When you walk into the showroom of Baker's Frontier Kitchens, you step into an upscale, well-appointed kitchen. The wood cabinetry is beautiful and functional, the granite countertops gleam, you imagine how wonderful it would be if this was your kitchen.
Look to your left, and there is another fantasy kitchen with dark wood, a laminate countertop, an eye-catching faucet and next to that, another gem of a kitchen.
It is readily apparent that there are choices galore, with displays of drawer pulls, boxes of color samples, walls of wood choices and style treatments, and catalogs offering infinite possibilities -- from hickory to alder, Shaker to Tuscan, copper to wrought iron, Federal blue to lime green. Literally, there are 30,000 combinations to choose from.
But what sets Baker's Frontier Kitchens apart from other kitchen and bath remodelers is the technical prowess, expert craftsmanship and design offered by owner Tim Baker and his associate Lonnie Patnode. Tim has done nothing but kitchen and bath remodeling for 20 years, Lonnie for at least 15.
Each one takes a single job from beginning to end. That means the measuring (at no charge), planning, design, contracting, oversight and communication are handled from A to Z by either Tim or Lonnie. Personal accountability helps keep the details clear, the job smooth and the customer secure in knowing that there's only one guy in charge of the project.
Lonnie is the designated salesman, but he does not look, sound or act like one. Wearing jeans, sneakers and a button-up shirt, he takes a decidedly low-key approach.
"We don't go for the hard sell -- 'What do I have to do to get you to buy this today?'" Lonnie said. "Good designs and good products sell themselves. We don't hound people. People are spending a lot of money. They need to feel comfortable. We want to make friends."
The store has two lines of cabinetry, Homecrest, which offers stock sizes with limited customized products, and Candlelight, which offers standardized options, as well as unlimited custom possibilities.
"If we can dream and draw it, Candlelight can build it," Lonnie says.
ALL Candlelight cabinets, "down to the last screw," come from U.S. suppliers, including ones in Brockport and Attica. And their goods are built right here in Western New York.
Also, the installation crews are local contractors. If old cabinetry needs to be torn out and hauled away, the crews can do that. Or if a homeowner wants new lighting, tile work, carpet, wiring, painting, plumbing, heating or new windows, those services are available from the crews as well.
"We do the whole shootin' match," Lonnie said. "We do as much or as little as the homeowner want us to."
Some people just want the cabinets installed, but want to put in the appliances, sinks, etc., themselves to save money. Others have unlimited resources, or seem to.
Like one of Tim's customers, who just built a new house on Lake Ontario. It is supposed to be the last house she ever builds, so she wanted every detail to be top-notch. She personally flew to Vermont to choose the granite she wanted from the mining company. Lonnie said she spent close to $100,000 on just the kitchen.
On the other end of the spending spectrum, you can have a basic re-do for $2,000 to $3,500 for a small kitchen. If you add in granite countertops, lazy Susans, soft-close drawers, wine racks and other features for a medium-sized space, expect a price tag of $6,000 to $10,000.
A lot of times people have some idea about what they want, but no real vision or plan. You don't know, what you don't know, so to speak, but Tim and Lonnie do. They get a sense of your style, your tastes and the functions you need by talking with you, seeing the space and drawing rough sketches. Then, using computer-assisted drafting, they create a range of options to help you decide.
That's what Lonnie did for a client in Warsaw. He wanted dark, but not black, cabinets. He had stainless steel appliances and a gigantic kitchen with an 11-foot center island and a penchant for clean, modern lines and a contemporary ambiance.
Lonnie came up with a design featuring deep, eggplant-colored wood and cabinets with stainless-steel frames around panes of frosted glass. He took the same frames and created rectangular boxes attached above the cabinets so that they seemed to "float in space." These were lit with small, LED lights and when turned on at night, they glowed, displaying a real "wow factor."
If you are thinking about redoing your kitchen or bath, you can find out more on their website.
Even better, stop by at 8392 Lewiston Road in the Town of Batavia. Or give Tim or Lonnie a call at 343-0760 to schedule the first step in making your dream kitchen a reality.
