The St. Charles Manufacturing Company organized and began operations in a small plant in St. Charles, Illinois. Former owners of the plant were Janes and Kirtland, who made the first steel “kitchen dressers”.
St. Charles cabinetry selected by Frank Lloyd Wright for Falling Water residence in Pennsylvania.
Within three years, producing custom kitchens in volume. Started a national advertising program.
Recognized as leader in custom kitchen design and production.
World War II interrupted domestic production. All St. Charles production converted to defense requirements- awarded five Army/Navy “E” awards.
Custom kitchen production resumed and and introduced first built-in appliance: under-counter ranges, wall ovens
St. Charles introduces color as standard-a first: all other manufactured cabinetry was white or wood finish.
St. Charles specified by Mies Van Der Rohe for Farnsworth House in Fox River Valley, Illinois.
Hospital division organized with its own separate sales personnel.
St. Charles introduced flush wood fronts on steel cabinets- the beginning of the “combination of materials” concept.
Consumer acceptance and demand for St. Charles products had outgrown original facilities. A new Illinois plant was completed and put into operation.
School Division is formed to cater to this growing market
The advent of “The Kitchen Furniture Styling Era”. St. Charles introduced the extremes of the styling spectrum with traditional wood (TW) and off-the-floor styling shown at the National Association of Home Builders Show in Chicago, together with the contemporary Eastern Horizons kitchen.
St. Charles of New York, an exclusive Manhattan design studio, opens to the public in the A&D (Architect & Designer) Building.
Introduced textured steel as an alternative exterior finish.
Major addition to the Illinois plant completed, incorporating sophisticated wood finishing facilities.
Another milestone for St. Charles with the acquisition of the Lutz Cabinet Company of Laramine, Wyoming. St. Charles acquired a new technology: plastic laminate casework fabrication-intended primarily for schools and hospitals.
Entry into multiple family housing market (condo) of the Southeast was made possible by the addition of a new decorative laminate line and fabricating plant in Sanford, North Carolina.
International Division created- a major step in formalizing export marketing. St. Charles introduces the new Bellaire line, along with industrial and dental laboratory equipment in a newly engineered product line integrating international functional hardware systems and manufacturing component parts.
Expansion of Sanford, North Carolina plant from 30,000 to 75,000 square feet.
Acquired Craftsmen Cabinets, Inc., manufacturers and distributors of quality wood custom kitchens. This acquisition allowed St. Charles furniture system and an extensive bathroom cabinetry line.
Introduced St. Charles cabinetry for every room in the home with the St. Charles furniture system an extensive bathroom cabinetry line.
St Charles of New York selected to provide elite state-of-the-art kitchens for the grand duplex & triplex units at the Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue
Acquired by the Whirlpool Company. St. Charles became a division of Whirlpool Kitchen, Inc. Corporate headquarters moved to Denver, Colorado.
KitchenAid selects St. Charles for their kitchen of the future
Frank Lloyd Wright Usonia house features St. Charles kitchen designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.
St. Charles is selected to design the Governor’s Mansion in Albany. The multi-functional kitchen serves its purpose as a semi-commercial installation in a residence.
St. Charles Corporation purchased by Viking, Inc. An intensive redesign and re-engineering project begins to update the American modern styling of this American classic.
St Charles is selected by: Martha Stewart for both personal and test kitchens. Conde Nast publications for Gourmet Magazine’s test kitchens. Sub-Zero Corporation to showcase new wine storage units. DuPont Corian to create the “Kitchen of the Future”. Viking Range selects St. Charles to provide fitted stainless steel cabinetry for their exclusive Culinary Arts Centers planned for across North America
St. Charles is recognized with two First Place awards for coated steel cabinetry and the Hettich Innotech steel drawer system in Kitchen & Bath Business Magazine’s 1999 Product Innovator Awards Program.
Martha Stewart gives an exclusive interview to New York Magazine announcing St. Charles as her favorite kitchen design firm, with whom she work exclusively for her personal projects.
Designer Robert Schwartz is commissioned by Hadassah headquarters to design their corporate kitchen space in Manhattan.
St. Charles selected to design the kitchen for the Harkness mansion, a NYC landmark currently home to gallery owner Larry Gagosian of Gagosian Galleries.
St. Charles is commissioned to design the kitchen for the Penthouse of 15 Central Park West. The client requested that the kitchen match his Jaguar Green painted car finish. Home was sold two years later for $89 Million Dollars.
St. Charles of New York opens its new 3,000 sq ft showroom in the Architects and Designers Building. Kitchen + Bath Magazine pronounces the space as the "most beautiful kitchen showroom" and "top design showroom to visit" in the United States
St. Charles is chosen to design the kitchen for the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. Designers use this as a template to showcase how the "kitchen space" has evolved from a chef's cooking quarters to a living space complete with a fireplace, grand piano, original artwork, and twenty foot long dining island.
This contemporary kitchen is the first place global winner in the 2012 Sub-Zero and Wolf Kitchen Design Contest. The kitchen was subsequently published in House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Dwell, and many design related forums. Thanks to its worldwide triumph, the geometrically symmetrical kitchen was deemed ‘The Best of the Best ’.
St. Charles is selected by Sotheby’s Auction House to design the kitchen for the 2nd Annual Designer Showhouse. The show runs for two weeks in their Upper East Side landmark location. As part of an ongoing live auction, the kitchen is adorned with the works of Pablo Picasso, Tom Wesselman, Ed Ruscha, and other famous artists. The show explores the theory that the kitchen is now the epicenter of the modern home, thus, where your best works of art should lie.
St. Charles is selected by Sotheby’s Auction House to design the kitchen for the 2nd Annual Designer Showhouse. The show runs for two weeks in their Upper East Side landmark location. As part of an ongoing live auction, the kitchen is adorned with the works of Pablo Picasso, Tom Wesselman, Ed Ruscha, and other famous artists. The show explores the theory that the kitchen is now the epicenter of the modern home, thus, where your best works of art should lie.
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