Sometimes you have a vision for a centerpiece in your home that can't be accomplished with out-of-the-box cabinets from the hardware store. When that happens you might think of having custom cabinets made. But custom can be expensive, so here's a trick to save money: ask about semi-custom cabinets. Today I'll show you an example of a semi-custom job and how well it turned out. It started with a phone call from local interior designer Liz Hackett. One of her clients, a couple living in West Asheville, loves to entertain and wanted to create a cocktail bar in their dining room. After meeting to look at the space and review the project budget, we determined that a semi-custom project would be the best choice. We started with these cabinets from Lowes... ...and then carefully considered them from all angles. They were very plain on the sides, and would look odd sticking out into the room like that, so we suggested adding end panels. Liz also wanted to incorporate a mini-fridge, so we designed an end panel to surround the fridge, too. Once the cabinet arrived at our workshop, we got busy building and attaching the panels. We also sourced custom pull-out drawers to make it easier to access the items in the cabinets. This is another advantage of semi-custom: the pull-outs wouldn't have worked in the stock cabinets. We had to add interior supports to attach them to. When we stepped back and snapped a photo, it looked a lot like our original drawing. (Except for the countertop, which was installed by another company.) Liz's clients were thrilled with the way it turned out, and tagged us in their story on Instagram. There are times when semi-custom cabinets won't work well. If the cabinet will be fit into a niche, it really does need to be custom built for the space, like on this project: Semi-custom works best when the cabinet will be free-standing, like a kitchen island... ...or placed up against the wall with three sides visible, like the dry bar we just showed off.
So if you've got a "custom" cabinet project, it may be possible to save a little on cost by doing a "semi custom" installation. All you have to do is click the big orange button and contact us to find out. This is one of those rewarding projects that brings a big return on a small investment. Many new homes in Asheville are built with places for shelving, but since since the builders are trying to stay on budget, the shelves are left out and the homeowner has to install them later. This is especially common in pantries and closets... or in this case, in the niches around the fireplace in my customer's living room. These little nooks were even more awkward than usual, because one nook was deeper and wider than the other, so the homeowner couldn't just pick out a matching pair of credenzas. We worked together to come up with a plan to install semi-floating shelves on each side, and by making the shelves the same height and thickness, we were able to create a sense of visual unity. Here's our "proof of concept" sketch. You may notice that there aren't any shelves on the lower right. The homeowner wanted a place to keep her daughter's large toys, and since she was considering selling the home in the future, she also wanted to leave a place for the next occupant to install a large TV. Once we had the size and spacing of the shelving worked out, I went to work behind the scenes in my shop. The new shelves were painted to match the trim around the existing fireplace, so they looked like a natural extension of what was already there. Even without books and accessories, the niches around the fireplaces have a much more unified look. If you've got an awkward empty space that is crying out for cabinets or shelves, give us a call. We'll put in the pieces that the builder left out.
I don't have any "before" photos of this project, but I thought you might enjoy it all the same. I recently got a call from someone who needed a really simple closet upgrade. He just wanted to divide their closet into two parts: one side with a single hanging rod, and the other side with a double rod. At the top he wanted a very short shelf for his wife's purses. I made a divider and shelf in my workshop, and also cut the closet rods to length. He had me install the divider off to one side because they didn't have a lot of long clothes to hang up. As usual, I used cabinet-grade plywood with solid wood edging, which gives it more durability than the usual particle-board systems you get from big hardware stores. While I was there, he had me build a custom cat condo similar to the one I've already featured on here. It's enclosed in hardware cloth to keep Kitty inside while still giving him access to fresh air and sunshine. I was too busy to take pictures, but soon afterward I got this by text: The cat condo was kitty-approved! My client and I got along so well that I'm coming back soon to install a semi-custom kitchen island. The color is still to be determined, but here's our initial drawing. To keep costs down, we're using pre-made Shaker cabinets, and I'll be installing Shaker-style paneling on the back. I'll also be modifying the cabinets to allow a recessed kick all the way around, which will make it more comfortable to use.
If you'd like to see more of our custom and semi-custom cabinet work, check out our sister site at Artisan Built-ins. Or just give us a call for a free estimate. We're always glad to chat!
In last week's post I showed off a couple of custom Shaker-style barn doors that I've been working on in my studio.
So naturally this week's blog post is all about those doors, and where they ended up.
It all started when Leslie Huntley of Roost Interior Design contacted me about putting a pair of sliding barn doors in her clients' home office in their downtown condo. They had a perfectly good door there...
...but floor space in these condos is limited, and they wanted a new door that didn't swing open, so they could put more furniture on the wall.
We couldn't find any pre-made doors that would work well in the space, so I got to work in my shop.
By the way, check out that respirator! It's my new toy... top of the line and easy on the lungs.
Plus it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Side note: I never realized how many sci-fi astronauts are wearing standard dust-filter respirators until I started researching dust filtration. It seems to be a Hollywood shortcut: buy a mask from Lowe's, spraypaint everything black, and slap on a few extra gadgets and hoses.
And once I noticed that, I started noticing all kinds of things, like plastic French drains being used as spaceship "pipes." Low-budget Netflix space operas just haven't been the same since then. Anyway, back to the job... I also make custom cabinets at our sister company, Artisan Built-ins, so Leslie commissioned us to build a set of white bookcases with a custom shelf to hold a printer. Here's the 3D model we created so she could preview the design.
And here they are in our workshop, alongside another project for the same condo... an electric chimneyless fireplace.
As you can see, our model was very accurate.
Back on the job site, the office walls were painted a striking cobalt blue...
...the better to set off the crisp white sliding barn doors and the bookshelves.
If you've got sharp eyes, you might notice that the printer shelf is a little lower than it was in the drawing. That's because I planned ahead and made it repositionable or removable so that if they don't need a printer there any more, they can take the shelf off and have a plain bookcase once again.
The whole project came together beautifully, and the formerly bland room is now a striking office that looks just as interesting as the view of downtown Asheville.
If you've got a tight floor plan that needs a custom solution to make it workable, give us a call. We can come up with a plan that optimizes your office and makes it fun to go to work.
Today I thought I'd show off a project from our sister page, Artisan Built-ins. This is a set of bookshelves in an offset modern pattern, with integrated brass lights to showcase the books. To the right is a built-in windowseat with a flip-top lid to allow for storage. It really transformed the room, which started as a blank canvas. We designed these for the homeowner based on a previous design which we did for another customer. The uprights on both bookcases are staggered to avoid the "tic tac toe" look which you see in traditional shelving. We actually finished these a few months ago, but this is the first time we've seen photos of it with the books, and the custom cushions on the windowseat. It looks like a great place to relax with a good novel. If you've always wanted a library of your own, give us a call. We'll help you take your room from "Blah" to "Beautiful."
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