I was an hour or so east on business, so I made a run over to Arthur. Arthur is a small town in central IL with a good sized Amish community. Used to be know for cheese and Amish products, but I don’t think they do much cheese anymore. Still plenty of horse drawn buggies.
The reason I went there was for the cabinet outlet. My uncle from Arkansas had mentioned it a while back. He had driven all the way there just to get his kitchen cabinets, so I figured I could drive a few mins to take a look (I need k cabinets).
I walked through a couple connected warehouses. Don’t know if that was all of it or not, but was plenty for me. Here is a shot of one of the warehouse areas:
There is a rich variation of deals available. There seems to be a wide range of finishes and quality too. Here are a couple examples of complete sets for one $$ (you’re not seeing the whole first set, but I think that is the whole second):
Another sale method seems to be the “by the inch”. For instance:
Here are a few shots of $1/inch cabinets:
And the disclaimer:
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. — Karen Lamb
Replies
Now that's a lot of cabinets! Lot's of selection too!
Got the address of that place? I may send some of my customers there, or maybe check it out myself if I ever have time.
See my work at TedsCarpentry.com
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I just posted some more shots. Be sure to catch part 2.
Got the address of that place? I may send some of my customers there, or maybe check it out myself if I ever have time.
If you can get to Arthur, you can find it. Small town. I came in 133 from the west and my directions were: "1. turn left at the 4-way stop sign. 2. go down until you see the RR tracks, it sits back off the road just before the tracks". Looking at MapQuest, my guess is maybe around Vine & Progress. If not, simply stop and ask. Real nice folks around there. Also some good Amish products.
Here are a couple shots of the sign and hours:
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jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
My uncle was the first person who mentioned the place to me, but I have since had half a dozen people mention it. One repeating theme I got from them was: If you see something you like, BUY IT THEN, don't wait. The selection varies from day to day, week to week. By this time next week the stuff I pictured may be gone.
Ma had gone in there a few months back and ran into a contractor she knew. He told her he does a walk through of the cabinet outlet and will design his kitchens based on what he finds (and buys) at the outlet.
I'm on the other side of the coin though... I will have to go in with my cabinet measurements and try to find a group that fit my list.jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
http://www.cabinetfactoriesoutlet.com/il/who.htmlThey also have a place in OR.http://www.cabinetfactoriesoutlet.com/Just doing a google on -cabinet factory outlet- I found other outlets in Omaha, TN, Greenville, IN, CA, FL, TN. .
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
Cool. I didn't even think to look for a website for them. jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
sounds like real amish to me ! website,and electricity(light over the sign) way to much contrast in the wood tones for me in the glueing together of the panels
LOL, as far as I know, the cabinet place doesn't have anything to do with Amish. But even with the 'real' Amish places, I'm a little fuzzy on how they can have electric lights and such.
And hickory is always a funny cabinet/flooring choice. Splotchy by design I guess. I don't have the eye to tell good splotchy from bad.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
from what little I know of the amish the thing with electricity is that its against the religion to be tied to the utility.
in other words having electrical wires running from the utility to the house is to be connected to the devil, so I assume as long as the power is generated onsite by a generator or lister engine it is OK.
amish will also get a ride in a van to go 20/30 miles to do a big shop at walmart etc. if it is too far for the horse and buggy its OK to get a ride in a vehicle. again I assume its just not OK to own or operate the vehicle by Amish.
I got a local amish guy to build a pantry cabinet for my wife. it was made to order out of hickory. you have to take drawings to him at his shop, and if you need to be called when they are done he will send someone to the payphone. great work and great prices.
Me neither. Glad someone was wearing the thinking cap. =)See my work at TedsCarpentry.comBuy Cheap Tools! BuildersTools.net
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Thanks to the website, I got their phone # and called them to ask about delivery. Apparently they don't deliver themselves, but have the number of some local folks who will. If I heard him correctly, it was $2.50/mi.
Since I'm currently truckless and only 80 miles away, it would probably be a wash to rent a box truck and pay $0.67/mi to go both ways or just to pay them their $2.50/mi (I'm assuming they're charging it one way?). So going with the delivery option would save me some hassle and lost time.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
Wish I had known about the portland location sooner. Was there over labor day weekend.
Next trip I will stop in.Wallyo
FYI It seems MasterBrands comprises all of these manufactures some good lines here:AAristokraft
Capital Cabinet
Decora
Diamond
Georgetown
HomeCrest
Kemper
Kitchen Classics
Kitchen Craft
Maple Creek
Omega / Dynasty
Schrock
SomersbyWallyo
And Thomasville sold through the Home Depot.http://www.josephfusco.org
http://www.constructionforumsonline.com
Part 2.
Some tall cabs:
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A $25 each row:
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They also had 10-30% off lowest marked price rows. I was kinda interested in some of their hickory cabinets. Only 20% off. They had three styles of doors and 2 or 3 different quality levels.
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Cooktop cabinet:
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The arch door style:
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I took a look at some of the drawers and snapped a shot. They had metal slides underneath.
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jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
Ya, 20% off doesn't get me involved either.
be now 50to75% and I'll mosey over to take a look. snorK*
94969.19 In the beginning there was Breaktime...
What about $1 per inch? So that 36" cabinet is $36.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
That'd work epecially since you need them.
Did you already order them?
There's a Kraftmaid factory someplace not to far from my locale I've never been to but heard they put certain stuff on blastitoutofhere specials.
Made the news not too long ago over the second layer of layoffs due to the economy, the first something like 6 months earlier.
94969.19 In the beginning there was Breaktime...
There is no "ordering". You walk in and if you like something you buy it right then. Otherwise you try back later.
I sure like the idea of doing all the k cabs at $1/inch, but don't know if I'll find all the cabs I need to do it. Wall oven cab and cooktop cab can be troublesome.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
Love the pricing. I could easily find use in the basement. Unfortunately, the location is a problem for me. Anything like this in Atlanta would be 10-50x the price.
Well, gas prices aren't too bad right now. You could bring a big truck and take a big load of cabinets back with you and maybe pay for your trip. ;)
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
What about Tn or Fl?http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=114173.6.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
When I was in business in Champaign County I installed several kitchens where the client got their cabinets there. I also bought most of my hardwoods from the many cabinets shops in the Arthur area. I also got my laminate counter tops from Beachey's just east of Arthur. Good deals! It looks like it has expanded since I retired and moved away.
John... What county do you live in? Just curious.
Sangamon. I'm about 45 mins away from BossHog.
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
I wuz born in Sangamon county. (Dawson)
I wuz born in Sangamon county.
Well at least you were smart enough to get OUT! ;)
I'm in Springfield. haven't gotten smart enough to leave, but if Blago stick around much longer, I might HAVE to. He is running the state into the ground.
So educate me on the hickory splotchyness. When is is good splotchy and when is it too splotchy?
jt8
A year from now you may wish you had started today. -- Karen Lamb
Hickory is not for everyone. Big contrast in the wood. To some its a very attractive wood. It has lots of character. To me, I never cared for it. I only did 2 kitchens in hickory in 15-20 years.. But then again if we were all alike we would all drive Chevys.
When I was on the Illinois State Police I spent a lot of time in Springfield. That's where the State Police has it puzzle factory. <Chortle>