February 25, 2020

The NKBA Chicago Midwest Chapter hosted Ellen Cheever at their February chapter event held at Cafe La Cave in Des Plains, Ill. The evening’s event included Cheever’s “Reflections of a Career in Design: A Conversation with Ellen Cheever.” The presentation included lessons learned from following several dreams that changed direction and how she found her peace once she went back to her passions.

“I have learned so much from Ellen Cheever,” said NKBA Midwest member Denise Butchko of Caesarstone, during her introduction of Cheever. “When I worked as a closet designer, someone once referred to me as the Ellen Cheever of closets, and that was quite the honor.”

This evening’s presentation was Cheever’s last planned presentation, as she steps away from professional life for more personal time with her husband, Pete Giorgi, and their family.

“I first visited Chicago in the late 70’s and over time it became a home away from home,” Cheever stated. “Because of the strength and professionalism of the chapter, I though the Chicago Midwest NKBA Chapter would be the perfect group for me to share the last presentation reflecting on my career. From the venue to the warm greetings I received from the chapter members, I was so proud to share my story one more time.”

NKBA Hall of Famer and current NKBA chief strategy officer and executive vice president of industry relations, Suzie Williford presented an update from January’s KBIS prior to Cheever’s presentation and was thus on hand to give accolades to Cheever on the contributions she has made for the NKBA in her 49 years of professional design.

Cheever’s passion is designing, writing, speaking and teaching about the kitchen and bath industry. She wrote the first books on kitchen and bath design, “Beyond the Basics: Advanced Kitchen Design” and “The Basics of Bathroom Design and Beyond.” These books and the information within are the foundation to the NKBA training and certification program.

At the conclusion of the Cheever’s presentation, Williford addressed the room of over 100 Chicago area NKBA members and announced the recent creation of the Ellen Cheever Scholarship along with updates on how many students have already benefited from the Scholarship in the past year.

“Ellen represents the most important elements of our association,” said Williford, “the continuing thirst for knowledge and professional development to become better every day, and training and inspiring the next generation of kitchen and bath pros.” To be eligible, the scholarship recipient must be an NKBA student member and a full–time student in good standing finishing their degree or certificate at an NKBA Affiliated School in the current or next semester.

Cheever, who holds CMKBD, ASID, CLIPP and CAPS certifications, is a longtime member of the NKBA and was inducted into the Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame in 1992. Last November, she donated the body of her life’s work, titled “The Ellen Cheever Kitchen & Bath Collection, 1971-2018,” to Virginia Tech, and dedicated the Cheever Design Library at Virginia Tech’s Center for Real Life Design.