Luxury Living with Debrae Little

Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The

Debrae Little 0:40
Lisa, hello everyone. This is Debray, little host of luxury living with Debre, we offer expert inter design advice and inspiration. We're excited to have today the following guests, we have Lisa Adair and we have Karen lellos lelos. Thank you, Karen. I appreciate that I was having a little bit of a tongue twister problem there. But we will be exploring today the world of luxury kitchens, bath and lighting. And these two wonderful ladies that are here are from Ferguson, kitchen, bath and lighting. Gallery. Welcome.

Both 1:26
Thank you.

Debrae Little 1:27
So we're going to start out with just a couple of questions so our audience will know you better and understand what Ferguson actually does and what your roles are there. Can you introduce yourself and share your journey into the world of luxury interior design. We can start with you want to start Sure, Lisa, okay, I'm

Lisa Adair 1:47
Lisa Adair, and I've been in outside builder sales for Ferguson for almost five years. I've been in luxury appliance sales for almost 14 years, and in general appliance sales nearly 30 years.

Debrae Little 2:01
My goodness, you know all things that do with appliances, it sounds like your wealth. I bet your family members and everyone that you know probably call upon you to get some expert advice. A lot of weekend calls. Oh, that's great. That's great. And so now tell us a little bit about yourself, Karen.

Caryn Lellos 2:20
My name is Karen lellos, and I am the showroom manager for Fergusons in Las Vegas. I first I got into interior design with construction somewhat being in my blood. My father was a carpenter, and grew up watching the process. And as I became older, I thought interior design was the feminine role that I could play in the construction process, so I changed my degree path and ended up getting my degree in interior design. Started a company, actually, that I had for 10 years right out of design school with my father, and after that, when the recession closed, after that, I have been a manufacturer's rep and regional manager throughout the construction and design industry, and landed with Ferguson's in April, and I'm very, very happy there. So

Debrae Little 3:17
this is the first question I have, what led you to Ferguson. Why Ferguson?

Caryn Lellos 3:22
I have been traveling honestly in my career for the past 1520, years, and I was really looking for a position that I could use, my design experience, my creativity, my business knowledge. Ferguson is such a grounded, well known company, that the position of showroom manager gave me that opportunity to roll everything that I felt I was experienced in at that point into one position and not travel. So I really get to take advantage of staying here in Vegas and knowing the people here

Debrae Little 3:58
and Lisa Tell me, how did you come to know Karen? I mean, did you come to Ferguson's first? I mean, you told me about your builder experience, and then, how did you guys manage to how do you work together, by the way,

Lisa Adair 4:11
so really, I'm outside builder sales, and so my relationship is mostly with the custom home builders, the designers, cabinet companies, the remodelers. And so that being my background is really what led me to Ferguson. Ferguson, having appliances, plumbing, lighting, all under one roof, so to speak, is great for those relationships that I have, and so that's really what led me to Ferguson. My previous experience was with companies that only sold appliances I

Debrae Little 4:50
see. So you guys probably you met in the process being okay, I was thinking maybe that she opened up the back door for you and you slipped in, and you guys became. And wonderful partners, I

Caryn Lellos 5:01
think we have met before, possibly once or twice. I mean, once you Las Vegas, I think has such a small design community that you actually, I think, run across people more often than than you would imagine.

Debrae Little 5:14
Well, having said that, and we're talking about Las Vegas and we're talking about the luxury market, how does the showroom stand out in the luxury market? What unique offerings Do you provide? I know you touched a little bit about like trying, not like trying appliances and different things like that. How would you say that would or are you the only game in town?

Caryn Lellos 5:36
I would say we're not the only game in town, but one of the things that makes us stand out is, you know, we are Ferguson's first and foremost is a global company. So we have over 200 showrooms in the United States. So we have, in addition to the showrooms, we have counters. We have counter locations, warehouses, distribution centers. And our mission at Ferguson really is to offer a pressure free and I would say, expert guided luxury brand buying experience for the kitchen and the bath. So we we are definitely the largest in Las Vegas. We have the largest selection of these luxury brand appliances, plumbing and lighting fixtures, and they're on display, as Lisa said, all in one location. So you can walk in and literally make yourself an espresso in a built in coffee maker, or you can try one of our fancy, automated bidet toilets in our functioning bathrooms. We have five that actually operate, and it's, you know, luxury brands are not something that you buy blindly or through an online, online catalog. So we, we make them available for you so they could come, you know, touch it, see it, experience it, and really get that advice in, you know, making the right decision for those high end products.

Debrae Little 7:01
I think that's what today's luxury buyer is looking for, though they're looking to have an experience when they come into when they come to shop for just about anything these days, and that's wonderful that you offer that. Because I think in the past, I've used Ferguson several times, and I've had clients actually sit upon the toilet to see if it felt good for them, or whether or not the height was correct. And I said, long as you don't pull your pants down, we're okay here.

Caryn Lellos 7:29
We really do encourage not pulling the pants down, but we really do encourage people to sit on the toilets and experience that, because everybody has a different fit,

Debrae Little 7:37
right? Sorry. So what would you say that that client is that comes into Ferguson's, whether it's with their designer or they come in to look around what, what's the profile that that client? Because the luxury client today has changed a little bit. You know, we've had a little younger client. We've have a lot of the the cryptocurrency, people who have made lots of money and different things. We also Vegas is unique because we have, like, lots of gamblers that come in here, and they're professional gamblers and different things like that. So you have the breadth or the depth of who is that luxury buyer is different today. It's not, it's not so much of what you'd seen in the past with like Liberace style, you know, that kind of thing, and they're modern, and they hip, and they want whatever is new and current. But I need you to tell me, You know what, what you're seeing, who comes in there? And to Ferguson,

Lisa Adair 8:32
super good question we have everyone from the first time homebuyer to remodeling to the custom home buyer who's building a home that's, you know, anywhere from three to, I mean, any number, really, 20, 25 million and up, and they're in for remodels. And the most fulfilling projects are when clients have been educated on the newest on trend features regarding appliances, plumbing and lighting and the showroom consultants really make that experience great for the clients that come in on their own, for those clients that have been referred by designers or or Home Builders or remodelers because they're asking the right questions, and they're finding out what's important to that client, at the same time educating them on what's new and amazing and different. If it's a client that this is their third, fourth or fifth home, depending on when they, you know, purchased a home last there's products that are new on the market that they may not be aware of. And so those key decisions being chosen ahead of time make all the difference in how, how, what the outcome is for their project. And so asking the right questions is an important part of that.

Debrae Little 9:59
Yeah. I think you've given a fair idea of the different clients that come in. What types of projects do you find most fulfilling to you that you've kind of, I mean, you've mentioned that you work with builders, Lisa and so are when you say, builders? Are you looking for the big ones? Are they small builders? What's your experience with them? And what are their needs? I mean, I'm sure they're, they're, they're basically trying to find costs, you know, costs. And I'm not saying that they're going to, you know, if they're looking at the luxury home buyer, obviously they're trying to get the best they the best products for the least amount of money. And I'm sure maybe that's a volume purchase, I would assume. But do they come in and say, Well, you know what, I'm building these homes, and now this particular buyer is looking for that the day that plays music and it's got neon lights, and this that, that you know, which

we have on display and function, by the way, Oh, see, there you go. And

I didn't even know that, so I'm just trying to get a sense of, you know, those kind of projects and what's most fulfilling. I mean, are they doing anything? I noticed that on the news that there, there was a builder where you could send money in and raffle and be the owner of this new home, and they were doing it for low income families and different things like that. Do tell me the experience that you've had with builders that may be slightly unique or different,

Caryn Lellos 11:23
if I can interject, I will to answer the first part of your question. You know, we have builders of all levels and designers of all levels that that come into the showroom. Sometimes they come in with their clients, sometimes they come in just by themselves, which we encourage as well, because they really are the ones that need to understand all the products that are available, all the options that are available, so that when they do meet with their client, they're representing, you know, the options that they're giving them. So we really do have both types of of customers come into the showroom. You know, we have builders that we are, you know, production builders that were served that we are, apply, you know, providing full appliance package for track home developments. And then we have those custom home builders like Lisa said that, you know, our building homes $3 million to $25 million and those are really those luxury line appliances that we're working hand in hand with them to, you know, make sure they're they're specifying and and building things in accordance with what needs to happen for that level of of appliance, or plumbing or or whatever else. So it really does vary, I would say, the clients and how we can service them. So

Debrae Little 12:47
given the fact that I've had quite a few new clients recently, and they're all are wanting bidets and things like that, and music and integrated LED lighting and showers and different things like that. I'm starting to see more and more things like that. I'm just trying to get a sense of what would you say would be the key elements if you were going to assistant designer or customer came in and they're like, I want the package. I want this. I want all the bells and whistles. I want to feel special. I want to have the lighting and everything, and maybe describe what that looks like for you in terms of what you might present to the designer or to the client themselves. And think of and everyone's always saying, oh, I want a spa. I want to feel like, you know, I want a sauna. I want, you know, it's almost like everything, especially post pandemic, everyone feels as if they want that safety, that all of these wonderful features are in my home, in case I can't go out.

Caryn Lellos 13:49
So when you say spa, I think that's a really in home spa. I think is a fantastic term, because when we go to a spa, you know, and we get our facials or our massages, we're really looking for that pampered experience, right? You want to leave there feeling completely de stressed, relaxed and just, you know, nice and calm. So first and foremost, to be able to have the resources to create something like that in the comfort of your own home. I think that, in itself, is a luxury. The key elements to me in creating that experience are having a number of things, a variety of water functions, first and foremost, so things like Steam showers, body sprays, rain, heads, hand held showers, jets, hydrotherapy. You know, all of those things are going to add to the water element. And then on top of that, having the technological conveniences that really customize the experience to your clients preferences. So things like digital controls, a digital shower experience, voice. Trolls, timers, you know, being able to set temperatures and pressures where you don't have to manually set them every time that's going to take that into an elevated luxury spa type of experience, having mood enhancers, so lighting, sound, color, scent or smell. And then finally, wrapping it up in posh finishes and and styles that are unparalleled and well appointed. The bathrooms and that spa experience really need to look as beautiful as how they make you feel. So all of those are things that you know, our consultants are very well educated on creating and working with the designer to create that experience.

Debrae Little 15:46
Well, I mean, you mentioned voice controlled and sense. Now I wasn't aware of that, especially the sense that kind of took me by surprise. So I could say I want Jasmine, or I want really, yes,

Caryn Lellos 15:59
that's colder

Debrae Little 16:00
feature. Yeah,

Caryn Lellos 16:01
Kohler, as a as an example, offers aromatherapy in one of their shower heads. And you could have music pumping through the shower heads, through the speakers in the shower, steam shower. You know, Kohler mowing a lot of the high end manufacturers offer digital showering systems where it's voice controlled and connected to Alexa, where you can wake up in the morning say, Alexa, good morning, and you will have your shower turn on set at exactly the temperature you want, exactly which function you want to be going just by simply Saying, Alexa, good morning. So it really

Debrae Little 16:43
is phenomenal. I just can't believe it. Oh my god. What the change? I mean? I'm certain that people are coming in and they have that on their wish list, right? And if not, you can short, educate them, and they will be on their wish list. I have no doubt by the time they leave the showroom. Let's talk about kitchens that got me excited, though I need to remodel my bathroom, it certainly doesn't offer those features right at the moment. But what are the essential features that elevate a kitchen from being functional to luxurious?

Lisa Adair 17:12
That is a great question. One of my favorites is a steam convection oven. So often, clients will put their food in a microwave to reheat it, and it never comes out the way it was last night when they were at the restaurant. It's

Debrae Little 17:32
dried up and not edible any longer.

Lisa Adair 17:37
Yeah, not, not the same, but these steam convection ovens I find often clients that come in the showroom. It's, it's a new appliance in that it's come out in the last, I would say, seven or eight years and and I remember there was an experience that at the last company I was at where a client came in and I just happened to be out in the showroom, and they were watching a steam convection oven be demoed, you know, out on the showroom floor, and they did not know that that existed, and they had just remodeled their kitchen, and they 100% would have put it in had they they known about it. And so I think that's a really fun appliance to at least learn about, whether, whether the client chooses to purchase it or not. But the benefits are, with a steam convection oven, you have the benefits of full steam. So you have in cooking vegetables, they retain their nutrients and their beautiful color. You can steam fish to perfection, rice the way you like it. And then the benefits of a convection oven just just like a regular convection oven at home, it has a third heating element that's physically wrapped around the fan to assist with an even temperature and even heating. And it'll reduce the cooking time by up to 25% things will taste better and be more evenly heated and cooked more thoroughly when you use steam and convection together, it's a really powerful combination, because you're reducing the cooking time again and you're enhancing the Food with moisture retention with the steam reheating meals. You know, you go to your favorite pizza place the night before. Everyone's had that experience where you're so excited to reheat that slice of pizza, and then you put it in your microwave, and you remember you went to that pizza you know, that rest your favorite restaurant last night, but it doesn't taste the same. You take that same pizza or that steak from a steak house and reheat it in a steam convection oven, it is going to taste like that wonderful meal you had last night. You think of, you know, people cooking more at home and enjoying meals at home. You spend so much time preparing that wonderful design. Lasagna, reheating your lasagna the next night in a steam convection oven, it is going to taste like that amazing lasagna you made the night before. So just knowing about what's new is so important. And bread Baking, baking bread in a steam convection oven is a whole nother level of having the results that you want, will

Debrae Little 20:23
it brown? Well, yes, it will brown. Because I had, I had thought about that for my kitchen, for I love salmon, so I'm always wanting the quickest and the plump is and the juiciest salmon. But then I kept thinking, Well, do you have to move it from the convection to a broiler to get some No, all in

Lisa Adair 20:44
the same oven. It's just a matter of choosing the features. And yeah, it's, it's incredible.

Debrae Little 20:52
Well, what about French fries? Let's talk about Dave braze, favorites,

Caryn Lellos 21:01
endless settings. It is. They're they're on unbelievable. The the luxury brands really do offer you the options that you just don't get in some of the other price points. Unfortunately, you know, you really can become a professional chef right at home. Well,

Debrae Little 21:18
it sounds like it maybe it's go to, it's gonna eventually go the way of electric vehicles. Maybe it'll come down to, you know, the price point might come down for those. But anyway, that's that's very interesting. I learned something new there. I love that so well. It seems like there's so many features that are gaining popularity among clients right now that you've guys have outlined. Let me see here. Well, how will you and I guess this is, this is a good question in terms of balancing out the esthetic with the functionality when you're designing high end kitchens. I mean, I'm assuming that these appliances are beautiful to look at, and are there any special like, can you choose color preferences? You know, my kitchen is all dark and I want this to be a black stove, or I want this, do you have those options so we can customize? That

Lisa Adair 22:14
is a great question. Some of the, some of the appliance brands do offer color options. They may have a selection of colors. There's a particular brand that has color choices that you can choose from. Or you can take one of the Ral colors and they will color match it. They will send the chip back. You can approve it. And they also have hardware choices for freezer columns, refrigeration columns, beverage columns under counter, refrigeration for outdoor in a bar area, outdoor kegerators and things like that. So there are endless options when it comes to color. A common thing now is to, I don't want to say common, but a luxurious thing now is to have a freezer column and then on the left and a wine column in the middle and a refrigerator column on the right, so you have all those together. And it's really beautiful when you walk into a kitchen and you you're looking across the room, and you see the lighted interior of the wine column. And it really depends on on the client, where the appliances end up being placed, and that's generally something in between them and their designer or the builder or or driven by them, but those are some of the new features that they have, and having an under counter beverage in a separate location is always nice, too. You're busy cooking in the kitchen. A lot of times, designers will have a beverage located on the front side of the island or in a pantry area nearby, so that it frees up the space in the refrigerator, but yet, with the glass door, the guests and family can see what beverages are inside and and, you know, makes it really nice that way. No,

Debrae Little 24:11
it does. I actually like that that is built in into that. And then I and the column format so that you don't always have to reach down and go under a cabinet to get something like that out. It makes it a lot nicer to I would imagine just, you know, saving on saving on time, and just, I guess I'm looking at this in terms of the whole layout of the kitchen, you know, you want to have that triangle, so to speak, so that you can reach here and there and not have to do a whole lot of walking away. I did have more questions about the technology of the kitchen, but we'll have to revisit that another time. Can you walk me through the design process when starting a new project, particularly for kitchen, for kitchens and spas. You know, what would that look like if a designer comes in or a client by themselves?

Caryn Lellos 24:58
So I think. Think it really is. The process is kind of dictated by who it is. Coming in, if the customer is with a designer, a lot of times, we'll take, you know, cues from the designer as to how they would like us to handle the process. If the designer is not with the the clients, then we will step in and truly act as that consultant for them. Some of our designers do enjoy, you know, kind of standing back a little bit when they come in and having our consultants, because they are so I would consider them experts when it comes to the products that we, you know, curate and sell in the showroom, I would consider them experts. So the designers are comfortable a lot of the time stepping back and letting them kind of take control of the situation. We always recommend, you know, having having some ideas as to what you're looking for and what you want when you come in. And, you know, even knowing a price point or a budget that you'd like to stay into that that is really important, so that you're not just randomly, you know, kind of looking and pulling straws, so

Debrae Little 26:11
don't touch because, yeah, exactly.

Caryn Lellos 26:13
So we don't, we don't ever say No, right? We, we say, maybe, let's shift gears.

Debrae Little 26:19
Yes, yeah, yeah. I've done that before. I point them in a different direction, yeah. So let's ask, let me ask you this, can you share a memorable project that or a client story that encapsulates what luxury design means to you?

Caryn Lellos 26:34
I'll let you take that one. Lisa,

Lisa Adair 26:36
that was an interesting question. There was a project that I worked on, I'll always remember, and it's back when I met more in person with the clients. And she was a busy mom of a large family. One of her daughters was challenged as she was paralyzed from a tragic accident. And my client loved to make nutritious home baked bread from wheat that she ground fresh each day, and she liked the way it made her home smell when her kids came home from school, and it had a very calming aroma and just really set the mood for the home. And selecting an oven that had a convection feature was super important. It was a feature she was unaware of previously. And again, that feature adds a third heating element. It's wrapped around the fan for even temperature and baking results. And it reduces the cooking, you know, baking time by 25% saving time was really important to this, you know, busy mom, as you can imagine. And so I would say, What's memorable to me and satisfying is, is when a client has been educated and and that's across the board, the designers that come in with them, the builders, the remodelers, when they find out about what's new and different and amazing, it's so great to have that as an option, because it's there's you know, things that you would purchase had you known that, that that was possible.

Debrae Little 28:16
Well, lastly, can you tell our listeners more information about your your work and the showroom, and maybe, perhaps how they might be able to reach you absolutely.

Caryn Lellos 28:26
So our show, the Ferguson showroom, is located at 4175 South Grand Canyon drive. We are in a very large suite, 109 and that is right off the 215 at West Flamingo. You can also browse a lot of our products on our online platform, which is actually build.com we welcome walk ins, but we do highly recommend that if you're working on a project, that you actually set an appointment, so that we can make sure we have a consultant available to you know, give you that one on one. Attention.

Debrae Little 29:04
Very good. Well, I'm going to encourage all our listeners to go take a look, because I love the showroom. There's always something fabulous and interesting and amazing and new, and it gets me excited, and that's what design is all about. Absolutely,

I'm going to thank you so much, Lisa and Karen for sharing your insights and experiences with us today. It's been a real pleasure learning about more learning about the galleries and the impact you're making in the luxury interior design world. And to our listeners, stay tuned for more episodes of luxury living with Debray on K, U, N, V, 91.5, every third Sunday at 9:30am,