Born with a flair for stylish kitchens

Rick Blanco makes it sound easy. The award-winning kitchen designer specializes in mid- to high-end custom work and is one of only 64 certified kitchen designers in Florida.

His kitchen designs have earned him numerous prestigious awards from the Florida Builders Association for homes costing from $300,000 to $5 million.

As a college student in Cuba, Blanco thought of going to medical school. But those plans ended with his family's abrupt departure from the island on one of the "freedom flights" of the 1960s. With determination and a solid work ethic, Blanco, then 19, hit Miami running.

"It was 1961 and my uncle had a kitchen cabinet manufacturing plant. I wanted to make money. He gave me a job sanding wood cabinets for 75 cents an hour, and I was lucky because there were so many people arriving and there weren't enough jobs," he says proudly.

Woodworking is in his genes. His paternal grandfather was a carpenter who created elaborate pieces of furniture with nothing but hand tools. "He made incredible things and I always had a desire to do what he did. I never imagined I would make a living at it," he says.

In his new job, the ambitious Blanco quickly worked his way through every department, learning everything from assembly to hardware to countertops. Then he discovered a hidden talent.

"I copied the professional drawings to practice, and I learned all the technical details on my own," he says. Two of the salespeople began giving him clients and within three years, he was producing the actual technical drawings and list of materials to manufacture the cabinets.

"People would ask me if I was an architect," he recalls. At age 22, with three years' experience firmly under his belt, Blanco had an offer from a man who wanted to invest in a business. He left the safety of his uncle's firm and opened Top Master Cabinets & Countertops. Although the firm struggled for about four years, he developed his design skills. In 1968, his uncle, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, asked him to return and run his business.

"We were in mass production making multiple kitchen units for condos and developments," he says. Although that work made good money, Blanco did not find it challenging enough, so he started designing custom kitchens on his own for smaller cabinet shops. "As I got more clients, they encouraged me to specialize in custom work," he explains.

In the early '70s, Blanco ventured out on his own again, but this time he knew how to run a successful business. He became a freelance designer, working with specialized high-end kitchen cabinet shops with the versatility to create any look from sleek contemporary to a country kitchen to an elegant polished mahogany masterpiece -- all worthy of being showcased in design magazines.

"I was only one person working with three or four cabinet manufacturers and it was difficult for me to keep control of scheduling and the quality was hard to oversee," he says. So in 1991 he founded his showroom, Rick's Cabinet Tree. "Get it?" he asks with a wink. (Hint: cabinetry).

His company includes Teresa, his wife of 38 years, who manages the business and son Rick (one of five children), who handles the technical aspect.

"It's one-stop shopping. A client can see everything in one location -- materials, how a finished product looks in different settings," says Blanco.

Blanco has proven that he thrives on challenges, so in 1997 he branched out to became a certified kitchen designer. "It was not an easy thing to do," he says. "I had to study very hard for a year and half to pass the certification."

For certification, he learned extensively about building codes pertaining to construction, mechanical, electrical systems, plumbing, safety and environmental regulations and even design styles, something he mastered years ago.

"A cabinetmaker does not need to know this, but I like that it's an ongoing professional development program and you keep taking courses to keep up with technology," he says. "You know a kitchen inside out and it gives potential clients assurance of your professionalism."

So is he fulfilled? ''You bet! I love coming to work every day," he says.

Dr. Brian Weiss, the noted author and psychiatrist, and his wife, Carole, had Blanco design their kitchen 23 years ago. Says Weiss, "It was extremely well done and functional so when we wanted to update now that our children are grown, there was no doubt in our minds that Rick would design our new kitchen. This kitchen is more glamorous, like fine furniture with all the state-of-the-art details available."