I recently returned from a trip to Wellborn Cabinets in Ashland, Alabama.  With not much else to do in Ashland I understand why they put so much time and effort into building beautiful cabinets.  Wellborn Cabinets has just had its largest increase in new cabinets, door styles and finishes that it has had in many years.   These changes are being rolled out in 3 phases, the first happened in March with the rest being released in July and October of this year.  

For cabinets they have added lots of new sizes including 48, 54 and 60” wall cabinets.  This is a great addition as it will allow us to install cabinets that will reach the ceiling of the spaces without having to add a lot of cost by stacking wall cabinets.  Their distinctive bath catalog now allows us to order bath vanities that feel more like pieces of furniture than standard bath cabinets.  This will give people the look of many of the high end Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn vanity cabinets. For door styles they have many new options to choose from.  The new Antigua is a personal favorite.  It has the look of a louvered door which will screams “beach house” and is due out in July.  This and the New Haven door (shaker style door with a wider plank inset panel) are both welcome additions to our “coastal” style.  The new Bali door offers a bamboo looking inlay in the face frame of the cabinet door.  The new Charleston door is the sister to the Richmond, one of Wellborn’s more elaborate cabinet styles but has a recessed center panel, and it exudes elegance.  For clients who prefer a more clean-lined door but a lot of style, the new Chelsea, Napa and Winslow should be big hits.
There are 3 new stained finishes and 1 new painted finish also rolling out this year.  Since grey is all the rage now, they have rolled out a softer grey called Dove to counter balance the darker Willow rolled out last year.  Blush (a redder stain finish), Cloud (a lighter white washed stain) and Drift (a browner, driftwood like stain) all of which are available with or without glazing options are all great additions to the finishes that Wellborn offers.  I expect Drift to be a very popular finish here at the beach.
Being at Wellborn was extremely informative as to new products releasing this year.  We also had a chance to tour their entire facility and see how all the lines of cabinets are made.  I was impressed by two things….one was how much of the product is built by hand vs machine and the care they put into each cabinet and second was how “green” Wellborn is.  In addition to planting many more trees than they cut down and using hearty growth species, they use every part of the tree with much of the scraps and sawdust being used to fuel their plant and reduce the amount of outside fuels they require.  They also use their own fleet of delivery drivers and trucks so ensure that the cabinets are handled with care through the delivery process.

While touring the plant with John Wellborn it was impressive to see how he knew the names and backgrounds of most of the people working in this huge facility.  It felt more like a family, which is what we strive for in our company.  It feels good doing business with a company who cares about its employees and the environment! We did manage a little fun while there including a late afternoon at Wellborn’s employee Skeet Shooting Range.  Our own Michael Whaley really impressed me with her shooting skills.  Those orange skeet never had a chance!  Trips like this reiterate the fact that we are using a quality product from a quality company…all in all, a very successful trip!