Orlando, THANK YOU for being so real about what it actually takes to renovate a kitchen! Please keep dragging the NYTimes until they get more honest about what they're featuring, lol.
One option I'll throw out there for people who haven't yet made their choice (unlike you! yours is going to be beautitful!): it's possible to get by with stock cabinets and some not-insane carpentry if you're willing to build your own little cubbies and open shelves to go in between the stock cabinets, filling up the gaps that your non-custom cabinets are leaving. Obviously this will be easier if you're painting them all, harder if you're trying to match some wood stain.
For my current kitchen reno, I got insanely lucky: a friend with original, 1950s, solid pine cabinets was pulling them out of her kitchen for a gut reno. I jumped on that so fast! She gave me permission to personally remove them from her kitchen (I didn't want to trust that to a contractor), then I hauled them on a big trailer 3 hours to my house, unloaded them, and began a gigantic kitchen-sized game of tetris. This project has kicked my ass so many times, I ended up teaching myself how to build an extra cabinet box to match the others, I built a cute little cubby to fill a gap between cabinets... it is a journey. But once they're all painted they will be cute and will look original to the old house, which is the look I wanted.
For people who are not insane like I am, Scherr's cabinetry is another good option. I used their custom flat-pack cabinets (i.e. they make them custom for you, ship them flat-pack, you assemble and install them yourself) for a previous kitchen and they were fantastic. I mean these cabinets arrived *perfectly* matching the measurements I sent, down to the 1/8 inch.
"We all live within our own spectrum of 'normal.'" YES! This is true across so many different scenarios! Your seemingly casual short sentences often contain astute observations or cultural assessments and are a primary reason I so enjoy reading your work.
Thanks for your honesty Orlando! Will these cabinets be inset or full overlay? Excited to follow the remodel!
I’m in the middle of a complete kitchen remodel myself and I had serious sticker shock when I started receiving quotes for my cabinets. It’s insane how much they cost! Then of course I need to have inset cabinets as well so yea basically there goes my entire budget. But it’s what I want and I am one determined woman right now! I found an online company called iCabinetry and they have very reasonable prices for inset cabinets. (If anyone is looking definitely check them out)
Dumb Q, are British standard cabinets not available in the US anymore? That’s what I assume you mean by Plain English’s lower end line. I considered them for my kitchen but ended up using deVOL. I picked their semi-custom line — which only works if you want shaker cabinets (made sense with my colonial era house) — but they were able to customize several of the pieces to work around weird beams and the like. It was a lot less $$ than I expected ($25K I think, but I have minimal uppers).
Thank you for this informative and detailed post, as always! I can’t wait to see the kitchen progress. For others looking for other cabinet options, my handyman used Prime Cabinetry based in Georgia for a laundry room remodel and it turned out great. They don’t seem to have inset models, though; Orlando, I agree that that kind just looks more enduring and classic.
Wow, what a ride! I can't wait to see how your kitchen turns out, I'm sure it will be beautiful. I sincerely appreciate your honest assessment on what it really means to remodel a kitchen. My husband and I have been talking about a kitchen/home reno for a few (okay, many) years now, but every time I read something by you or by David Lebovitz about what it really means to take on such a job, I get the fantods and just shut down. Meanwhile, we're living in a mid-Cen home where there's only a few degrees between deferred maintenance and neglect. Ack!
I always read the word Bertazzoni in your voice and inflection. The Ormomdo kitchen has you indelibly linked to them. I had actually never heard of the brand until that collab!
I actually kind of enjoy the limits of Ikea cabinets. I've designed quite a few of them now and the symmetry and usefulness as well as the price, hard to beat for most people. That said, if you get an opportunity to have your dream kitchen partially sponsored, GOOD ON YA!
Orlando, THANK YOU for being so real about what it actually takes to renovate a kitchen! Please keep dragging the NYTimes until they get more honest about what they're featuring, lol.
One option I'll throw out there for people who haven't yet made their choice (unlike you! yours is going to be beautitful!): it's possible to get by with stock cabinets and some not-insane carpentry if you're willing to build your own little cubbies and open shelves to go in between the stock cabinets, filling up the gaps that your non-custom cabinets are leaving. Obviously this will be easier if you're painting them all, harder if you're trying to match some wood stain.
For my current kitchen reno, I got insanely lucky: a friend with original, 1950s, solid pine cabinets was pulling them out of her kitchen for a gut reno. I jumped on that so fast! She gave me permission to personally remove them from her kitchen (I didn't want to trust that to a contractor), then I hauled them on a big trailer 3 hours to my house, unloaded them, and began a gigantic kitchen-sized game of tetris. This project has kicked my ass so many times, I ended up teaching myself how to build an extra cabinet box to match the others, I built a cute little cubby to fill a gap between cabinets... it is a journey. But once they're all painted they will be cute and will look original to the old house, which is the look I wanted.
For people who are not insane like I am, Scherr's cabinetry is another good option. I used their custom flat-pack cabinets (i.e. they make them custom for you, ship them flat-pack, you assemble and install them yourself) for a previous kitchen and they were fantastic. I mean these cabinets arrived *perfectly* matching the measurements I sent, down to the 1/8 inch.
SUCH WONDERFUL SUGGESTIONS! Thank you!
Love your story!
I do applaud your efforts 👏🏻
"We all live within our own spectrum of 'normal.'" YES! This is true across so many different scenarios! Your seemingly casual short sentences often contain astute observations or cultural assessments and are a primary reason I so enjoy reading your work.
Pssst! Yoda he is thinks me.😏
Thanks for your honesty Orlando! Will these cabinets be inset or full overlay? Excited to follow the remodel!
I’m in the middle of a complete kitchen remodel myself and I had serious sticker shock when I started receiving quotes for my cabinets. It’s insane how much they cost! Then of course I need to have inset cabinets as well so yea basically there goes my entire budget. But it’s what I want and I am one determined woman right now! I found an online company called iCabinetry and they have very reasonable prices for inset cabinets. (If anyone is looking definitely check them out)
Thanks Orlando, great stuff, can’t wait to see the finished kitchen (and your new show!)
I’m so pumped for the show!!
Dumb Q, are British standard cabinets not available in the US anymore? That’s what I assume you mean by Plain English’s lower end line. I considered them for my kitchen but ended up using deVOL. I picked their semi-custom line — which only works if you want shaker cabinets (made sense with my colonial era house) — but they were able to customize several of the pieces to work around weird beams and the like. It was a lot less $$ than I expected ($25K I think, but I have minimal uppers).
Thank you for this informative and detailed post, as always! I can’t wait to see the kitchen progress. For others looking for other cabinet options, my handyman used Prime Cabinetry based in Georgia for a laundry room remodel and it turned out great. They don’t seem to have inset models, though; Orlando, I agree that that kind just looks more enduring and classic.
Excited to watch your kitchen progress!
excellent breakdown...thank you!
I agree!!
Wow, what a ride! I can't wait to see how your kitchen turns out, I'm sure it will be beautiful. I sincerely appreciate your honest assessment on what it really means to remodel a kitchen. My husband and I have been talking about a kitchen/home reno for a few (okay, many) years now, but every time I read something by you or by David Lebovitz about what it really means to take on such a job, I get the fantods and just shut down. Meanwhile, we're living in a mid-Cen home where there's only a few degrees between deferred maintenance and neglect. Ack!
Agree about nyt home. Snooze
"broke but also not wanting to do something wasteful and environmentally destructive" This is me, also.
Orlando, you impress me with your candid, real approach.
I appreciate that you genuinely care about the environment and living beings, humans included.
Kudos for standing to be counted on things tgat matter.
It's gonna be really hard waiting two or three years for Australia to get your new show!
I'm sooo excited for you to have found a mid-way solution to a real kitchen that will last. Yaaay!
(I can't even afford IKEA! 😂🤣)
I always read the word Bertazzoni in your voice and inflection. The Ormomdo kitchen has you indelibly linked to them. I had actually never heard of the brand until that collab!
I actually kind of enjoy the limits of Ikea cabinets. I've designed quite a few of them now and the symmetry and usefulness as well as the price, hard to beat for most people. That said, if you get an opportunity to have your dream kitchen partially sponsored, GOOD ON YA!