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lee_gesmer

Please help me identify these kitchen cabinets

18 days ago

Our cabinets were installed by Dalia Design in Boston, 30 years ago. We need to replace a couple, and we cannot find any identifying information on the cabinets. Dalia is, so far as we can tell, out of buiness or owned by successors, and it seems that they don't have records 30 years back. There are no identifying mfg. names on the cabinets. I am attaching a photo.


The specific issue we are stuggling with is a refrigerator replacement. The current opening is 35", which is too small for almost all counter depth refrigerators. We need to replace the current cabinets on one side with a slightly smaller size cabinet to get get the 37" we need to fit a refrigerator. We are hoping that by finding the original cabinet maker we can order a custom set of cabinets for this space. We are "kitchen amateurs", so any suggestions on how to address this issue would be welcome.


Comments (27)

  • PRO
    18 days ago

    It appears your cabinets are faced in Thermofoil as opposed to paint. Can you confirm that?


    Here's one that looks close in style to yours.,

    https://www.cabinetnow.com/shop-all/saint-paul-thermofoil-door/



    Here are a variety of Thermofoil doors some with the raised panel detail.


    https://www.cabinetnow.com/cabinet-doors/rigid-thermofoil-cabinet-doors/


    Please not that all white faced cabinets, thermofoil or painted will discolor over time from used and being exposed to the environment. It's likely anything you purchase WILL NOT MATCH YOUR CURRENT COLOR.

  • PRO
    18 days ago

    You need a local custom cabinet shop. Be prepared to replace that wall (yay the bases all have drawers now!!!)

  • 18 days ago

    Yes, went to Yale Appliance in Framingham, and they basically had one fridge that would fit in that 35" space. But it is really small - ~ 17 CU's.


    Re Thermafoil comment - I have no idea how to determine that. However, they do appear to be some kind of thin veneer over some backing material, and they do not chip. So I'm assuming that they are Thermafoil.


    Assuming they are Thermafoil, I'd be happy to replace that bank of cabinets with a custom set, just to get the space to fit a larger fridge. As far as discoloration goes, they do seem quite white - there's not visible discoloration. But, since they would have all aged at the same rate, it's hard to know for sure.


    "yay, the bases all have drawers now" - what does this mean, please?

  • 18 days ago

    It's probably cheaper to take an inch out of the wall and door casing and move the existing cabinets over an inch. Just do the wall area where the cabinets are and the scope of the door swing. You will need a one inch filler for the cabinets above the frig.

  • PRO
    18 days ago

    I was trying to humorously suggest that rebuilding that wall presents an opportunity for better storage. Everything below counter height is drawers, upper will have pull outs behind the doors. You can probably eliminate the skinny top row if you do custom.

  • PRO
    18 days ago

    I see wood grain so it’s probably not thermofoil but hard to tell from photos

  • 18 days ago

    I'm not convinced that even if you find the people who did the kitchen, they'll be any better at fixing your issue. Just talk to a custom cabinet maker. I note the leftmost cabinet is wider than the righthand one, so you can probably squeeze your 2" with just one replacement cabinet. If you can get them matched, open shelves might be the way to go. Depending on what's on the other side of the fridge, it might look like it was planned that way.


    You want to think hard about the fridge size, though, because it's generally cheaper to buy the same size fridge again than to redo your cabs.

  • 18 days ago
    last modified: 18 days ago

    how far from the other kitchen walls is this. its a lot of vertical cabinet space. why do you want a big part of kitchen storage distant from your counter runs anyway ? or if this is not important day to day storage...what is it for? I'd be keen to reconfigure and it doesnt have to match if its a bit distant from sink and stove runs. do something better. Good spot for a coffee bar with base cabinet drawers /counter/ upper glass doored cabinets ......isnt it near the dining room there ?


    Malvern Kitchen Coffee Bar · More Info


    Custom Coffee Bar · More Info


  • 18 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago
  • PRO
    18 days ago

    17 cu ft is how large counter depth fridges are. !!!!!!!!

    Most homes that select counter depth fridges have an additional fridge in the garage or basement for over flow like beverages and frozen food storage

  • PRO
    17 days ago

    You will need to find a good cabinet maker to copy what you have . BTW I run a catering biz with a counter depth all fridge all freezers columns . Mine are Fridgedaire 18 yrs old never had a service call they owe me nothing and the one Dan shows could be the answer .

  • PRO
    17 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago

    I also see some sort of wood grain reflecting in that leftmost door. Could they have been oak stained cabinets originally that someone painted? There is an odd placement of fillers with the upper cabinets as well . If they are a brand of cabinet, there would be some sort of sticker or label in the sink base cabinet or a stamp on the drawer box somewhere.

    Can you take a picture from further back and a close up of the door with the lights on?

  • 17 days ago

    This is all enormously helpful, thank you all so much. We are homeowners, not kitchen designers, so we are "wandering in the wilderness." Here are three more pictures, one close up and two just showing the full wall that we are working with. Thank you for these ideas and support!! (correction: it looks like Houzz only lets you upload one image at at time, so I'll do it in three posts. Here's the close up. We are quite sure this is not painted wood, since when you look at an edge you can see the material adhered to the backing.

  • 17 days ago

    Here is a photo of the full wall we are working with:


  • 17 days ago

    And here's a second photo of the full wall:




  • 17 days ago
    last modified: 17 days ago

    Oh, and here's a photo showing what I assume is Thermafoil


  • 17 days ago

    The bigger picture here is that we are replacing all appliances: dishwasher, fridge, oven, microwave, cooktop/downdraft. My wife really, really wants the fridge to be counter depth, and we didn't realize, until we went to Yale Appliance, that our 35" opening constrained us so much on a counter depth fridge. We are not restricted on height - we can remove the cabinets in place above the fridge now to get more height. But the largest counterdepth fridge Yale was able to show us is the Fisher & Paykel Series 7 32 in. 16.9 Cu. Ft.:




  • 17 days ago

    being the 3rd wall and offset a bit..... I would really do something different and better with the entire expanse. Measure what you have .....consider the budget and get the appliance part of it squared away. it appears about 100 inches total. and the stuff thats there doesnt owe you anything and it does not have to butt into another row of cabinetry. do something that upgrades the section in total.

  • 17 days ago

    I just came on here to say what @herbflavor said. Just get different cabinets for this wall. You can probably do it with IKEA for under $10k. Use a different color and you have a sort of kitchen accent wall. You could even get a built-in beverage fridge if that is something you think you would need to make up for the difference in fridge size. If you buy a lot of packaged beverages, they take up a TON of fridge space. Getting them out of my fridge was a game-changer.

    I'll also say that unless you feed an army, just changing shopping habits is enough to make a CD fridge work for you. I meal plan, shop weekly, cook dinner for 4 almost nightly, and by the end of the week my fridge is almost empty. Saves money too. :)

  • 17 days ago

    I have a 33" GE counter depth and although I thought it was small it turns out it holds a lot. Thinking that with a kitchen you did 30 years ago you are retirees or close so the need for a large refrigerator isn't that great. Also seems like a lot of money to have new cabinetry made to go with old thermofoil cabinets.


    I am in the Boston area, you can come look at my GE filled with food LOL!!!

  • PRO
    17 days ago

    So you are correct - definitely thermofoil cabinets. Not many companies do that style anymore. Since you need a new wall oven and microwave ( that wall oven looks small- today's standard is 30" wide ) , I would take out all the cabinets on that wall and do new cabinets over there - maybe in a complimenting stain ? That way it is ok that it's not the same as the rest. Then you can get the ref you want and have cabinets to the ceiling instead of those odd stacked ones. It will cost more, but it would be money well spent.

    Good luck!

  • 17 days ago
    last modified: 16 days ago

    If you decide to spend the minimum now you can get a counter depth 33" frig. The Frigidaire with 4 doors I posted is about $1200.

    If you really want a 36" frig, now that I see the entire wall, I'd move the wall on the right and move the micro and wall oven stack only up to the frig opening over 1". No new cabinets are necessary. A small 1 inch filler for the top row of cabinets.

  • 9 days ago
    last modified: 8 days ago

    Definitely talk to local cabinet makers. You’ll be able to work with them on the exact features you want at a price you can afford. Avoid Lowes, Home Depot, Menards! We went with Kitchen remodeling in San Diego. Don’t know your layout so I can’t say if they will fit into your budget or not.

  • PRO
    8 days ago
    last modified: 8 days ago

    I like the idea of that wall being a feature no need to match the other cabinets and Ikea is a great way to go. I always chuckle at NAs wanting giant fridges where we have a grocery store on every corner it seems . I shop often daily and have never needed a huge fridge evne with catering . Maybe I just got used to going to the market every day when we were in Europe and loved the idea. Might also be why the US wastes so much food

  • 7 days ago

    there are better optins than yale, they only carry specific brands… shop around and you will find option that fit space you have. reminder. you dont have to matchy match… same brand for all appliances is more profotable for yale not better for you

  • 5 days ago

    I just came here to say that I’ve had two Fisher Paykel refrigerators and loved both. Neither ever needed repair; I needed a different size for a renovation after I’d owned the first for 12 years. Also, I have close friends with a FP refrigerator who have had an equally good experience. In addition to faultless function, they are great looking, too.