few to have achieved the Certified Kitchen Designer designation in the city of Ottawa.

She has extensive experience with individualized custom designs for one-of-a-kind jobs as well as the ability to work on large scale projects. Over the years Aviva has helped create many model homes with quality builders in Ottawa that have gone on to win awards in the Greater Ottawa Home Builders annual design competition.

Sample Designs:

Debbie Brooks

Ottawa born designer with over 25 years of experience in the Ottawa kitchen and bathroom industry, Debbie's award winning designs can be seen in and around the Ottawa area. She has won or been a finalist in both the GOHBA Design Awards as well as the NKBA Vision Awards. One of her most challenging renovations was featured in Ottawa at Home Magazine which detailed a transformation of a 1960's era kitchen into an eye popping jewel. Helping people create their dream space from start to finish is a task that Debbie enjoys and her attention to detail combined with her excellent communication skills provides her clients with the peace of mind that customers have come to expect from a Laurysen Designer.

Sample Designs:

Erica Dwyer

Erica hails originally from Newfoundland where she gained an extensive knowledge of construction. Erica is a graduate of the Algonquin College Interior Design program and graduated in 2003 with honors. Shortly after graduating she was invited to teach in the Residential program where she was an Instructor for 4 years while running her own Interior Design & Renovation business. Erica brings her love for design and her construction background to Laurysen Kitchens ready to offer her hands on experience to realize our customer's home projects.

Gabrielle Pell

Gabrielle graduated with distinction from Carleton University's industrial design program and has worked as a designer for over 6 years. She has a sound background in human-product interactions and efficiencies.

Prior to pursuing a career in the Kitchen Design field she was with Nortel where she received multiple awards for her dedication in meeting and exceeding client's requirements. Gabrielle received two Pride Awards in 1999; this was followed up with another Pride Award in 2000 and capped off the year at Nortel with a Gold Pride Award for determination and commitment.

After joining the Laurysen Design Team she quickly became involved in the Greater Ottawa Homebuilder's Association and we are proud to have Gabrielle as our representative on the GOHBA Renovator's Council. Thanks to her dedication we are well on our way to becoming a Renomark supplier to the renovation industry.

Sample Designs:

Kimberly Silcox

Kimberly has been working in the interior design and décor field since graduating from Algonquin College in 2007. She began by starting her own decorating business while working as an office designer for the government and later working for a high end furniture store. She joined Laurysen Kitchens Design team in 2009, and quickly became an integral part of the team, working closely with well established contractors to provide clients with a complete renovation which is both easy and comforting. She enjoys providing clients with personal attention to help them discover their own unique sense of style and create their very own beautiful custom kitchen.

Peter Hedden

Peter is one of our most experienced designers who has been in the kitchen industry since 1972 and was one of the first to receive his NKBA Certified Kitchen Designer designation in 1987. He is familiar with all facets of the kitchen cabinet industry including the construction and installation of cabinets and countertops. Over his extensive career Peter has designed virtually thousands of kitchens, bathrooms and most recently Closet Organizers. His experience allows him to tackle any design challenge that you may have, whether it be your own personal home, a renovation, new home construction or condominium projects.

Stephen Hnatyshyn

Stephen is a graduate of Georgian College in the field of Industrial Design. After coming to Ottawa in 1982, his found his way into the kitchen Industry where he has been ever since.

With his design background and interest in providing Reliable Quality Service to his clients, Stephen became part of the Laurysen Kitchen Design team in 1991.

For 9 years he built up a strong clientele base and established a healthy portfolio of Builders, Renovators, and Retail customers with a strong referral network. In 2000 Stephen was promoted to the Sales Manager's position. Aside from sales manager responsibilities, Steve still takes an active role in design and managing a few long standing accounts.