Henrybuilt

They were great to work with and their product looked great: for a while. But the paint wears off near handles and they tell us it’s our problem. They have no capability to fix nor recommendations on third parties to get them repainted. They look terrible now.

I like the HB product and we used them for a Master bedroom closet remodel. They is a lot of customization possible and high-end touches to produce a distinctive result. That said, I wouldn’t do it again nor recommend them. The overall project cost differential vs. something like California Closets is like 2X to result in a slightly better product. HB also doesn’t do the installation so you are responsible for finding and hiring a contractor to perform the non-simple install. The prices for this are supposed to be 4% but our experience with two contractors (including one of their recommended people for our area) were almost 5X to 10X that. I would really prefer avoiding the hassle of finding and integrating someone else into the project conversations. Finally, for a premium product with different choice of wood stains there should not be distinctly visible color variation in pieces placed next to one another. HB told us that such variation was “normal”. See pics.

I immediately fell for Henrybuilt after seeing their advertisements in interior design magazines. They have a highly refined, modern and sophisticated aesthetic, which for me sets them aside from many of the European companies that often deliver an overly clinical brand of minimalism. From the get-go it was a stretch for us to make it possible financially -- the kitchen was part of a gut renovation of an 1,800 square foot apartment and HB kitchens are expensive. Our HB design came to a little under $80,000 (for an approximately 14 x 12 ft layout), appliances another $19,000, and installation was $9000. By comparison, estimates from two European companies we considered were between $30-$40,000 less. This will likely be too long a review for some to get through, but if you are contemplating spending a lot of money on a kitchen with HB you might end up finding some of this detail useful. If you already like what you seen of Henrybuilt in magazines and online, then a trip to the showroom will likely have your adrenal glands firing on all cylinders. The New York showroom is a beautiful space with high ceilings and polished concrete floors in an old loft building in Soho. The showroom has three sample kitchens you can check out. It was a very easy going chat that first visit with just a very general discussion about the floor plan and budget with absolutely no hard-sell. After committing, we cycled through several different design iterations over a period of a couple of months before settling on a final choice of layout and materials. It took 14 weeks between signing off on the final design and receiving delivery, a few weeks shorter than the estimated lead-time. HB makes a strong emphasis on quality, including design, materials and craftsmanship. The materials are overall first rate (with the exception of the countertop as discussed below). Cabinets are fabricated from plywood (as opposed to chipboard or MDF) and they have a beautiful range of pigmented lacquers, wood veneers, high-pressure laminates, pulls and drawer accessories. Beyond the layout and material choices, there is a great attention to lots of small details that come together to give a really stunning result (e.g. the specific amount of overhang between panels and countertops, or leaving small reveals between panels or other components – the relationship between all the various interfaces is all very well executed in the planning). HB does not offer installation, and I would highly recommend only using someone already familiar with HB, as it's a significant investment that should be handled with expertise. In the end we are very happy with our kitchen and it’s truly the showpiece of our renovation. One of the large side wooden veneer panels must have been bumped at some point during either our renovation or installation because someone has attempted a polish repair in that area and has left a more obvious 2 inch slightly raised very shiny patch that I can’t help but notice everyday as it catches the light. But we didn’t actually pick up on that until after our installation was complete, and that obviously isn’t HB's responsibility. We do, however, have regrets about going with their acrylic countertop. HB essentially only offers solid surface acrylic and paperstone, but you can of course go to an independent fabricator. We were advised that paperstone was prone to patina overtime and after seeing pictures of how blotchy it can end up looking we were able to exclude it fairly quickly as we wanted something that maintained a uniform appearance. Our discussion about acrylic though didn’t really go beyond it’s limited heat resistance and how this could be overcome with the use of trivets. Acrylic, however, is much softer than other materials with only a 2-3 score on the Mohs index. As a result it’s very easy to accumulate scores, scratches and chips. If a pot bumps the edge around the sink it WILL chip; if you accidentally drop a utensil it WILL leave a mark. Aside from the minor traumas that you actually notice inflicting at the time, there are new fine scratches and abrasions appearing regularly just from everyday use, even though we have placed felt pads underneath most items and do our best to even place cutlery on chopping boards or dish clothes rather than directly on the counter – it’s not a countertop material that you can just forget about and relax around. A much cited advantage of solid surface acrylic is that it can be refinished, but "spot treatment" with a scotchbrite pad will usually only highlight the problem area further by producing differences in sheen, and many fabricators will tell you that the only option is to resurface the entire counter professionally. But we were actually looking into resurfacing our counter at around 4 month. On a day-to-day basis, it’s also very challenging to keep it looking uniform -- you can't just wipe it with a wet cloth because it will dry with streaks and blotches. Wet glasses, cups or water jugs always leave ring marks. The only way to get a semi-uniform appearance is by using a wet cloth (usually with soft scrub) in circular motions and simultaneously drying with a cloth across the whole surface -- believe me, the repeated countertop cleaning and buffing "workout" becomes very tiresome and time consuming three times a day (although I’ve seen some significant results in terms of my own upper body and arm strength – I may be more buff now that the actual counter). The countertops look amazing at the HB showroom, but remember these are unplumbed showpieces that are not in actual use. Some of these issues might in part be related to the choice of color as we opted for grey, and I’ve subsequently read that lighter colors are more forgiving of these imperfections, but that wasn’t something we discussed in advance. Acrylic does, however, make a really excellent and beautiful backsplash panel material in a light color, but backsplashes are zero traffic areas. There's no doubt that the counter detracts from our overall final look unfortunately, as it’s out of sync with the other materials that still look new and are easier to maintain day to day. It can appear fine from a distance in low daylight immediately after carefully cleaning and drying, but for most parts of the day in between a clean and with all the lights on it doesn’t look that great from close up. You'll often hear that there is no perfect countertop, but I believe there are better alternatives for an actual working kitchen. I wish we’d got into the weeds more (or even a little) about the choice of material, as the counter is of course an important focal point of any kitchen design. To sum up, I'm very glad we used Henrybuilt as we have a really beautiful kitchen that is the centerpiece of our apartment. If I had to convey why I think they are different to some of the alternatives out there, I'd say that you're going to end up with a kitchen with a high level of aesthetic refinement that exudes an effortless cool factor. It’s hard to find that combination elsewhere and for that reason it was probably worth the extra cost for us. From our individual experience, one area of improvement would be with regard to countertops, as we have ended up with something that detracts somewhat from an otherwise flawless range of materials. At this price point it would be better to have either more available options in-house; a more thorough discussion of countertop advantages and limitations (individually tailored to whether it will be a “working kitchen” and whether the material, color and finish might accentuate or attenuate imperfections); or a choice of local HB-approved countertop fabricators who could actually sit in on the design process and help make these decisions with more available options. When you're undertaking a complete renovation with lot's of other moving parts it's helpful to have a "one-stop-shop" for all of this and make a well informed decision on a key component of the kitchen. The HB website is a really beautiful interface by the way that showcases many examples of their work and provides detail on the process and ethos. If you “get it” and can make it work for you financially I would recommend you consider them.

Me gusta mucho, mucho lo que hacéis. Las navidades de 2017 nos vamos a ir a una casa que nos están haciendo. Me voy a inspirar en vuestras cocinas para poner la mía. Un saludo.

Really enjoyed working with the entire team from henrybuilt. The service and product were great. Our kitchen turned out to be everything we wanted. They were patient about describing the process for us and helping us design what worked within our budget to solve our needs.

After buying a 1959 Mid-Century Modern home, we needed to update the kitchen and master bath. Henrybuilt cabinetry was the only cabinetry that answered the question of clean modern lines, with the flexibility or European cabinets, but built with the integrity of classic all wood construction, and not the glitz of "modern "cabinets. We contracted Henrybuilt to build our kitchen and master bath cabinetry , the experience was the BEST I have ever had with a design or build project. Starting with the sales presentation, to the initial design process to the production of the cabinetry, Henrybuilt made sure the experience was a great one. The designer came to the house and evaluated with us the use of the kitchen and how it would fit into the unique design and flow of the home. She then did sketches, discussed them, made any changes and finally a formal design to build. The designer ( actually an architect with Henrybuilt ) proved she understood the home and our concerns with the final design. Throughout the process , we where given a work schedule, if we could keep up with the decisions we had to make, the project wouldn't be held up. They gave us dates to make decisions, and promised to do their part in delivering by a certain date. After completing the design and signing off on them, the cabinets were delivered exactly the date promised! This was amazing to us, because the cabinets are manufactured in Seattle, to be delivered to Long Island, ny and every cabinet was delivered in perfect shape- not one damage! After delivery to our home a Henrybuilt designer came to the house to inspect the cabinets before installation. he checked everything to be sure they were all at Henrybuilt standards , to inspect the installation site for any possible problems before installation and to conference with our contractor. Henrybuilt provided us with a special website that had everything spelled out on every part of the cabinetry, and installation my contractor would need to prepare and install cabinets, as well as a full installation book specifically for our kitchen. Every piece of the cabinets were numbered and marked to a corresponding number or letter on the plans. This made installation and checking the delivery a breeze. The only thing we needed to have replaced was a drawer slide, and we needed to add a small piece of trim which were overnighted to us. Our contractor, a cabinetmaker himself, was also impressed at the build quality and the thoroughness of the installation manual that came with the cabinets. Henrybuilt also encouraged us to call with any smallest detail question, they are committed to having a final product they can be proud of. The build quality and finish of these cabinets are the best I have seen, with an eye for understated design with the best functionality. The design process, build process and customer service the best that anyone could expect and beyond. I would highly recommend Henrybuilt. Everyone that comes to the house is amazed at the simple beauty of these cabinets and the way they integrate into the home I'll post completed photos soon