About Us

The Performance Team

Since 1974, Performance Kitchens and Home has earned a reputation as the most knowledgeable and creative kitchen designers. We specialize in remodeling projects in the Philadelphia area. Our expertise extends to the entire team of highly educated and passionately involved staff members who will work with you to create the kitchen of your dreams.

The team consists of Senior Kitchen Designers, an Expert Cabinet Maker, a Creative Director, an Expediter, and a Controller to ensure all aspects of the project are coordinated from concept to completion. We are comprised of professionals who have been carefully selected for their respective talents. In addition, each designer has been personally trained regarding the proprietary systems we use in planning and managing our projects.

Stop in our showroom, on Main Street, Manayunk, to meet the team that we’re so proud to have on staff!

What makes a Performance Senior Designer?

All of our kitchen designers are graduates from accredited Interior Design schools. To become a Performance Senior Kitchen Designer, you need to have completed at least 50 kitchens to the standards of Performance Kitchens and have at least 3 years’ experience in product and cabinetry knowledge as well as all aspects of home remodeling: building materials, themes, colors, patterns, layouts, etc. Each designer has had hands on apprenticeships; focusing on problem solving and overcoming on-site obstacles. Their educational backgrounds, excellent communication skills, and sharp, creative eyes is what sets them apart from other kitchen designers.

The Performance Team

collaborates on every job to assure the client of a successful, hassle free project. You get five kitchen designers for the price of one and a level of creativity that has always been admired by our clients and the many tradesmen who work off our beautiful plans. We pride ourselves on creating the latest in kitchen designs for discerning home owners in the Mainline and Philadelphia regions. We have been designing and building the finest kitchens for over 40 years and it shows in our work click here to see photos of recent projects.

Meet The Team

Nancy Forman

Team Principal / Creative Director

Nancy Forman is the creative hub and principal of the design aspect of Performance Kitchens & Home. With a career in fashion and marketing, she took her innate talents to an entirely new level when teaming with and marrying Brian. Nancy has an incredible eye for detail. She is a professional and published photographer, and brings her great eye to helping clients envision what their kitchen will look like. Nancy compliments the construction aspects of the business with an impeccable sense of style. She observes the home and homeowners’ lifestyle, and compiles a timeless beautiful creation that functionally complements and adds value to the home.

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Larissa Burza, BS Interior Design

Design Consultant

Larissa graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. She earned the position Senior Designer in the shortest time the company has seen in its history. She possesses a high mechanical aptitude and ability to reinvent spaces. Larissa is a descendant of carpenters and woodworkers on both sides of her family, strengthening her understanding of the balance needed to create a functioning workspace with so many dissimilar materials. Larissa was exposed to different cultures throughout her childhood. Her mother is from Brazil, and her father from the Ukraine. Even at a young age she understood and loved overcoming the challenges of space planning. Whenever her parents weren’t looking she would rearrange the furniture to better suit their needs. Her diverse upbringing provided a strong foundation in communication and collaboration with all types of personalities. Larissa resides just outside of her hometown of Philadelphia, with her husband and four beautiful children. Her contributions over the past decade to the Performance team have proven to be invaluable.

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Brian Forman

Founder/CEO

Brian Forman began his wood working career as a carpenter. He built a chain saw mill which supplied various woodworkers with hardwood slabs from locally sourced trees. These slabs were selected and cut to complement the work of creative cabinetry and furniture makers; the most famous of which was George Nakashima, internationally recognized as one of the finest craftsmen of modern times. Nakashima taught him how to read wood grain and select trees with the character he desired. This transference of information was cherished and possessed by very few craftsmen. Brian’s cabinet making apprentiship was with George Brauntrager, a German craftsmen and naturalist, who also ran a remodeling companying specializing in jobs involving complicated built-ins and cabinetry. With a degree in Biology and a minor in Business Law, and years in the construction and woodworking trade, it wasn’t long before Brian recognized the need for coordinating the many elements of difficult remodeling projects. He pooled his knowledge further studied for lighting and architectural design. Forty plus years of affiliation with the best tradesmen and craftsmen in the industry, and over 2,000 kitchen and addition projects later, one of the accomplishments he is most proud of is the design and execution of what has come to be known as the Performance Kitchen. According to Brian, a Performance Kitchen must show the best usage of space, using timeless and cost efficient materials and products. A Performance Kitchen will be thought out so its execution is seamless and completion beautiful and functional. He personally trains each employee as to the specifics necessary in communication of good design to the client, suppliers, and installers so each job is a unique and beautiful execution.

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Nathan DeFeo, BS Interior Design

Expediter/Operations Manager/Designer

Nathan DeFeo moved to Philadelphia 2011 to pursue an education in Interior Design. He worked part-time for Performance, and graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Design. He apprenticed running remodeling projects and earned the position of Expediter after assisting in orchestrating some of the most challenging projects that are encountered in residential design/remodeling. He brings his analytical and hands on approach to problem solving, to each project.

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