Here at Remodelista, we are eternally on the hunt for thoughtfully designed kitchens stocked with fresh ideas. The spaces that meet those qualifications tend to fall under three categories: entirely personalized and custom-built; supplied by a European specialty firm, such as Reform, deVol, and Plain English (all of which now have showrooms in the US); or assembled from Ikea cabinets upgraded with outsourced doors and drawer fronts.
What we don’t often present are kitchens entirely made by American kitchen companies. Two notable US kitchen startups, Isla Porter and Corner, have far-away millworkers building their cabinets. Many others work with on-the-ground teams producing kitchens that may be well-made but style-wise leave much to be desired.
With the fallout from tariffs looming, not to mention the environmental cost of international shipping, we’ve been looking locally. Here are five kitchen brands that stand out for being American-designed and -fabricated—and also modernist-minded and, yes, a bit European in sensibility.
Boxco
Above: Based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Boxco is a young, sustainability-minded workshop dedicated to building well-made plywood cabinetry. We discovered their work thanks to interior designer Raisa Sandstrom, who featured their maple-veneered cabinets in her Romantic Wallpapered Kitchen, shown here. Photograph by Cara Totman.
Above: A Boxco design in Shelburne, Massachusetts. Its kitchens run from $20,000 to $40,000.
“We have carefully curated a selection of innovative plywood products that we trust for our cabinetry,” assures Boxco. “For our plywood doors and drawer fronts, we use high-quality hardwood veneers over a Baltic birch core renowned for its 13 layers of solid birch that provide exceptional stability and strength. All of our plywood products are formaldehyde-free, void-free, and sourced from sustainably managed forests.”
Boxi from Semihandmade
Above: Semihandmade has long been on our radar as one of the first US companies to offer doors for Ikea cabinets: see, for instance, Sarah Sherman Samuel’s First Ikea Upgrade and A Design Couple’s Ikea-with-a-Twist Connecticut Kitchen. The Southern California-based company continues to make Ikea add-ons, but also offers Boxi, its own line of affordable cabinets, which, unlike Ikea, arrive fully assembled. Shown here, washable Shaker cabinets in the Boxi test kitchen in Monrovia, CA. Jenna Peffley photo.
Above: A Mount Kisco, New York kitchen makeover with Boxi Slab cabinets in Salt white. Boxi designs are fabricated in the Pacific Northwest of MDF finished with PET made from recycled water bottles or laminate. The average order costs $10,000.
The company also offers pricier Semihandmade Cabinets made in the US of maple plywood that ship flat-packed, and, they say, assemble faster and are stronger than Ikea’s. Photograph by Kate Jordan.
Jewett Farms + Co.
Above: Jewett Farms + Co. is a York, Maine, classic cabinetmaker established as a one-man band in 1999, and now with showrooms in the Boston Design Center and NYC’s Flat Iron—this paneled pantry is in the latter. An in-house team creates and builds its kitchens to order, “without the limits of pre-set designs.”
Above: Each Jewett Farms cabinet is “constructed from start to finish by a cabinetmaker, who has spent their career developing those skills. Our drawers and doors are hand-fitted and hand-sanded, not because it’s the fastest way, but because it’s the best way.”
Shown here, a banquette and fridge cabinet in a kitchen by Kerri Murray Architecture hand painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon. The company also makes bespoke hardwood flooring. Pricing on request.
Henrybuilt
Above: A longstanding member of the Remodelista architect and designer directory, Henrybuilt specializes in clean-lined, exactingly made kitchen systems. This Brooklyn Something Old, Something New Kitchen by architect Shauna McManus was designed for serious cooks with children; its finished in teak and “truly kid-proof laminate.”
Henrybuilt is headquartered in Seattle and has showrooms in NYC, LA, and Mill Valley, CA. The firm likens its fittings to “finely tuned instruments.”
Above: Henrybuilt makes “flexible, interrelated tools for living.” In addition to offering complete kitchen designs—which start at around $80,000—it offers à la carte pieces, including kitchen islands in its Primary Objects collection and its wall storage Opencase System, shown here,
Space Theory
Above: Space Theory is Henrybuilt’s sister company, founded to offer a streamlined and more affordable answer to its “performance kitchens.” This one, in a Springs, New York, 1970s A-Frame, has laminate-finished oak cabinets, Paperstone counters, and Space Theory’s Opencase anodized aluminum wall panels, shelves, and wine rack.
Space Theory’s kitchens begin at $27,500 but most are in the $49,500 to $60,000 range.
Above: Daylight is Space Theory’s stand-alone, steel-gridded island designed to enable users to see what they’ve got and to easily reach it. The structure is customizable in size, finishes, and components—it comes in “a range of playful configurations of drawers, drawer fittings, appliances and specialized storage units.” The countertops are offered in wood, stone, Paperstone, and acrylic. Pricing starts at $12,000 for a three-bay setup.
Here are three favorite architect-designed American kitchens with bespoke cabinets:
