2013 Wood Diamond Award

Category – Kitchen Face Frame Inset Under $25K

Project Description – Drawings were rendered in 20/20, shop drawings produced in Turbocad. The original kitchen had all the appliances jammed on one wall (refrigerator, double oven, microwave), the workflow was really bad. The final design made a focal point of the Viking range while creating a nicer work triangle. All cabinet boxes were cut on a Jet cabinet saw. All frames were assembled with glue and pocket screws using a shop built, floor standing pocket hole machine (works well and total cost was the price of a router!) Doors were milled on a Grizzly shaper. Manual line boring with a Conquest mini 13 line boring machine. Doors drilled with Blum hinge machine. We use a CA Technologies AAA pump gun for spraying finishes with a Binks spray booth.

Unusual Aspects – All of the cabinet and island ends have an applied batten strip design. Also cabinet frames are extended to the floor for a nice leg detail. On the long cabinet run, there is a Bosch dishwasher and sub-zero mini refrigerator that are hidden with applied panels. Cabinets are assembled as single units. The wall cabinets have 1/4” plywood false bottoms that conceal all of the under cabinet wiring for a nice finished look. Overall the kitchen gives a clean, sophisticated look without being too overstated.
We also did extensive renovation of the kitchen. Removed a built in closet and interior wall and 24” bulkheads. Replaced the entire ceiling and added all recessed lights shown. Ran new plumbing for the island, pot filler and new refrigerator location. Total price for complete job was $38,500. $22,350 in cabinets and cabinet installation, $7000 for counter top, $9150 for general remodeling. Plumbing fixtures and appliances were not included in these prices.

Why I like the CMA – Although I have not been a CMA member for long, I have found the information presented in the magazines and forum to be very valuable. I’ll be the first to admit that, by most cabinetmakers standards, I’m a “little wet behind the ears” (Being only 32 years old.) I value having a resource that I can keep on the cutting edge of small shop technology and trends. Although I mostly lurk on the forum, I’ve used the search functions to dig up lots of good information. Also, I think having the CMA membership gives some validation to our companies commitment to pursuing quality. (customers invariably ask about the certificate on display.) We also get some website traffic from our listing on the CMA website.