Hobel Woodworking may be the best cabinet shop in the Bay Area.
Bryan, the founder, owner, and master craftsman that operates the shop, has over four decades of experience developing custom cabinetry. His gift with design, coupled with a deep desire to create the most robust furniture in the most efficient manner possible, leads to outcomes that are simply untenable through other shops.
Our project was designed in the craftsman style. However, given the unique contours of our home, our project required some creative adjustments. For example, we had a small kitchen that was closed in by four walls with a door on either side, and we didn't have the scope to start "knocking down walls" for a complete remodel. Bryan, who has worked on everything from new construction to full-scale rebuilds to matching existing antique cabinets, suggested we widen the door openings (which was very easy), and then designed cabinets that wrapped around the new (wider) door openings into the adjacent room.
The result was amazing: instead of a boxed-in kitchen in a 1946 house, we now have an eat-in kitchen complete with a breakfast nook and a bar to transition to the dining room. And it's not the kitchen cabinets that stand out but, rather, the entire house that suddenly flows together as an integrated unit. (The cabinets are the highlight though.)
As for the cabinetry itself? Forged from quarter sawn oak--something I had not previously heard of but which happens to be beautiful, inexpensive and, as it were, bulletproof--the cabinets are impressive. Dovetailed drawers, door frames interlocked via intricate joinery, German hardware, and clean lines all around. This custom kitchen will outlast the house.
And then there's the detail. Bryan designed the cabinets to fit perfectly around the various appliances we had selected, but also made recommendations along the way to ensure that nothing was overlooked. He let us know in advance where we would need to have gas and electricity installed, as well as what size range hood would create the appropriate proportions relative to our stove and countertop. He also explained that a backsplash would look very nice and would not be very expensive. Bryan even had the intuition to recommend a unified color scheme for the cabinets, backsplash, and countertop that would seamlessly meld together with the rest of the house. None of these recommendations bore relevance to his prices--it was free advice that a typical cabinetmaker simply couldn't offer. But it was advice that ultimately proved invaluable to the final product, a product which our family now relies upon every single day.
My experience could not have been better. For what we received, the prices could not be beaten. I recommend Bryan and Hobel Woodworking without reservation. read more
