Cabinetry drawn for your room, not ordered from a shelf.
Cabinetry is most of what you see, and most of what you spend.
Walk into a kitchen and you are mostly looking at cabinet doors. They set the colour, the style and the feel of the room, and they are also the biggest line on the budget.
So a cabinet decision is hard to undo. Get the door wrong and the room reads cheap no matter what you spend on stone. Get the storage wrong and you live with it every morning for twenty years.
Most people meet cabinetry at a showroom, where one brand is for sale and every answer points to it. That is a sales floor, not a design.
The cabinetry we actually specify.
Craft-Maid. Lauriermax. Kith. US Cabinet Depot. Forevermark. North Cabinetry. Five of the six are shown below in real client kitchens. We name them because a designer who will not tell you what she specifies is selling you one brand.
Decided on paper, before a single door is ordered.
Every cabinet drawn to your room
Rooms are never square. We measure, then draw each run to the inch, so fillers stay small and the cabinetry looks built for the space.
Door style, wood, and finish chosen together
Inset or overlay. Painted or stained. The door sets the whole look of the room. We pick it against your counters, floors, and light, not from a chip in a showroom.
Storage planned around how you cook
Deep drawers where the pots live. A pull-out by the range. A corner that opens all the way. We plan storage from your habits, not from a catalogue.
Six lines, one honest recommendation
We specify across six manufacturers. That means we can match the line to your budget and your look. It also means we have no reason to push one brand.
Hardware and detail specified
Pulls, hinges, crown, toe kick, panels, and trim are chosen as one set. These small parts are what make a kitchen read as finished.
Drawings your builder can work from
You get an elevation for every wall and a full spec. Your contractor builds from paper, not from a phone call.
The part you only see when you open a door.
Anyone can photograph a closed kitchen. These are open. This is where the money goes and where a designed kitchen separates itself.
Up close, where the work shows.
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Detail
Pot filler over the range
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Material
Quartzite carried up the hood wall
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Detail
Farmhouse sink, unlacquered brass
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Joinery
Deep drawer bank in the island
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Detail
Prep sink and polished nickel
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Material
Quartzite island counter
Six things, in rough order.
- Stock, semi-custom, or fully custom construction
- Inset doors, which cost more than overlay and take longer
- Painted finishes, which cost more than stained
- How much of the room is cabinetry, including pantry and mudroom
- Interior fittings: pull-outs, dividers, lifts, and soft-close
- Panels on the fridge and dishwasher, and a hood surround
Notice that none of these is the number of cabinets. Two kitchens the same size can sit a long way apart on price. Virginia walks you through where yours lands at the first visit, at no charge.
Credentials that are checkable
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Best of Houzz
Service · 2017, 2019, 2020
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ASID
Allied Member
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NKBA
National Kitchen & Bath Association
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FIT
Fashion Institute of Technology
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Industry Magazine
Featured Designer
Questions about cabinetry
Do you build the cabinets yourself?
No. Virginia designs and specifies them. The cabinets are built by the manufacturer we choose for your project. That is how most designer kitchens are done, and it is why she can match the line to your budget instead of selling you the one line a shop happens to make.
Which cabinetry lines do you work with?
Craft-Maid, Lauriermax, Kith, US Cabinet Depot, Forevermark, and North Cabinetry. They span a wide range of price and construction. Most local firms will not tell you what they specify. We will.
What do custom cabinets cost?
It depends on the line, the door, and the finish more than on the number of cabinets. Inset doors and painted finishes both cost more. So does a room where cabinetry runs to the ceiling. Virginia gives you a real read on cost at the first visit, which is free.
What is the difference between stock, semi-custom, and custom?
Stock comes in fixed sizes. Semi-custom lets you change size, door, and finish within a set range. Custom is drawn from scratch. Most kitchens do not need full custom throughout. Often the smart move is semi-custom for the runs and custom for the one wall that has to be exact.
Can you match cabinetry to what is already in my house?
Usually, yes. We can match a stain or paint closely and pick a door profile that sits well with your trim. An exact match to old cabinets is harder, and we will tell you straight if we think it will read as a patch.
How long does cabinetry take to arrive?
Plan on several weeks to a few months from the day the order is placed, depending on the line and the finish. We do not start demolition until the cabinets have a firm date. That one rule prevents most of the horror stories.
Do you do cabinetry outside the kitchen?
Yes. Mudrooms, laundry, pantries, bathroom vanities, and built-ins. The same six lines cover all of it, so the whole house can share one language.
Let’s look at your kitchen together.
The first visit is free. Charlotte and the surrounding communities, by appointment.