Kitchen Cabinets

There are a number of questions asked most frequently and more often than not. The deciding factors all come down to a matter of opinion.

 

Having 35 years of design experience and the opportunity to work with some of the finest designers in Southern California, I have seen design trends fade in and out and designs that last the test of time.

 

There are rules of thumb to go by and I will (more often than not) give my opinion or let you be aware of your options. I will list as many questions and answers, I can think of and continue to add to this list as they pop into mind.

 

​Is it possible to change the color of my kitchen cabinetry without stripping my existing cabinets and making a complete mess?

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Yes, my way to achieve this is to re-glaze your existing cabinets. Let me explain, glazing is a mixture of lacquer and stain that is brushed and worked into the existing lacquer on your cabinets. This bonds with the existing lacquer, building up the glaze and giving your cabinets more depth and color. With this process, we can only go darker in tone. We need to consider that we are using the existing sub-tone color on the cabinets. Re-glazing builds up and creates a new color with the undertone bleeding through. It looks great and is a lot cheaper than trying to strip down the cabinets.

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Why is there such a difference in cabinet contractor’s quotes?

 

Wow! Where do I begin? First, there are different cabinet construction methods. Basic styles consist of 32mm and face frame construction. Then there are differences in the engineering of those two different construction methods as well. Some use 3/4, 5/8 or even 1/2 materials. Others will use printed wood melamine interiors while the same bid from someone else will include real wood that is stained and finished. One contractor will be working out of his garage and the other in a 10,000sq foot facility and has all the licensing, bonding and required licenses to protect you, the homeowner. Sometimes, it’s one contractor taking more time and effort to do a quality job. I could go on and on. One needs to compare “Apples to Apples” and it’s not always in the fine lines of your contract. If you want to learn more about these differences and learn more about our quote, just give us a ring!

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Are you licensed and bonded?

 

Zeffery's Cabinets Co. is a licensed (Lic. # 531799A) and bonded company providing quality design and woodworking services. We also carry a worker's compensation policy, so you can be assured that you are protected and that our company complies with industry standards. A bond is essential to a contractor, he may not receive a contractor’s license if a bond is not in place. Or if his bond is not current, the license will be suspended or revoked. With us, you can be assured that industry standards and requirements are met all the time.

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My painter or flooring contractor says that they always do their work before the cabinets are installed. Is this right?

 

How many times have I heard that one?! Yes, painters should come and paint before the cabinets are installed, however, you should have a clause in your contract that states they will come back for a final touch up after all the trades have left your home. Your wall paint can stain the cabinets so there is always a little touch-up required. The flooring installation is the last trade in the house. No other trade should be walking and working on your new floors. In other words, cabinets before flooring.

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I want to install stained crown moldings on the ceiling or maybe white to match the trim and doors. What do you think?

 

This is mostly a matter of opinion. Consider your ceiling height, the size of the crown and of course the cost difference. If you select the stained crown, it will define the size of the room and enhance the room’s height, in a visual sense. Before having your crown moldings installed, make sure you have high ceilings and a large enough room. The cost of the stain crown materials is typically more expensive than using the MDF pre-primed materials. Normally, painting, caulk, and putty of the MDF crown is done after it is installed. With stained crown, we stain the crown first and then caulk and putty the holes after installation. We can work with both, either way.

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Should the stain and finish on my entertainment center or my other built-in cabinetry match the kitchen finish?

 

Addressing your living area as a whole is important. Do you have wood floors that run-up to the cabinetry? We could match to the floor. How high are your ceilings? How large is the area and how much lighting is in the room? Using white to match the trim color is always a safe, neutral color. Sometimes to compromise with this dilemma, I suggest to not introduce another wood color tone but to use the existing color in the kitchen and add burnishing and a glaze to give it depth and a furniture-quality feel. This way we are staying within the same tone spectrum of color and adding warm, rich color depth.