History


Celebrating 75 Years Designing Dream Spaces

The history of E.W. Kitchens runs deep. We have been redefining the experience of building or remodeling people’s dream spaces since 1947. Our long-standing heritage takes us back to the World War II era when bomber pilot, Quentin Eathorne, returned home from service and opened up, what was known back then as, E.W. Tile. For over 40 years, we specialized in laminate Formica.

History of E.W. Kitchens

As the company was passed down from generation to generation, it evolved to become a premium cabinetry provider for homeowners, designers and builders alike. But we are more than that! Our design expertise, range of custom cabinetry, and most complete selection of premium fixtures bring our client’s visions to life. With 75 years of experience under our belt, you can trust that our Dream Team can guide you towards creating a space that is truly unique to your lifestyle.

 

Our Biggest Milestones

Check out some of our greatest moments! Click through our timeline to read about some of the most important milestones throughout the long-standing history of E.W. Kitchens. As a second-generation company, you can bet we have a few stories to tell…

1947

After returning home from his service as a WWII bomber pilot, Quentin Eathorne, with his wife, Skip, opened up E.W. Tile, specializing in laminate Formica.

1979

E.W. Tile continued to prevail in the industry by selling primarily Formica brand laminate and adhesives to bond Formica to particle boards. We also provided hardware items, hinges and drawer slides.

1981

On a Sunday night in late October, there was a break-in at our office building, and subsequently, the perpetrators set fire to the offices. For about six months, our entire staff worked entirely out of our warehouse! Regardless, we were up and running within 48 hours of the fire.

1984

We relocated from our original building in Detroit and built our current showroom in Wixom.

1987

Our current President, Jim Eathorne, took control as the second generation owner of E.W. Tile.

1988

E.W. Tile changed its business model from wholesale to builder contractor direct and  knocked off its first major, highly visible new construction project.

1993

E.W. Tile became E.W. Kitchen Distributors and added semi-custom cabinetry and custom cabinetry to the product mix. Sales grew tremendously!

2003

At this point, we changed our name to E.W. Kitchens and shifted our focus to custom and semi-custom cabinetry. We opened a high-end luxury showroom in Troy at the Michigan Design Center.

2022

E.W. Kitchens celebrates 75 years of reimagining beautiful kitchens.