Hans de Weerd founded Décor Kitchens in 1982, bringing his training and experience in engineering and interior design to his already formidable kitchen industry experience in design and manufacturing.

Clients quickly discovered the unique benefits offered by the fledgling company and began spreading the word.

Talented young designers were also attracted by Décor Kitchens’ enlightened approach, and Hans became a mentor to some of today’s most award-honoured professionals.

“There’s no place in this company for unimaginative ‘box planters’” insists Hans, referring to the common practice of hiring sales people, teaching them some cabinet making basics, then giving them the title ‘kitchen designer’.

“All they really do is plant a bunch of boring boxes around the walls of the customer’s kitchen with little real thought to making life easier for the owners,” says Hans. “If a kitchen designer wants to work with Décor Kitchens, they have to be a Certified Kitchen Designer accredited by the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association (Australia’s peak industry body) and the Kitchen and Bathroom Designers’ Institute (the peak professional organisation).”

A natural entrepreneur and innovator, Hans soon earned a reputation for creating ingenious new storage features and ergonomic work-saving devices, like rotating corner cupboard shelves (to make it easy to get to items at the back), bi-fold corner cupboard doors (to give better access), kick-plate drawers (to make use of the wasted space beneath cabinets — see photo) and many other innovations now regarded as standard by the industry.

Hans is a Certified Kitchen Designer and an accredited member of both the NKBA and KBDi.