Kitchens x Closets
Why a separate company for each room?
If not working with Dell Anno for your entire kitchen and closet package, yes. You will likely have to work with a kitchen and a closet company.
In this article, we will cover why that happens. Plus, we will show you how to avoid having to work with 2 different companies for your cabinets.
15 years ago, when we owned and operated a local closet franchise, we learned a lot about closets. First, we learned that the closet industry in North America is completely separate from the kitchen and bath industry. This made no sense to us as a consumer because in our minds it should be about consistent storage solutions throughout the home. And this is why, here at Dell Anno, we can design and install closets and kitchens under 1 firm!
The kitchen company x closet company separation happens because of the following reasons:
Skillset
Kitchen and Bath projects require a lot more skill, various trades involved in the execution, more planning time, material inventory management, sophisticated production equipment, and highly skilled installers. It’s a long sales and execution cycle.
Great kitchen and bath designers go through interior design or architectural university training. They have acquired additional certifications from the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the NKBA. Plus, they attend ongoing education sessions in plumbing, electrical, and home appliances to stay on top of all industry and building regulations.
Great kitchen installers are well-paid because they are equipped with their own professional tools. Many installers have accumulated years of problem-solving cabinetry experience on-site. Many are carpenters even and went to woodworking colleges, such as BCIT.
Closets are simpler in the way that they don’t often deal with big electrical, plumbing, and appliance challenges. Building Codes’ impact on Closets is much less than on Kitchen and Bath cabinetry.
Closet designs from closet-only companies have limitations due to production constraints. This means closet designers may or may not have gone to design university, and some learned all their skills on the job. If they’re new to their career or franchise, their skillset, and creativity in designing are limited. If you are lucky you get a good one and that’s awesome. However, many closet designers produce simple designs that focus mainly on functionality and manufacturing feasibility for their franchises.
Closet installers are usually trained on the job and despite having many similar attributes to kitchen installers, are more focused on completing a closet installation within a set of hours allocated so their franchise can maintain the highest possible margins on each project.
Dell Anno has experience with both types of designers and installers.
Materials
In Kitchen companies all possible and currently used materials for cabinetry in the industry are available. From laminated panels or painted materials to wood and plywood and MDF, you name it. You can get them all! It’s the application, functionality, and budget parameters you give us that will guide our designs and recommendations of materials for your project.
In closet companies, there is a limited laminate panel range to keep costs low for homeowners and efficient timelines of production and installation for dealers/franchisees and manufacturers.
These companies focus on the production efficiency of the whole process and delivery, so they can get in, get out, and get paid within 30-60 days max. It’s a fast cash-flow machine, and for this reason, your options are limited and often simpler in material choices. Design customization and sophistication suffer, but hey, if you’re hungry for chicken nuggets, you’re not going to make a reservation in a steak house.
Manufacturing
Large kitchen cabinet manufacturers invest in technology and equipment to handle high-quality cabinet production on a large scale. This investment is large and ongoing, plus maintenance and top talent to operate state-of-the-art CNC and other equipment. Some of the pieces of machinery you will see in a high-end high-volume kitchen cabinet manufacturer are
- Nested base routers (or a beam saw)
- Drilling and Dowling equipment
- Laser or Hot Air edge banders
- Case clamps for cabinet assembly
- Cabinet door manufacturing and finishing
- Automatic finishing systems such as automated paint and stain spraying systems with flash-off and curing tunnels
Large closet franchises also invest in quality manufacturing and production, while small independent ones may not. Both focus on equipment that produces good enough quality for laminate components and won’t have advanced cabinetry-making equipment in their shops. The equipment in their facilities typically includes:
- Nested base routers (or a beam saw)
- Some sort of edge bander, perhaps Hot Air edge banders
Closet companies may not have laser or hot air technology in laminate edge banding for instance, so if and when the product gets exposed to heat from the sun or steam from your bathroom, the edge banding could get compromised and may come apart over time.
“A quick and easy fix” is what many North American homeowners seek and this is why we have so many “C” companies such as Closet Factory, Closets By Design, California Closets, The Designer Closet Guys… They can do your closets with laminate options of finishes and limited design capabilities, all within a few weeks from start to finish. Think of them as the fast food of closet options, MacDonalds for your home! As a former closet franchisee, I know the industry very well.
It is a fact that once you have purchased any closet system in the building or large renovation of your home, you are less likely to upgrade or replace it down the road. You end up “making do” with what you invested.
Any home improvement purchase made with the mindset that it will last a few years is a waste of money. That wire system may have cost $1,000 instead of $10,000 for a properly designed walk-in closet. At the time you decide to replace it is $1,000 that you wasted in “renting” a bad closet system.
Dell Anno provides closets in both kitchen industry standards and closet company standards. For either materials and styles of manufacturing. Having this choice allows our customers the ability to pick and choose where their budget goes, but not go without proper storage systems during their new build or renovation.
Our simple closet product line is called SMART Line. This is a laminate-only line of closet organizers and accessories, which we recommend for all smaller and less important closets in a home. It’s perfect for small reach-in closets, linen closets, mudroom closets, kids’ closets, or when you are focusing on the resale of your home. Schedule a complimentary consultation to get an estimate on Dell Anno’s closets for your project.
