WICHITA, KS - The Wichita Kitchen Tune-up, a kitchen cabinetry refinishing and refacing franchise, won the national home renovation project of the year. The award, announced at the franchise's annual meeting in Nashville, includes a flight and cruise.

Kitchen cabinet renovation franchise owners Jim and Arlene Phillips, who have owned their franchise seven years, took the prize based on a vote by their peers at the annual meeting. Before and after pictures of the project were the basis of the ballots.

Kitchen Tune-up franchisees specialize in kitchen cabinet refacing, wood reconditioning and custom cabinets, as well as baths, closets and other storage solutions. Projects can include addition of islands, crown-moulding changeover, as well as replacement of door and drawer fronts in kitchens, baths and other room.

Phillips' project included transformation of cabinets to a dark maple stain, placement of a middle island, and addition of granite countertops.

Kitchen Tune-Up was founded in 1988 by Dave Haglund, who owned a cabinet distributorship with four locations and 60 dealers in three states. The first franchise was sold in Fargo, ND.  Kitchen Tune-up's website has a locator function to help consumers find their nearest franchise. Today there are 70 franchisees in the U.S. and Canada.

Two years ago, Kitchen Tuneup added a design function to allow potential clients to test different finishes, door and draw patterns, corbels, blinds, bar stools, etc., then save projects for review by the local franchise bidding on jobs.

In a video below, Gary Skinner, owner of a Wilmington, NC Kitchen Tune-up franchise, explains the cabinetry refacing process to the local news channel.