I Ordered Kitchen Cabinets And They Never Arrived
/You read that right. I ordered cabinets for my kitchen, and they never came. It was mid-demolition when everything was a mess and we were trying to piece things together. Then I got the news. The cabinets I had been designing, sourced, and paid for weren’t going to show up. Here’s what happened.
Cabinets! They’re basically the most significant part of a kitchen - unless you’re going for a deconstructed un-kitchen. Cabinet planning was a biiiiig part of our kitchen designing process. I spent years figuring out how to modify the back of the house to add a bathroom and remodel the kitchen. And while doing those big redesigns, I was crafting detailed cabinet layouts. The cabinets played a huge part in how the walls would move, where doors would go, and how windows could shift. They were key to the whole renovation and I had them planned months and months before demo started.
If you want to make a drinking game out of this blog post, know that I’m about to say the word “cabinet” a lot.
Once I figured out the layout and design of the cabinets, I started sourcing fabricators. I looked at all the options including custom, IKEA, semi-custom, big box stores, making them myself, salvaged, and everything in between.
There were two things on my cabinet must have list. 1. All-wood construction. 2. Inset doors. I’ll talk more about cabinets when I install them and can share more details, so stay tuned. If you’re not familiar with inset doors, click here to see what I mean. They have pros and cons, but I was sold on using this style because it’s what would have been in my home a century ago. Plus, they’re super charming looking!
Finding a cabinet maker that can do inset doors is tricky. Most big box or semi-custom cabinet companies don’t offer this style so you often need to buy custom in order to get this look. Custom was out of the budget so I hunted far and wide to find a company that could make the inset doors perfect for my historic home. I found a few (I’ll share those in a future post) and ultimately picked an established online-based semi-custom cabinetry company that I thought was perfect. Multiple friends installed this brand of cabinetry and I got to see/touch the doors, glides, and inserts all in person. They were great!
I’ve said the word, “cabinet” 15 times now. Are you getting tired of that word? Sorry - there just isn’t a synonym! I’m going to say it so much more.
I worked for months with the cabinetry company designing all the details. I picked a color, I sized out recycle bins, I determined the amount of filler we’d use at the edge, I picked out all of the customized inserts, I made sure the broom closet could fit my beloved vacuum, and I ordered a sink that would fit the cabinets just right. Everything was in order and things were coming together.
The cabinetry company said they had a 4-6 week lead time on their cabinets. So, I ordered them shortly after demolition - around mid-March. The plan was for them to arrive in early May around the time that I’d be able to clear all of the inspections, DIY the floors, and do any necessary prep work. If I wasn’t ready, I’d clear a space for them in my mom’s garage, Ross’ warehouse, or somewhere safer than our leaky/crumbling garage.
Well, this renovation has been slow going, so we weren’t ready for cabinets by early May. But it didn’t even matter. Because a week after I ordered and paid for the cabinets, I got word they wouldn’t be coming.
A friend of mine that installed cabinets from the same company texted me to say, “hey, I think our cabinet company went out of business.” To which I said, “whaaaaaaat?!?! No, please no.” She sent me the rumors she found on social media and I tried to piece things together. I emailed my designer, I called their sales line, I called their support line, I checked their social media, I reached out all the ways I could. No answer. I was even reading newspapers local to the factory (midwest US) trying to find answers since it was radio silence online.
We found a social media post from an ex-employee stating that the whole team received an email letting them know they had an hour to pack their things and leave. All administrative staff, cabinetry designers, and factory staff were let go abruptly. Apparently, the cabinetry company was having financial hardship and was expecting a cash infusion from an investor. When the pandemic hit, the investor pulled out of the deal so the company filed for bankruptcy and let go of their employees and stopped production. However, none of this news of the closure was announced to customers. You know, because they fired the entire customer service and marketing teams. Ugh.
Nobody from the cabinetry company ever told me my order was canceled. Luckily, my deposit was refunded. I eventually got an email a month later stating that they are under new ownership and are sorry for the inconvenience. A month! The inconvenience! I felt so bad for the people that wouldn’t find out about their canceled order until the delivery day when nothing arrived. They’d have to find a new company and start from scratch and wait another month or two. I luckily had a month’s notice to figure out a backup plan and order new cabinets while construction continued.
Of course, I feel particularly upset for the hundreds of employees that were laid off without notice, without pay, amidst an economically dreadful pandemic. Yeah, being without cabinets during a major renovation sucks. But it’s nothing compared to what these folks experienced. Nothing.
Here’s what my kitchen looked like the day I found out cabinets weren’t coming. On top of losing the cabinets, my plumbing fixture company went out of business mid-order, too. And then a week later, we had the plumbing fiasco. And, of course, this was during a time when we were renovating amidst a pandemic. Plus, the new financial burden made it extra rough.
The order we placed was at a great price (due to their low pricing and a discount I snagged as a home blogger). So getting bids from other companies and custom fabricators was a tough pill to swallow. The bids were coming in at double and even triple the price we planned to spend.
On top of that, Ross’ work came to a complete halt because of COVID-19. He’s our primary breadwinner so we rely on his income for daily expenses as well as renovations. My job as a blogger became much more serious when we lost his income. I felt like I let him down when I had to rebudget our renovation to include another $10,000 for more expensive cabinets. It wasn’t my fault that the company went under, but I felt guilty for taking so long to get this renovation going. If only I hadn’t been so indecisive. If only we broke ground on the renovation years ago or even months ago. If only I didn’t delay ordering the cabinets until after demo started. I was mad at myself, even though I knew we were in a situation we couldn’t control. And I was mad at myself for being so disappointed when I know so many others have it so much worse.
But, there was nowhere to go but forward. I went back to square one and started digging deeper to find new cabinet makers that could fabricate inset cabinets at a price closer to the one we were planning on. I considered giving up my all-wood inset cabinetry dreams and looked at IKEA. I went to big box stores. I got bids from custom cabinet makers. I did all the planning all over again. Luckily, I had the rough designs in hand so I didn’t have to completely start from scratch.
Can you guess where I’m going with this?
We found a new cabinet maker! A friend of mine is an interior architect and referred me to three custom cabinet makers. Their bids were $28,000, $18,000, and $12,000. A pretty wide range of prices, right? We picked the guy she recommended the most - the one that bid $12k. It felt way too good to be true. Really, please don’t go out expecting to get custom cabinets for less than what a big box store would quote you. It just isn’t done. But, he’s good and cheap, yet slow. I’m okay with slow because I’m slow! And if I’m going to compromise on anything, I’ll give up speed in favor of good and cheap. Also, I think I need to give him a bonus because the price seems too good, and I’m kind of an annoying client.
We started working with our new cabinet maker in early April. He didn’t start building them though, until I was ready with the floor. Of course, we’ve been experiencing delays with everything, so it’s been pushing the cabinet construction back. Yet they’re in production and we have photos from the shop and they’re looking oh-so good. All-wood inset cabinets of my dreams!
While the cabinetry issue was challenging, I’m happy with this outcome. The cabinets will be of great quality, and I’m happy to provide work to a small business here in town. I’m disappointed I don’t have an online direct-to-consumer cabinetry company to recommend to you all, but so it is.
I can’t wait to show you what they look like painted and installed. And I can’t wait to use them! You know I’m going to go wild organizing them just so. Stay tuned!
Also, how did your drinking game go? I said “cabinets” a lot. And just said it again. You’re welcome, I’m sorry.
