Help! Kitchen designer in Bay Area CA

9 years ago

Hello, I am new to GW. DH and I finally got a house on contract after 2.5 years of bidding war. We are closing at the end of the month and we are going to renovate the kitchen entirely. The bay window has failed seal so we'll need to rip off the tile counter to replace the framing underneath, so we decided to do a complete kitchen makeover. I have been following GW since we have the house on contract (about 2.5 wks ago) and got a lot of great information from other members on the appliances. I think I got all my appliances picked. I have been searching for a good KD/contractor online and didn't come up with a good answer. Any recommendation on KD in the Bay Area in California? DH and I are very picky in terms of workmanship and especially this house will probably be our forever home, we will be extra picky. I also want my kitchen cabinet painted with BM paint, will this be a restriction on cabinet brands? We want good quality of cabinets that will last and strong enough to put my cast iron pots in deep drawers and handle everyday use. Thank you so much for everyone in advance!

This post was edited by yehyeh83 on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 16:38

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Comments (11)

lisa_a
9 years ago
If I lived in the bay area, I'd hire Kelly Morisseau at Main Street Kitchens in a heart beat. Full disclosure - she's a good friend. But she also really knows her stuff. She's an award w1nning designer, has written 2 books on kitchen design and blogs about it, too.

Good luck!

edited to remove the dreaded green underlined pop-ups. Detest those things!

Here is a link that might be useful: Main Street Kitchens Design Build

This post was edited by lisa_a on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 16:30
cookncarpenter
9 years ago
Mark Becker in Oakland designs beautiful custom homes with fantastic kitchens.
I'm not sure if he does the kitchen design in house, or subs it out, but he may be a lead. Great guy!
lisa a's friend sounds good too!

This post was edited by ctycdm on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 19:26
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Ugh! Entire 2paragraph review lost. Thanks to ipad and GW. Sigh. Long story short, look up Gao's Group in south san fran. judy speaks excellent english. Bring your pictures and wishlist, or plans from another quote. You show it to them, they'll build it! I dont think they can handle intricate designer kitchens, but honestly, if you're building one of those, then you're not too concerned with cost. My quote from a brentwood cabinet maker, cant remember name, was over $40,000, because for dovetail, they only do some high end wood box. Gao was just over $20,000. Included dovetail, undermount softclose, full extension, and 1/3 glass uppers, to simulate stacked cabs. He gave me his cell phone, so for questions, i call, and he actually answers! They're doing another project in the south bay, los altos, so he's been around quickly when i call. I'm pretty lame at negotiating, but got them to take 5% off. I figure, i'd rather have them be more willing to come over and answer my contractor's questions, than worry about that last 5%. I saw the work they did at the other house, and was satisfied. Im very happy so far with my cabs! If you do work with him, he'll prob send you over to my house. :) Best of luck with your cabinetmaker search!
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cookncarpenter
9 years ago
Duplicate post deleted

This post was edited by ctycdm on Mon, Aug 18, 14 at 19:25
aptosca
9 years ago
Bay area is a big place. Whereabouts are you?

Do you have a budget? There's a pretty large range in cab prices.

I've been talking to custom cab makers that I'm pretty interested in. That also means I'm using an outside designer who will do plans for the cab maker/city/GC.
yeh_yeh
Original Author
9 years ago
lisa_a: Thanks! I checked out the website and it has some amazing reno pictures! I will check it out!

ctycdm: Based on Mark Becker's portfolio information, I think my job is too small for him. But thanks for the info!

aptos_ca: We are in the East Bay area close by SF. We have no idea how much kitchen cabinets are but we want to keep cost less than $30k. Is this a reasonable budget? Thanks!
yeh_yeh
Original Author
9 years ago
The kitchen is about 14' x 10'.
kksmama
9 years ago
Budgeting 30k for cabinets could work, budgeting 30k for an entire renovation isn't at all reasonable unless you are mostly DIY. Here is one older but interesting thread on budgets, there are others. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0815123731212.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Evolution of a kitchen budget
beekeeperswife
9 years ago
also check out Jute, I hear they are great.
caligirl5
9 years ago
Don't want to hijack the thread, but if people happen to have recommendations for the south bay, it would be awesome to get some recommendations there too! (or PM me)
cawaps
9 years ago
If you aren't already tapped into it, Berkeley Parents Network can be a useful resource for such things. BPN is a list-serve that sends out a few weekly emails--advice, recommendations, childcare, etc. People post questions and give responses. They archive the recommendations, and I've linked below to the kitchen designer page (you can find other service providers as well). I suspect that some of the recommendations are not real, as in the service provider or their friends and family are pumping them up, but mostly it really is people posting their experiences.

Here is a link that might be useful: Berkeley Parents Network
yeh_yeh
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks all for the reply!

Kksmama: My 30k budget is only for cabinets. I will also check out the thread you provided too. Thanks!

Beekeeperswife: thanks! I will check them out!

Cawaps: thanks for the info! I will check out the forum as well!

Help! Kitchen designer in Bay Area CA

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