With nearly 40 years of experience, Brian Borsch knows how to design a dream kitchen. “I sold my first kitchen when I was 19,” he says. “It can be hard for designers not to design kitchens for other people that they want themselves, but that’s not what I’m here to do; I’m here to design your dream kitchen.”
Borsch’s business, Capitol Design Group Kitchen & Bath Center (1410 Strassner, 314-772-8400), was in South City for more than a decade before recently moving to a new space in Brentwood. “We were in a dead-end street with no traffic, so all of our business was based on relationships with contractors and referrals, not retail. We did pretty well with that, but it was time to take the next step to a place that was easier to access, especially for all of our West County customers.”
Get a weekly dose of home and style inspiration
Subscribe to the St. Louis Design+Home newsletter to explore the latest stories from the local interior design, fashion, and retail scene.
When you first walk into the showroom, you’ll immediately notice an open-concept kitchen with KitchenAid appliances. It can double as an event space for design organizations and charities. Nearby is a vast assortment of kitchen cabinets—modern, traditional, transitional—at a variety of price points. Capitol’s showroom also features bathroom vanities, countertops, fixtures, and showers.
One shower system, developed by the Accessibility Resource Center, is “barrier-free, so it’s easily accessible for a wheelchair in the event that you need one,” says Borsch. “But it has a base that you can tile over to make it look beautiful.”
Besides Borsch, Capitol has other kitchen and bath designers, several of whom have more than 15 years of experience. They can walk clients through the entire design process, from an initial visit to the new layout to choosing fixtures and finishes. “We don’t actually install your kitchen, but we introduce you to installers who we trust; then our designers work very closely with them,” explains Borsch. “It’s actually a savings for our customers because we’re not marking up labor.
“We take pride in having experienced designers,” Borsch adds. “All kitchen and bath design centers have the same challenge: Customers can come in, write down what they like, and buy it online or at a big-box store to save a few bucks. But our hope is that clients are willing to pay a little more for our services. We’ve seen that hold true over time.”
