Macswim, you and I are on the same page. :)

Do you, by chance live in Sarasota, Florida?

We moved here 4 years ago and there's a large Mennonite population in the area. They recently opened a furniture store nearby and I took a quick look at dinning room tables. Never occurred to me that they did kitchen cabinets.

Their tables and chairs are all solid wood, heavy! I was so impressed by the stains and finishes.

I believe they are Mennonites not Amish. They use electricity but ride on bicycles only.

Did you hire a kitchen designer or use them to design your kitchen? I need to do a whole kitchen gut but I need walls moved so its a bit complicated.

I think you sold me on getting prices from them for the kitchen cabinets.

Jane

@beenzmail I'd love the name of the people you worked with. I'm not too far from you :)

Jane I messaged you.

When the Amish in Florida take a break from cabinet building, they take digital pictures of themselves at the beach.

Joseph I messaged you! :)

Yes, I got it. Thanks.

Your private thoughts?

@JD I didn't see an option to message you if you would like to "talk" more privately. I used http://www.houzz.com/pro/kustomkabinetry/kustom-kabinetry I have nothing but positive things to say about our experience. They can make anything you dream happen. They use computer mock ups and e-mail. A few small issues that occurred were fixed immediately and to my satisfaction. Please let me know how you make out. Good luck!

We will be getting prices from an Amish company in Central Il. They only work with Kitchen Designers (they do not design) and have non-Amish drivers that deliver cabinets all over the US. Our KDs installer will do our install if we go with them.

we toured their factory with our KD and were amazed at the ingenuity and craftsmanship. Who knew that so much could be accomplished without electricity. Impressive place and impressive people.

https://www.dhhinfo.com/

cp - glad you get to go with the Amish! they did an awesome job on our addition. we always figured the main part of the house might fall apart but the addition they built would last forever.

if anyone knows of any Amish woodworkers in the Phx AZ area (SE of Phx), let me know. I could use a good cabinet maker myself!

"Your private thoughts?"

You're on the right track. Nothing to add.

" Who knew that so much could be accomplished without electricity."

Pfffft. I've seen Amish furniture with pneumatically driven nails. You can't drive nails with air without making electricity to make air. They use electricity; it may be home made and off the grid, but don't kid yourself.

How's cutie gonna get the pictures off that camera in the above picture without electricity?

Thanks Joseph. Just making sure there's been no negatives you know of with my choice. :)

"Cutie" is not Amish. She's Mennonite. Amish don't use cameras or allow images of themselves.

Joseph..I'm not trying to be naive. But when we toured the showroom and factory there was no electricity. At least none That I could see. The lights were all gas powered and they used hydraulics that were fueled with natural gas (if I am remembering correctly).

That doesn't mean there is no electricity anywhere. Even the websites that describe the Amish life discuss the use of diesel powered generators for some electricity for minor things.

i think there is a fairly big difference between Amish and Mennonite. I can't imagine these illinois Amish out taking pictures of each other on the beach.

I agree that the people in the picture are Mennonite. The store where I'll be getting my cabinets are Mennonite.

I skimmed the posts, but did not have to time to read them all. Four years ago, I ordered my cabinets from a Mennonite company in Sarasota that has them built in Ohio. I'm not sure if you are referring to the same company, but I have been nothing, but pleased with the quality of the cabinets and the customer service. I have white painted cabinets with four kids, a dog, cat, etc. and they still look great. I loved that they were happy to accommodate any request I had in adjusting the layout. The lighting is not great in this picture, but it gives you an idea of what they built for me. Good luck.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Katherine.

I just looked on the company's web site and found your kitchen, so yes, it's the same. I'm thrilled to hear you were very happy with them. I just got such a nice feeling from them when I went there to talk to them and he really understood my vision from the start.

It looks like they also did your fireplace wall? Honestly, I think I am less worried about the cabinets at this point then the rest of our build. LOL.

I might hesitate if I wanted a painted finish, especially if you use your cabinets hard. We have a stained walnut, and couldn't be happier. I'm in north/central NJ and used a (guessing Mennonite) cabinetmaker in PA who delivered and installed. The cabinets are stunning, the fit is perfect. I had no prior experience w/him or references. I took a drive over to the shop and was impressed, but sort of took a flier, which paid off handsomely. Where it really pays off is in the extras - things like extra deep cabinets, or in our case a higher end wood and inset cabs are a fraction of the price a semi-custom charges for those upgrades.

if anyone wants a reference, I'd be happy to do so.

freeoscar-

I live in Central Jersey and would love to have your reference.

Thank you freeoscar. Yes I'm doing painted perimeters but am not worried because I'm not too hard on my cabinets and I've seen the cabinets in his showroom which are painted and still look brand new.

I hesitate whether to post this but I'm going to take the plunge and rain a little on all this. My comment may be of no concern to many who love the excellent and affordable work the Amish and Mennonites do. But many others may care, so here goes. Most people are unaware that the Amish and Mennonite communities are full of highly talented woodworkers who are also owners of absolutely horrific puppy mills. Amish especially are very well known to SPCAs and other rescue groups. They see dogs as a crop, just like a plant. Just google Amish puppy mill and you won't believe what you'll find. So if you care about animals, I would not do ANY business with any Amish or Mennonite with personally seeing every inch of every building on their property. I needed custom cabinetry in my recent remodel and had a VERY tight budget, so I thought about this route. But I own a dog rescued from one of these horror shows and she has lifelong physical and mental challenges from her life there. I decided I would forego anything coming out of these communities for this reason - no amount of savings was worth the risk that I was giving money to someone who had some barn on the back of his property with animals living in squalor. I feel bad posting this, but the sweetest dog in the world is lying beside me right now, and she deserves for people to know. Stepping off soapbox now...

Just got the news today that all the cabinet companies insurance, etc is good to go. So we will be using the Mennonite cabinet guy. So excited because the quality can't be beat.

Katherine L, can you please message me? Met with the cabinet guy today and now his son is taking over.

Freeoscar, you don't have your message feature set up. Would you please message me with your cabinetmaker info? Your kitchen is beautiful!

@cpartist Are you still going thru with this company? Either way, would you mind messaging their contact info? Thank you!

Avocadogirl, are you in SW FL or nearby?

@cpartist I am in Ohio and looking at various cabinet makers. Can you message me the name of the company you used and hope your experience went?

Deborah:

If you're in NW Ohio, give Leonard Pudlicki a call. John Brunke is just over the Michigan line. Can't get any better.

I'm sorry but Im working through a store in Florida that deals directly with the cabinet maker, so don't know who it is

kooopons can you email me I am looking for cabinetry from someone trustworthy for our new home in PA. Chad_young_1@yahoo.com

Again, I'm sorry but I'm using a store in my part of FL. They do not travel to PA.

Who the guy you are using??

Sherry, where in FL do you live?

@Deborah Sigg - I'm here in SW Ohio (Cincinnati) and looking for Amish cabinetry. Did you find a maker?

would love an amish cabinet contact for southern new jersey

kristin - we used this place - not sure how far they are travelling these days. Been installed for a year and a half now and we couldn't be happier with them.

http://www.weaverscustomwoodworking.com/index.html

Hi Camille, I do have a thread showing the updates. There are some things that needed changing and they won't be in until May 4th. Here is the [updated thread.[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/i-have-countertops-dsvw-vd~5155564)

Unfortunately my guy is in Florida and he doesn't travel outside of the state.

I tried to get a bid from the Amish people - I'm in KY; they are in Southern IN. I met the Mennonite sales person (he also drive the Amish and the cabinets to the installs) at the showroom not far from my house. Took pictures on my iPad, measurements etc. Asked for a ballpark estimate based on these. Salesman asked me to email the pictures to him - also the measurements (he had "forgotten" to bring paper to write on!). I tried to do this when I got home. Email bounced. Tried going on the website; it was down. Continued trying to reach these people. Website finally came back up and had a phone number; left multiple messages. Never heard from them again.

I ended up using Shiloh and I could not be more happy. Also had a great KD company who did an outstanding job and were very responsive and easy to work with (and I was a very demanding client as I knew exactly what I wanted!).

@Cpartist or Katherine L - Would you mind messaging me with the name of the company that you used in Ohio? I live about 40 minutes north of Millersburg and would like to price cabinets with them. Both of your kitchens are beautiful, btw. Thank you!

a_hem —- I’m not familiar with Ohio and where Millersberg is. I’m outside of Pittsburgh and stumbled onto this website Ohioamishcabinet.com I communicated a few times with the owner. He is he go between for the customer and Amish. I don’t think we’re going to go with them because 3 hours away is just too far for us. The estimate was pretty great though!

Not sure why the link keeps coming up wrong— it’s Ohio Amish Cabinet . Com

I'm sorry I'm no longer commenting on houzz.

Well, I don't really "like" your post, but I like it. My messaging thingy on H is not working. I will PM as soon as it is again. You are one of the reasons I liked this place to begin with.

I live in Ohio and just purchased an Amish made dining set. Great quality. I looked at Costco and our local large furniture stores. Quality was just not there. Also looked at comparably priced Canadel dining sets. Looked nice but reviews pushed me away.

What I learned is that most of the Costco Asian made furniture, as well as large furniture stores, are made with rubber wood. Malaysian oak is rubber wood. It is significantly inferior and explains why so many Costco reviewers complain about loose screws. Screws pull out of this inferior wood. Also, reading about rubberwood furniture explains why so many people complain about strong smells from their furniture. Rubberwood is loaded with insects and must be heavily fumigated. It takes several years for the gases to be released.

Rubberwood has a great marketing campaign, and misleading blogs to enhance the image. Hope this is useful to someone.

I live in NJ and had cabinets built by Amish in PA about 15 years ago for a home I used to own. Large kitchen project in an older home. I would do it again. The quality was far superior to anything you will get anywhere else and when I redo the kitchen in my Sarasota home...Ill be visiting the Amish crafters again. They are skilled and hosnest...a pleasure to do business with.