Each member of the design and installation staff at Detail Kitchens of Arlington Heights, Illinois has been carefully selected so that we, as a team of highly trained professionals, can fully support our goal of integrity. Our standards are among the highest in the Kitchen Industry for design, installation, remodeling, and service. We stand strongly behind these standards, and we will not let them be compromised.
George Schiestel
President/Co-Owner/Construction Estimator
Making his entry in the woodworking world over 45 years ago, George, co-owner, co-founder, and president of Detail Kitchens served his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker while building store fixtures for a major food store chain. Later he moved into commercial construction; remodeling and installing casework in showrooms at the Merchandise Mart and throughout the Chicago area, and eventually progressed into residential construction. Along with a partner, they established Detail Construction Company. Beginning the business by primarily installing custom millwork in large homes throughout the Chicago northwest suburbs, the company expanded its level of expertise into new home construction, room additions, and remodeling. With the help of his wife, Arlene, they opened a kitchen and bath design studio under the name, “Detail,” a word that truly describes the type of work they base their business around. With a combination of experience in the construction field and the additional training through the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s education programs, George relates well to architects and builders, as well as to those customers whose projects require extensive remodeling work.
George is actively involved in his church and with the Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dog Program. As a handler, he enjoys working with the community with “JoJo”. He is an aviation enthusiast as well as a private pilot, and enjoys traveling, photography, and outdoor activities.
Arlene Schiestel
Co-Owner and Designer
As co-owner and co-founder of Detail Kitchens, Arlene has been involved in the remodeling industry since 1974. Arlene received extensive training through the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s education programs and has been creatively designing kitchens for over twenty years. Arlene’s philosophy on kitchen design is to create a space that works for the whole family, is practical, functional, and looks lovely.
Arlene is active at church as the coordinator for Christmas in November, choir, Presentation Committee and a Thrivent Financial Advocate. She is very involved with Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dog Program. As a handler, she enjoys working with the community with “JoJo”. She also enjoys having fun with her grandchildren, gardening, and riding her John Deere Tractor in Door County, Wisconsin.
Michael Schiestel
Business/Operations Manager
Michael has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Dubuque and has been working in the remodeling industry throughout high school and college and has turned his passion for remodeling into a successful career for over 15 years. As the Project Manager for Detail Kitchens, Michael is focused on education in new products, efficient functional design and streamline processes. He oversees all ongoing projects, construction teams, and client relations. He also works through any technical and administrative challenges encountered during a project.
Michael enjoys spending time with his wife and twin children Paige and Noah. He is also very involved in his community, Fox River Grove, as a village trustee. He also enjoys fishing, camping, hiking and most other outdoor activities.
Dorothy Zalewski
Designer
Dorothy Zalewski holds a diploma from the Illinois Institute of Art—Schaumburg, where she focused on residential planning. In order to stay on the cutting-edge of interior design, Dorothy continues to educate herself through classes and seminars. In her previous life, she obtained a BS in Mathematics from the University of Illinois which led to a career in software engineering and computer programming. She also received an Advanced Studies Certificate from Moody Bible Institute.
Though moving from software to interior design is not the most traditional path, Dorothy learned how deeply connected the two actually are. Both are about finding the best problem-solving techniques and the cleanest solutions. And combining the two allowed her to integrate her left-brain and right-brain, creativity and workability, passion and wisdom.
When she is not designing, Dorothy is program and operations manager to three active teenage boys and husband. She enjoys food (seafood in particular), travel (loves to stay at bed and breakfasts), volleyball, movies and the theatre.
Lisa M
igut
Designer
Lisa realized she had the knack for interior design when she enjoyed holiday decorating as a child and in her teens designed her own bedroom. It took off from there and she attended Harper College where she received an Associate’s degree in Interior Design and a Certificate in Kitchen & Bath Design. She has worked in several aspects of the Interior Design field from designing vignettes for a home décor store to a color consultant for Benjamin Moore to staging homes for a real estate company. She studied AutoCAD for seven years giving her an edge on not only suggesting furniture but being able to place it properly in a room. When it comes to designing a space, Lisa says, she loves the challenge of taking a client’s vision and turning it into reality.
