Crossroads vision of making luxury affordable for fine custom cabinetry has never been more exciting. Crossroads Custom 
Cabinetry™ presents a new class of customization for kitchen cabinets that simply puts kitchen and bath luxury within reach of the average household in America. The perfect option for homeowners who want it all—their kitchen can now include furniture grade quality, high performance, and ability to customize as with fully custom—but without the premium pricing of fully custom cabinetry.
Keeping with our commitment of making premium quality cabinetry widely available at greatly reduced prices, Crossroads brings an appreciation for the intricate world of fine cabinetry crafting together material, color, premium finish and distressing techniques to achieve kitchen and bath interiors inherent in well-designed homes.
Standard Custom Luxury Features Make the Difference
1. Size customizable in all dimensions (heights, depths, and widths) This capability carries great significance for optimizing a room’s configuration and addressing situations with overall construction plans that may otherwise compromise the best solution for your kitchen. Just as fully custom cabinetry is made to fit exactly each kitchen plan, Crossroads ability to customize sizes across each key dimension ensures that cabinet specifications can accommodate the design or maximize the space of the kitchen; without compromise, and without the expense fully custom demands.
2. Crossroads Custom Finishes™ (CCF™) Similar to fully custom in its ability to capture the timeless qualities of fine antique furniture, CCF represents an in-depth understanding of what consumers’ desire and what is consistent with sound design principles. Many of Legend's doors are handcrafted with carefully chosen old world finish techniques similar to what can only be found with the most exclusive fully custom brands, but Crossroads CCF presents something altogether different when it comes to making these custom finish qualities affordable; for example, antiquing applications including custom glaze on selected options come at no extra charge. 
3. Crossroads MaxiDepth™ Wall Cabinets A rare find in cabinet making practices today, 13” wall cabinet depths are only available with very exclusive cabinet makers. MaxiDepth is a great example of how intimate we are with today’s consumer preferences as it provides just the right space needed for larger serving pieces and plates, over size glassware; and for bookcases, it will allow you to stand larger size binders and oversize books. Previously available only to the wealthy, Crossroads brings a level of affordability never seen before by including this luxury feature in our standard set of offerings.
4. Standard Quality Features Crossroads Custom Cabinetry features solid maple dovetail drawers. Providing more storage capacity and efficiency, full extension drawers offer a “locking joint,” which improves joint stability - just one of many reasons dovetail construction is so desirable. The luxuries don’t stop there, our standard issue Blumotion® hardware redefines the term “quality of motion” and its automatic self adjustment to the size, weight, and closing speed of each door and drawer ensures silent, graceful and effortless closing.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry represents carefully selected designer series styles that match most aesthetic requirement and décor preference while ensuring optimal functionality and usable luxury for the home. With these select values conspicuously absent from cabinetry offered through today’s mass market channels, Crossroads is unique as both its Flagship Legend Designer Series and European inspired Beyond Series are manufactured at a level of refinement that are of luxury quality belonging only to the finest in custom cabinetry, yet unparalleled in terms of their affordability.
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Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
Carrying a true sense of nobility, traditional cherry kitchens have the properness and elegance that characterized the formal American homes throughout the 18th century. Today, cherry kitchen cabinets are a regular fixture in Eastern estates as well as stately historical homes, none more prominent than the White House. Cherry cabinets, on the other hand, are equally at home with more casual interiors including the popular rustic design motif.
Cherry wood is prized for its natural luster, rich coloring, and grain pattern characteristics that make each project unique and literally, one of a kind. For Americans yearning for historical roots and authenticity in their home's interior, cherry cabinetry continues to be one of the most sought after choices. Affectionately the ‘wood lover's choice', cherry wood cabinets are for those who desire all of the warmth, beauty and variety that a natural cherry wood can offer.
When choosing cherry kitchen cabinets, Select Cherry provides a high quality grade of hardwood that is relied upon to be free of blemishes and defects while presenting a harmonic composition that can only be derived from the natural occurring characteristics found in Mother Nature.
Cherry wood provides a great variety of choices in color as well as regular and knotty grains. Cherry is a beautiful wood that has an impressive look of depth where the subtle shades and hues of color seem to originate from deep within.
Working wonderfully with several finishes, cherry is often finished in lighter brownish stains and is very popular in natural which will "mellow" with age and exposure to light giving it its rich patina. Old world, cabinetry artisans use these wood variations in color and grain to create other unique cherry cabinets in a variety of finishes including natural cherry with a clear coating, medium brown and rich Bordeaux.
There is a phenomenon with natural Mahogany wood, where the term is commonly used to describe a color rather than the actual wood itself. Similarly, many ‘inaccurately' associate cherry wood with reddish stains even when applied to other woods such as maple, fir, and other common hardwoods.
A popular choice since Colonial America, fine furniture grade custom cabinetry made from solid cherry wood never goes out of style. When you see, touch and experience the warmth and authenticity of true cherry kitchen cabinets, you will understand why it's said that "you never really own a cherry wood kitchen, you merely look after it until the next generation."
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
Blum is recognized as one of the the finest door and drawer hardware makers in the world. For fine custom kitchen cabinets, Blumotion redefines the term “quality of motion” as its premium running mechanisms and soft-closing hinges never fail to impress with their automatic self adjustment to the size, weight and closing speed of doors and drawers.
Ergonomically designed to make kitchen work fun, Blum integrates its cutting edge technology for unsurpassed running action drawers even when fully loaded; and with its full-extension, you can view all of the drawer contents including those in the furthest corners. Blum represents the finest in German precision-engineering with its integrated breaking system—soft-closing technology ensuring silent, graceful and effortless closing. With Crossroads soft-close Blumotion door and drawer systems, each time a door or drawer is closed, the customer will be reminded of the exceptional quality of their cabinets.
With Blum technology standard across Crossroads door and drawer systems including Blum TandemBox, Blum MetaBox, and Blum Aventos Lift so you can enjoy the Blum experience throughout your kitchen.
See for yourself how Blum's soft-close cabinets at Webinetry.com whispers 'quality' every time you open or close a drawer.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
If you find all wood cabinetry beautiful and hesitate to make a decision to purchase cherry kitchen cabinets based on appearance alone, understanding that each wood species has its own history, degree of beauty, and natural characteristics may help you to make the right custom cabinet choice for your home.
Today we'll discuss cherry wood and the unique properties that make it such a popular choice for craftsman, carvers, artists and homeowners alike.
Cherry Wood Origins
"My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!'' Augustine Washington to his young son, George Washington, after the future leader admits to destroying a beloved cherry tree with his hatchet.
Though the use of cherry wood in custom cabinetry, floors, and wood carving is as steeped in American legend as baseball and apple pie, most of the world's cherry lumber does not actually come from the North American species George Washington made famous. In fact, most of the cherry lumber sold annually throughout the world comes from tropical cherry trees which are generally bigger than our domestic trees, making them easier to harvest - i.e., more widely available and less expensive.
Whether from tropical climates abroad or those found here at home, intensive tree management is necessary to produce quality cherry logs. The extra care required to grow cherry trees, coupled with the limited availability of American black cherry in comparison to tropical cherry trees, results in a more costly end product for the consumer - making cherry wood one of the most highly prized and finest choices in home décor.
Cherry Wood Characteristics
While it is a hardwood, cherry wood is considered a moderate hardwood by comparison to the hardest woods, like hickory, pecan, white oak or Brazilian teak. (Hardness is measured by how many pounds of pressure it takes to mar the wood). Cherry wood is strong and has excellent shock resistance.
The grain patterns in cherry wood are more unusual than its hardwood counterparts, with prominent gum streaks, pin knots, curls, and random swirls. Unusual patterns do not make cherry wood rough; cherry wood grain is exceptionally tight and smooth, often described by woodworkers as "satin-like". Its finishing qualities are unsurpassed, as stains and finishes apply easily to the smooth finish.
Cherry Kitchen Cabinets
Cherry was used as early as 400 B.C. by the Greeks and Romans for furniture making. Colonial cabinetmakers favored cherry wood, and thus, cherry became the signature wood for Shaker, Mission and country styles.
Cherry works wonderfully with several finishes, but is often finished in lighter brownish stains, as it will darken with age and exposure to light, to bring out the charming and unique grains favored by artisans.
For more information about natural cherry kitchen cabinets with clear coating, medium brown and rich Bordeaux finishes, as well as our custom kitchen cabinets, please refer to my previous blog: Cherry Kitchen Cabinets: Merely looking after them for the next generation.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
What you need to know about custom cabinet shops.
Before the advent of the industrial revolution, the cabinet maker was responsible for making every piece of furniture. Even as the traditional cabinet shop ceased to be the main source for fine custom cabinets in the new world, Americans have always yearned for historic roots; consequently, the traditional cabinet maker remains an important part of the fabric of American culture. Cabinet shops exemplify the fine wood working traditions from centuries past as cabinet craftsmen possess very technical, concise skill needed to create unique furniture grade cabinetry for the home.
Fully Custom Cabinetry Built to Last a Lifetime
Custom cabinet shops pride themselves in designing and making fully custom, built-to-order cabinetry that provides everything that money can buy in a cabinet for quality design and performance. With the intention to employ only the finest materials, finishes, and hardware available, custom cabinetry is built to last a lifetime with all of the time-honored and hand crafted embellishments that represent a true investment in a home.
Contrary to what some have predicted, the custom cabinet maker has not become obsolete as a result of the big-box who was supposedly going to eventually outsmart the local shop. However, the small business can learn a lot from large manufacturers. In a clever article, titled “Has the Custom Cabinet Shop Become a Dinosaur?” the writer details some of the advantages that a large manufacturer has over the custom cabinet shop and offers tips to adapt and survive. He stresses that one of the key advantages of a cabinet shop stems from the idea that buying cabinets and custom woodwork is often a very personalized procedure, and a custom cabinet maker can help their customers feel that they are part of a relationship-based process, rather than just buying product.
As important investment as a work of art, a custom cabinet maker can transform artistry and refinement of old-world craft into beautifully sculpted cabinetry for your home.
What about Disadvantages?
With all of the advantages inherent in well made fully custom kitchen cabinets, one might begin to wonder 'why wouldn’t everyone have them?' As with any luxury that has been reserved for the affluent class, preferring to have them and having them are two different things for the average person. Therefore, with full appreciation of the time-honored wood working traditions of the custom cabinet shop, the disadvantages primarily relate to the cost and time to produce their product.
Typically not relying on economies of scale, innovations in production or speedy delivery times, fully custom shops also may not have certain factory technologies such as specialized baking ovens to seal the finish with a modern catalytic top coat proven to create a durable protection against scuffing, dents, and fading to name only a few.
Fully custom cabinets are indeed the crème de la crème with unlimited possibilities to satisfy the most discerning of customers; they come with a premium however, as fully custom cabinetry is by far the most expensive option and lifetime warranties may not be included.
Stay tuned in the next few weeks as we examine lumber yards and finally Webinetry.com, the best place to start your remodel project and only only source for fine custom cabinetry on the web. You will discover why Webinetry.com is receiving such a warm welcome for making the luxury of fine cabinetry affordable for everyone.
Subscribe today as in the end, you will be able to download a complete comparison guide with a side-by-side comparison chart of all the places to buy kitchen cabinets to help you determine the best place for you to buy your dream kitchen.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
Why did Grandma paint her kitchen cabinets? Was it to freshen up the look of the room, to dramatically alter the look of an area she spent so much time in, or simply to match the new kitchen curtains she'd sewed herself? It may have been those reasons and more. To give her full credit, Grandma may have known that a painted cabinet is easy to clean, an inexpensive way to remodel, a clever way to circumvent traditional wooden cabinets, and that they would provide a bright, contemporary appeal in her space.
Today, painting one's kitchen cabinets is still an inexpensive option to improve the look of a kitchen, but there are innovative, affordable custom cabinetry options that will accomplish the same goal with a more stylish and convenient modern appeal.
Contemporary Style that Lasts
Thermofoil kitchen cabinets give the appearance of a painted cabinet, minus the brushstrokes and drips. And unlike your grandma's painted cabinet, quality thermofoil cabinets are resistant to moisture, so they defy cracking and peeling after a few years of steamy meals cooked on the stovetop. Made by heat-fusing a thin layer of vinyl onto a substrate material, thermofoil cabinetry is a popular option for those who loved the uniform, "less is more" look of their grandmother's kitchens.
Easy to Maintain, High-End Look
A snap to clean with a swipe of mild dish soap and water, thermofoil cabinets brighten any kitchen with a contemporary, clean look and come in a variety of colors Grandma couldn't imagine - picture glossy, bright, lacquer-like enamel finishes in black, red or crisp apple green to replace Grandma's traditional country blue. These are stylish colors that last, perfect for those who wish to avoid the chore of repainting every few years. Given their ease of maintenance and high-end look, they are a popular choice of builders, remodelers and "house-flippers" alike!
Versatile
With a highly stylized kitchen cabinet, such as a metallic or textured design, changing the overall look of the room without changing the cabinets may be a challenge. Thermofoil kitchen cabinets are a bit sneakier - their clean lines can blend into a traditional kitchen with vintage accessories or a modern space with contemporary elements. For example, one can take their bold red thermofoil cabinets from a Euro design, complete with their stainless steel appliances and modern fixtures, to a fun, kitschy "Coca Cola" room with vintage accessories. Your interior decorator might cringe at the thought of going from Euro-chic to Coca Cola-inspired, but your real estate agent will celebrate your forethought in choosing a style easy for future owners to make their own!
If you're looking to remodel or build for the first time and have your heart set on the perfect country kitchen, thermofoil kitchen cabinets might not be the choice for you. Real wooden cabinets with rich grains and textures might be more your style. But if clean lines and vibrant colors, in conjunction combination with affordability and easy maintenance, are in your sights, consider thermofoil contemporary kitchen cabinets and leave the paint brush to Grandma.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
If you are talking about your mood, the economy or even a house, it is difficult to imagine the word distressing in a positive light. But in the world of fine old world furnishings, custom cabinetry can bring an antique, heirloom quality to a home's interior.
So, let's begin by changing our mindset on the term itself.
Without the actual aid of time, distressing is a process of staining or physically altering the wood characteristic to create an aged look. Done correctly, it appears to have occured naturally through the passage of time.
Stain Distressing and Physical distressing represent time-honored techniques typically reserved for fine custom cabinetry making.
Why?
Many of the finishing and distressing characteristics have been developed over the centuries, but are rarely used practices in today's cabinet making industry as they involve time-consuming and expensive processes. Finally, with the rise of the middle class worldwide and state-of-the-art machine technologies that can produce distressing affects en masse, these finish options are now available to the typical homeowner today who is looking to upgrade their kitchen interior.
Paint/Stain Distressing Techniques
Paint/Stain Distressing Techniques
Designed to enhance and the natural beauty of the wood, paint and stain strategy includes features such as Burnishing, Hand Padding, Washed Paint, Speck Distressing, Cow Tailing, and finish Glazing.
True to old world quality artisanship, each of these multi-step processes represent a delicate piece of carpentry that demonstrates a steady hand for detail and spirit that goes into these processes. Applying a quality, long lasting finish is both an art and a science as subtle hues are blended together to create a softer, more sophisticated look while ensuring optimum clarity and feel.
Here is description of the most popular paint and staining techniques -
Glazing - A semi-transparent tinted top coat applied over a painted or stained finish. Glazing is typically available in three glazes: Dark (Black), Medium (Brown) or Light (Charcoal)
Burnishing - A stain technique used on edges and profile to darken the finish giving the look of having been burned.
Hand Padding - A technique by which paint is blotted on the stained or painted surface with a cloth to create a sun faded look which occurs over time.
Cow Tailing - A paint technique where a paint brush is used to create random streaks of paint giving a rustic appearance to the finish.
Washed Paint - A dry brush paint technique that applies a darker paint over an opaque painted finish to create a striated or streaked effect.
Speck Paint / Speck Distressing - A paint technique where paint is flicked across the surface producing random specks/splats on the stained or painted surface. Also known as Fly Speck.
Stay tuned as next time, I will describe what incredible physical distressing techniques are available with today's cabinet making.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
What You Need to Know about Online Cabinet Sites
Online cabinet retailers have sprung up over the last decade across many industries initially to help companies better communicate who they are and what they have to offer. Comparing with with other places to buy kitchen cabinets, online cabinet providers offer the monetary advantages of not having to fund stand-alone showrooms, pay for traditional advertising or carry excess inventory – all savings which they can pass on to their customers. Online sites primarily provide stock or ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinetry that is mass produced in a limited number of door styles and wood species. As a result, the speed of delivery and price are the greatest advantages offered. You will need to know exactly what you want, provide accurate measurements, and it is advised that you thoroughly review the return and restocking terms if what you’ve ordered is not delivered to your specifications.
If you are searching for stock or RTA cabinetry, a reputable online provider may be right for you. However, you must be careful that the site has been modernized to ensure accurate communications and secure information sharing, particularly with any sensitive personal data. As far as quality of product is concerned, if you are a homeowner who plans on living at your residence for many years, a higher class of
custom cabinetry would simply be a better choice. And, if you desire personalized service, realize that you get what you pay for with online providers of stock cabinetry.
When it comes to selling built-to-order
cabinetry on the web as with any luxury product, delivering great customer experiences cannot be an afterthought. If an internet company does not have the service architecture in place behind the site, then they are relegated to either disappointing their customers, or selling low risk, off the shelf products as described. Also on the positive side, if a made-to-order brand asks whether they should spend scarce funds on opening another store or launching a print advertising campaign, the Internet wins every time.
Stay tuned in the next few weeks as we examine custom cabinet shops, lumber yards, and finally Webinetry.com, your only source for fine custom cabinetry on the web. In the end, you will be able to download a complete comparison guide with a side-by-side comparison chart to help you determine the best place for you to buy your kitchen cabinets.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
Big-Box Home CentersMaking their presence known in just about every community since the late seventies, these well-recognized retail centers offer a broad set of cabinetry such as in stock, ready-to-assemble (RTA), and semi-custom classifications. Relying on tremendous amounts of consumer research data that keeps them abreast of satisfaction levels and where customers' demands are going to be, home centers carry respected and trusted brands that are best suited to meet the wide variety of tastes, budgets, and preferences of their shoppers. Big-box stores are conveniently located within most centers of population in the U.S. with convenient store hours and delivery options.
As summarized in a report by Columbian University on the advantages and concerns of Big-Box retailers, Home centers provide a broad range of price points for different home improvement budgets; however, the U.S. Census Bureau recently reported average markups for retail sales, and the percentage remains quite significant for home furnishings. For stock cabinetry at the home center, your style choices are limited to what is readily available at the store; out-of-stock units can delay your project. Home centers' semi-custom brands offer some cabinet luxury feature options such as glazing, soft-close hardware, and architectural detailing, but are considered significant upgrades to their starting prices. For semi-custom cabinets, you must also realize that your options to satisfy unusual applications, spaces, or personal tastes are limited.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.
Whether you're building a new home or remodeling a kitchen or bath, shopping for good quality cabinetry can be overwhelming. With so many design styles, material grades, finishes and options, it can be difficult to know whether custom cabinets, off-the-shelf solutions from a big-box store - or something in between - will suit your lifestyle, budget and your rooms' needs.
In this series, we will examine the pros and cons of the following seven places to buy across a wide variety of criteria that will help you make your final decisions with confidence.
- Big-Box Home Centers
- Kitchen and Bath Dealerships
- Members-Only Retailers
- Online Cabinet Sites
- Custom cabinet shops
- Lumber Yards
- Webinetry.com
Your selection of ‘Where to Buy' can make a dramatic difference in the price, quality of product, level of service, and price. So, before you reach a point where you can confidently make a final purchasing decision for your new kitchen cabinets, this blog will help inform you about how these different places can impact your budget, the quality of the cabinets, the cabinet design, and your willingness, in terms of time, to wait for your cabinets to be delivered.
Crossroads Custom Cabinetry redefines the U.S. cabinet industry by making premium quality, custom cabinets widely available at greatly reduced prices. Crossroads' team of professionals are dedicated to empowering the home improvement consumer community with superior products at factory direct prices. Webinetry.com is a completely new channel ushering in a new era for the way today's American consumer can research, preview, budget, and finalize their cabinet purchasing decisions online.