JMI RE/MAX ASSOCIATES PROJECT PT. 2

It's another great day at Goodwin Mill And Cabinet.  Literally minutes after writing that last blog, I headed back over to Re/Max Associates to install some handles.

 I took some pics I wanted to post.  The first is of the reception area.  As you can see, they're moving in and trying to get set up.  Siera Olsen is the young lady at the front desk.  She kindly consented to be in the pic.

 So the first pic shows the counter tops they used.  It's not granite, but a granite looking laminate.  Very authentic looking.  The second pic shows the base we put in along the front of the desk.  We produced it ourselves.

The third pic is the back section behind the front desk where most of the filing will occur.  I just wanted to show it with the top on.  The final pic is over the media center in the conference room.  We made and installed the counter top in here and I wanted you to see it.  Since the unit wasn't staged yet, I didn't want to grab a wide angle shot.  Instead, I picked a corner that showed off the top and some of the accent pieces that would sit there.

Treat yourself to a visit to the Re/Max Associates offices to check out the handy work.  You can link to their site and get all the contact information.  For those of you who are familiar with St. George, they are kitty-corner from the Tabernacle.

JMI Constructors has a page devoted to the project.  You can read about their process and find out more information concerning this exciting builder by linking to their site.

And as always, you can set up your appointment for information on ordering your own custom cabinet job!  Just go to Goodwin Mill And Cabinet online for contact information and give them a call today!  They've got someone waiting to help you make your dreams become reality.  Consult with a design specialist today!

HINKLEY CABIN JUNE 2012

This property is located in Springdale, UT.  For those of you who don't know where that is, it's right next to Zions National Park.  It's a seriously beautiful place.  But more about that later.  This first pic shows the major piece Goodwin Mill And Cabinet did for the home.  It's a wall unit featuring a fridge flanked by pantry cabinets with lower drawers.  It's also distinct because it's the only unit in the entire home that is this color.  The rest of the cabinets in the Kitchen are original to the house and are a natural pine color.  The bathroom vanities we added to the guest bath, powder room and master bath have all been stained to match this color.

The second pic is the guest bathroom vanity.  It has two drawer banks and the sink unit.  The doors and drawer fronts are all recessed panels.  The second vanity looks like a

drawer unit.  It is actually a sink unit with a door made to look like a bank of drawers.  We've used this method on a couple of cabinets recently and it's really amazing how well they turn out.  The counter tops actually match.  It looks more yellow in the first pic than the second.  And the color looks a little different on the finish, but they are actually the same.  The next two pics are of the vanity bank in the master bath.

This one is similar to the powder room because the sink cabinets employ the same false front technique using drawer fronts as doors.  The real drawer bank is in the center.  

Notice the lowest drawer is missing on both vanities...  It's actually a shelf.  It really gives the master bank a cool look.  It's a unique piece.

That's basically it for our work, but I wanted to show you some other pics today.  This property is being remodeled by Brandon Neilsen of Jensen + Sons Construction.

The first pic shows you the open space of the great room.  They changed a lot in this house.  The second pic shows you the ceiling because I wanted to show the beams up there.

The next three photographs are pics of the views you get from this cabin.  This first one is right out the front door.  There's a bit of a dirt mound.

The beams continue outside the great room.  This section is outside under the overhang above the porch.  Look at that gorgeous blue sky...

And finally, here's just one of the astounding views this family gets to enjoy.  It's breathtaking.  If I'd been able to take some before pics, you'd be amazed at how much progress Brandon Nielsen has made on this property.  It's incredible.  You can find out more about him and his cohorts at Jensen + Sons.  You can learn more about the incredible cabinets by visiting Goodwin Mill And Cabinet online.  Call and set up your appointment today.

JMI REMAX PROJECT

 Re/Max Associates is moving to a new location in St. George!  And JMI Constructors is remodeling the building for them.  Goodwin Mill And Cabinet was brought in for a couple items.  Most of the furniture that is non-attached will be coming from Re/Max's previous offices.  Our work involved the pieces that needed to be installed in the building itself.  This was an interesting job for a few reasons.

 There were basically two areas of concentration for us.  One was the foyer/front desk area and the second was a conference room area.  The cabinetry in the conference room are the first ones pictured and as you can see, it's a cinnamon color stain.  The first pic shows a three door upper unit with a drawer bank and attached desk below.  The second pic shows a two door upper. 

 This particular cabinet is somewhat off on its own.  I did want to give you a better view of the cabinet without the long wall behind it taking up all the space in the picture.

 The far wall was home to this massive construct.  Although I'm not sure what it will be used for, I suspect the opening in the center will house a flat screen television.

 The entry/front desk area is comprised of some very interesting colors.  The blueish gray color is a glaze treatment that happens in two steps.

 In the first photo, you see the bar back (or in this case, front) of the cabinets with korbels.  These will face the client with granite counter tops.  The second pic shows the lower cabinets behind the receptionist.

 The third pic was hard to get because it sits beside a window with lots of light coming in.  The light glare ruins the picture, but you can see between the three drawer banks, there are two sitting areas.

 With this fourth pic, I wanted to try to give you a closer look at the drawer fronts, the color scheme and the build up where the granite will go along the top of the cabinets to cover the space where chairs can slide in.  As soon as I get a couple pics of the finished area, I'll post them.  For now you'll have to settle for these.  But I think they're still amazing.  What a great color!

Here's another close up of some drawer fronts and cabinet doors.  The lighter gray colored areas are recessed on the panels.  It's an unusual style and quite out of the ordinary for us.

The offices look fantastic!  I'm sure it will be phenomenal when it's finished.  I'll get some final pics and post them along with a link to Re/Max Associates website.  Just goes to show you, Goodwin Mill And Cabinet does great work in Commercial construction as well as residential.  Stop by today if you're thinking about upgrading your business appearance or if you're planning on building new offices.  Sit down with a design specialist and let us help you create a unique set of cabinetry that will show off your business just like Re/Max Associates.

CHENEY HOME

 We just finished a job for a local builder we work with.  If you think back to the Parade of Homes this year, you might recall we worked out in Dixie Springs with a company named Rock Solid Builders.

 James Cheney is our contact with Rock Solid and this house belongs to him and his family.  With their permission, I'm going to show you some pics of their cabinets.  The first pic shows the uppers in the kitchen.  The right hand wall.  That cabinet furthest to the right has glass doors and is a showcase cabinet.  Perfect for china or wine glasses you want to show off.

 The range hood sits in the middle of these uppers.  The regular cabinets are Burnt Almond color while the hood and the island are the Creme color I love so much.

 The first three pics pan around and show you the uppers while the fourth shows you the island and more of the Creme color stain.  The fifth pic shows the drawers under the final leftmost cabinet.

 This photo shows the base cabinets along the right wall.  It also shows the lazy susan in the corner.  I wanted you to see how it flows together.

 And here we have the other side of the island.  You can see the drawer bank on the other side of the dishwasher and the other cabinets.

 This next pic shows the vanity and drawer bank in the powder room.  This cabinet was stained almost black.  It's the third of four stain colors in the home and it's the only cabinet to feature this stain.

There's another bathroom aside from the master bath.  This one services the two bedrooms and is the Burnt Almond color.  An interesting feature of this vanity is the reverse drawer we installed.  It will pull out bottom up as you can see in the pic.  It's purpose is for the kids to stand on so they can reach the sink.

 These next two pics are the master bath.  We did a row of lowers and two corner cabinets with a valance between them.  We originally planned on having three drawer banks.

 However, that wasn't possible with the way the wall sits, so the drawer bank furthest right and closest to the camera is actually a shelf unity with a door shaped like drawer fronts.

 Here's the laundry room.  They went with a fourth color...  An almost White Wash.  With the distressing on the cabinet, it's very intense and quite beautiful.

 These first two pics show the right hand wall.  The uppers; ending in a full length wall unit; and a row of pull out hamper drawers in the lowers.

 On the left wall we did a shelf unit with drawers.  It sits to the right of the dryer.  And directly above it you will see the next photograph.

 There's the one upper and then there's a clothing rod suspended between two uppers.  Then you have the uppers running all the way along the wall until the doorway.

 Each one of these uppers has two shelves inside.  Adding it all up, you can see there's lots of storage space in this Laundry.  The right hand side pull out hampers are quite nice but also help to sort out colors whites, delicates etc. etc. when you're actually doing your washing.

This final photo shows the vanity to the left of the washer.  Although you can't see them in these pics, James actually laid a tile countertop in the Laundry.  It turned out extremely well.  I'll try to get more pics if I get in there again.  Otherwise, you'll just have to be satisfied with what I've taken here.  

In the end, the Cheney's made choices that were complementary and delightful.  The creme juxtaposed with the Burnt Almond was a super smart idea.  It's not the first time we've used alternating colors in a kitchen, and it's not the most extreme difference in coloring.  Rather, they look good together and compliment each other in a way that demonstrates excellent taste and design ability.  

Using other colors in bathrooms and in the Laundry room might seem excessive, but the choices were both subtle and complimentary again.  The whole house pulls together from the kitchen to the master bath.  There's a friendly, welcoming feeling as you look at the cabinets.  This house gets a lot of natural light.  The windows take full advantage of it and it suffuses everything from flooring to wall paint, cabinetry to granite counter tops...  Depending on what time of day you're actually in the home, the colors scheme will change.  In the morning you may get the darker tones really accentuating the lighter colors; whereas in the afternoon, the gold in the wall glaze or the granite can really pull the colors forward and blend them dramatically.  In the evening, the softer hue of artificial light will pull all the starkness away leaving the colors looking like a warm painting.  You can tell the Cheney's were doing something that would work with the light they were bringing in and I think they've done it.

This really is an example of how Goodwin Mill & Cabinet can help someone with an idea.  The Cheney's had a pretty good idea of what they wanted and Chris helped them bring it to life.  Go to their website and learn how you can bring your imagination to life at Goodwin Mill & Cabinet.

THE STORY OF THE TEARDROP TRAILER - PT. 14

Well, the boys have one side of the trailer all trimmed out and locked up.  The automotive finish has not been applied yet so you can see spots on the finish where they have been sanding and doing touch up.  The spots will disappear when the final coat is applied.

This view shows the storage box on the front of the trailer where we will store the battery, ice box and other stuff.  Kent curved the lid.  As you can see, the vents have been installed and the patching of screw holes has begun.

Another view of the front box.  They have been trying to find a place they can use this plastic hinge they bought but it just doesn't work.  Time to start looking for a new hinge or another option.

Here is a view of the inside lock after it was installed.  The boys have both doors on and trimmed.  They can lock up the trailer now when they aren't working on it.

Here is a close up of the door lock.  You can see the rope molding detail on the side of the trailer.

There's still more to come before the trailer is completed.  If you're interested in learning more about Chris Goodwin, Kent Goodwin or anyone involved in making this amazing trailer, check out the Goodwin Mill And Cabinet website for more details.

TIPS FOR SELECTING A CABINET COMPANY

I recently sat down with Chris Goodwin from Goodwin Mill & Cabinet and asked him his advice on choosing a cabinet company and why Goodwin Mill & Cabinet was a good choice.

Chris began by explaining to me the difference between good cabinet design utilizing space, convenience, utility and "winning the bid" based on price.  He made it clear that at Goodwin Mill & Cabinet, they try to conserve on price while still giving their clients as much utility as they want.

He said most cabinet companies competing to win a contract will cut corners in order to get the bid by providing the lowest cost with the intent to make up the difference with changes to the original design.

When comparing your cabinet estimates, there are a few things you should check.  Here are a couple to think about.  I'll add more at a later date so check back often.

#1 - Count the drawers - Drawers cost more money than doors.  Many cost conscious cabinet companies will limit the number of drawers designed into a job.  Also check your drawer widths.  If they can put in a minimum number of drawers they will not only save drawer box material, but drawer slides and cabinet hardware.  This adds up to quite a bit of change in the overall cost of your cabinetry.  No amount of money savings will make you feel any better about a poorly designed cabinet project that doesn't utilize the space correctly.

Wide drawers wear out quicker because of the larger load it carries on each cycle.  They get wobbly as they get bigger and the drawer slides wear out quicker because of the added weight.  It is important to be specific in your hardware choices.  For example if your job specified "Soft CloseDrawer slives" you might get anything from a Chinese-knock-off to a mid range side mount.

There is a rule of thumb to the percentage of space that should be used for drawers.  Make sure you have enough in the beginning.

#2 - Count the number and widths of doors.  For every door made there is a cost for labor, hinges and hardware.  Many save money by over sizing doors and thus saving these costs.  Clients are often unaware that larger doors break and warp easier as well as wearing out the hinges quicker.  In addition they take more room to open and at times a user will have to step back in order to move out of the way of a swinging door.

#3 - You wouldn't build a house without a detailed plan, but most house plans are very vague as to what cabinetry is intended.  Sometimes, it's just a line on a floor plan.  The interpretation is left up to the cabinet estimator.  One cabinet maker may view it one way, while another may view it entirely different.  It is really important to get the product you want rather than what some one else thinks.

He then added, "And this is where WE can help!"

When I pressed him to explain, Chris said, "We provide an experienced design team that provides many of the most beautiful and best working cabinet projects in the area."

I asked him what effect that had on pricing and he said many people fear that after we design their cabinetry we might be over priced.  But let me assure you, this is not the case.  

He continued, "We provide a moderately priced and highly experienced Cabinet design program.  If we are awarded the job it becomes a free service and we deduct the cost of design from our estimate.  If we are not the low bidder, we will both know that all companies bid the same project and not apples for oranges."

He went on to say, "Our design package will show cabinet floor plans, elevations as well as room specification sheets, showing all designs, wood species, finishes, hardware, etc."  In this way, he says, you can rest assured the product you receive will be exactly what you ordered.

His demonstrated excitement for our new Cabinet design service is invigorating!  It makes me excited to write about it once again and bring it to your attention.  Before you bid, get your plans together.  And stop into Goodwin Mill & Cabinet today to get your plans done!  Stop by their website too!

CHANGING TO FIT THE NEW ECONOMY (WITHOUT LOSING QUALITY)

 No matter what industry you're in, you've noticed a change in the way people do business.  You may like the changes, or you may think they're bad.  Whether you like them or not, they're here to stay.  It's a new economy out there and things cannot continue the way they were.

Even in our small corner of the world we've noticed the impact of this economic shift.  It affects our company, our ability to compete in the local market and the products we offer our clients.

When I talk about a change in the way people do business, the first conclusion people draw is the internet.  They think about a company's online presence and how they navigate social media.  And yet, there are other changes that have just as much impact, such as the conditions of contracts for work.

With so many business' going under during the recession, the survivors compete heavily for work.  Many of them sacrifice their profits in order to keep working.  The strategy is survival.  Make it until things turn around.  And though all of this seemed like a blessing in disguise to people buying homes or contracting their own projects...  The big loser was quality.

In order to cut costs, many companies switched to less expensive, lower quality materials.  This helped them reduce their own costs so they could stay competitive in the market.  Less reputable companies hide costs by selling services "À la carte" or making their profit on upgrades.  Both practices allow them to advertise a much lower cost then the buyer actually pays.  The final price after everything is added in could often be shocking.

Ultimately, it's the customer...  The buyer who pays the price.  They overextend themselves with extras, or get a lower quality product..

Don't get me wrong...  There are people who made out like bandits during the recession.  Buyers who got incredible deals and who made extremely wise choices.  Those people are very fortunate.  They are also the exception to the rule.

And no matter how much I'd like to advocate for consumer rights at this point, I want to discuss why I'm writing this entry in the first place. 

 

We saw the market shifting.  We've made changes to fit into the new economy.  But our real question is how to maintain the level of quality we provide our customers and reduce our costs to increase our ability to compete.

One thing we realized early on is that our service is something people will pay for.  We offer something truly unique and important.  For us to lose that quality would be tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot.

So we've looked for other ways to lower costs and become more efficient.  We're investing in new machinery to streamline the production time in our shop and we've developed schedules to move things through production smoothly and less wait between the time the job is actually ordered and installed.

We've also seem some reduction in staff.  We haven't fired anyone, but have seen a few guys move on.  As sad as it is to see someone go, sometimes it works out in our favor.  Regrettable as that may be.

We've also diversified our products.  We've expanded into post turning and championed the cause of cabinet refacing for people who want a fresh, new look without the new cabinet price.  We've also started building some custom furniture pieces for clients and local design.  One of the most exciting services we've started offering is our Cabinet Design Service.  This service lets you sit down with one of our design consultants and plan out your home before you start the bidding process.  This service allows you to create your kitchen and all other cabinets in your new home in advance.  When you start bidding out the job, each cabinet subcontractor has a materials list and cabinet specifications.  You get bids back for your job allowing you to see who really is offering you the best deal.

I wish I could say there was some magical formula to how we did what we did, but there really isn't.  We survived based on a combination of our efforts and the fact there are people out there who still value our product.  The only reason we have a product that's inspired such loyalty is because Goodwin Mill And Cabinet is a company who puts quality at the top of its list of priorities.  

That doesn't always make us the cheapest price in town, but it does mean we're one of the best options out there.  We offer value.  And in the long run, value is the less expensive option.  If quality, long lasting cabinets are what you're looking for, we're the first and last name in Southern Utah.  Go to our website and read more about our incredible company and get excited about your cabinets again.  We're here to help your dreams come true.