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Extreme Kitchens

 

The exotic, the one of a kind, the money is no object kind of kitchen.

For those of you who are enjoying the perks of a newly designed kitchen, this may not come as big news, but for the rest of the world it may be shocking to know that a new kitchen can cost as much as a new car!  Some people may be happy with a compact kitchen that costs about $10,000; others may prefer a luxury kitchen and will spend from $50,000 to $150,000.  But what about those who want The exotic, the one of a kind, the money is no object kind of kitchen?  (Yes, I’m still talking about kitchens!)

 

Years ago, when I was new in the kitchen industry, I met an old kitchen designer from Los Angeles who designed a kitchen for the Warners; the Warners, as in Time-Warner.  Bill, the old kitchen designer, told me that forty-something years ago the Warner kitchen cost $1,200,000!  I simply couldn’t believe it…How could one kitchen cost that much, especially that long ago?

 

Bill explained: “First of all, the kitchen was the size of a football field.  Secondly, everything was done to the max:  handcrafted cabinetry, hand-carved moldings, gold-plated faucets, custom-made French stoves, and on and on.”  I remember thinking to myself, “Am I ever going to be so fortunate as to be involved in a project like that?”

 

Well, years have passed and our firm has grown bigger and has gotten better. We have won national design awards, our projects have been featured on the covers of numerous national magazines, and we were chosen this year as the Top Design Firm in Customer Value by a national panel of consumers.  As a result of this growth and recognition, high-end, special projects are now coming our way.  From Saddle River to Alpine, from San Francisco to the Bahamas, more and more customers are commissioning us to create the exotic, the one of a kind, the money is no object projects in the best of places.

A kitchen we completed in North Carolina that was featured on the cover of a national magazine has imported enameled lava counter tops. Priced well over $30,000, the lava tops are only a fraction of the total project cost.

A few times a year we install custom-made French stoves for our clients. They start at around $15,000 and can go up to almost $100,000 each!

A North Jersey kitchen we did has a mural ceiling, painted by a renowned artist. These murals are becoming popular and can cost as much as someone’s entire kitchen.

 The rule of thumb ia that the kitchen is about 10% of the cost of your home. So, if someone yu know lives in a $12 million home, maybe they have one of those Warner-like kitchens. In the mean time, i’m still waiting for the Warners to remodel.