In the past year I decided to become a dealer for Danver stainless steel cabinets. I get approached many times a year by companies who want me to hawk their products, so what made me decide to take this opportunity?

First and foremost, these cabinets appeal to me as a designer. I built my first outdoor kitchen in 1997 or 1998. It was your “standard” outdoor kitchen of the time, which means we poured a footer and then built a huge vault out of concrete block, set the grill in the countertop, and stuck two stainless steel doors in the front so the client could swap out the propane cylinder. There was no room for storing plates or utensils, and honestly the space behind those access doors was a hot, dirty cavern just made for black widow spiders. I always felt like something was lacking. I’ve done a few kitchens where we’ve built cabinets out of cedar or ipe and they’re fine, but it’s still wood. It’s also crazy expensive to custom build every cabinet and every door.

Danver stainless steel cabinets are just like buying regular indoor kitchen cabinets. You get to select the width (in 3″ increments), the type of cabinet (sink cabinet, drawers, trash pullout), and you can even select extra deep or extra tall cabinets. The standard finish is a flat panel stainless steel cabinet door, but that can be upgraded:

• a five-panel door with a recessed panel
• powdercoating in any one of several standard colors
• a paint treatment that very convincingly replicates one of several wood grains
• clearcoating (for locations in tough environments like salt air)
• a special line of colors and door finishes licensed by upscale furniture makers Brown and Jordan

You can also buy wall cabinets, so you get the same amount of storage opportunity you’d have inside. The drawers have the same soft-close feature as your indoor cabinets. The appliance cabinets are custom built to the exact specifications of whatever appliance you’re using, so it’s a perfect fit. Seriously, I’m love. These are awesome, awesome products.

They also appeal to me as a small business owner. These cabinets are made in a small factory just outside Hartford, Connecticut. I went up for a factory tour last October and it was a blast. Mitch, the owner, is clearly passionate and enthusiastic about what he does. He also cares about his staff, which is important to me (I don’t like to work with jerks). They’re always striving to be better, and they provide a rock solid support system for dealers. Can you tell I’m a fan?

YOUR OUTDOOR KITCHEN

So that’s great, you say, but how does that help me get a better outdoor kitchen? The bottom line is that outdoor kitchens are a challenge to design. We walk a fine line – we want to keep the kitchen from being so large it eats your backyard and costs a small fortune, but we want to pack as much function in there as possible. You get more bang for your buck with Danver kitchens.

When we design a masonry kitchen, we usually have to separate appliances and cabinets or drawers with 6″ block, to carry the countertops or any masonry above the opening. So if you want to include a 24″ fridge, a 36″ cabinet, a set of 18″ drawers, and an 18″ icemaker (8 linear feet of stuff), you also have five 6″ blocks surrounding these. That’s 2-1/2 feet of… nothing. Plus it’s around 6 square feet of countertop you may not otherwise need! Any time I lay out appliances for a contractor using a masonry kitchen base I’m appalled at the wasted space.

When we design your Danver cabinetry layout, I ask you questions like:

• what appliances are you looking for?
• do you want to have a place for trash and recycling?
• will you have a sink?
• Are you keeping plates and utensils outside? What about napkins, condiments, or other grilling staples?
• what will you have that needs plugged in?

These are the same questions as with any kitchen, but we can fit so much more in a smaller space! If you decide you want a really large kitchen, you can fit loads of appliances and storage. It’s pretty amazing.

Are you intrigued? Ready to learn more? Contact us for a kitchen consultation and let’s get started!