Advice

What Is A Cabinet Designer And Project Manager?

Cabinet maker and project manager Katy Rott of D&M Industries

This month, we learned what being a cabinet designer and project manager means to Katy Rott of D&M Industries in her responses to our questions.

Photo by J. Alan Paul Photography

Q&A With Katy Rott

In upcoming issues, we will be interviewing members of the local home industry to find out exactly what their jobs entail. This month, we learned what being a cabinet designer and project manager means to Katy Rott of D&M Industries in her responses to our questions below.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

A. I’m originally from Richardton, ND. I got married on July 4 of this year in Hawaii to my husband, Ben Rott. I’m now an official stepmom to my strong, beautiful and spunky 12-year old-stepdaughter, Katelyn (Smallz), and we all live together with our tuxedo cat named Spider. I’ve been employed at D&M Industries in Moorhead for almost 6 years after spending 10 years working on custom lake homes around the Detroit Lakes area. My title is Cabinet Designer and Project Manager.

Q. What does your job entail?

A. I work with residential and commercial construction. With residential clients, I am responsible for cabinet design and whole-home project coordination. With commercial clients, I am an estimator and also have a hand in sales, project management, purchasing and ordering, and on some projects, design.

Q. What skills/education does your job require?

A. Good listening skills, creativity, meticulousness and attention to detail.

Q. What is the most fun part of your job?

A. The most fun part of my job is creating a space perfect for my clients’ needs that they will absolutely LOVE.

Q. What is the most challenging part of your job?

A. Making sure that everything is within budget and getting completed on time.

Q. What do you wish people within the home industry knew about your job?

A. Good communication is key! Keeping tabs on scheduling and all changes helps to keep the project rolling along smoothly.

Q. What do you wish people outside of the home industry knew about your job?

A. While building a new home or remodeling an existing home can be somewhat stressful, more planning at the beginning can minimize frustrations and financial costs along the way. I often like to start finish selections by choosing one component–whether it’s the cabinetry or flooring (something with substantial impact)–and then balancing and coordinating everything from that selection. Once the first couple of finishes are chosen, the rest seem to just fall into place!

 

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