“We’re doing more projects where we’re integrating the design of the whole house, so we’re able to coordinate everything from the paint to the carpet,” says designer Susan Palmer.

Susan Palmer, CKD, CBD, has been designing kitchens in Hawaii for more than 25 years. Four years ago, she started Susan Palmer Designs, a full-service company dedicated not only to kitchen and bath design, but also to integrating these spaces, through interior design, with every other room in the home.

This month, Palmer introduces her completely revamped showroom, on Iwilei Road, in the heart of Dole Cannery. The showroom boasts two new vignettes featuring Pedini, Wood-Mode and Brookhaven cabinetry (Palmer is Hawaii’s exclusive dealer of all three) as well as a professional-grade Imperial range, newly designed for residential use. For serious cooks, says Palmer, this is the range to covet. “The grates are cast-iron, so they’re very, very heavy,” says Palmer. “It can take any kind of abuse whatsoever.”

Palmer is the exclusive dealer of Imperial products in the Islands. In addition to its exclusive lines, Susan Palmer Designs also carries such quality brands as Miele appliances, Asko washers and dryers and Perlick appliances.

The Susan Palmer Designs showroom is a space for browsing, with vignettes designed to inspire dreamers of every design persuasion, from traditional and grand to modern and minimalist. “Both of our cabinetry lines are entirely different, but we believe they’re the best of their type,” says  Palmer. Displays are large and realistic, designed to make the visitor feel warm and invited and to give the most true-to-life portrayal of an actual living space.

With belt-tightening months ahead, it’s nice to know that kitchen design can be accessible, even on a smaller scale. “There isn’t a kitchen that is too small or too big for us. Sometimes, the smaller kitchens can be the most challenging and fun,” says Palmer. 

This grand Tuscan kitchen vignette features a new, commercial-grade Imperial range.

Palmer encourages anyone thinking of remodeling his or her kitchen to come by and ask questions, browse the showroom and discuss ideas. She, along with product specialist Adrienne Palmer (her daughter) and office manager Heather Beerman (her future daughter-in-law), are available to help. “We like our clients to know all of us,” says Palmer. “When you come in to Susan Palmer Designs, it’s not just Susan. You’re dealing with the whole family.”

In this global economy, Palmer sees her showroom as a dynamic place. “A lot more products are coming in from different parts of the world,” she says. “It’s an exciting time. I look at our showroom as almost being alive. There’s always something new going on.”