Our History

creating memorable kitchens

Creating memorable kitchens for over 70 years

Kd. is a family, both literally and figuratively. For more than 70 years, we have been passionately dedicated to helping our clients create custom kitchens that truly become the heart of the home—equal parts beautiful and functional, and always reflective of the people who inhabit them.

A marriage of hard work and creativity

The Kd. story began in 1953, when P.G. and Esther Hartman opened a commercial cabinetry distributorship with a GI Bill and a $250 loan from Esther’s father. As the fledgling Denver kitchen industry evolved, the Kitchen Distributors name became synonymous with quality and attention to detail. A true creative visionary, P.G. became the voice of the fledgling Colorado kitchen design industry, and is largely responsible for its success today. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Mountain States Chapter of the American Institute of Kitchen Design (now known as the NKBA) and was often the first in the state to offer innovative products—including luxury brands and avant-garde designs that represented a new era of kitchen design.

hardwork and creativity
family and friends together

A tradition of bringing family and friends together

The Legacy of Kd. lives on. When P.G. passed away unexpectedly in 1974, his family made the decision to pool their respective talents and carry his proud legacy into the future. When Esther retired in 2008, the business passed into the capable hands of her son, Tom Hartman. Today, with three successful showrooms and more than 70 years of award-winning design under their collective belt, Kitchen Distributors’ heritage is stronger than ever before. Now, as it always has been, it’s about friends and family…gathered together in the one room that nourishes mind, body, and soul.

Our Timeline

Timeline Line

Pre-1953

P.G. Hartman, while working at a lumberyard, impresses the manager of Geneva Modern Kitchens, a prominent steel cabinet manufacturer. P.G. is offered exclusive rights to franchise the brand and sell Geneva products.
kitchen-distributor-near-me
professional-kitchen-organizer
Timeline Line

1953

Seizing on the opportunity presented, P.G. abandons law school, and, along with his wife Esther Hartman, founds Kitchen Distributors on May 11, 1953. The company moves into a building at 2430 E 6th Avenue in Denver, before moving again in 1955 to 2160 15th Street in Downtown Denver.

With steel cabinets on offer, Kitchen Distributors supplies Geneva cabinets for local kitchen dealers, commercial builds such as hospitals, labs, and schools.

Timeline Line

1959

When the business receives more custom cabinetry work, the company moves into a 10,000-square-foot facility at 1235 South Broadway.

Kitchen Distributors begins to transition from commercial to custom residential work.

kitchen distributors broadway
residential and custom services
Timeline Line

1967-1973

Kitchen Distributors shifts completely to residential and custom services.

P.G is instrumental in forming the first mountain states chapter of the American Institute of Kitchen Dealers (now the National Kitchen + Bath Association), later becoming part of the first class of Certified Kitchen Designers.

To attract more residential customers, Kitchen Distributors exhibits annually at the Colorado Garden and Home Show, where they showcase an accessible kitchen built for a woman with quadriplegia.

Timeline Line

1974

Kitchen Distributors receives national recognition from Washington D.C. for its work in designing accessible kitchens for people with disabilities.

That same year, P.G. passes away unexpectedly in 1974, leaving Esther and Shirley, their daughter, to run the company.

custom-kitchen-design-firm
littleton location
Timeline Line

1980s

Kitchen Distributors leaves its location on South Broadway when the lease expires. The company then renovates and moves into a building they purchase, which is located at 1309 W Littleton Blvd.

Timeline Line

Early 2000s

In 2002, Tom Hartman, P.G and Esther’s son, turns his admiration for bulthaup into collaboration, bringing the German kitchen manufacturer to Denver — the partnership continues to this day.

Kitchen Distributors leases space at the Denver Design Center in 2001. After remodeling the new space, it opens in 2002. When the lease runs out a few years later, Kitchen Distributors moves this secondary location to Bannock Street, where it remains today. After buying the building in 2005, the building undergoes several interior and exterior renovations in the following years.

bulthaup team
kitchen distributors in 2008
Timeline Line

2008

Esther retires from the company, and Tom becomes company president.

Timeline Line

2018-2019

Kitchen Distributors expands in the Aspen area, buying a studio space. This new location is dedicated to showcasing bulthaup products, creating a curated minimalist experience that highlights the strengths of the German brand.

best-kitchen-design-team

Our Values

We provide exceptional and unique product solutions.

Kitchen Distributors offers our customers both cutting-edge modern kitchen designs as well as time-tested favorites proven by our years of experience.

We are designers and dreamers.

As Denver kitchen design experts, we’re always looking for new ways to express our creativity. We’re quality-obsessed and style-agnostic, never boxed in a single brand or genre.

We design relationships.

Custom kitchens may be our physical product, but as a family business, our relationships are our true legacy. We are proud of our loyal customers and devoted to the communities we serve.

We create stunning spaces.

Our finished, luxurious kitchens are true works of art that reflect both the passion, expertise, and talent of our designers and craftsmen—and the precise wishes of our clients.

We design for our clients—not for our egos.

Our goal is to realize our clients’ dreams and design a space that is the best possible representation of that dream. No matter what your vision looks like, our kitchen design experts will make it possible.

We provide individualized customization options for your space

Our tailored, award-winning approach to designing custom kitchens doesn’t skip over a single detail. We utilize durable, timeless building materials, sourced from a network of exclusive vendors and design professionals, to ensure your arrangement options are limitless.

Charities and Sponsorships

mca denver

The MCA Denver strives to advance what a 21st century museum can be by welcoming all audiences, celebrating all voices, and sharing all stories. They seek to create connections across Denver and the contemporary art field, to spark curiosity and conversation through world-class exhibitions and quirky programming, and to provide singular experiences for visitors.

the morgan adams foundation

The Morgan Adams Foundation raises money and awareness on behalf of children and young adults affected with cancer. Working with leading physicians and principal investigators, they directly fund pediatric cancer research and therapies which will improve survival rates and reduce the devastating side effects cancer treatments have on our children.

Our Team

Our team of skilled Colorado kitchen designers and engineers has been hand-selected to ensure the highest level of expertise within the kitchen and bath design industry is on hand for your project. Our award-winning kitchen design team has over a half-century of combined kitchen and bath design experience, and are at the forefront of their field.

tom hartman
Tom-Hartman
$

Tom Hartman

President
Elizabeth Aiello
$

Elisabeth Aiello

Project Designer at Kd.
sarah spiroff
Sarah Spiroff
$

Sarah Spiroff

Project Designer at Kd.
Tom Hartman
Tom Hartman
$

Linda McLean

Project Designer at Kd.
William Landeros
Tom Hartman
$

William M. Landeros

Showroom Director &
Designer at bulthaup
Jed-MacKenzie
Jed-MacKenzie
$

Jed MacKenzie

Project Designer at
bulthaup
Ashley Lawhead
$

Ashley Lawhead

Marketing & Showroom Manager at Kd.
Heather Wolldridge
$

Heather Wooldridge

Business Development Coordinator at bulthaup
Michele Bowden
Tom Hartman
$

Michele Bowden

Project Engineer at Kd.
Martin Nordin Kd
Tom Hartman
$

Martin Nordin

Project Engineer at Kd.
Luis-Fernano-Temprana
Luis-Fernano-Temprana
$

Luis Fernando Temprana

Accountant/ Bookkeeper at Kd.
Debbie Fowler
Debbie Fowler
$

Debbie Fowler

Project Coordinator at bulthaup

Client Testimonials

bulthaup Showroom

our showroom partner

Kitchen Distributors is honored to be an authorized bulthaup partner in the U.S. and the owner/operator of the company’s Denver ​and Aspen Showroom. Founded in Germany in 1949, this internationally respected brand is inextricably linked with the development of the modern kitchen. Both rooted in tradition and devoted to innovation, bulthaup kitchens are not influenced by kitchen design trends, but are instead designed to change our perceptions of what a truly timeless kitchen should be.

European design + Colorado spirit: it’s a match truly made in heaven.

our partners