Dream House Dream Kitchens private label cabinets in “iron ore” gray.
It’s not just those who live in older homes who need to remodel. Keeping kitchens and bathrooms up-to-date is more a bow to fashion than to necessity these days. But a re-do is possible with just a partial remodel — new cabinets. Open since June, Cabinet City aims to be a more budget-friendly branch of its parent company, Dream House Dream Kitchens.
“The focus of this store was to offer the same quality design and talent, but at a more affordable price than Dream Kitchens,” says Chris Schmidt, whose family started the “Dream” brand. Many shoppers who’ve already visited Menards and Home Depot are surprised that they can upgrade for less, but still get quite personalized service at Cabinet City, says Schmidt. “We focus on getting to know the customer,” he says.
While the storefront looks small, there is a lot of showroom inside. From among the lines of cabinets available, only two are custom, which keeps prices down. However, many times customization isn’t necessary. Designers work to find lines that accommodate customers’ needs.
For homeowners who are ready to take this step, Schmidt will come out and measure the space to be remodeled at no charge. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to present AutoCAD floor plans and 3-D renderings. When customers want to go ahead with the work, they put down a non-refundable $2,500 retainer fee, to be applied to project costs (typically between $5,000-$15,000).
Cabinet City is not limited to kitchens. Schmidt says the majority of sales come from other areas of the home — bathrooms, closets, laundry rooms, mudrooms, even garages.
Warning: Countertops are not included. (Cabinet City has a preferred vendor list customers can work with.)
“We keep that install price low, because we don’t want the install factor to be what prohibits a customer from proceeding with a purchase,” says Schmidt.
Cabinet City
6649 University Ave., Middleton, 608-829-2489, cabinet-city.com
10 am-6 pm Mon.-Fri., 9 am-3 pm Sat.
Editor's note: this story has been revised. The original version stated that installations are a flat rate of $2,500. Installation costs actually depend on the project.
