Kitchen Remodel in Calabasas: Cherry Cabinets to Stained Shaker and an Island
This Calabasas kitchen was functional but dated: cherry raised-panel cabinets, a busy mosaic backsplash and dark granite. The owners wanted a warmer, lighter kitchen with an island in the same footprint.
Project at a glance
| Location | Calabasas, CA |
| Completed | July 2026 |
| Project type | Kitchen remodel, same footprint |
| Scope | Demolition, new stained shaker cabinets with lit glass uppers, island, quartz counters, tile backsplash, range hood, under-cabinet lighting, flooring |
Before
Cherry cabinets to the ceiling, a small mosaic backsplash, black granite and a microwave over the range.
Demolition and cabinets
The old cabinets, counters and backsplash came out in a day. The new cabinet boxes were set in place and leveled before the island was built, which is the stage the middle photo shows.
The finish
Stained shaker doors with glass-front upper cabinets lit from inside, a stainless chimney hood over the range, white quartz counters and a matching island with seating on one side.
The result
Same footprint, but the room reads twice as large because the cabinets are lighter and the island replaced a dead corner.
Reface, refinish or replace
This kitchen went from cherry cabinets to stained shaker doors with a new island. The most common question at the start of a project like this is whether the existing cabinets can be kept, and the answer turns entirely on the boxes rather than the doors.
| What changes | When it makes sense | What it will not fix | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refinish | Doors and boxes stripped and re-coated in place | Solid wood doors in a style you like, sound boxes | Layout, door style, interior fittings |
| Reface | New doors, drawer fronts and veneer on the box faces | Good boxes in the right places, dated doors | Layout, box depth, poor interiors |
| Replace | Everything | Layout is changing, boxes are particleboard or water-damaged, you want drawers instead of doors | Nothing — but it is the expensive option |
The test is straightforward. Open a lower cabinet and look at the interior. Solid plywood boxes, square, with doors that still close true, are worth keeping. Sagging particleboard shelves, swollen bases under the sink, or boxes that were never square are not, and no amount of new doors will change how that kitchen works.
Why shaker survived and cherry dated
Cherry cabinets read as a specific decade, largely because of the finish rather than the wood. Cherry darkens with light exposure, and the heavy warm-toned lacquers used through the nineties and two-thousands accelerated that. The wood itself is excellent.
Shaker is a flat centre panel with a square frame — the simplest door there is. It stays current because it has no period detailing to date, it works in paint or stain, and it does not fight whatever else is in the room. Stained shaker, as here, keeps visible grain while losing the orange.
The island is the actual decision
Adding an island is a bigger change than new cabinets, because an island is not furniture. It occupies circulation space, and it usually wants power — and sometimes water and waste, which means opening the floor.
- Clearance is the constraint. Roughly a metre of walkway either side is what makes a kitchen with an island comfortable rather than a corridor. Islands fail when they are added to rooms that cannot hold them.
- Power has to get there. An island receptacle means a circuit crossing the floor. On a slab, that means cutting concrete — a real cost that has to be established at design stage.
- Seating changes the depth. An overhang for stools needs enough projection to sit at, and beyond a certain projection a stone top needs support underneath rather than relying on the stone.
- Sink or hob on the island multiplies the work: drainage and venting, or gas and ventilation, in the middle of a floor.
Before, during and after
Related: Kitchen remodeling · Remodeling in the San Fernando Valley · Kitchen remodel cost guide
What a Calabasas kitchen remodel involves
Calabasas issues its own building permits, and a kitchen that moves plumbing, gas or circuits needs one. Custom cabinets take about three weeks to manufacture, so cabinet selection is locked before demolition starts and the rest of the schedule is built around that date. Our kitchen remodel permit guide explains what is permitted and what is not, and kitchen remodeling describes how we run the job. We work across Los Angeles County from Van Nuys.
Questions about kitchen cabinets
Is refacing actually cheaper?
Meaningfully, yes — typically a fraction of replacement, because the boxes and the labour of setting them stay. But it only makes sense if the layout is right. Refacing a kitchen you do not like the shape of is spending money to keep the problem.
Painted or stained?
Painted is currently more common and shows chips more clearly at edges and around handles. Stain shows grain and hides wear better, and it is harder to change your mind about later. Neither is more durable in principle — the finish quality and how it was applied matter far more than the colour.
Should I get soft-close everywhere?
Yes, and drawers rather than doors in the lower cabinets. Deep lower cabinets with doors mean kneeling and reaching into the dark for things at the back. Drawers bring the contents to you. It is the single upgrade people notice most in daily use and it is rarely what they ask for at the start.
How long does a cabinet kitchen take?
The build is not usually the long part — the lead time is. Custom or semi-custom cabinets are manufactured to order, and that is measured in weeks. The sequence that matters is that cabinets are measured after the walls are final, stone is templated after the cabinets are set, and each of those steps has a wait built into it.
More kitchen remodeling work and our Los Angeles service area page.
Thinking about a similar project?
Custom cabinets take about three weeks to manufacture; we schedule demolition around their delivery so the kitchen is out of service for as short a time as possible. Green Design and Build is a licensed residential general contractor (CSLB #1110975) based in Van Nuys. We reply within one business day.