The year was 1981: Ronald Regan was president, Lady Di married Prince Charles, the first class postage stamp shot up to eighteen cents, median household income was $19,074 and here on the shoreline Joseph and Rosemarie Ciccarello started a kitchen and bath design firm. Their reputation for truthful, straightforward business practices and a great product is the legacy that the youngest of their four children, Gerard, continues to offer today.
When Joseph Ciccarello moved from Long Island to the more rural Connecticut, he did not originally plan on establishing the company that exists today. In the 1970’s Joseph was a carpenter with his own company in Massapequa NY, and soon utilized his skills to install kitchens and baths for other design firms. After moving his family to the CT shoreline and attaining his Certified Kitchen Design certification, Joe decided to use his experience to open Covenant Kitchens & Baths, Inc. in Westbrook.
Joe asked his son Gerard, who graduated from Hale Ray High School in 1983, to join the family business; however, Gerard was considering a career in the sciences and spent three years studying biology before entertaining the idea of working for his parents. “The only way I can describe how I ended up designing kitchens and baths is that it was God directed,” says Gerard Ciccarello, who is president and owner of the company today. “I had other plans but God redirected me,” he recalls. “In hindsight, I needed the time between high school and working for my parents to mature a little and to explore whether or not the kitchen and bath industry would be a good fit for me.”
So in 1986 Gerard began his career at Covenant Kitchens & Baths and it was a learning process from the start. Crediting his father for providing a great learning environment Gerard says, “My Dad gave me an abundance of room to make mistakes and figure things out from my own miscalculations but he was always there to help me think things through.” “I miss him,” Gerard says of his father Joseph, who passed away in August of 2007, “He set the bar for me and he set it high. He and my mom started and ran this business seeking first to honor God in all they did and then to make sure they treated their clients like they would want to be treated themselves. Pam and I seek to do the same today.”
At the time Covenant was working with Heritage Cabinetry, which had a great business development program. “I learned excellent business practices from my parents and Heritage’s program built perfectly upon that foundation,” he shares. As time progressed Gerard knew that design and craftsmanship were in his blood. By 1995, Gerard earned his Certified Kitchen Designer and Certified Bath Designer diplomas from the National Kitchen & Bath Association and in 2004 went on to attain the highest honor of CMKBD, Certified Master Kitchen and Bath Designer, which is earned by meeting stringent prerequisites set by the NKBA.
Asked if there were any changes he made to the business model created by his parents, Gerard shares several differences. “In the early 80’s we used cabinetry that was ready-made box type while today, all the cabinets we create are custom and the changes I have made are a push toward quality. Quality cabinets and excellent design are the focus. Superiorly constructed cabinetry made it easy for us to add libraries, offices and laundry rooms to the list of spaces we can create.” He adds, “Since 1981, technology has grown exponentially and has become prevalent in the design industry. We have moved from hand drawing designs to utilizing AutoCAD to provide customers with the most effective design experience.”
“One of the principal changes in thirty years of our business and the design profession in general is that in 1981 the kitchen we created had more of the focus on function than form; the kitchen was still more utilitarian than attractive. The swing towards our incorporating more beauty in the kitchen began in the mid-eighties. Today our kitchens have two equal parts: function and form. We pay attention to all the little details that make the room user friendly and timeless. Consumers today are more aware of what is out there thanks to HGTV and various home publications,” Gerard elaborates.
In the years that followed Gerard married his high school sweetheart, Pamela Bos, and they embarked on building their own house in East Haddam. “Building our home was a great learning experience for me” he says, “It gave me valuable experience in designing architectural elements such as our arched front porch and soffit details with crown molding reveals. These things transfer into the keen attention to structural design that we put into each of our projects."
“Pam and I have seven children and I know we want them to be what God created them to be so we don’t pressure them about taking over the business. If it’s meant to be it will happen.
I am sure that my children have shaped my outlook and attitude over the years as well. It is vital for me to keep proper perspective about what is everlasting and what is temporary,” Gerard explains. The third generation of the Ciccarello family has recently arrived at Covenant as Gerard and Pam’s oldest son Anthony, a computer engineering student at Cedarville University in Ohio, is currently spending his summer in a work study role at Covenant, honing his classroom-taught CAD drawing skills in a real application environment.
Today, three decades since inception, Covenant Kitchens is a shoreline success story occupying an 1,800 square foot showroom on the Boston Post Road in Westbrook. Covenant recently took the first place ribbon in the New England Chapter of the Clarke Wolf-SubZero Design Awards, which adds to the list of many design awards they have won in their 30 year history. Eighteen awards were earned by Covenant in the last decade alone and their work has been featured in various national publications, as well as being featured on HGTV. One of their kitchens was the cover story of the Spring, 2011 issue of Dream Kitchens & Baths: Best of the Best, 30 Timeless Looks.
Over the years Covenant has evolved and morphed to keep pace with the demands of their customers and changes in style. Although the styles do change, Covenant’s forte has been creating a classic timeless kitchen - be it traditional or contemporary in flavor with a new variety of materials. Global and sustainable resources are readily available and Covenant actively seeks new design elements and does not limit themselves to sourcing materials in the immediate area.
Throughout Covenant’s history, several things have remained consistent. Gerard has deliberately kept the business small in order to be directly involved with each job from start to completion. “I really enjoy working closely with our clients to help them create the beautiful spaces they have dreamed of having but need a guiding hand to make them reality”. Another aspect that remains consistent with Covenant is the quality of the product they represent. “We don’t sacrifice quality for price” Gerard says, “This is the main reason we have been able to survive and thrive for thirty years.”
After such a successful history of business, it is not surprising there have been several customers that have had two kitchens and multiple baths created by Covenant; some in the same home and others in a second or summer home.
“I love what I do and am thankful to be working doing what I love. 
We have a talented team here at Covenant and I couldn’t do it without them,” says Gerard. “I am blessed with Eric Koch, Design Engineer, Designer Kira Van Deusen, our project manager Mike Gourley, and our carpenters/installers Bob Roper and Gene King. Every project is a team effort! If the Lord allows me, I would be delighted to have another thirty years to design and implement great kitchens and baths along the shoreline,” he smiles.
Although they could provide upwards of thirty tips to creating the kitchen of your dreams, these are Covenant’s top ten:
1. Know your likes and dislikes. Tear out magazine articles and photos and keep a scrapbook. This will help your designer to understand the look you want.
2. Utilize current and updated interior cabinet mechanisms to make potential wasted space functional.
3. Don’t overlook potential “kitchen real estate” in adjoining spaces, ie. closets and wall thicknesses.
4. Use a combination of drawers and roll out shelves for maximum function and balanced look.
5. Keep the microwave from being a focal point by using a drawer microwave in an island or retractable doors over the microwave at eye level.
6. Pet owners consider things such as pet food storage, using granite in front of a well trafficked doggy door, pet dish in a pull out drawer.
7. Embrace color. If the bones and design of the kitchen are fantastic, then color, when used properly, will not deter potential buyers.
8. Lighting is key. Under-cabinet task lighting, recessed cans, attractive pendants and chandeliers all have roles to play in keeping the kitchen well lit.
9. Floor tile layout is important to making the room look most spacious. Consider different shapes than the standard 12 x 12. Use 12 x 18 or long plank tile in a grid pattern or staggered. Don’t settle for the ordinary.
10. Know your budget and talk about it from the start. The same space can be designed for several price points. Work with your designer/builder/architect to stay within your guidelines.
