This home was built in the 1950’s as part of the Parade of Homes. What was once a model home, now contained some outdated features. The Cabinet Maker was able to give this kitchen the uplift it deserved.
Hales Corner Kitchen Remodel
Franklin Kitchen Remodel
This kitchen was ready for an update. The existing overall layout was functional however this homeowner wanted a more up-to-date look with more light and a brighter-looking room. The existing storage was not meeting their needs so our solutions included improved lighting, and brighter colors on the walls, cabinets, and countertops.
Convenient knife storage easy access with this pull-out drawer. Moving outlets off the backsplash wall to the bottom of the upper cabinets helped to create a clean look without having to cut into the new tile backsplash.
The mixer is always within reach when needed and the shelf microwave is hidden behind the top-hinged pocked door when not in use.
This decorative hood cabinet was designed with the homeowner’s tastes in mind. We decided to make the hood the focal point of this space while ensuring it was not too overpowering.
Keeping the bay window in the new design was an essential element in this kitchen. This allowed room for water filtration options.
Wauwatosa Kitchen Refacing
Cabinet refacing is a kitchen makeover that involves removing your existing cabinet doors and replacing them with new ones. It sounds like a simple DIY project, but there is a lot more that goes into it! For example, in this Wauwatosa kitchen refacing project, we built new doors, drawers, and drawer fronts for the existing cabinetry and installed crown molding. We used the same design for a new peninsula and a wall of cabinets surrounding the refrigerator.
Before Photos
After Photos
It’s Time to Get Organized with a Custom Cabinetry Solution
It’s a fresh new year and you’re eager to get organized. A look around the house might suggest just where to begin. Are the kids’ boots and mittens piled at the back door? Are your baking supplies still on the kitchen counter? Are you looking for a place to display the gifts you’ve unwrapped?
When things accumulate, it’s often a sign that you don’t have enough cabinet space, or the cabinets you have aren’t efficient. That’s just the kind of problem The Cabinet Maker loves to solve.
“When I meet with people, I always ask them about the little things that drive them crazy, whether it’s in the kitchen, the mud room or any other place in the house,” says Cabinet Maker owner John Phillips. “Once I know that, we can get to work designing a cabinetry solution to make life easier.”
Here are just a few examples.
Kitchens: Making Things Easier to Reach
Organization problem: Too much bending over, crouching and reaching to retrieve items stored in lower cabinets, but not enough room to find a more convenient spot.
Cabinetry solution: Replace cabinets with drawers that can be pulled out for easy access. “Even heavy items can be stowed in drawers, because we design and build them to accommodate the weight,” said John.
Organization problem: Someone in the house loves to bake and decorate delicious things, but their collection of appliances and utensils is taking over the counter space.
Cabinetry solution: The Cabinet Maker can design a solution for appliances that will seamlessly match your cabinetry. We will also look for small, unused spaces and design a custom solution for utensil storage. “We have some ingenious tricks that can make use of wasted space while getting you organized,” says John.
Mud Rooms: Making Things Easier to Stow
Organization problem: The floor of the mud room, which leads into the back yard, is constantly cluttered with shoes, mittens, boots and gym bags.
Cabinetry solution: A custom-designed bench locker with cubby holes below for boots and shoes, cabinets above for seasonal items, and hooks in between for coats and bags. “We can work with your space and your family size to find the optimum solution,” says John. “We can even design the coat hooks as pegs that can move higher as your children grow taller.”
Bookcases: Making Room for Things You Love
Organization problem: There’s a book-lover in the family who doesn’t use e-books and can’t part with anything they’ve read. Books are piling up everywhere!
Cabinetry solution: Custom-designed bookcases that will stow the books while freshening up the look of your home. “I’ll want to know your ideas, how many books you want to store, and how you like to organize them,” says John. For instance, you may have a collection of art and coffee-table books that are too tall for conventional shelving. “I’ll work with your space, your design style and your book collection to make the best use of every inch available.”
Organization problem: Between gifts from loved ones and mementoes you’ve collected on your travels, you don’t have enough display space for everything.
Cabinetry solution: Same bookcase solution as above! And when bookcases are used for displaying items, The Cabinet Maker can suggest built-in lighting features, display niches, and even a hidden storage area for seasonal items you’ll rotate in and out. “The only thing we haven’t figured out how to add is automatic dusting,” says John with a laugh.
We’ll help you get organized!
That’s just a sampling of the solutions The Cabinet Maker can offer. Contact us for a consultation to find out if we can solve your organization problems with beautiful, functional cabinetry designed just for you.
Franklin Kitchen Testimonial
It has truly been a sincere pleasure to work with John Phillips on the design of our new kitchen and also with Tim and Jim during the installation process. John was so helpful every step of the way guiding us in achieving both the function and style we were looking for in our kitchen remodel. You can clearly see the sense of pride he takes in his workmanship and that is reflected in the final product.
His knowledge and expertise were invaluable. He is such an easy person to work with and he makes you feel comfortable from the start. As soon as we first spoke with him on the phone during our initial contact, we knew he would be a perfect fit to work with on our new kitchen design. He listened and asked questions to help him clearly understand our vision. We are extremely pleased with the finished product.
We are hoping to work with John again in the near future on a couple of other smaller projects.
We highly recommend considering John Phillips, The Cabinet Maker LLC for kitchen remodeling.
Kathy & Dale
Wauwatosa Kitchen Refacing Testimonial
Working with John and his team was a smooth, efficient, and fantastic experience. His knowledge was vast regarding preserving the charm of an older home, while updating to provide modern features. Installation went smoothly, and he was always willing to work with us on some quick ideas. I would recommend the quality of his work and team to anyone.
Amanda in Wauwatosa
Vera Kitchen Wauwatosa Remodel
My kitchen remodel was a long time in the works. We bought our house in 2000 and immediately had to do some projects to protect the structure of the house so the more “fun” kitchen remodel went to the back burner. We were hoping to save some of the original cabinetry so over the years we talked to different contractors and cabinet makers. Everyone had good ideas, but it wasn’t until I met with John that I felt like we could make our vision happen. Now we have achieved our goal of preserving the original character of the kitchen while modernizing everything and making it a very charming and efficient place to prepare meals.
It was the collaboration with John that made it happen. The final product was a combination of our ideas and John’s design expertise and craftsmanship. Trade partners were recommended by John included, Milestone Plumbing, and Tamarack Renovations. Overall the project went smoothly. John is very particular in who he works with – he set high standards and the work performed lived up to them.
The cabinets that John constructed for us are beautiful and functional and complement the house style. John was attuned to the look we were trying for in the kitchen. For example, we worked together on keeping the big cast iron radiator under the sink – John built a cabinet that surrounds it while I found the register cover that he built in to it. Keeping some of the old created design challenges, but John was very adept at saving the existing and creating great modern solutions for the new.
We chose custom flush inset cabinetry which is a high-end cabinet to complement the existing cabinets. The cabinetry was not inexpensive, but I did comparison with other cabinet makers and semi-custom cabinet lines. I feel that I absolutely got my money’s worth and that John’s price was competitive with other contractors. The best decision I made on this project was choosing John, The Cabinet Maker. We are thrilled with our new (and old!) kitchen!
– Joe & Vera, Wauwatosa
Luebke Oak Creek Kitchen
We needed a custom match to cover shelves in our kitchen that had been sitting open and painted white for 7 years. They had been built on the wall of the basement stairs but were never completed with doors. It was a great storage area but my food and kitchen accessories were visible to all who came to our house.
John was recommended to us and he took on the challenge to match the doors of our kitchen. Even though we had a tight time frame, he installed the new doors before our open house during the holidays. We have received many compliments. I could not be happier with the result and how he finished our kitchen.
Brookfield Kitchen Refacing and Partial Remodel
We had an incredibly wonderful experience with The Cabinet Maker LLC. John listened patiently to our requests, meticulously drew the plans, crafted the cabinets with attention to the smallest details, and then installed them with precision and incredible care and respect for our existing home space. He made new kitchen and family room cabinets as well as a very large and functional island for us. We highly recommend The Cabinet Maker because John is not only a knowledgeable perfectionist, but also because he’s a really great person who is a pleasure to work with.
St Francis Kitchen Remodel
John is the perfect person to hire when deciding on a remodel. He was very organized, and kept our project running smooth. He gave us a detailed schedule of trades coming in, along with timelines to completion. He not only worked with our ideas, but he offered suggestions to successfully complete our project. He never rushed any of our decisions or made us feel hurried in the process. In terms of craftsmanship, his work is AMAZING. Our cabinetry is beautiful as well as functional. We are very happy with our kitchen and grateful for a smooth project. You will not be disappointed if you choose The Cabinet Maker!