Claremont School Board Chairman, John Napsey (also a Crown Point Employee) presents Matt Day with his high school diploma

The 3rd Annual Crown Point Cabinetry Scholarship was recently awarded to local graduating senior, Matt Day. The scholarship was established in 2007 to help one local student continue his or her education in the field of general construction, home engineering or interior design.  As the recipient of the 2009 scholarship, Matt will receive a check in the amount of $1,000 toward his first year of higher education.

Graduating in the top 10 of his class, Matt is a well-rounded three-season athlete who is very focused on his education and career goals. In the fall of 2009, Matt will be attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.  He plans to study engineering and also wants to play football.

Matt is all smiles standing alongside his girlfriend, Marissa Lockerby, on graduation day

Congratulations, Matt!  We wish you the best of luck at school!

The Crown Point Cabinetry Charity Committee, a rotating group of employees which distributes employee donations to local charities and other causes, established the scholarship to support a high school student intending to continue his higher education in the general construction field. Other requirements included a grade point average of 2.5 or higher, a written essay and an interview with Crown Point Cabinetry Charity Committee Members.

After months of trials and stress tests, Crown Point Cabinetry is proud to offer Estate Eggshell, the newest line of the finest quality interior paints from world renowned color experts Farrow & Ball! This hand-applied, high performance finish provides an eco-friendly alternative to traditional oil-based finishes-and, it’s stunning!

With colorful names like Cinder Rose, Borrowed Light and Elephant’s Breath, we are offering the new Farrow & Ball finishes in addition to  Old Fashioned Milk Paint,  Classic Paint and Stain finishes.  And, because we’re now a stockist for Farrow & Ball paints, you can purchase additional paints to precisely match any interior woodwork to your cabinetry!

Read more about the extremely durable, traditionally prepared Estate Eggshell paint finishes (in 132 different colors!) and even play around with virtual paint swatches here!

A great way to raise funds for charity is to organize a kitchen tour, opening up a handful of well-designed kitchens to the public for a small entry fee.  Several times a year, Crown Point kitchens are featured in tours like this around the country.   Most recently, the stunning kitchen above was featured in the 5th Annual Palace Theatre Kitchen Tour.  Proceeds from the tour benefited youth programs at the Historic Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH, and we were happy to be a sponsor!

Voted “Best Kitchen Tour in NH” in 2008 by NH Magazine, the tour just completed it’s 5th year of highlighting some of the finest kitchen designs in the area.  This year’s tour was a success, featuring seven homes and welcoming 350 visitors to check out the innovative kitchen designs.

The happy homeowner of this beautiful Bedford home was thrilled to have her kitchen in the tour.  And, our own Christine Dunleavy, designer of the featured kitchen, was on hand the day of the tour answering any questions and sharing kitchen design advice with attendees.

Kitchen cabinetry is Maple finished in Burnt Umber, with a painted island in Antique White for a nice contrast.  And just look at that view!

Charity kitchen tours are always a lot of fun, and this one was no exception.  It was a wonderful event, for a great cause!

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When it comes to planning new spaces, or better utilizing current ones, it can be a heck of a challenge. Especially if  you find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper saying: “Now what?”

We can help! We now offer three different guides available to download for free! Check out our Kitchen Island Idea Starter Pack or our Custom Bathroom Planning Tips, or available now: our Custom Laundry Room Planning Guide!

All guides are loaded with great suggestions, dimensions to consider, and approximate costing as well as treatment options and graph paper! There is no charge for any of these guides, download yours today!

This beautiful Cherry kitchen is the heart of a recently renovated 1901 Colonial Revival home in Wayne, Pennsylvania.  The homeowners looked far and wide, exploring options from many different cabinetmakers, before choosing Crown Point Cabinetry.  The family was kind enough to share photos, and to tell us in their own words why they enjoyed working with Crown Point Cabinetry:

“I have been admiring the photos of Crown Point Cabinetry in the pages of magazines like Old House Journal for 20 years.  But I never thought I would get to the point of actually having them in my own home!  I just thought they would be totally unaffordable. While custom cabinetry of the quality Crown Point offers is not inexpensive, it was more affordable than I had initially thought!  And, it’s a great value when you consider the added value it brings to my home once installed.”

“When you are working with a designer from a distance, it is all about communication.  I had a better sense communicating with my Crown Point Designer,  Mark Wirta over the phone and email, than with any of the other designers who I met in person.”

“From the warm and welcoming showroom to the clean, well organized shop, the employees were obviously proud of the work they were doing.  Crown Point will always get my strongest endorsement.”

Homeowners-Wayne, PA

Crown Point Cabinetry has long been known as the premier custom cabinetmaker for period style kitchens.  More recently, we’ve delved into the world of frameless cabinetry for our clients looking for a clean, contemporary look.  But what about those who want a touch of vintage style, and also long for a modern feel?

The answer is Crown Point’s Transitional line; a beautiful blending of both vintage and contemporary elements to create the perfect look for any style home.

Fred Puksta, the Product Designer here at Crown Point, spearheaded the development of this line, even using his own kitchen as the prototype (the resulting masterpiece is pictured above).

“We wanted to introduce a totally customizable line that allowed for the modular substitution of design components to create a kitchen unique to the individual,” said Fred of the new line.  “It would be contemporary frameless construction with the option of adding vintage details such as valances, doors and feet, influenced by Victorian, Cottage, Arts & Crafts, Shaker and Early American styles.”

After months of designing, installing, uninstalling, redesigning and final installation, the Transitional Line was born!  For more details, and to check out our offerings in this line, visit our New Transitional page!

Fred was recently interviewed on this subject for a story on HGTV.com.  His tips and tricks to achieving the look can be found in “Guide to Creating a Transitional Kitchen.”

Because we love before pictures, below is a shot of Fred’s kitchen before it was revamped!  Wow!

If you’re looking to inject some personality into your kitchen, a good place to start is the backsplash. By adding bright, eye-catching tile in this space, you’ll get a pop of color without disrupting the simple, classic beauty of the cabinetry.

We’ve got three examples here that bring our point home. These clients were nice enough to not only provide us with photographs, but they also dished about where they got their tile, the inspiration behind it, and why they love their Crown Point kitchen!  Enjoy!

“I knew I did not want the over-done, cliched ‘country kitchen’ look, so I became determined to achieve something my Crown Point Designer, Christine and I started to call “updated farmhouse,” which would have elements suggesting a rustic kitchen in materials with a modern edge. The backsplash, a Pennsylvania Dutch-inspired “quilt” made of tile, was the perfect culmination of that aesthetic. It was a real thrill to experiment with tile colors, textures, and finishes from Pratt and Larson, using schemes that complemented the “mustard” milk paint of my new Crown Point cabinets. I love the finished result, and credit my Crown Point cabinets for calling out for–demanding, really–something special in a backsplash.”

Homeowner-Belmont, Massachussetts

“The color scheme for this kitchen was determined by a beautiful palette in Trikeenan Tile’s Brickbond line called Random Blue Blend.  From there, the homeowner selected Crown Point Cabinetry in a complementary soft blue finish.  She and I worked directly with our Crown Point Designer, Karen, to come up with a design full of pull-outs and space saving features that were exactly what she was looking for!”

Interior Designer for Home in Bondville, Vermont

“In designing the remodel of our kitchen, we wanted to pay respects to the history of our house, a 1928 colonial with some Spanish colonial accents (such as arched doorways and nooks, and original wrought iron chandelier and banister). Our wonderful Crown Point designer, Lois, worked with us to pull together a great and harmonious kitchen plan. We used frameless cabinets, but achieved a more traditional look with Victorian style trim, moldings and toekicks. To pay homage to the Spanish accents (and our love of Mexican handpainted tile), we decided on a bright backsplash using Mexican Talavera tiles we found through an online tile importer, Tierra y Fuego. We couldn’t be happier with the result-we love our classic combination of white cabinetry with the soapstone countertop and the way they’re set off by the vibrant backsplash!”

Homeowner-Chevy Chase, Maryland

American Bungalow Magazine recently highlighted a Cherry Craftsman style Crown Point kitchen in their “New and Noteworthy” section!

Located on the water in East Otis, MA, the featured kitchen is a bright, open Craftsman design with authentic details from our Arts & Crafts Designer Series.

What makes this kitchen noteworthy, is that the cabinetry is crafted from Cherry, rather than your usual Quartersawn Oak used in most Craftsman designs.  Here, the warmth of cherry creates a wonderfully warm and inviting place to cook, gather, and simply relax!

The Spring issue is on the newsstands until May, so be sure to check us out on page 45!

There’s no greater satisfaction when completing a project than taking a look at the before picture and realizing how far you’ve come.  Today, we’re sharing some before and after shots from a client in Wisconsin who recently remodeled her century-old period style home.

Before

Original to the home, this Light Grey Tennessee Marble sink was very important to the homeowner.  She wanted to preserve its 100-year presence in the home by incorporating it into the new kitchen design.

After

Crown Point kitchen designer Christine Dunleavy was up to the task (piece of cake!) and worked with the homeowner to integrate the sink in a Victorian inspired kitchen with custom cabinetry in Steeple White.

Before

On an adjacent wall, cabinetry between the door and window offered a good deal of storage, but lacked counter space.

After

By eliminating the soffit, Christine made room for a fully integrated refrigerator with cabinet space above.  And, she was able to raise the wall cabinet, creating counter space ideal for the microwave oven.   Additional counter space was added in the form of a dropped baking center, built in below the window, with views of the backyard.

“I appreciate Christine’s design skills every time I use my kitchen,” said the homeowner.  “It’s so easy to work in, and it looks great too!”

Check out more shots of this remodel in our Custom Cabinetry Gallery! (Kitchen number 19)