Who We Are

The Avenue Kitchens and Interiors is your premier source for kitchen, bath and interior cabinetry in Central Illinois. We have built a reputation for innovative design and friendly, personal assistance, from the moment you contact us to the day we complete your project.

Creating kitchens is our specialty, designing great layouts with a traffic flow that is perfect for entertaining and everyday family gatherings.

But we do much more than kitchens. We can transform your bathroom into an updated, functional space that is also comfortable and relaxing.

On each project we build your personality into an individual design made just for you. All our work is done with precision craftsmanship, superb finishes and careful attention to quality.

Visit our 3,500-square-foot showroom, which is filled with fresh design ideas, beautiful cabinetry and a variety of styles.

Meet the Designers

Travis Cunningham

What's the secret to success in creating a kitchen or bath?

You want a designer versed in the latest styles, options and technology, someone who can craft a beautiful, practical and efficient space. But how you get there is also important. The process should be smooth, not take forever, and yes, even be enjoyable.

Travis knows the secret, because he delights in the details. He knows that even a simple kitchen, bath or other home project involves lots of small steps. Making all those steps go smoothly means paying constant attention at every stage, overseeing deliveries, being on the jobsite. It means being available and responsive to your questions, keeping you informed as things progress.

No one becomes a master of details overnight. Travis started by getting his college degree in Business Administration, and then worked years for leading financial companies including Wells Fargo and Chase Manhattan.

"When we start a project, we finish it.
It doesn't get passed on to someone else."

During college he got a part time job designing kitchens, and found many of his skills translated well. A talent for carefully measuring and working out the numbers is invaluable in figuring out technical and mechanical aspects of a project, and how to arrange a kitchen to get the most out of the space.

Perhaps his biggest kitchen and bath design challenge was when he helped launch The Avenue Kitchens and Interiors showroom back in January 2005. "We had to put together 20 different kitchen and bath displays, design and coordinate a 3,500-square-foot showroom, starting with just bare walls and concrete floors. And the visuals were important, making it all flow and work together."

Travis learned from that experience, and from each new project. "They are all different, whether it is trying to figure out how to make a very small kitchen work with a wine cooler, dishwasher and other appliances, or creating a kitchen that fits with the renovation of a 100-year-old farmhouse."

With the farmhouse project Travis wanted to stay true to both the home's heritage and the clients' needs.

"I chose hickory cabinets, which fit the era, but I also opened up the floor plan. The clients, who were just great to work with, had two children and wanted the kitchen to become the focal point of family life. The budget was limited, so for example we used laminate on the countertops."

Customers have come to expect such individual solutions, and high level of attention and service from Travis.

"When we start a project, we finish it. It doesn't get passed on to someone else," Travis emphasizes. "Colleen or I are always available to answer questions and we get back to people quickly. We keep an open level of communications with clients, working one-on-one until the job is done."

Colleen Tockes

Creative energy defines her everyday enjoyment of working with clients on projects, and also the approach Colleen has taken to building her career.

It is rare to find someone who has been educated as an architect and as an interior designer. Even rarer still to find a kitchen expert who also is a fine artist, has an especially keen eye for color, and the passion for working with clients to create special spaces.

That passion began early. "I designed my first room in the Third Grade," Colleen recalls. "My Mom and Dad had redone one house and then the family moved to another, and I got to design my bedroom." She inherited a love for art from her Mom, and pursued fine arts in high school.

When she moved on to college she first studied architecture for two years, which gave her an appreciation "that a design must work functionally." While getting her bachelor' degree in interior design, Colleen helped pay her way through the Art Institute of Colorado by doing faux finishing for a paint company. That gave her valuable experience working at home construction jobsites.

Beyond her technical skills to design three-dimensional rooms with advanced computer software, and the creativity to pick just the right colors and features to make them special, Colleen just enjoys meeting people and working with clients, from her very first project at The Avenue Kitchens and Interiors.

"Getting to know people really helps in designing
a kitchen for exactly how they live..."

"That was a fun one," Colleen recalls. "It was a couple in their late 20s to early 30s, with a little girl. They had just bought a house here and like many homes in the Peoria area, it was old 60s style everything. I worked with them to create a kitchen that was great for their entertaining needs."

The kitchen also had to be functional because the couple planned to have another child. "We created a place by the kitchen where the kids could sit and work while Mom fixed meals. The style was a mix of traditional and contemporary, sort of transitional, with black granite countertops, warm cherry cabinets, neutral colors. We did some neat things with shelving and space, creating a small desk-like area."

Colleen recalls that with that project, as well as others, she consulted Travis along the way. That is a big benefit for customers of The Avenue Kitchens and Interiors, having Colleen or Travis available to help. "Because Travis and I work interactively on each other' projects, we pick up for each other. Even though a project is mine, we both know what the other is doing, so if one of us is not available the other can answer questions and keep projects on track."

What does Colleen care about most in doing kitchen design?

"The end result. The reaction people get when they walk into the new room, and even when we show them the computer design in 3D. I love to see their faces when they see the transformation."

Colleen' customers say she always seems happy, and eager to fix small things so they never become big problems. Maybe that is why so many of them stay in touch after the project is over. "I have clients who heard I was getting married and came by to see pictures. I enjoy connecting with people on a personal level. Getting to know people really helps in designing a kitchen for exactly how they live and do things."

Stop by The Avenue Kitchens and Interiors and talk to Travis and Colleen about creating that kitchen or bath you have always wanted.