In this post, I review the process of working with the online cabinet company Cliq Studios. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for my thoughts. I am in no way sponsored by or affiliated with the company.
Construction of our minimalist cottage has been moving along at a steady pace. With framing well underway, we are beginning to hit crunch time. Finish selections need to be made and ordered soon. In fact, we have already begun ordering the items that require a longer lead time. The cabinetry included.
We began our kitchen design over a year ago, as documented in this post. At the writing of Part 1, we were fairly confident that we would be using Cliq Studios for our cabinetry. And now that we have placed our order, I can confirm that I was right!
Today I want to share with you how the process of working with Cliq has gone for us so far.
WHY CLIQ STUDIOS?
I encourage you to go back and read Part 1 of this series for the full run-down. Essentially though, our decision to work with Cliq was primarily done because of budget constraints. Simply put – it isn’t cheap to build a house, and if you’re on a budget, something’s got to give!
We were confident that we would be able to attain a custom looking kitchen, for a fraction of the cost.
DESIGNING THE KITCHEN
When I first started the kitchen layout process with Cliq Studios, I was assigned a designer from the company. She was wonderfully patient and held my hand through a lot of revisions. And when I say a lot, I mean, A LOT. If you remember – our kitchen was in a completely different corner of the house at one point! This designer was very responsive, answered all of my questions, and gladly made any changes that I asked of her.
A few months ago, my designer took a job elsewhere and I was transitioned to someone new. This made me a bit nervous, wondering if the new designer would truly understand the ‘vision’ I had for the space.
The great news is – he totally got it!
Our Kitchen
I made a major last minute floor plan revision right around the time that he came on board. He was happy to start fresh with the new kitchen layout, while keeping in mind the design decisions that had already been made.
Our kitchen is roughly 10′-6″ x 13′-6″ and is a basic rectangular shape. It was always my intention to keep the design of the room extremely simple. The showcase of the space is the 1930’s era cast iron sink that we inherited. It will be centered on a large west facing window. Stainless steel appliances will complete the kitchen work triangle.
Because I personally don’t like the way upper cabinets tend to make a kitchen feel heavy and closed in, we opted for open shelving. These shelves will be custom made from trees harvested from our property, and hold the dishes we use on a daily basis. The one upper cabinet that is included in our kitchen design is located above the fridge. It’s depth will be perfect for large roasting pans and rarely used holiday platters.
Other Features
Another favorite thing in our future kitchen is the curved ‘artisian’ range hood. Though Cliq does offer this style, I have found another brand online at a better price. I’m all about finding the best deal.
Our microwave will be a smaller counter style. I would love to get one small enough that we can stash it in the cabinet below when it isn’t in use and keep the counters clear. We actually rarely use a microwave, and I value the counter space more.
As far as where the dishwasher will go… we won’t have one! There are a lot of strange looks when we tell people this. Truthfully though, we have never owned a dishwasher. This is another instance where we value the cabinet space over the appliance. Should we ever change our mind or sell the house, we have cabinets on either side of the sink that would accommodate a smaller model.
TIPS FOR WORKING WITH CLIQ STUDIOS
There are a few difference I have found between working with a custom cabinet maker and Cliq Studios. Should you choose to go the semi-custom route, keep these tips in mind.
Finish choices are limited
Though they offer quite a variety of wood grain and painted finishes, Cliq Studios can’t compete with a custom shop when it comes to selection. Certainly this is, in part, one of the reasons they are able to keep the consumer expenses down. I wanted simple, shaker style white cabinets for our kitchen. The ‘Rockford’ cabinet style, painted in ‘Cloud White’ was the perfect fit for us!
Size matters
Be aware that the more simple you can make the design of your kitchen, the less expensive it will be. Avoid having too many ‘custom’ sized items, which will drive up the cost. For example: The standard base cabinet is 2′-0″ deep. Requesting a cabinet that is 2′-6″ deep OR 1′-6″ deep will cost you more money.
Width of cabinets is another factor to keep in mind. Measurements need to be kept to an even inch, 24″ versus 24 1/2″, for example. I also found that there are max sizes on certain items, such as base drawer units, which don’t go over 3′-0″ wide.
Fillers are your friend
For those tricky spots where one of the standard sizes won’t fit, fillers are your friend. My designer was great about noting where fillers where going to be needed.
There is also the offer of larger side panels, such as those used to enclose a large fridge, for a more built-in look.
Add-on’s are extra
While Cliq studios does offer custom add-on’s such as garbage pull outs and drawer dividers, they are going to cost you extra. I did some research and found that the organization items I wanted could easily be added, after installation, for less. Another bonus of waiting is learning how the kitchen functions. After using it for a while, I may find that those upgraded features aren’t necessary.
Finally, your designer can assist you in selecting counter tops and hardware. Be advised though that the counters are only available through one company, Cambria, which sells a solid surface material. This limits your choices, and they may not have the look you are going for. Drawer pull selection is also limited, and a bit higher priced.
However, if you are fine with fewer options, and like the idea of a ‘one stop shop’ for the entire kitchen design, Cliq Studios can make it happen!
CABINETRY COSTS
After working through the redesign for a few weeks, I finally felt settled and ready to order. I had been given cost updates all along during the process, so the final numbers weren’t any huge surprise to me. Because I know that it might be helpful for someone reading this review to see the actual costs associated with ordering cabinets, I am sharing the break down of expenses.
Included in the kitchen
(2) 3′-0″ x 3′-0″ corner lazy susan cabinets
(2) 1′-9″ x 2′-0″ drawer bases
(1) 3′-0″ x 2′-0″ standard base cabinet
(3) 1′-6″ x 2′-0″ standard base cabinets
(1) 3′-0″ x 2′-0″ upper cabinet
(1) tall side panel for fridge
(2) cabinet doors + pieces to make a custom cabinet for under the farmhouse sink
Various filler pieces
TOTAL COST: $5,242
As a result of this wonderful cost savings, we were able to add a few additional cabinets. Both for the mud/laundry room and a small snack station for the basement family room.
Included in the laundry room
(2) 2′-6″ x 2′-0″ standard base cabinets
(2) 2′-6″ x 3′-0″ upper cabinets
side panels for both
TOTAL COST: $1,555
Included in the snack station
(1) 2′-0″ x 2′-0″ standard base cabinet
(2) 2′-0″ x 3′-6″ upper cabinets
side panels and filler piece
TOTAL COST: $913
OVERALL COST for our Cliq Studios cabinet order: $7,710. When ordering, the taxes for our zip code were calculated. This added an additional $500 to our cost. Being able to get such a large number of plywood construction cabinets, with soft close drawers, for that price was a steal!
NEXT STEPS
Because I wanted to make sure that we didn’t hold up the process at all, I ordered our cabinets well in advance. Notice came just the other day that the cabinets are in production and should be shipped mid August! Unfortunately we won’t be quite ready for them yet. They need to be delivered to a climate controlled house, and I can’t guarantee that at this point.
Worried that this could cause a problem, I contacted our designer and asked if there was any way to delay shipment. He asked around and was able to confirm that the shipping company can offer us a 30 day extension should we not be ready to receive the cabinets. After that point we would be charged a rate of $50 per month for them to store the shipment. Certainly, this gives us peace of mind!
Overall, so far we have been very pleased with Cliq Studios! Be sure to check back for Part 3 – when I discuss delivery, installation, and my thoughts about the overall quality of the cabinetry!
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