I am not sure what kind of style you are looking for.
Here are a few to start with. I can't recommend them personally. I am in the looking stage myself.

Mid range: Canyon Creek, Pacific Crest, both local. Many designers use these companies.
Mid range modern: Aristocratic with Phinney Ridge Cabinet Company
High end modern: Henrybuilt, Fix Design uses Italian Modern (not sure of the name), Pedini of Seattle, Downsview out of a Bellevue design company, Neff (Seattle Design Center)

High end traditional: Rutt out of Seattle Design Center.
Transitional high end: Neil Kelly out of EcoHaus
Here are a few recommendations that I have collected from the neighborhood.

Seaboard, located on Airport Way near Royal Brougham.
Kinsella Woodworks
Superior Cabinets down in SouthCenter
www.neuwoodworks.com
Steve de Koch is an architect and contractor

Good luck. Hope these help.

Kaismom: Thank you so much! This is a great list! We're not totally set on a style yet. I like an east-coast/white or creamy cabinet kitchen style but living in the Northwest has also turned my attention to stained wood. We're also in the process of interviewing architects -- we just met with Gelotte (upper-range I would say) and we're planning on talking to Sullivan Conard (plus 4 more mid-range firms). I'm trying to assess the value of an architect vs. a kitchen designer. We would really like to get a big picture view of our house and how the kitchen fits in -- so I'm leaning toward an architect but I want to start with our kitchen so I'm looking for someone who can do a pragmatic, detailed plan. It takes so long in these early stages!! Thanks again for the info! Good luck to you too!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cab styles/kitchens I like

http://blanketonbeacon.com/

One more thing,
As know, IKEA gives you a tremendous value for the price. Here is a project done with all IKEA stuff.

Thanks so much - I'll check it out!

Unless you are moving walls and changing the exterior of the house, I would say that you do not need an architect. If you are thinking of whole house remodel for the future, you should really think about what you want to achieve out of your house in the end. Then start looking for a house that can do that by buying one already done. This is way cheaper in cost and emotions. If there are no houses that can satisfy your needs and the only way you can get that is by remodeling, then you can start. You will have many years of remodel ahead of you, if you go the total house route, since most of us cannot afford (time and money) the total house all at once! Until you go through this process, you should not embark on a total house remodel. If you are thinking total house remodel, ie floor plans are rearranged, then you need an arthitect. If you are just "refinishing" or reconfiguring the kitchen or bath from what you have, you can do it all without an architect. Hope this helps.

Design build firms have in house architects.

Some architects that do modern design, which is my taste. Many I have talked to and followed their work for years. These are a few of my keeps.

Time Rhodes
Lane Williams
Eric Cobb
David Foster
Olsen Kundig
Miller Hull
Stewart Silk

Some are terribly expensive. Others are quite affordable. You can look at their websites and see if any fit your needs.

My cabinet makers here in Seattle (well suburb of Seattle) are custom. I highly recommend them. Are you looking at the custom market and are you looking strictly in Seattle city limits or suburbs?

If/when you get to the countertop stage and are eyeing stone, I recommend CTM Granite in Federal Way hands down. The president of Pental chose them to do his house, and their showroom is a beauty - the kind of place you want to just hang out at. They have a seaming process in the shape of an S that is unique to them and makes the seam literally disappear. It's a much stronger seam than straight seams. They are probably mid range in prices, but I would stack them against anyone in the nation for quality.

For cabinets, you should also check out DeWils, who is local to the PNW.

I would always prefer to use an architect rather than a KD. Much better, IMHO, in terms of thinking about your overall needs and wants (near and long term) and how to acheive them in creative ways, rather than simply drawing up a layout. Also, a KD that charges by the hour may not be any less expensive than an architect's hourly rate. (And in some cases more! Needless to say I didn't work with her.)

Seattle architect who can do modern or traditional (I have done both with him in two very different houses):

Colin Brandt at Brandt Design

I have my own cabinet business, but only on the Kitsap Peninsula. If that's where you are located, I can give you my WEB site

Hi marg42. The guy who did our cabinets is located in Pierce county but does jobs in Seattle as well. His company is Evergreen Cabinetry. He is very down to earth, professional and polite. There were just a few instances in which we couldn't get a hold of him but is was because of some "big" (13 bedroom all custom cabintry in each) job. He informed us about the job before we committed.
We have painted maple cabinets with plywood framing. I didn't think we could afford custom but his quote was comprable to Lowes and Lowes was going to use pressboard framing! We have been pleased with the construction. Here are some pics.

Thank you everyone for your great ideas, pics, and recs!! Kaismom, I'll definitely check out those architects and I can't wait to look at CTM Granite, needsometips08! I have some research to do :). Rumble s: can you post your site -- I'm not necessarily tied to Seattle cab makers. Thanks!

Megpie77: did your cab maker come up with the design? Did you have a KD, etc.? It looks fantastic!

Lat61: Did you work with C Brandt through the entire process -- or did you get a design and then find a GC yourself, etc.? How involved was your architect in the design and implementation? And did you bring in contractors to bid on his designs throughout the process? (I've heard that's often beneficial to have a sense of where the budget is going).

Thanks again for all your input!!

marg42-our cabinet maker did not come up with the design. I saw a Devine Design episode and was certain it was what I wanted. He tried to suggest something else but I was unfortunately stubborn. The design "looks" great and functions fine but for other reasons I should have kept the original footprint.
Thank you for the compliment.

Megpie77: Thanks for the follow-up. Your countertops are great -- they seem to change color depending on the light -- are they soapstone? How do you maintain them? Also, where did you find your pulls/knobs -- the contrast between the light cabs and dark hardware really stands out well:) Thanks so much!

If you are willing to venture into the suburbs, then here are my custom cabinet people who are also in Federal Way (and they partner with CTM - that's how I found them). http://caledoniabaycabinets.com/

They are fabulous - and very competative with their prices. My Kraftmaid quotes were actually more. It's a husband/wife team and she is a designer (trained in a NYC design school - can't remember which one), but the best part about her is she LISTENS really well to what you want, but at the same time won't let you make a mistake.

If you do venture over to CTM, you can see their work in their showroom and 2 blocks away is the Homeshow Daily that has a lot of other vendors for kitchen renovation...it's like a normal Homeshow, but no fee to get in and is open every single day. If you are renovating, it's fun to walk through to not only get inspiration and ideas but collect potential vendor names for things like window companies, painters, Solatube installers, etc. The booths are unmanned by company reps so it's no pressure. They have some neat stuff in there. My kitchen hutch was patterned after one I saw there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caledonia Bay Cabinets

Oh, one last thing I forgot to add, if you are going to CTM and want to meet with Kim from Caledonia Bay Cabinets to talk about your project, she will rearrange her schedule to meet you cause she is just so accommodating, and that's where she meets her clients when appts are set up - so it would be one stop that would collect info for you on many different fronts. Just FYI.

Good luck with your renovation - I thought finding the right people for the job was 1/2 the battle. We lost $1500 hiring the wrong people the first time around - we had to fire him, lose our money, and then when I found Calendonia, I almost cried with gratitude after the ordeal we'd been through with our previous guy.

So one word of advice is listen 100% to your gut. Don't rationalize away even the slightest of comments that make you wonder. My former cabinet guy kept saying, "don't worry about it" and "I've been doing this for 30 years, trust me". I thought, "well, he is the professional". In hindsight, that was a HUGE red flag. My head over-rode my gut. My head was wrong. Stay closely in tune with your heart and gut when picking your people.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but do any of the above-listed cabinet makers build things other than kitchen cabinets? I'm looking for a storage bench for our entry way and cannot seem to find anything in the stores or online, so I am thinking I may have to go the custom route. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Marge42: you can see some of my work on www.urbashome.com

meg711: I do other things, but probably not what you want, sorry.

My custom cabinet people do. See link above.

Needsometips08: I will definitely check out Caledonia and talk to Kim! Thank you! All this research is worth it I know :).

Rumble S : I'll check out the site - thanks!!

Meg711: quick question: what are your countertops and are they pretty easy to maintain? Btw, Savvy Cabinetry (Seattle) does cabs like you're talking. I don't have any idea of price (and I haven't been to their showroom which I've heard is nice) but they seem very knowledgeable and friendly (talk to Cindy).

Marg42-I have soapstone counters and love them! At first I was oiling them all the time. Now that they are dark I like them unoiled. I take a little extra caution not to slide heavy pans around but most times am not that cautious. The scratches don't bother me at all: They blend right in. Our hardware is oil rubbed broze from Restoration Hardware.

Another cabinet maker, who in my brother's opinion is better than the one we chose, is Rainier Wood Working co. However, I think they are in Puyallup. I will see if he will email me a pic so I can post a pic, if that even helps. I always like having visuals.
Rainier Wood Working Co. link
http://www.rainierwoodworking.com/mainmenu.swf

I came across this company as I was googling rainier. Their site seems impressive but can't say I've heard anything about them. The link is listed below.

Good luck. I know how hard it is to find a reliable contractor. I think my brother in a nice way told the company that he wouldn't put up with any you know what.
Not sure how he put it.

Thanks rumble and needsometips. I'll check it out.

Marg42: My counters are Colonial Cream granite and they're very easy to maintain. So easy in fact that you can't even tell when they're dirty--which is good and bad. My understanding is that it's a difficult granite to find these days. (How did you see them since I haven't posted in a while?)

Meg711: Sorry, I got confused with megpie77's handle. I haven't seen your pix!:) But thanks!

megpie77: thanks for all the great ideas!!

marg42-guess it would help if i actually included the link!Remember, this is just a site I came across.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rainier Cabinetry

No worries marg42. I should have realized that is what happened. Our names are similar!

Thanks for the RC link megpie77! And sorry for mixing you guys up, megpie77 and meg711! :)

My former cabinet guy kept saying, "don't worry about it" and "I've been doing this for 30 years, trust me".

OMG, needsometips08, I know exactly what you mean! I had a similar experience with the cabinet maker our designer recommended. I don't think she meant to come off that way but when I asked about thickness of drawer bottoms, she replied, "Don't worry, we know what we're doing." !!! I never implied she didn't. I only wanted to know what we'd be getting for our money. We're not going with that cabinet maker, btw.

megpie77, which kind of soapstone do you have? I don't think we have as many options in the PNW (I'm in Portland) as there are in other parts of the country, which is a pity because I've always loved soapstone kitchens. Did you have any problems finding a fabricator? Your kitchen is lovely, btw.

Sorry, this info may be getting to you too late! I think there is a Pental in Portland. I picked out my soapstone from Pental in Seattle. It is called Original Green. It does not read green but has a green hue to it. No one notices it unless they really "look". I love it! I almost went with one particular fabricator until I came upon a company's website (located in Olympia). I am soooo glad I found them. The guy I almost went with primarily installs granite and told me soapstone is extremely porous (WRONG!!). The company I found was so knowledgeable I knew I was in good hands. I am so glad I shopped around. If it's not too late you could go to Pental (or call), let them know you're interested in soapstone and ask them of good reputable companies who frequently install soapstone.

We used Kinsella wood works for our eating nook and basement bar area cabinets and they are beautiful! For the kitchen we used Refined Woodworks found in Bellevue. All good people to work with.

megpie77 do you have any information on the company's website that you are referring to as being in Olympia? That is where I am located and it is really hard to find referrals of anyone in this area. I like to note things for future reference.

Rutt Handcrafted cabinetry showroom @ Baywolf Dalton, Inc. The Seattle Rutt showroom located at 3240 NE 45th Street, Seattle 206-523-1123. Look at the transitional, contemporary styles as well as the traditional.

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