Sisters-in-Law Bring Touch of Magic to Kitchens

That comes down to attention to details, Belorian said. “The most important skillset you have to have  is to be able to take measurements. It’s very critical,” she added.

The duo recalled that they completed work on a tiny kitchen in a condo in Somerville, which measured less than 7 by 10. “This kitchen was tiny. We literally used every inch in any clever possible way, with pullouts — even three-inch pullouts for spices. It took a lot of creativity. Thank goodness they had a competent installer and it worked out,” Stepanian recalled.

“I think the contractor was shocked,” joked Belorian.

Another interesting project for them was for a family who was moving to Brookline from London, during COVID. The entire interaction was on Zoom. “Clearly it was an amazing project. We did some bathrooms, the laundry area and the mudrooms. It is a very historic, stately home, very tastefully and tactfully done. Her project is one of my favorites,” Stepanian said.

When asked what the average cost for a kitchen is, Stepanian said, there is no such thing as an average cost because there are so many variables. “You can look up two kitchens that look exactly the same and one could be twice the cost of the other,” she said. Adding to the price are the types of wood or functionality, such as a pullout drawer. “Anytime you add functionality, you add to the cost of cabinets,” she noted.

They themselves do not take part in the construction end of things. “Most customers who come to us already have a contractor,” she said. Otherwise, Bel can suggest some trusted constructors.

Bel Kitchen does not advertise and both women said they prefer to get clients through word of mouth.

“Margarit and I, our business model is that we are not going to advertise willy-nilly,” Stepanian said. “Most of the people who find us, find us through other people. It’s a warm lead. It’s such a better customer. Nobody just walks by and comes in. Nowadays a lot of people find us through our Google reviews but most of our business comes from repeat customers who have somebody whose kitchen we did, cousin or neighbor….”

The two came to the home design business as second careers. Belorian’s background is in computer science and designing data bases, while Stepanian worked in finance.

Asked if Belorian missed her former profession, she said with a chuckle, “Not a single day!”

The two got their start when Belorian got laid off from her job at Citizens Bank. “She [Margarit] had this great idea because at that time we had done [house] flips and other construction projects. She noticed how much we loved doing the kitchen side of things when we were doing these projects and so when she got laid off, she thought that is a perfect opportunity to do it as a business,” Stepanian said. “I initially was a little afraid because growing up all our parents said was ‘you don’t go into business with family.’”

Belorian convinced her sister-in-law that everything would run smoothly. Stepanian agreed and gradually transitioned out of her full-time job.

“We see each other day in and day out but fortunately and luckily we figured out a way. Part of it is we have different strengths and we respect each other’s strengths. Each of us deals with a different side of the business and there isn’t a lot of stepping on each other’s toes,” Stepanian said.

Said Stepanian, “We made a decision to work a certain way. It’s very low pressure, no pressure. We have fun with this. We treat every kitchen as if it is our own. We painstakingly go over design after design. There is never a hard sell. We give them options and quotes, but we tell them if they find better quotes on anything elsewhere, to go with it. It’s always an easy conversation.”

“We’ve had really great customers. When we come here, it doesn’t at all feel like we are going to work,” Stepanian said. Customers pick up on it, Belorian added.

And finally, asked what sort of kitchen is popular, Stepanian said,  “For a good 10 years, everyone was doing white and grey kitchens. White is kind of timeless, but now we have a lot of woods coming back, within the past year,” she said, adding they are not the old-fashioned wood cabinets of previous decades, but with a cooler undertone. She also predicted that interest in gold-colored hardware would decrease.

Belorian added that European laminates are also very popular.

For more information about Bel Kitchen and Bath, visit https://belkitchenandbath.com/index.html.