Kendal Cavalieri Design
Lancaster, NY

Before launching her career in kitchen-and-bath design with Buffalo, NY-based Kendal Cavalieri Design, Kendal Cavalieri, AKBD, joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school and spent seven years in the service of our country while earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College. A pivotal moment was meeting her boyfriend, a contractor, and getting a behind-the-scenes look at kitchen and bathroom remodels. She was hooked and returned to school to get her Associate in Applied Science degree in Interior Design. Kendal, who describes herself as “ambitious,” is now a certified Associate Kitchen and Bath Designer with the NKBA. 

“I chose a career in kitchen-and-bath design because I truly love making a space better,” she says. “We are typically hired to make spaces beautiful, which I enjoy, but I love making spaces more functional, which ultimately makes my client’s life easier.” While her typical day can include everything from placing orders to being on site measuring and managing a job, Kendal most values what she learns with each new project. “My favorite part of my job is creativity,” she says. “I am constantly meeting new people who have different style preferences, which leaves you doing different things and using different finishes in each space.”

“We are typically hired to make spaces beautiful which I enjoy, but I love making spaces more functional which ultimately makes my client’s life easier.”

Kendal’s most memorable remodel was a kitchen that was originally a high-gloss acrylic red. “We tore that out and went for a more traditional black-and-white theme, but introduced some glamour in a polished-and-matte herringbone backsplash and gold fixtures,” Kendal explains. She tied in the black, white and gold with Cambria’s Oakleigh countertop, which is a solid white base with black and gold veining, and replaced a 36″ range with a 48″ rangetop and double ovens. “The transformation was incredible,” she says.

Her personal design preference? A modern mountain home. “I love simple clean lines in a very minimalist space,” she says. “ Mountain homes that have floor-to-ceiling glass offering a view of nature is a dream of mine.” When she’s not dreaming of future transformations, Kendal enjoys a day of “self-pampering”—getting her nails and hair done—and spending time with her Morkie, Bellini.