custom kitchen cabinetry

Why Do So Many People Choose Cherry Kitchen Cabinets?

July 3, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Scott Dostal, CEO
Kitchen Cabinet Value

The most popular kitchen cabinets across all parts of the country are Cherry. Cherry kitchen cabinets are a very popular choice in luxury homes and for high-end kitchen remodeling projects. The price of cherry wood may be a factor in the selection of cherry for these homes, yet the beauty of cherry, as well as its versatility and durability are clearly the primary considerations in the choice.

The rich beauty of cherry cabinetry is undeniable.

Cherry has been very popular for furniture, flooring, doors, paneling and cabinetry since the early days of European colonization of the U.S. because it is unique among the hardwoods. Cherry is popular in homes because its color, grain, and propensity for unique curls, streaks, patterns and even an occasional pin knot. Each of these features makes the cherry wood selected for a particular piece of furniture, etc. unique.

Cherry has two inherent characteristics that make it desirable for use in furniture, cabinetry, etc. The first is that the tight grain results in a smooth finish. Smooth wood is ideal for stains and finishes. Cherry seldom requires stain, however. Protective finishes and waxes are typically applied to achieve either a matte or a glossy finish and to protect the wood. A protective finish is especially appropriate in the kitchen due to potential effects of heat and steam.

The second inherent characteristic of cherry that makes it desirable in the home is its tendency to darken over time when exposed to light. This natural “aging” retains the liveliness of the color and grain of cherry wood.

Because cherry is not the hardest of the hardwoods, it lends itself to carving. For this reason, cherry kitchen cabinets often are used for more design-intensive door styles and for unique carving and decorative moldings in custom cabinetry. However, the natural grain and beauty of the wood also can be showcased in the simpler or more contemporary cabinet door styles.

Cherry cabinetry will bring unique warmth to any kitchen, but it is particularly vibrant in a professional style kitchen with copper or stainless steel appliances, range hood, or other accents. In fact, when all of the characteristics of cherry are taken together, each set of kitchen cabinets takes on a particular personality. This is a highly desirable characteristic in a custom kitchen design when creating something unique is a primary goal.

The natural beauty and warmth of cherry kitchen cabinets are the main reason they are popular with so many people. If a homeowner wants to create a truly unique and beautiful kitchen design, it is hard to beat cherry cabinetry. By working with your cabinetmaker, you can choose special pieces of cherry wood that offer unique characteristics – pin knots, grain, etc. – for specific places in your kitchen. The result will be great beauty, personality, and durability. The result will be well worth the additional cost of cherry kitchen cabinets.

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Home Prices Rise and Kitchen Remodeling Becomes a Smart Investment Again

June 3, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

By Scott Dostal

There is no denying that when home prices rise, kitchen remodeling becomes a smart investment again. During the last week, you might have heard that demand for existing homes is up about 22 percent (on average) from a year ago. Inventory of available existing homes is up only 17 percent. What is more, home prices in U.S. markets are up about eight percent (on average).

customized cabinetry offers the beauty and practicality of custom cabinets and a fraction of the cost

In many markets, exiting homes that offer the most desirable features become the object of bidding wars, even bidding up the price of a home by as much as 10 percent over the listing price. Not only is it a good time to sell, it is also a good time to remodel in anticipation of selling in the future. According to HGTV, the top ten features homebuyers want in 2013 are:

Central air conditioning
New kitchen appliances
A Walk-in Closet in the Master Bedroom
Granite Countertops
Hardwood Floors
Ensuite master bathroom
Kitchen Island
Stainless Steel Appliances
Eat-in Kitchen
One or more fireplaces

Many homeowners were understandably reluctant to invest in home remodeling during the recent economic crisis. However, as the demand for existing homes rebounds and prices increase due to low inventory, the investment in home remodeling begins to make far more sense. In fact, remodeling increased by 12 percent in April alone. Of those remodeling in April, 54 percent said their reason for remodeling was to increase the value of their homes.

With half of the top features buyers want in homes related to kitchen amenities and features, the first room of the house to consider remodeling must be the kitchen. According to Forbes, the average cost of kitchen remodeling is:

Low budget remodel $7,133

Mid-range remodel $22,390

High-end remodel $54,942

A more important question for many homeowners is how a kitchen remodel will affect the price of the home at resale. According to the remodeling industry, the cost vs. value assessment looks like this:

Major kitchen remodel Cost: $53,931 Resale Value: $37,139 Recouping 69% of cost

Minor kitchen remodel Cost: $18,527 Resale Value: $13,977 Recouping 75% of cost

HGTV estimates the impact on resale value of the home slightly higher at 80 – 105 percent of cost.

In terms of remodeling an existing space, the kitchen is typically the most expensive room of the house to upgrade. Enlarging the space adds further cost. What makes kitchen remodeling so expensive? In most cases, cabinetry and appliances account for more than half of the cost. Kitchen remodeling costs (on average) break down this way:

35% Cabinets
20% Labor
20% Appliances
10% Windows
5% Fixtures
3% Fittings
7% Other

Cabinets, as the largest portion of the kitchen remodel cost, are significant:

                High-end Kitchen Remodel cost                                $54,942 (average)   x 35% = $19,229.70
                Mid-range kitchen remodel cost                               $22,390 (average)   x 35% = $ 7,836.50
                Low budget kitchen remodel cost            $ 7,133 (average)   x 35% = $ 2,396.55

There are, of course, several grades of materials and workmanship in kitchen cabinets. There are also several ways to buy kitchen cabinets, including the pre-manufactured modular units now offered by some companies. Your choices will be limited, and units will come in “standard” sizes.

There is another way to buy high quality cabinets, get exactly what you want, and get custom sizes and features. What is more, they can be installed in your kitchen, with granite countertops, for as much as 60 percent less than the cost of the custom cabinets you might want. The process, called customization, takes high quality cabinets in standard sizes and a cabinetmaker resizes them to specification. They can also be fitted with organizational inserts, customized for refrigerated drawers, and used to create unique units for special items.

Home prices are rising, making kitchen remodeling a very smart investment for those thinking about selling in a year or two. With cabinet customization, you can have kitchen cabinets of higher value for lower cost, thus increasing the percentage of your investment you can recoup when you sell your home. You can increase the value of your home and increase the amount of the remodeling cost you will recoup when you sell your home.

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How to Estimate Kitchen Storage Needs

March 20, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Many homeowners believe there never can be too much storage space in a kitchen. Others might say extra storage space is simply an incentive to fill the space with unnecessary items. The decision to install new kitchen cabinets or to remodel a kitchen should begin with an honest assessment of how the kitchen space will be used by your family.

kitchen cabinet storage, kitchen cabinet value

One of many kitchen storage solutions

The challenge for many people is how to estimate kitchen storage needs.

The first step in the estimation of storage needs is to determine how you will use the space. For many families, the kitchen is no longer a discrete room or space. Today, in many homes, the kitchen is combined with a family room, a breakfast room, or a work area. In other homes, the kitchen is the place where guests and extended family are entertained. For the most part, the kitchen has become the center of a family’s activities (whatever they enjoy).

The second step in estimating kitchen storage needs is to determine what kind of storage space in needed or desired. If the family will eat most meals in the extended kitchen, it might make sense to store dishes and flatware, near the table. It might also make sense to put a dishwasher in that area. If there will be a work area (perhaps a place for children to do homework or for bill paying, etc.), there might be a need for a desk or bookshelves or computer connections.

The third step is to determine the types of storage required in the kitchen. Do you want glass door cabinets to display china, glassware, or food containers? Where will you keep small appliances when not in use? Do you want to organize your kitchen around the type of cooking or other food preparation most commonly used? For example, if you have children, you might want a snack area that is readily accessible to them with storage for cold water or other drinks, storage for microwaveable snack items (popcorn, for example).

Fourth, determine how much cabinet and surface area you have now. There is a simple formula for this. Measure the width and depth of your existing cabinets or other storage areas and counters, as well as the number of shelves in each cabinet: cabinet/shelf/drawer width x number of shelves/drawers x cabinet/shelf/drawer depth = storage space.

Fifth, estimate the additional space needed and the amount of space you would prefer to use differently. For example, if you plan to create a snack area or zone, you might want a refrigerated drawer for drinks or a small under-counter refrigerator. If you do a lot of baking and you want to create a baking area separate from the usual cooking zone, you might want a second oven, and dedicated storage spaces for ingredients, bake ware, etc. Decide where it is most convenient to store each type of item you use frequently.

On the other hand, if you do not do much cooking, you might want to save the trouble of calculating the storage needs of a kitchen, you can follow the guidelines available from the National Kitchen and Bath Association. http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/kitchen/planning/kitchen-planning-guidelines/?page=1

A final note: When you estimate kitchen storage needs it is wise to tailor your remodel less to personal tastes and more to recommendations if you are planning to sell your home in the next few years. You might do only minimal cooking and need minimal storage, but the next owner might have different needs.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: affordable kitchen cabinets, antique white cabinets, custom kitchen, custom kitchen cabinetry, discount kitchen cabinets, estimate kitchen storage needs, inexpensive kitchen cabinets, kitchen cabinet design, kitchen cabinet value, kitchen cabinets, kitchen cabinets wholesale, kitchen remodeling, kitchen renovation, kitchen storage space, wood kitchen cabinets

What is the Smartest Way to Buy Kitchen Cabinets?

March 6, 2013 by admin Leave a Comment

Nobody wants to spend more than necessary when building or remodeling. The kitchen is typically the most expensive room of the house (or one of the most expensive). Cabinetry is one of the largest costs in most kitchens. Whether you want to save time, save money or find a way to add specialized cabinets and organizational devices without going over budget, it is important to explore your options. This is why so many homeowners ask, “What is the smartest way to buy kitchen cabinets?”

There are five ways to buy kitchen cabinets. Your decision about buying cabinets for your home will factor in installation and assembly time and cost, prices, availability of what you want, your ability to work with standard cabinet sizes only, and the number of specialty cabinets or cabinets with organizational devices you need.

1. Knock-down cabinets –You can usually take these least expensive cabinets home from the store on the day you purchase them. You will probably need to assemble them. They are available only in standard sizes and will have little, if any, customization and typically do not include organizers.

2. Stock cabinets – The next step in price, stock cabinets are mass-produced in a factory. Choices will be limited to a few styles and finishes (usually the most popular at the time). They are also available in standard sizes only.

3. Semi-custom cabinets – Semi-custom cabinetry is also available only in standard sizes. However, you will find more varieties in styles and finishes. This is a good option if you want a specific style in a particular finish.

4. Custom cabinets – Custom cabinets have been the traditional way to get exactly what you want in your kitchen cabinetry. As the name implies, you can have anything you want in your cabinets – any wood or material, any finish, any style, any accessories, and any sizes. This is the most expensive way to purchase cabinets, but the result will be unique.

5. Customized cabinets – By choosing the semi-custom or stock cabinets you want and engaging a good cabinetmaker to customize them, you can create the kitchen you want without paying the price of custom cabinets. In this case, you buy the cabinets in the style and finish you want. The cabinetmaker then modifies the cabinets (invisibly) to the custom sizes you need and adds the accessories, organizers, and specialty cabinets and drawers you want. This option gives you the best of both worlds – a custom kitchen at a much lower price.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: affordable kitchen cabinets, cherry kitchen cabinets, custom kitchen, custom kitchen cabinetry, custom kitchen cabinets, custom kitchen islands, custom kitchens, discount kitchen cabinets, how to buy cabinets, inexpensive kitchen cabinets, kitchen cabinet, kitchen cabinets, kitchen remodeling, kitchen renovation, wood kitchen cabinets

May 2, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Our custom kitchen cabinetry provides custom cabinetry at an affordable cost.

To the great surprise of many homeowners, it is possible to remodel a kitchen with affordable custom kitchen cabinetry. The phrase itself seems to be a contradiction in terms – affordable combined with custom cabinetry. Knowing the secret of how to find affordable custom kitchen cabinetry, however, permits you to fill your renovated kitchen with the beauty, durability and flexibility of high-end custom cabinetry for about the cost of stock cabinets in most home improvement stores.

Your reason for wanting custom kitchen cabinetry for your new kitchen might be:

Your preference for a particular wood
Your desire to have a specific wood finish
Wanting the beauty of the highest quality custom kitchen cabinetry
Wanting the durability of the best cabinet construction
Need for flexibility in cabinet sizes
Desire to include organizational inserts
Desire to cover specialty appliances with matching wood
Desire for custom placement of traditional items
Desire for counters either higher or lower than standard

A significant challenge in planning and designing a kitchen remodel is matching the project budget with the cost of all of the items you want to include. Custom kitchen cabinetry is commonly the first desire homeowners must sacrifice in the struggle to keep the project on budget. These homeowners, however, do not know the secret of affordable custom kitchen cabinetry.

Here is the secret you need to know to fill your remodeled kitchen with affordable custom kitchen cabinetry. Work with a very good local cabinetmaker to design your remodel and have your cabinetmaker customize high quality stock cabinets to meet your needs. All of the reasons you have for believing you need custom kitchen cabinetry can be built by a good cabinetmaker with high-end stock cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinet Value is just such a local cabinetmaker.

We can help you plan your new kitchen cabinetry in a way that involves the least modification of your stock cabinets. Next, we will work with you to determine the best places for cabinets you want modified in some way. Then we will take your stock cabinets to our workshop and customize them into the custom kitchen cabinetry you thought was only a dream.

Kitchen Cabinet Value will be able to evaluate all of the stock cabinetry options available to you. You can then purchase the best cabinets available in the wood and the finish you want. You will be able to make your selection with full knowledge of the cost of having the cabinets customized for your remodel.

We will work with stock cabinets to re-size cabinets as necessary. The work will be invisible. When installed, nobody who sees your cabinets will know you did not spend a fortune on custom kitchen cabinetry.

We will also work with you to find or build the inserts needed to organize your drawers and to make everything in a cabinet easily accessible. We will design, build and install matching covers for appliances. Floor mounted cabinets can be modified to the desired height.

When we complete our work and install your new cabinets, everyone will think you spent a fortune on your beautiful cabinets. What’s more, you will have unique specialty cabinets designed to meet your particular needs and wants.

We have purchasing agreements with cabinet manufacturers and distributors that further reduce the cost of your kitchen by allowing us to buy stock cabinets at a deep discount and pass the discount on to you. You never need to tell your friends and neighbors that you actually paid about the same amount for your customized cabinets as they paid for lower quality stock cabinets. You can achieve this kind of savings when you remodel or renovate because you know the secret of buying affordable custom kitchen cabinetry.

Filed Under: Kitchen Cabinets Tagged With: cabinetry, custom kitchen cabinetry, custom kitchen cabinets, custom kitchens, kitchen cabinet, kitchen cabinets

Custom Kitchen Cabinets

October 19, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

You Can Afford Custom Kitchen Cabinets!

The dream of many homeowners would be to have beautiful custom kitchen cabinets. But the cost of custom kitchen cabinets makes it impossible for many homeowners to realize that dream. Many homeowners decide to remodel or upgrade their kitchens and settle for what they believe they can afford. But settling for something less than what you want is not necessary. You can have the beauty and the flexibility of custom cabinets without the cost. Here is the secret.

There are several reasons people choose custom kitchen cabinets. They include:

Freedom to choose the exact wood they want
Custom sizes in cabinets
Specialty cabinetry
Special accessibility options
Special organizational features
Special height
Special door styles

Many home improvement stores carry only a limited number of woods or wood finishes. If, for example, you wanted cherry cabinets, you would be out of luck at many stores. It is rare to build or remodel a kitchen in a way that provides all of the storage options a homeowner might choose without a need for some custom kitchen cabinets. It might be that you have an extra three inches beside the dishwasher, or you have an extra six inches in a corner. You might also want a unit with deeper drawers than are available in the stock sizes.

Many homeowners today want the special features available only with custom kitchen cabinets, such as drawers that hold refrigerator units or pot racks or with either racks for canned goods or lazy Susans to provide easy access to everything stored in a cabinet. Some homeowners also need their base cabinets to be either an inch or two higher or lower for accessibility. Some families also need customized pull-out work surfaces and special cabinet depth to accommodate the needs of someone confined to a wheelchair. Finally, some people want custom kitchen cabinets in order to do something special with moldings, soffits, cabinet doors and corners to make their kitchen truly their own.

The good news is that homeowners can have many of the features of custom kitchen cabinets at a fraction of the price by working with a good cabinet maker. A good cabinet maker can install the cabinets you need by installing stock size cabinets wherever possible. When a special size is needed, he can alter a stock cabinet to fit the space and the need. Your cabinet maker can also help you find or install the organizational or accessibility features you want. And if you want a specialty cabinet, he can modify a stock cabinet to do the job for a fraction of the cost of custom kitchen cabinets.

The best news is the price. For a mere fraction of the cost of custom kitchen cabinets, a good cabinet maker can work with stock cabinets and meet almost every specification you have for your new kitchen cabinets. What is more, a cabinet maker with a direct purchasing agreement can do the job for about 40% of the cost of buying stock cabinets from a home improvement store. You can get the look and the features of custom kitchen cabinets without the cost.

Filed Under: Kitchen Cabinets Tagged With: custom cabinets, custom kitchen cabinet, custom kitchen cabinetry, custom kitchen cabinets, custom kitchen islands, custom kitchens