Brave Element

We have arrived at the end of this journey, and I could not be more pleased with the outcome ✨

This kitchen was beautifully designed by and installed by the best in the biz (me ofc) - after a rocky start, arriving to the jobsite on the scheduled start date only to find I had no materials, in a panic I had to make a lot of phone calls, pleading for favors and rearranging my schedule.

Once the dust settled, and the materials arrived, I was able to get to work and I think we created a mid-century-inspired masterpiece 👨🏼‍🎨

Thank you Shannon and Ryan for trusting me with your home and letting me pour my heart into my work with you ❤️

🚨 I need everyone to stop what they are doing right now and join me in basking in the glory of how PERFECT this installation is 🚨

One thing that reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy grinds my gears is when installers can’t be bothered to dial in the door & drawer front adjustments to create a beautiful visual of straight and clean lines….

1 like = 1 celebratory marg for me

I’ve been dying to share this with you guys… For years we have been combating the most common question that we receive in the planning stages of a remodel: “what does an average kitchen cost?”

The answer is simple: “There is no average kitchen.” - What is average to one person’s perspective is not average to another’s. We all have different preferences, expectations, priorities and budgets… I’ve gotten myself into hot water more times than I care to admit, by trying to appease our clients and come up with a number that I think an average kitchen might cost, and no matter how many times I have said “you can’t hold me to this number because you might have different expectations than average” sure enough we go over the fake number they created in their head, and the result is, they are mad at me.

Well that comes to an end now…. My team and I created a guide to help determine where your expectations will lie and if we are a good fit for your project. We designed 3 kitchens, all in the same exact footprint, starting with streamlined, accessible finishes all from ikea, stepping up to a mid-range of upgrades without getting too crazy, all the way up to about as custom as you can get while still using ikea cabinets as a base for your kitchen…

Each tier shows a total price for the kitchen displayed, including ALL fees from materials, to labor, tax and delivery… even credit card fees! This is all-in pricing with nothing to hide. And the BEST part is, we broke it down to a “per linear foot” cost, to help you determine how much you can expect to invest on your own project, so you can adjust accordingly based on your budget.

I’m so proud of this guide that we made and we have already put this into practice with great success… you can find this on our website under “cost examples” and we will also have printed versions of these for you to have when you come visit us at our Georgetown Studio.

Thanks for looking and please share with your friends who are considering ikea for their upcoming projects!

You went through a full on kitchen remodel with new cabinets, new counters and you splurged for a “panel ready” or “integrated” dishwasher….. but….. your dishwasher doesn’t actually look integrated…. Here’s why:

- first and foremost, it’s lack of care from the tradespeople who are responsible for it looking integrated… a plumber (typically) has no interest in the final aesthetic of your dishwasher. Their job is to make sure it is properly plumbed and functions with no leaks… your cabinet installer (who isn’t me) doesn’t understand the importance of proper placement of the door panel sitting on the dishwasher door, and usually tries to get this done as quickly as possible

- your floor is not level. Ever. IDGAF if you paid your flooring person to level the floor. They didn’t. It is not level. You got played. It takes proper care, attention to detail, and lots of patience to adjust the dishwasher to perfect alignment, especially when the floor is super out of whack…. Instead of pushing through, your tradesperson passes the buck and says “it’s not my problem”

- your counter installer used a perforated metal strip at the top of the cut out in place of where a plywood sub top would have been 10 years ago…. Most counters nowadays do not require a sub top, and it seems as if counter installers do not understand that integrated dishwashers can and should be mounted from the sides. This metal strip restricts the dishwasher from rising to the proper height.

- your custom cabinet door company didn’t supply you with the correct size door panel. Appliances will come with specs with a range of sizes for the door panel. Custom door companies will supply you with the smallest size of this range unless otherwise specified…. If you are using ikea cabinets, the DW door panel should be 23-7/8 x 29-78

- Ultimately, everyone involved from start to finish overlooked the details in their portion of your project that would give you the best results…. This is easily one of the most avoidable issues to remedy, simply by CARING about your clients and the over all quality of their new kitchen.

Also I recommend using Bosch for your new DW. They rule.

📍Vancouver, WA

This one deserves a hard post for SURE…

A few years ago these fine folks had a beautiful custom home built on Mercer Island. The builder leaned on using Sektion cabinets with custom fronts…. You know very well I think that’s a great idea…

HOWEVER! - unfortunately they seriously lacked experience in design using ikea, as well as how to order the correct sizing in custom fronts…

To make things worse, they brought in subs to install who had no experience in using IKEA… After being completely exhausted from fighting with the builder, they conceded to hire a separate contractor to fix & finish this kitchen…. Wouldn’t you know it…… THAT contractor also couldn’t get the job done…

Feeling defeated, the clients came back to Semihandmade to ask for some advice and THANK GOD the advice given to them was “You should call Wes”

They did, and here we are, with a beautiful and complete kitchen, the way it was meant to look all along… I’ll spare you the very long list of all the repairs, replacements, adjustments, etc that we had to make to get this up to par, but let me tell you what, it was a JOURNEY…

I’m REALLY proud of my work here and I hope they love their new kitchen now that I have worked my magic 🙂‍↔️