On the agenda, one of the major points is finding your style. Typically, when a customer comes into one of our showrooms, they’re at square one. They’re looking for us to walk them through the different styles of cabinets available, whether traditional, contemporary or transitional kitchens. Some customers come in prepared. They even have a Pinterest account set up, which can be great because we can work together with them through Pinterest, sending them ideas, to kind of formulate a picture in their mind. Then we like to walk the customers through the showroom, eyeing different door styles and vignettes that we have set up. We make sure to talk them through what they’re looking to accomplish. That naturally leads us to budgeting. We discuss the different types of cabinet construction we offer, as well as different price points of particular manufacturers. From there, we get into countertops, backsplashes, flooring, sinks, faucets, and appliances. We like to work out appliances at the beginning of the project because a large part of design and construction comes with designing cabinets around the appliances. Afterward, we sit down with the customer to talk about the timeline. We look at the time between placing the order to when demolition starts to when the newer cabinets arrive. Our goal is to keep it as limited as possible. No one likes living without their kitchen. We’ve always tried to give customers our best foot forward in tightening the program with realistic expectations. In the end, we’ve got our winter promotion details.
Where to start kitchen remodeling
As we’re going through different styles, our San Francisco showroom has more of a modern look. It’s normal for homes to have relatively small kitchens and pieces like heavily carved corbels tend to take up a lot of visual space. We’ve got two cabinet lines now that feature handleless cabinets, which gives a fresh and look. With the brands that we carry, we can help you get any look you visualize, whether it’s modern, classic country, traditional work, or the cottage law. If check out our gallery, you’ll see a boundless amount of images of what we can do because we take pride in our work. Take a look at the different residences we’ve worked on and what we’ve been able to do with them. We are a group of people excited to help customers, working within their budgetary limitations while meeting their vision to arrive at the best possible project.
When you start looking at the cost of remodeling a kitchen, or anything that involves cabinetry and countertops, that can be a wet bar or entertainment center or a bathroom, there are areas that affect how those cabinets are and how we can arrive at the cost. One of the big choices we have to make is whether you’re looking for a framed or frameless cabinet. This decision actually has some impact on the amount of storage room you get with those cabinets. When it comes to cabinets, we like to break door styles down into three styles:
- Slab Door
- Simple Shaker Door (with a flat panel)
- Raised Panel Door
When it comes to these categories, the price increases between slab doors and raised panel doors. Next, of course, comes finishes. Most people are surprised to find out there is detailed prep work when it comes to painting a cabinet. Plus, the cost of a painted finish can usually exceed that of a stained wood door.
We also offer countertops, which are one of the major parts of your project, and the installation and lighting follow. Lighting can be inspiring. We finished a project recently that features lighting, which offers a really interesting look of LED running off a low voltage system. At Gilmans, we do everything from selling you individual cabinets to building you a brand new kitchen.
There are different styles of doors, slab door is one of the least expensive and very popular in San Francisco. We see a lot of slab doors being done in laminates, whether they’re a matte solid color or gloss solid color, or wood grain. What draws a lot of people to slab doors is that they are extremely low maintenance. Any issues are easy to take care of. Another one is a flat panel, which gives more of a traditional look. Being in San Francisco, the smaller kitchens tend to visually take up a lot of space. They can look busy, and so we need to design around minimizing that look. Flat panels give you an opportunity to take your kitchen from just kind of looking like a stock cranked out the kitchen to something that becomes a very personal expression of who you are. That’s when we start talking about the blending woods, painted finishes, and really bring character into your kitchen.
How much does kitchen remodeling cost?
When it comes to the cost of cabinets, style plays a big role. The finish also contributes to cost. When it’s painted, it’s going to be more expensive. We can also get into some wood species that will push the cost up. There are some great alternatives, like bamboo, which is a renewable resource, and then, of course, hardwoods–even mahogany woods. Lately walnut has been a really popular choice of material.
Finishes are also another cost-effective factor of the project. There are different styles of finishes. For instance, stained finishes or stained finishes with glaze. As different wood finishes, we can work with hickory wood, and when we’re doing a painted finish we use maple. That’s because maple is the most dimensionally stable wood. This is considering expansion and contraction that could potentially damage the paint finish. Maple is the best wood when it comes to painting as well as red oak. While red oak is not quite popular, a quartersawn or oak has a very clean tight grain. As another option, the knotty alder gives the country look, which is fading in popularity at the moment.
Countertop materials are another big conversation point. These materials have different styles. A natural granite or Silestone, which is made by Cosentino. There are pros and cons to both. We always spend time with customers making sure that they’re well educated on what the benefits are of natural stone, what the benefits are of a cultured or man-made stone, and how each can fit into their vision. Ultimately, the impact we want to have on clients is that they trust us. We believe we can help you get through this process in picking what products and pieces work best for them.
Backsplashes, Accessories, and Flooring
Customers often come in knowing what they’re looking for. They’ve already got the wood flooring, and we just put in the cabinets to match. But there are a lot of circumstances where we help select the floor material. The backsplashes appliance selection can pose an issue. We have to figure out how the appliances fit into the kitchen, whether they’re left with stainless steel fronts, or if we have to put a panel over the top. Lighting is also an important part of the remodeling process, and there’s a lot of creative and fresh stuff we can do with it.
How to remodel kitchen cabinets?
When a customer comes in, they are usually looking to understand what they need to know about remodeling. That can be just as simple as walking through the showroom looking at different samples or talking to them about their budget, which can be a tactfully-required conversation to know what look they want to go with for their cabinets. At Gilmans, when we work with customers, if we are doing more talking than listening, then we’ve missed the boat. It is necessary to listen to what the customer wants, needs, and concerns about the project.
After the conversation, we start working on a plan. That’s where the fun begins. That’s the time where the designers get busy working on the computer and putting together a model and giving you a 3D rendering of what the kitchen will look like. We show you a realistic view that almost looks like you can just step right into it. Then, we order the cabinets. The industry standard takes about 8 weeks from the time we order, mostly because we’re not dealing with ready-made cabinets, although we do have a few lines that kind of meet that criteria, mostly for bathrooms. We’re dealing with cabinets that are custom-built for your project, and then pre-finished, that’s what it comes down to. That pre-finishing is where all the value we bring to the picture comes in. Because you’re getting a catalyzed varnish topcoat with each company, you’re ending up with a product that is going to last a long time. Once the customer is happy with the cabinets, we move onto the cabinet and countertop installation. After that, you’re ready to move into your kitchen. We’re there with you every step of the way with the exception of walking into your kitchen to celebrate, of course.
Q&A
Are these custom kitchen cabinets?
Ultimately yes, these are custom cabinets. In fact, we’re able to modify the size of the cabinets with most manufacturers down to 1/8 inch. which gives us the opportunity to really give you a custom-fitted kitchen look. You’re don’t have to worry about fillers to make up gaps and take up space in your kitchen. You’ll get full usability of all your cabinets.
What’s the lead time for the kitchen remodel?
Lead times with cabinets right now are running anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks. That’s from the time we place the order to the time we’re able to deliver to the job site.
Is there a specific material easier to care for than another when remodeling your kitchen?
It usually comes down to manmade products over natural products. The natural product does require a little maintenance (sealing, for instance), it requires a little bit of sealing. There definitely are some products on the market now that will afford you a sealed surface for 15 years. But something like quartz is going to be made up of 97% or 93% ground quartz gem and 7% hardeners and color enhancers. The end result will give you a sealed surface. When it comes to stone, it won’t be a sealed surface, especially in a commercial kitchen. If you’re worried about it, a quartz countertop will also meet health code requirements.
Book Your Appointment & Save
Our promotion is a free sink base! When you order 10 cabinets (it’s not very hard to fill a kitchen with 10 cabinets), we’ll add the sink for free. This is something that’s going to save you a few hundred dollars on the cost of the entire project.
Helping the community during this time is really important. That’s why we designed this special promotion. If you’re planning to start your remodeling project, we are here to help. The first step is to fill out the appointment form on our website. You will have the option to either meet us over Zoom call or you’re more than welcome to come and see us in one of our showrooms. We have four locations in the Bay Area, and we can book any of them at your convenience.