For most people, cabinets are just…there. Your kitchen, bathroom, and maybe your living and laundry rooms have these little wooden boxes that hold your stuff. Cabinets are just storage, right? You pick finishes and cabinet hardware to make them “look nice,” and that’s it.
Just like a gorgeous handbag with no pockets, though, cabinetry without lifestyle considerations miss the point. You’ll be stuck digging through a bottomless pit of chaos (in that handbag OR in drawers), and suddenly “storage” becomes a constant frustration.
Quality cabinetry is designed for how you live in your home, and it’s always made with materials that guarantee high performance (no sticking drawers) and longevity (no warping or replacing after a few years).
From the perfectly organized bathroom to a kitchen that promotes the healthy cooking you say you want to do, read about these total transformations that changed everything…
The Builder-Grade Investment Problem
Emily’s newly renovated kitchen was supposedto be beautiful. She picked an economical, white shaker style door set of cabinets that her contractor recommended. Within a few years, though, it had degraded into a disaster.
The doors on the cabinets were already chipping, and the paint was peeling back near the sink. The once-smooth drawers now stuck EVERY time she tried to open them, especially those she used most often…
Emily even found herself apologizing to guests when they struggled while trying to help her in the kitchen. She would even stand in front of the sink to camouflage the warped cabinet underneath it…
Then, with custom kitchen cabinets…
Emily was SO over it. She chose to invest in high-end, custom cabinetry made of solid wood with soft-close drawers and a finish that was designed to withstand her daily life.
Every morning, Emily gently pulls out the hide-away coffee station built right into her cabinets. She reaches right and opens the nearest drawer for a spoon. No tugging, no slipping. The deep drawers hold her heavy pots now, too, and everyone who cooks with her comments on her organization!!
The best part is that she hasn’t spent a penny on repairs or replacements. No touch-ups are needed, and even if there were, the design-build company who custom designed her cabinets has a warranty to cover fixes.
This is stress-free living, and Emily LOVES it. She feels like her kitchen is finally something worth having.
Constant Baking Battles
Dana loves to bake, most of all for her grandchildren. In her old kitchen, however, every time she did bake she felt like the joy was undone by the mounting frustrations with her kitchen’s design.
The cabinets seemed to actively fight her. The mixing bowls were buried in a deep floor-level cabinet that required Olympic-level bending and lifting to get it out. Her stand mixer was banished to the pantry because her countertops didn’t have enough space.
And every time she baked, there would be something she couldn’t find. “Where did I put that” seemed to be her new mantra.
The standard-issued cabinetry drawers couldn’thold her rolling pins or baking trays, either…so they were shoved wherever they’d fit!! When did baking become such a disappointment?!
When Dana had enough…
It was the day that Dana knocked THREE cookie sheets (with cookies ready to bake) onto the floor (while searching for a measuring cup) that she’d officially had it. Dana contacted her designer to talk about modernizing her kitchen and customizing it for baking.
The new kitchen has everything, from new cabinetry with deeper drawers to a built-in appliance garage and a pull-out marble slab just for rolling dough!!
The result? Baking heaven. Dana pulls out her perfectly organized drawers and finds everything exactly where it belongs…no more bending or digging. Her bowls and measuring cups are all stored at waist level. Better yet, the kitchen is so user-friendly that the grandkids are starting to ask to bake with her. Dana could not be happier!!!
Bathroom Morning Madness
Mark’s mornings used to be a nightmare. He would stumble into the bathroom half-asleep, only to rub his eyes and start searching through a countertop covered in stuff. Toothpaste, hair gel, his wife’s skincare…there was no counterspace left.
Under the sink was worse…he called it the “back hole.” He knew his razor was somewhere in there, but every morning he’d dig through a pile of half-used bottles in the basket where his razor and other random toiletries were kept. He never pulled the razor out first.
Over the course of conversations with a work friend, Mark’s hairy mornings came up so often that, finally, the friend asked, “wouldn’t every day start better if you just had a decent bathroom?”
Suddenly, Mark realized that he was settling for madness without having even CONSIDERED another option. Cue: custom cabinetry…
Custom bathroom cabinetry
Mark and his wife installed custom bathroom cabinets with built-in organizers, dedicated drawers, and a pull-out laundry hamper to keep everything contained but easily accessible. The difference was instantaneous, and Mark was enthralled with the new space.
Mark still bumbles into the bathroom half-asleep every day, but he has his own soft-open drawer with built-in dividers for EVERYTHING. His wife’s skincare is stored in a pull-out shelf with several levels to store her whole collection of fancy bottles. They can each see their products and reach the right ones. Mark even has a hidden charging drawer for his electric toothbrush and razor!!
When Mark gets ready each morning, it feels peaceful and effortless. He grabs what he needs without a second thought. The countertops stay clear and clean. No stress, no mess. Just a relaxing start to the day.
A Home Office…That Drives You Back to the Office
Lena loved the autonomy of working from home, but the reality of her home office was miserable. Her space was always a disaster. She was lucky to have a whole room devoted to her office…after all, she didn’t have to try to work in a “nook” shoved in the living room like some of her direct reports…but she felt distracted and frustrated every day she worked remotely.
The desk was always covered in papers and, above all else, cables. Her “storage” consisted of a single flimsy file cabinet stacked in the corner (with piles of paper next to it on the floor).
And when she wanted to print something?…Lena had to crawl under the desk to unplug her lamp and plug in her printer!! It was exhausting.
Cabinetry…and Lena’s workflow
When Lena finally decided to upgrade her office, she focused on built-in cabinetry. She wanted a space designed for her workflow instead of shoving her workflow into a space that was ill-equipped…
Lena’s design-build renovator installed custom storage, a hidden charging station, and a pull-out printer drawer. Working at home became a COMPLETELY different experience. Now, her workspace is always clean…all papers are stored in soft-close file drawers…and her desk stays clear because she actually has places to put everything.
When Lena needs to print stuff, she just slides out her printer drawer (the printer already plugged into the hidden outlet in the drawer itself). When Lena finishes work for the day, she has a dedicated charging station to leave her laptop so that the next morning it’s charged and ready to go…her mind feeling as clear as her desk!!
The Never-Ending Laundry Pile
James had given up on keeping the laundry room organized. It was a disaster zone…baskets overflowing, detergent bottles cluttering the counter, and work shirts hanging to dry on hooks behind the door. The ironing board took up ALL available space when it was open, and there wasn’t any practical place to store it. So…James just leaned up against the wall between uses. He felt like the laundry room made him out to be a lazy bachelor instead of a father of three!!
Every time James stepped into the laundry room, he felt frustrated. He couldn’t blame the kids for the piles of clothes from all their sports events. He couldn’t blame his boss for wanting him to wear suits and ironed shirts. It was just his bad luck to have an impractical laundry room.
…Right?…
How James challenged his own thinking…
James took a week of “staycation” during spring break when the kids were home. It was when he had that extra time that, feeling more relaxed after a full night of sleep and a few days of no work calls, he thought, “have I looked at every option?”
He started to come up with ideas, and James quickly began to imagine how much updated cabinetry could change the space. He made a few phone calls, and within a month, his design was ready.
James had a fold-out ironing board installed with new custom cabinetry that hides the board when not in use. He had a laundry chute installed, too, leading straight up to the hall by the kids’ shared bathroom. The chute sends clothes down to be sorted, then he pulls out the built-in hampers for lights and darks. When it’s time to dry his work shirts, he slides out a drying rack. And all the counterspace is now open for folding and more folding!!
You don’t want cabinets. You want the RIGHT cabinets.
You want cabinetry that makes your mornings smoother, your routines feel effortless, and your home work with you. Once you realize how much you depend on your cabinets to guide your movements AND how they impact these crucial spaces, you’ll start to see what’s possible…
Quality cabinetry comes from design that changes the way you live in your home. Because extraordinary homes don’t happen by accident…and neither do extraordinary lives.
Browse our projects to see more custom cabinetry and read about how it’s changed our clients’ lives, and can absolutely elevate yours, too…
About the author:
Robin Burrill, RID, NCIDQ, ASID, IDS, CAPS, is an award-winning professional kitchen, bath, and interior designer. Robin and her husband, Robert Mathews, have owned Signature Home Services, Inc. for nearly three decades, establishing a superior in-house team with a widespread reputation for delivering meticulous design to their many repeat clients.
In 2022, the national publication, Kitchen and Bath Design News magazine, named Robin to their Top Innovator list in recognition of her achievements in the field of kitchen and bath design. In 2024, she was named one of the Fall 2024 Market Pros and “tastemakers” by ANDMORE at High Point Market. Also in 2024, Fixr identified her as one of the Top Professional Interior Designers for their nationwide audience. At the start of 2025, she then acted as one of Dallas Market’s “Style Eyes” at Lightovation and Total Home & Gift Market.
Over her extensive career, Robin has been quoted in Architectural Digest and Forbes multiple times; her design work has been featured in top national trade publications; and she has been interviewed for Designers Today magazine’s “Profiles in Design” video series, among others. Widely respected for the depth of her knowledge, Robin is a sought after speaker and judge for many design industry events.
In 2023, Robin designed a bench for Charleston Forge, making her foray into product design. Robin currently serves as a volunteer on the board of the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter of the Interior Design Society.
