Continuing with Part III of: “Why Buy Custom Cabinets??” (for those of you who haven’t read it from the beginning, here’s a link to part I, Why Buy Custom Cabinets (Part I) ).

So it’s really sunny and warm out today and I hope that whoever is reading this is having a marvelous day (even if you’re working! – work can be good too right?) and I’m going to jump right into this post just like I’d like to dive right into a built-in pool with the water temperature just right, the water clean and clear, the pool lining free of algae and muck with a tropical drink ready at my table and maybe a nice cigar when I’m done 🙂

You all know when something is right…. it’s right as rain! So a set of custom cabinets, be it a new kitchen, media wall unit, library, personal office or bar…. the design, layout and cabinets are built just for you and no one else! Think about that for a second or two. No one on this planet has this very same set of cabinets. Talk about a Mercedes Benz or Rolls Royce kind of thing! Lucky for all of us, we don’t have to put in all the time and man hours it takes to create a Mercedes or a Rolls Royce! These cars put the best technology on wheels with time tested proven experience. Wouldn’t you want that same principle at work with your cabinets?

So here’s the thing. With custom made, one-of-a-kind cabinetry you get something that is all totally about you. You get total freedom in the indulgence to express yourself fully to communicate your needs. You get to tell us (or any other custom manufacturer) exactly what size you want or how something should be (no short cuts or excuses because the manufacturer doesn’t make it like that). Unless that is, if it’s technically impossible to have two shelves under your sink because there is a garbage disposal and the plumbing there and you already specified a pull-out trash bin under there. You get to choose wood species, paint or stain colors, finishes, hardware, whether one drawer has lights that turn on when you open it or ALL of your drawers, whether you want something made slightly larger than standard just to suit you, or something a tad smaller. Of course we can give you recommendations and helpful advice in order to coordinate the entire project. That’s because we want you to be satisfied with what you are getting made for you. That’s part of our job of course. You’re dealing directly with the producer of cabinetry who ships your completed product/order directly to you and should also install it for you as well. Why have a custom cabinet manufacturer install it for you? Because if they made it.. they built it to fit and would want it to come out as perfect as possible and that’s a good thing aesthetically speaking.

Take a look at the photo I attached here. This is a bar that I designed and built especially for my client’s home here in NJ. You will NOT find this commercially made anywhere. Why? Because it was built especially for the home and for the owners as well and no one else. Not to say, that we couldn’t build one for you, because we could. But.. while being similar, they’d never be exactly the same. How could this be? Because I believe, that we as individuals are truly different and special in our own way. There are always subtle changes that everyone makes and or wants. That’s why we build cabinets especially for our clients individual tastes and needs.

You’re dealing directly with a manufacturer who could also provide you with finished samples of the very same wood that they’d be using to produce your cabinets. Seem far fetched? It’s not.. because this is something we do all the time. If you were ordering a wedding cake for your son or daughter’s wedding.. wouldn’t you want to visit the cake maker’s place of business and get a taste? I know I would want that!

Wrapping this chapter up, in dealing direct, you loose the middle men, the stores, the warehouses, the bargain basement outlets, the fire sales, the buy a cabinet out of a trailer guy, the guy who builds stuff out of his garage.. (comon really? – Such a fire hazzard!) Remember, the more people there are in between the transaction the more its going to cost you in the long run. Remember my last post about quality vs cost? When there are more hands in the gourmet cookie jar the cookies aren’t gourmet cookies anymore! But just good looking and maybe fair tasting junk that isn’t healthy for you. My point is, the quality truly goes down in order to meet consumer requirements of what’s considered fair market price. It’s as simple as that. Many would truly believe that they are getting gourmet cookies because of the labels and the packaging.. but are they really?

That’s it for now… I’ll cover more reasons in part IV of, Why buy Custom Cabinets?, as a continuation of this BLOG post.

Until then –

Tom