Meet Wes + Brave Element
The Minimalist
Custom Avocado Paint
We have many partners we work with, from designers to installers, to make sure you fall in love with your new kitchen or bathroom.
And, it’s time to highlight them!
Wes chats about his origin story and how to choose your Kokeena cabinets.
Good installers like Wes do things like scribing panels to fit perfectly flush and plumb against walls that ripple and slope, making sure the correct size is ordered, and of course ensuring your Kokeena cabinets are installed correctly.
We sat down with Wes and chatted about his background, steps to take before choosing your cabinets, and trends he sees.
Take it away, Wes!
What’s your background? How did you get involved in installations?
I started at a very young age. My dad had a garage cabinet business and I had just started playing guitar, and wanted to start a band, so I needed to make cash to buy all the gear. So, my dad put me to work on weekends.
We had full sheets of particle board laminated with vinyl at our house and we’d cut parts for cabinets on the driveway. On weekends, we’d install them in someone’s garage. Looking back, it was a grassroots, guerrilla style, DIY way of getting things done—pretty impressive honestly—although I didn’t see it that way as a young teenager! From that point, I've kind of always been in the cabinetry and/or remodeling industry in one way or another.
I then saw a job posting in San Diego for an IKEA cabinet installer. I got the job and had no idea how much I would fall in love with the IKEA system. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to pivot my career into full-time cabinet installation. I eventually got hired by Traemand (who was to become Ikea’s exclusive install service, later to be purchased by IKEA) years later, and they moved me up to Seattle to be the PNW Metro Lead Installer. Eventually we parted ways and I started Brave Element.
What are some simple steps homeowners (or remodeling pros) need to know before choosing kitchen cabinetry/Kokeena?
People should familiarize themselves with flat packed, RTA Euro style cabinetry and the nuances that come with it. Too often folks get tunnel vision when it comes to cabinetry, and if you’re around my age, you most likely grew up with all your home/apartment cabinetry being more traditional face frame cabinets. There’s lots of puzzle pieces to consider, like fillers, cover panels, door clearances, or whether or not to trim to the ceiling. It’s not quite as “plug and play” as the Internet makes it seem.
What are some mistakes people can make?
The absolute No.1 mistake I’ve seen in my career as an IKEA cabinet installer, is people not considering their ceiling height, in conjunction with not realizing Euro cabinet style (full overlay) doors need clearance to the ceiling.
In lots of places, a “standard” ceiling height is 8 feet. I try to explain to people all the time that this should be viewed kind of like how a 2x4 stick of lumber is actually 1.5” x 3.5”. It’s just a fast and frankly, lazy way to reference ceilings. I wish that I had a dollar for every kitchen I walked into where the client had purchased the tall pantry cabinets (total height of 94.5”) in hopes it would fit under their 92” ceiling.
Another mistake is when homeowners and even professional designers order corner fillers in what they think is the exact size. More often than not, it ends up too small due to mis-planning as well as walls not being as level/plumb as hoped. Fillers are meant to be ordered large and cut down to size!
What kitchen trends are you seeing for 2024?
Trends are changing so fast these days. One minute every project I’m installing is a mid-century modern kitchen with grain sequenced walnut slab, and before you know it, we’re doing mixed oak/white slab onto dark and moody.
For a while, every single kitchen we did had an appliance garage with slide-in doors, then it quickly moved onto lift-up doors, and now I’m seeing more exposed appliances that look really sleek.
If I had to place any bets on kitchen trends for 2024 though, it would be more innovation in pull-out convenience hardware, such as upgraded lazy Susans and blind corner pull outs, pull out step ladders, or removable cutting board drawers above pull out trash can drawers. The industry is filled with brilliant engineers and I think we are going to see more of this amazing stuff becoming more accessible to the public.
Why do you like working with Kokeena?
Mostly because of the local, small business aspect. Even as a leading professional in the industry myself, I find it difficult to get owners of door companies on the phone or to even give me the time of day without sending their employees to do their bidding with me. I remember the first Kokeena project I installed in Portland, Russell showed up to introduce himself, gave me his cell number and made himself available to discuss anything I needed. That’s a dying trait in the remodeling industry.
What’s your favorite Kokeena product?
Hands down, my favorite so far has been the painted slab Avocado Green doors that we installed on a project out in Ocean Shores, Wash. It had big 1970s vibes, but with a modern touch. Such a nice finish on the doors too. Not quite matte, not quite satin. Just really elegant.
Tell us about Brave Elements’ new showroom
It’s centrally located in downtown Burien with a 15-minute-drive to IKEA. We’ll serve the entire Pacific Northwest from Seattle to Portland and all surrounding metro areas. We’re going to focus on promoting more of what Brave Element has to offer such as design, small batch custom millwork installation, IKEA hacks, upgraded convenience hardware installation and, of course, showcasing our vendors. When visiting, check out all the cool little shops, restaurants, bars and businesses that downtown Burien has to offer. We’ll be up and running in May.
