Madera Design & Construction

Aug 2023

Dennis built three custom cabinets for our to-the-studs remodel of our 92-year-old bathroom. He was easy to work with and did a great job. The sink vanity with cherry-faced drawer fronts is beautiful and just what we envisioned. The other two cabinets are paint-grade, almost floor-to-ceiling storage cabinets. Dennis is very knowledgeable about cabinet construction and steered us to the right hardware system to use for what is essentially a pull-out pantry for the narrow, deep storage cabinet. He was also right to suggest using a conversion varnish finish for the paint-grade storage cabinets. It looks fantastic, much better than regular paint would have looked and will be much more durable and easy to clean. We made an appointment with Dennis to meet at his shop and brought along our architect's drawings to show him. We discussed the design, wood, finishes, hardware, drawers and drawer glides, and the project schedule. I was a cabinetmaker about 20 years ago, so I knew that Dennis was the real deal and felt comfortable hiring him for our project. Dennis also communicates well, always a plus. Although the job was not without problems due to others, Dennis's part went as smooth as could be. Once the project was far enough along, he came to our house, met with me and the general contractor, took measurements and asked good questions about how the cabinetry would mesh with other parts of the room (mostly the tile and stone floor.) As the job proceeded, Dennis worked with us and the architect and general contractor to resolve the nitty-gritty aspects of construction and even visited again to recheck measurements. Only a couple of weeks later, Dennis showed up with a the vanity cabinet and installed it. He had even made the weird U-shaped drawers to fit around our nonstandard sink plumbing (it had a jog due to being an old house.) This gave us much more drawer space than would normally be possible. And the drawers are beautiful (I appreciate this as a former cabinetmaker.) A couple of weeks later, he was back with the other two cabinets to install. They look great. We love all the cabinets. I would not hesitate to work with Dennis on future projects. Our architect also wants to work with him again. I definitely recommend him.

Aug 2020

We had a room with curved walls that we wanted to make an office, but we couldn't find desks and cabinets that could fit the space well. Luckily, we found Dennis. He took our ideas, combined them with his carpentry talent, and created a beautiful space. We couldn't be happier and feel the extra expense for a custom design was well worth it.