As we all know, interest rates are low … so it’s an excellent time to buy a new home or do those renovations you’ve been dreaming of for so long. So you make up your mind and then what?  I had an opportunity to speak with Sunny Buttar, president of Team Wood Kitchens, and he offered some excellent insight as to what to look for when choosing a cabinet company and what to look out for when building, as well as the State of the Industry from a safety perspective.

So many cabinet builders … how to choose? According to Mr. Buttar you should make sure that the company has been around for some time because ‘there are some fly-by-night outfits that don’t finish the job or use inferior materials but still take your money’.  He went on to talk about meeting with the owner of the cabinet company to look over their marketing materials … ‘If the company hasn’t taken the time to create a portfolio to show you, then you have to wonder if they will take the proper time to build your kitchen’.  And he also made a point of saying that ‘it is a good idea to go to their facility and see how professional the company is’.

It became evident upon a tour of his facility and showroom that he practices what he preaches. Their facility was well layed out, clean, and busy, busy, busy.  But what really impressed me was that after going over their design pamphlet and on-line portfolio, he suggested to me that I sit down with a member of his team and create a 3D rendering of my ideas so I could actually see my kitchen before building it!  So I did.  After perusing thru their large showroom, I sat down at the computer for an hour (which was quite exciting), and was then handed a colour print-out of my dream kitchen.  I’m no interior designer … but it looked pretty good.

Before leaving I asked Sunny about his thoughts with regards to the state of safety in the cabinet industry. He proceeded to inform me that the industry has come a long way to improving the safety of its workers.  It is now common practice to ensure that painters wear the appropriate breathing masks so as not to inhale the toxic chemicals as well as trying to make sure that the work place is kept clean as there are many machines constantly going and air hoses that could be tripped over.

After introducing me to his office team, all of which have been with the company for many years, he shook my hand and gave me a design pamphlet/portfolio to take home. I got into my car and sat there with only one thought in my head …  maybe today I will make an appointment with my banker!