Today's topic: Robertson's Kitchens

What it is: A locally-owned custom kitchen and bath design company.

What they do: Design kitchens and baths and...perhaps more importantly, for any of my DIY readers, they sell lots of kitchen and bath materials -- and the ones on hand are sold cheap!

What this means to you: Instead of going to Lowes or Home Depot and choosing from the limited selection of vanities or cabinets, you can go to a locally-owned business and browse from a wide selection of stuff already on hand (or order anything you want). And....get this...it's cheap. I'm talking 36" bathroom vanities for $120 (that doesn't include the top, of course, but still...).

Why I'm telling you this: Because I wasn't even aware (so I'll assume others don't know) that local kitchen and bath stores sold single cabinets and....in fact, have several on hand (either because they keep them in stock or because people order them and don't like them).

What's on hand: Mr. Robertson took me over to the warehouse and showed me tons of vanities, cupboards and cabinets they have in stock. They've even got an entire area of odds-and-ends (brand new) cabinets and such that they are selling DIRT cheap because the customer didn't like it...it didn't fit, etc. etc. Among the things they have on hand at Robertson's? Several kinds of kitchen cabinets, a couple of large kitchen pantries, buffet cabinetry and more. Honestly...if you have any use for cabinetry in your home in some odd place...like the laundry room, the garage or a craft room -- you could get quality stuff, dirt cheap.

So, what did I buy: Well, after all my talk about the "bargains" I ended up ordering something instead of buying an in-stock item because I had my heart set on a white vanity with the grayish Corian top and they were out of white vanities. So...we ordered one. They did have a piece of Corian on hand that they could use to create the top (they have lots of pieces big enough for bath vanities).

Why I'd recommend Robertson's: They designed my sister's kitchen and then my mother's kitchen and both are works of culinary art. They are also incredibly nice and it's obvious that customer service is a priority with them. They'll drive you over the warehouse, spend an hour showing you vanities, offer you lunch, work up any number of a thousand prices for you, come to your house so they get accurate measurements.... Try getting one of the vested crew at Lowes or Home Depot to do that for you...you're lucky if they even acknowledge you when you're standing in front of them with a credit card in your hand.

Beyond Robertson's: I can't say..because I didn't go to any other places...but I think that other area kitchen stores (Chardon kitchen, Kitchens by Paulette, etc.) probably have some in-stock stuff they sell cheap and they can, of course, order anything your heart desires.