Discover Your Home’s Showcase Kitchen
Most homeowners would agree that their home’s kitchen is the most important room in their home. Our kitchen is the center of our family’s day-to-day living. Our day begins in our kitchen with our first cup of coffee and continues on throughout the day as we cook, dine, and socialize in the kitchen with family and friends.
The kitchen is where we bond, and as Americans, the trend is for families to become even more kitchen-centric in the future as kitchens grow in size with the addition of gourmet appliances, expanded seating areas, flat screen TVs, and even fireplaces. Whether you’re designing a kitchen for your new dream home or redesigning a new kitchen for an existing home, success in creating your home’s showcase kitchen starts with a well-thought out and implemented design.
In this issue of Everything Knoxville, we are excited to introduce you to Knox Cabinet Co. co-owner, Megan Thomas. Megan and her fellow co-owners, Brian Davis and her brother, Lane Thomas, share decades of combined entrepreneurial experience, including residential development and construction, residential remodeling, property management, commercial redevelopment, and kitchen and bath cabinetry design and sales. If you are truly searching for the highest quality kitchen and bathroom cabinetry at near wholesale pricing and a turn-key experience, we think you will enjoy this month’s interview with Megan.
EK: What first inspired you to open Knox Cabinet Co.?
Megan: Launching Knox Cabinet Co. seemed liked a natural extension of our combined experiences and talents. Brian and I have been buying and remodeling existing homes for resale for many years. During this process, we learned the importance of creating dynamic kitchens and baths in the homes we sold. They became the centerpiece of each successful sale. Although we had a wonderful relationship with our cabinet vendor, we began to search for a new cabinet line that offered more options yet was still affordable. After discovering an exciting new cabinet manufacturer, we completed our new showroom on Hardin Valley Road. We like to refer to our new showroom as a Discovery Center, where you can discover all of the possibilities that exist for creating showcase quality kitchens and baths in your homes.
Another thing we think you will enjoy about doing business with Knox Cabinet Co. is the “family feel.” That’s because you will find both Brian’s mom and my mom, in addition to my not-so-little brother, Lane, at our showroom happy to assist you. A former Bearden High School baseball standout, Lane now plays with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. But I have drafted him during the off-season to put his real estate and teamwork expertise to work at Knox Cabinet Co.
EK: Both you and Brian have decades of combined residential development, construction, remodeling, and property management experience. How has this helped you at Knox Cabinet Co.?
Megan: Because we were the customers for so many years, we gained an appreciation for what homeowners shopping for kitchen and bath cabinetry wanted from their cabinet supplier. Our goal is to make your experience of shopping for quality and affordable cabinetry as easy and as seamless as possible, creating for our customers the showcase quality look they are searching for while remaining within their budget.
EK: Tell our readers about the many features and benefits of Knox Cabinet Co.’s kitchen and bath cabinetry.
Megan: All of our cabinets are built from solid wood construction without the particle board and MDF so often found today even in some brand name cabinets, and all drawers are dovetailed. Just a few of the available options include pull-out trash receptacles, microwave cabinets, spice rack pull-outs, and file drawers for starters. But I’m confident that your favorite option will be the multiple stain and paint options and door styles available for you to select from. These are truly high-end cabinets at a very affordable price.
EK: It would appear that many of the standard features of your cabinets are optional with other cabinet manufactures.
Megan: At our price point, you would be correct. Homeowners will find that other comparably priced cabinets do not include the soft-close doors and soft-close dovetailed drawers that we offer as standard features. They will also find that they have far fewer options to select from. All of these added features can transform an ordinary kitchen and bath into an extraordinary kitchen and bath.
EK: Many homeowners will be surprised by both the quality of your cabinets and their competitive pricing. How is that possible?
Megan: Our highest priority from the beginning was to offer a top quality, affordable solid wood cabinet that offered the options that we knew our customers would want in order to create that quality, custom kitchen and bath look. We then developed a proprietary business model with low overhead, custom design capabilities, and intelligent logistics in order to offer this unique value to all our customers.
EK: Share with our readers your turn-key approach, including sales, design, and preferred vendor installation.
Megan: I believe this is truly another area that distinguishes Knox Cabinet Co. from its competitors. We already understood the retail cabinetry marketplace from the perspective of the customer. We simply set out to redesign the experience to make it easier and more enjoyable for our customers to achieve their dream of creating the look that they envisioned. Next we designed a showroom featuring multiple designer created vignettes to help inspire you to discover that showcase quality kitchen and bathroom that are waiting to be discovered in your home. With the assistance of one of our designers, we will guide you through every step of the design process, answer all of your questions, offer recommendations, and even offer CAD drawings using our 2020 design software, which can display your proposed layout design on our 65” flat screen monitor in our dedicated conference room. We have even compiled a preferred vendor list of state certified contractors for your convenience who can assist you in installation of your home’s new cabinets.
As I mentioned before, our goal has been to make things as easy and seamless as possible for our customers. We are in the showroom Monday through Saturday and can help with really anything the customer needs – whether it’s providing an opinion on selections, laying out the customer’s kitchen on 2020 design software, or aligning them with our preferred installers.
EK: Do you also offer a preferred vendor for cabinet countertops?
Megan: Because new cabinets typically require new countertops, each of our vignettes feature a variety of solid surface countertops on all our cabinets designed to inspire you. We also have samples displayed throughout our design showroom for your convenience. Should you discover a surface that you love, we can provide pricing and arrange to have our preferred fabricator/installer come to your home to measure, fabricate, and install your countertops once your new cabinets are installed.
EK: You offer showroom design services. Do you offer in-home design services as well?
Megan: In the home construction and remodeling marketplace, I learned that it is often difficult to accurately describe the kitchen or bath design that the homeowner is attempting to achieve. In those instances, we offer an in-home design service to enable our experienced design staff member to see your project firsthand. Sometimes it’s not just about the measurements of the kitchen, but it’s the layout of the rooms adjoining the kitchen, doorways leading to the kitchen, and the style of the house that gives our staff a better perspective when recommending a particular layout, as well as cabinetry options.
EK: What is your typical turnaround time for cabinet installation?
Megan: While we are primarily focused on quality and service, we understand that time can be of the essence, particularly when your home is under construction. In these instances, we have developed a system that, with the help of our preferred contractors, allows us to have cabinets installed in our customer’s home within two to three weeks from the time of purchase.
EK: How can our readers learn more about Knox Cabinet Co.?
Megan: We’d love for readers to visit our showroom, located at 10238 Hardin Valley Road in Knoxville. Our hours are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. Appointments are encouraged and can be made by calling 865-674-5669. Readers can also visit our website at www.knoxcabinetcompany.com or check us out on Facebook at Knoxville Cabinet Co. or Instagram at @knoxcabinetcompany.
EK: In closing, is there anything else you would like to add?
Megan: We understand that you have many cabinet options to select from, but I would like to encourage your readers to visit our new showroom to discover for themselves not only the quality of our cabinetry, but the selection and competitive pricing as well. Even if you are close to making a final decision, I challenge you to compare our quality and price. Why not let our family help your family to create that showcase kitchen and bathroom that is waiting to be discovered in your home?
Knox Cabinet Co.
10238 Hardin Valley Road
Knoxville, TN 37932
865.674.5669