Sapele Mahogany Kitchen

This kitchen renovation was originally planned on being a simple project, just to replace “cheap builder grade” cabinets with stained wood flat panel doors and granite counter tops. Unfortunately as it often happens, one’s appetite for more tends to kick in and we end up going overboard a bit. To be honest though, this project was never intended to bring a profit, more of a test of our RTA ready-to-assemble capacity for fast part building and installation of fully finished cabinet parts.

I spent more than 25 years in woodworking/cabinetry building and design, but in 2007 I closed my own shop and moved into the online cabinetry business of promoting other custom cabinetmakers. To stay in shape and not let my belly grow too much, I like to get my hands dirty and lately it’s been with our RTA systems, and personally doing finishes.

There is nothing too unusual about this project, nor is it far from reality. The parts were manufactured 100% in a rented shop (Henige’s Custom Woodworking), delivered flat pack using my Toyota Matrix (90 miles one way few trips) and fully assembled and installed in house, with the help of an 8 year old. The granite cuts were ordered using dimensional drawings; the granite guy visited the job for about 10 min to confirm dimensions. From A to Z, the job was done in less than 3 calendar months by one person, not counting the granite work.

I am sharing with you what I have in images and asking for a friendly estimate of this kitchen (just for my girlfriend's curiosity) and overall thoughts on the project. Thanks to all of you upfront.