Creative Cabinets in Walpole, MA - MIke does FANTASTIC work.. We just built a home and he did all of the kitchen cabinetry and bathroom vanities. I am not sure what you consider reasonable, but we had a $20,000 cabinet allowance for ALL the cabinetry in the house.. With the 2 vanities, a medicine cabinet 4 custom mirrors to match vanities and island, desk, and 9' ceilings with cabs to the ceiling, we only paid an additional $8800. Which I think is pretty reasonable. I have some pictures in previous posts but will have more elaborate pictures next week when everything is complete. Let me know if you need additional info.

I found Country Craftsmen by googling, "cabinetmaker in Boston." Somebody wrote a glowing review here. We soon found out they are as good as the reviewer said. New to the Boston area and not knowing anybody, I thought I would take a chance. This is Patty and Billy Ramsey, a married couple in their 50's who have been doing this work for many years and about 10 workmen who have been with them forever. Patty spoke with me on the phone about what we needed for our Back Bay condo. She asked several questons to understand what we were looking for in the bookcases, cabinets, and hutch we wanted built. She sent several computer generated sketches until we had the design we were looking for and then gave us a preliminary estimate. My husband and I then made the trek on a Saturday to Uxbridge to meet and see their place. This was a clean beautiful showroom. They spent a couple hours talking to us going over every detail. We immediately felt comfortable with these 2 professional, yet very down to earth people. They came the following week to take measurements. All went well and the pieces were to be delivered 8 weeks later. Then I threw us all for a loop when I started making changes a few weeks into the project. Never was there any tone of frustration; in fact, at one point Billy said when I apologized for changing my mind so many times,"You should have what you want." Unbelievable! The pieces arrived and were installed with care and I must say, if you are looking for perfection in workmanship, these are your people. Everything is perfect, not a scatch I have to overlook, not a dent, absolute perfection to all specifications! Working with such nice people is always a pleasure. Phone calls, emails, requests are all handled quickly and I never felt rushed. They aim to please. I would highly recommend these people over the much higher priced, not as personable, city folk I first interviewed.

Hi bar, We used Faneuil Kitchen Cabinets; their phone # is (781) 740-8844. I highly recommend them. They do beautiful work and are a pleasure to work with at every step of the project. They are located in Hingham, however they travel beyond the south shore. My sister and DH's brother also used them with excellent results. Best of luck with your new kitchen. MJ

Well, here's the breakdown: silk dupioni, $11 a yard, + S & H interlining $ 4 per yd + S & H lining $ 3 per yd + S & H Plus pinch pleat tape. There is an economy of scale that doesn't come into play in buying materials for one project. One panel (I'll go with 84 inches long, that's common), pinch pleated, ends up about 24 inches wide, costs about $64 in materials only, not including S & H. Or any labor. Seamstresses don't "sew to save money" any more. The prices some expect to pay for "custom" come to less than minimum wage. I've started asking folks what their budget is for a project, or, if they ask about it, I tell them to expect custom to run two to five times ready-made. For that price, one can have her choice of fabric and trim, (not just the safe, easily sell-able combos a manufacturer is willing to mass-produce) She can have throw pillows to co-ordinate. Most companies will sell you a separate valance, but when my customer wanted a false valance to compensate for a shortage of fabric, I could accomodate her. When she wanted the "running deer" motif in the tapestry centered in each throw pillow, I could accomodate her.