Cabinet Refacing, Refinishing & Painting in Evanston

Evanston is a lakefront city on the North Shore, just north of Chicago, home to Northwestern University and one of the richest, most varied collections of architecture of any suburb around. Cabinet painting, refacing, and refinishing are what we specialize in, not a service tacked onto general contracting, and that specialty is exactly what an Evanston kitchen calls for. It has a real urban-suburban feel, with a walkable downtown, tree-lined streets, and blocks lined with beautiful old homes in a dozen different styles. The kitchens inside them deserve cabinet work that respects the house rather than fighting it.

The homes in Evanston

Evanston's houses are remarkably varied. You will find grand Victorians and Queen Annes, greystones, Prairie and Craftsman homes, Foursquares, and bungalows, most built between the late 1800s and the 1930s, standing side by side on the city's tree-lined streets. Kitchens in homes this age usually keep their original footprint, set long before open floor plans, which puts a premium on a smart layout and a finish that makes the space feel brighter and more current without erasing the character the house is known for.

Matching the color to the architecture

With this much architecture to work with, the cabinetry has to fit the room. A painted Shaker in white, off-white, sage, or a soft historic tone suits the Victorians, Craftsman homes, and greystones beautifully, and keeping a stained island or a run of real wood in the mix honors the woodwork these homes were built with. There is usually room for a two-tone look as well, a painted perimeter with a stained white oak or walnut island that adds warmth and depth. A designer consultation comes with every sizable project. Together you land on a cabinet color that works with your floors, your trim, your light, and the age of the home.

Older kitchens, and the quirks we plan for

Genuinely old homes come with genuinely old-home quirks, and planning for them up front is the whole game. Cabinets settle over a century of a house shifting, hardware gets painted over through decades of touch-ups, and there are often layers of old finish to work through. Where the cabinetry is solid real wood, and in these homes it frequently is, the boxes usually have good bones, which makes them strong candidates for refinishing to bring the grain back, or for refacing or a fresh painted finish. You keep the layout and the character you love and put the work into the surfaces you see and touch every day. All of it gets noted at the first walkthrough, so nothing catches you off guard mid-project.

More than the kitchen in an Evanston home

Older homes tend to have more woodwork worth caring for than just the kitchen. A lot of Evanston projects grow to take in a butler's pantry, a mudroom, an office, a built-in hutch, or vanities throughout, all finished to match so the house reads as one considered whole. Evanston is a straightforward run up from the Fulton shop in Pilsen, well within the service area, so getting a crew to your street is simple. Expectations get set from the very beginning, and from the first coat to the last, the only job is to meet them and exceed them.