Dream Kitchen Remodel
Anita had lots of time to plan her dream kitchen remodel. She had been thinking about how to make the space her own since the day she and her husband closed on their Detroit area home over eight years ago! Her plans were not your ordinary daydreams, either. As an Interior Designer, she knew exactly what she wanted. She gave lots of thought to how she, her husband, and their two small boys used their kitchen.
Anita’s husband Pero is the family’s “money manager,” and had established the budget for their kitchen remodel. However, shortly after getting a handful of estimates, Anita started to fear that they may not be able to afford the kitchen she’d been planning for the better part of a decade. Pero was “blown away” by the high prices of the types of cabinets Anita wanted. With her eye for detail, she did not want to compromise on quality.
Buying Cabinets Online
As part of her research on kitchen cabinet costs, Anita was found by one of our online ads. She started reading about how CliqStudios builds our cabinets and the high-end construction methods used. The free samples she requested confirmed the build quality she’d read about online. She was especially pleased to see our Painted White finish, which she describes as, “A nice subtle, not-too-bright, in-your-face, kind of white, yet still a true white.”
The next step was to convince Pero, who was a bit hesitant about buying cabinets online. After all, he had not seen the full product in person. Anita persisted because the paint color was just what she had in mind. It was important that the quality was at the level she wanted, and the price meant she did not have to compromise her dream design. The personal attention they got from Ali, their Kitchen Designer, had also built up a lot of trust. After the making revisions to their design, they decided CliqStudios was the right choice for their new dream kitchen.
Custom Hutch Design
Anita and Ali worked in great detail on the small wall just off of the kitchen. In the current configuration, this was a desk and workspace area with three small wall cabinets. Anita summed up her feelings about the desk by simply saying, “I hated it! We have an actual office for getting work done, and the kitchen desk just became a dumping ground and catch-all that was always a mess.” Just like the rest of the kitchen, Anita had a clear vision for what she wanted it to become — a ‘command center’ for the family’s busy lives.
Ali had started out creating this custom piece of furniture as Anita tried to describe her vision. However, after going through several versions, nothing seemed to be just right. They had a breakthrough when Anita used Pinterest to find an “inspiration image” that looked pretty much like what was in her head. Using that photo as a guide, Ali was able to start building this custom hutch command center. This was a real collaboration between designer and client, as the two went back and forth, tweaking this, and changing that. Finally, the design matched the inspiration photo.
Check out more CliqStudios hutch, butlers pantry, and mini bar designs here!
Sticking to the Budget
Although this command center was a piece that Anita had yearned for, it had put the final price over their budget! Some of the cabinets would need to a reduced depth. This would result in an upcharge. Thankfully, Anita’s keen interior designer eye spotted a solution in the CliqStudios online catalog. Instead of using kitchen cabinets, they would use bathroom vanity cabinets instead! Bathroom vanities come in the smaller, 21-inch version, which his hutch design needed.
“I’m so happy with the way our new kitchen turned out,” says Anita. “Even with my experience as an Interior Designer, Ali’s help was invaluable with the many technical product specifications, and to help dial-in the design overall.”
Before
