Conference 7.286::home_work

We just got a kitchen design back from Romarco Kitchens in Framingham.  They 
carry Poggenpohl (German) Cabinets and one US line, Wood-Mode.  These are both
"custom" cabinets, so you need to leave plenty of time in your schedule. 

They took our architect's floor plan and drew up a proposed kitchen design. 
Then we sat with the designer, made some changes and they went off and made
the changes. We're going for the Poggenpohls, but be warned that they're big
$$$.  They didn't charge us for the design, and I wouldn't have dealt with
them if they did.  I figure that they can afford to invest a few hours of time
on a multi thousand dollar customer -- by coming to them with "real" drawings
we're showing our seriousness.  The fellow we dealt with is George Smith, fell
free to say I/We recommended him.  (Usual disclaimer about association.) 


			Andy Ostrom

We have been working with David at Windsor Kitchens in Haverhill
(Bradford). He charges $200 to suggest designs and then draws up the
plans.  If you get the cabinets from him, he takes the $200 off the
eventual order. (He sells the L�ger German cabinets, which are very
attractive to us.) 

Anyway, if we never buy a cabinet from him, the $200 will have been well
spent.  I must have drawn up some 20 kitchen designs to fit our
addition, some awful, some very good.  Nobody, including other designers
and contractors saw the potential that this guy saw.  Within fifteen
minutes, he was showing a totally different way of looking at the space
which obviously works much beter than anything we imagined.   His 
understanding of space is amazing.  

Alex

	We are in the process of finishing our kitchen.  We bought our
	cabinets (Merillat) from CHACE lumber in Foxboro, they are/were?
	a division of MOORE's lumber company.  We hit them on sale so
	we were able to do our entire kitchen for about 2000.00 plus
	another 500.00 for custom oak edged counter tops.

	Anyways the woman who helped us do the layout was named Ginny
	don't remember her last name, and she was excellent and very
	helpful.  We've lived with the arrangement for about a year 
	now and my wife is still extremely pleased with it.  I should
	add that we had some idea of what we wanted and had set up 
	the kitchen as close to our idea as possible and lived with
	it for a while.

	Good Luck - Randy

    This note is probably too late, but for future reference to anyone
    who may need it.  I just custom built a house and had Kitchen
    Associates of Leominster plan my kitchen design and they did an
    excellent job.  The designer was pleasant to work with.  The installers
    were just as nice and took pride in their workmanship.  I later
    received a questionnaire from the president of the company, which
    I was impressed with.  I would highly recommend them.  They also
    have a nice showcase of rooms to give you some ideas. Top notch
    work!!!!
    
    Loraine

    
    
    
        Beaubien's in Chelmsford Mass.  They will not design all of
    the kitchen, just the cabinets.  They are of the absolute HIGHEST
    quality custom cabinets. They do not have a show room which is too
    bad.  I've seen there work over the years and they can only be
    described as true craftsmen.  You can read that as wait a long time,
    (they are always busy) and pay lots of money, (you get what you
    pay for).
    
         Rick.     (Phone book under Herb B. on High Street.)
    
    

            <<< JOET::DUA1:[000000.NOTES$LIBRARY]HOME_WORK.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< Better living through DIY >-
================================================================================
Note 729.1                     Interior designers                         1 of 4
FURILO::KENT "Peter"                                  6 lines  23-JAN-1987 11:06
                                -< Brenda Dhar >-
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    Brenda Dhar (369-7951) did a garage design for us.  Garages are
    not really her specialty, but I did not want to pay an architect
    for something relatively simple.  Her specialty is interior design
    and she showed us some of the designs that she had done.  I liked
    her work and she can give you references for other interior work
    that she has done.

    Also try Ann Cavanaugh at Elegant Interiors.  She's very nice and
    helps teach you what you're doing instead of just saying "this will
    look good".  She was very conciencious of what we felt comfortable
    with and what would look good in our house.  She also encouraged
    us to keep as much furniture as possible - she didn't tell us to
    throw everything out and buy new stuff from her.  When we ran into
    some price problems, she was very understanding and provided
    alternative for us to look at (i.e. buying the material we liked
    from her, but the couch frame from somewhere where it was less
    expensive).   The only thing I would watch is to make sure she shows
    you things that are within your budget - we ran into problems with
    that.
    
    Feel free to tell I sent you.  
    
    Sue Peghiny

    This note is to recommend a designer who is in business for herself
    and is very good with colors.  We had some furniture recovered and
    some window dressing done in a home up country.  
    
                                COLOR DIANNE
                                603 886-4361
                               
                              RENT A DESIGNER - 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE
                              $35.00 PER HOUR
    
                              CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION
    
    Wendy                    

  I can happily recommend Builders' Kitchen Cabinets in Wakefield. We
  were sent there by Mass Buying Power, which gave us a certificate
  worth a 50% discount off list price. We ended up choosing a cabinet
  made by Kraft-Maid, and had them installed by our own contractor.
  Here's a summary of our experience:

  o Builders' carries a large variety of cabinets from different
    manufacturers, and they have much of it (maybe most) on display in
    their fairly large showroom. They don't carry any of the cheapest
    stuff, though. Only mid-price to high-end custom cabinets (solid
    cherry -- pretty!)

  o We worked with Mary Packard at Builders'. She's absolutely
    outstanding. She has a lot of experience designing practical kitchens,
    and knows what works and what doesn't. She knows the products inside
    and out, and can make helpful, practical, money-saving suggestions at
    every point. She's courteous, prompt, and ALWAYS worked to resolve any
    problem IMMEDIATELY, regardless of seriousness. And problems will
    ALWAYS come up, whether it's a damaged or missing part, or a design
    mistake, or anything else. The service we got from her and the entire
    staff at Builders' was worth paying double for (though we didn't!).

  o We chose to have our own contractor install the cabinets, because
    (1) he was already there at our house doing other remodeling, (2) we
    figured it might save us some money, (3) it might be easier to
    schedule in with the rest of the construction, and (4) it would avoid
    several different work crews getting in each others' way. Builders'
    does have their own installers, though, and, while our contractor did
    a reasonably good job, I have every reason to believe that the
    Builders' installers would have done it better, although they might
    have been more expensive, but we'll never know.

  o The initial price quoted by Builders' was high, even after the Mass
    Buying Power discount. Our contractor, when he saw the price, went to
    G.V.Moore in Littleton where he does most of his business, who also
    carries Kraft-Maid, and asked for a quote. Moore came in substantially
    lower than Builders'. But, having already felt very good about the
    service at Builders', I was reluctant to give the business to Moore
    just for a low bid, so I asked Builders' to match the bid, which they
    did. Now, looking back on it, I feel that I never would have gotten
    the same level of service at Moore, and would be happy to have paid
    Builders' initial price. I don't know if they would be willing to do
    such a bargain again, but I believe that if you look for a bargain
    elsewhere, you'll probably end up wishing you paid the higher price at
    Builders'.

  o Our installer said that the Kraft-Maid cabinets (we got something
    near the lower-middle end of their line) went in easier and were of
    higher quality than most cabinets he's installed, and that, while it's
    almost impossible for the customer to tell much about cabinet quality
    in the showroom (you'll find out years later), the installer is really
    the one who sees the difference.

  We're now very happy with our new kitchen. Good luck with yours!

    
    I would like to recommend Frank Grieve as a CABINETMAKER.  He does
    custom furniture and built-ins, also furniture repairs.  He is
    very good, about 10+ years experience, just recently gone out on
    his own. I have been very happy with all that he has done for me.
    He is also reasonably priced.  He is in Maynard, MA and can be 
    reached at 508-897-2764.
    

    I checked out a number of kitchen designer/cabinet sales companies
    including Kitchen Interiors (Wellesley), Romarco (Framingham), Dedham
    Cabinets (need I say where?), etc.  We ended up selecting Dave's
    Cabinets in Norwood.  Dave is a young guy who started his business
    several years ago, and is still working to build it.  He loves his
    work, and the quality is superb!  He will do design as part of the job. 
    He makes the cabinets to your spec, they are all custom.  His price is
    quite reasonable, and his reliability/quality can't be beat.  You can
    find him in the yellow pages.

    I'm thinking of doing some serious redecorating including taking
    down a closet to open up a room.  I'm also thinking of putting
    in new wall to wall carpeting - before I jump into all this I'd
    like to get another professional opinion.  Can anyone recommend
    an interior decorating consultant.  I also welcome any recommendations 
    for a carpenter.
    

    Re:.12
    I would recommend "Interiors by Leslie Thomas"  She's out of Westford,
    Mass.  Her Telephone number is (508) 692-2612.
    
    She has done quite a bit of work for us.
    
    Jean
    

    I just had cabinets made by Ray Bent of Carriage House in Milford, NH
    (603) 672-2205.  I can't say enough about them - they look fantastic!
    The cabinets are cherry, with cherry nosing on the countertops.  Ray
    helped us with the layout and built the cabinets for our kitchen and
    three bathrooms, including a makeup desk and linen closet in the master
    bath.
    
    I put a more detailed note in 653.70, but if anyone wants more info,
    feel free to send me mail at WILBRY::DHILLSON.  I know he also does
    built-ins for livingrooms, etc.

	Matt Johnson of Andover Woodworks (formerly Jobs
	by Johnson) recently completed a large set of
	custom kitchen cabinets in maple for me and both
	my wife and I are very happy with his work.

	We had a fairly good cabinet layout/design when
	we first approached Matt but he took that design
	and fine tuned it. In particular, he solved a couple
	of thorny problems involving corners and cabinets to
	encase an antique slate sink. His solutions were
	very practical and attractive. He has a strong design
	talent and we took his advice on some other aspects
	of the kitchen job as well (not strictly cabinets.)

	I wanted no or minimal filler strips for this custom
	job. Given that we were completely gutting an old 
	kitchen, the final wall-to-wall measurements were difficult
	to predict at the outset of the job. The timetable dictated
	that Matt begin constructing cabs before the new walls went
	up. Matt did a great job with dimensions and the result 
	was just 1 filler strip under 1" for each wall of cabinets.

	Matt is thorough and very attentive to detail. He took
	no shortcuts and the cabinets are as attractive on the
	inside and rear as they are on the highly visible fronts.

	I found Matt's price to be several thousand dollars
	less then the high quality commercial custom lines
	(e.g., Rutt). Also, working with the cabinetmaker 
	allows you to incoporate small specialty items 
	e.g, built-in spice racks and special spaces for 
	the cats:-) for essentially no extra cost. I don't
	think the commercial lines are quite this accomadating.

	Finally, Matt is a very personable fellow and a joy
	to work with. In addition to kitchen jobs he does
	bathroom cabs, built-ins, bookshelves, mantels etc.

	Matt can be reached at 508/474-0378

	
	Robert Abbott

    Anyone have any references for a contractor to install new kitchen
    countertops in the Leominster/Gardner Ma area?
    
    

    Has anybody used Sears to re-surface cabinets and counters?
    They use  Avery corp as the sub.

    Andy Kramer Custom Cabinets out of Hopkington.  Information should
    have his number.  He is excellent.  He will be doing my cabinets soon.
    He has also made several pieces of furniture for me so far.  The
    quality is super and prices are way below what you would go to the
    store and spend.  He just made me a gun cabinet solid oak, all the
    special touches would make this an expensive item.  I priced out
    oak cabinets at furniture stores and they are double the 400 that I
    payed.  Give him a call!  Buy the way, Home depot and his price for
    cabinets were to the penny.  Home depot cabinets are 30" high his are
    36" plus much heavier wood higher quality product.
    
    

    I am looking for an interior designer in the Lunenburg, MA (north
    central Mass) area.  We purchased a large, open-concept Cape that needs
    updating.  We are looking for help for everything from floor coverings
    (we have beautiful hardwood floors, but need area rugs) to woodwork
    (now have ranch-style moldings and very plain birch doors) to wallpaper
    and furniture. 
    
    EC
    
    

    I'd like to recommend
    
            Bob Hohmann
            154 Graniteville Rd.
            Chelmsford, MA
            1-508-251-7124
    
        Bob is a first-rate contractor. When he's done work for me it was
        prompt, on-time, reliable, thorough, and reasonable. He does it all
        from framing, sheetrock, roofs, screen porches, fencing, foundations
        etc.