Ask here about the pleasures and pitfalls of buying, selling or renting property and real estate in Hua Hin. Building, design and construction topics welcome. Commercial or promotional posts for real estate companies or private properties are forbidden.
There is a place in Prachuab (past the lights on the main road, near the Mitsu garage on the right if you're heading south) that custom designs and builds kitchen cupboards, shelves, draws, units etc. Not the cheapest but a snip compared to what is on offer in Hua Hin's flowery furniture stores.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
I am planning to completely redo my kitchen, new cupboards, counters, sink, stove, faucets, etc. I want to engage a company to come take measurements and develop a design proposal, and then to accomplish the entire upgrade. I want to modernize my kitchen. I've briefly looked at Boontavorn, hafelle, and a couple of other places, but have not engaged anyone yet. Does anyone have experiences with these companies, good or bad, and can anyone make a solid recommendation based on experience ? The satisfactory and timely delivery of the final product is just as important as price for me. Also, can anyone provide information on types and reasons for choosing one type of countertop over another ?
Jesse wrote:I am planning to completely redo my kitchen, new cupboards, counters, sink, stove, faucets, etc. I want to engage a company to come take measurements and develop a design proposal, and then to accomplish the entire upgrade. I want to modernize my kitchen. I've briefly looked at Boontavorn, hafelle, and a couple of other places, but have not engaged anyone yet. Does anyone have experiences with these companies, good or bad, and can anyone make a solid recommendation based on experience ? The satisfactory and timely delivery of the final product is just as important as price for me. Also, can anyone provide information on types and reasons for choosing one type of countertop over another ?
Granite tops looks good but are easy to stain, especially with lime/lemon juice.
We have recently had a kitchen from scratch and chose Boontavorn as against Cabinet. The reason was the much better graphic computer design which they do and change in front of you as well as a much better price quote. The Danish Kvik was the type chosen by us and we chose accessories from various company advertising they had.
We also chose black granite and my experience of granite over 20+ years is that it has never stained albeit that the colour was always dark.
Courage is grace under pressure and when circumstances change you change your mind.
PET wrote:We have recently had a kitchen from scratch and chose Boontavorn as against Cabinet. The reason was the much better graphic computer design which they do and change in front of you as well as a much better price quote. The Danish Kvik was the type chosen by us and we chose accessories from various company advertising they had.
We also chose black granite and my experience of granite over 20+ years is that it has never stained albeit that the colour was always dark.
Granite is porous and needs to be sealed properly to avoid it absorbing liquids, esp oils and acids like lemon/lime juice - I must have been unfortunate to have selected a supplier who didn't seal the work tops (properly) and as a result have some stains. Other than that a good choice for here in Thailand as not too expensive.
You could also check out Jeff Sachaskul at Authentica. It's on the NE corner of Soi 68 at Petchkasem. We had a kitchen island built by them and are very pleased. Jeff took a great deal of time showing us various materials and making recommendations. His price was about half of what Cabinet quoted.
Thanks for the tips and information, especially on the need to properly seal granite countertops. I'm wondering, besides granite, what are the other choices for countertops that are available here in Thailand ? In Alaska, we had a high end home that had a "Corian" countertop that we enjoyed very much, although I never really understood what it really was...
Corian-type composites are widely available. That's what we got from Authentica. It's an acrylic polymer mixed with compounds to give color, depth and texture.
I remember when we were looking at countertops (not here in Thailand) There were a number of ones, like Corian. I remember each, including granite, had it's goods and bads. Can't remember if it was Corian, but one was not heat resistant and would leave a burn ring if a hot pot was placed on it.
We eventually went with granite. As long as it's sealed properly, and again every few years, it was pretty resistant to everything, although you had to be careful with citrus juices
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
I think the surface we got for our condo is engineered quartz, which is ground up natural quartz mixed with a polymer. It tolerates heat better than Corian.
In my home I have granite. Eight years and no sign of staining. I am thinking of having it resealed.