How Our Custom Cabinetry Design and Deposit Process Works

The most common question we get, right after what it costs, is how the money works. When do you pay, what does the first payment buy, and what happens if you do not like the design after you have put money down? It is a fair thing to want answered before you commit to custom work, and the honest answer is that our process is built so you see the design before you pay for the build. Here is how the design and deposit process actually works at our shop.

First We Quote, Then We Design

Nothing starts with a deposit. We start with a conversation about your project and a quote. That quote is free, and it gives you a real sense of the investment before any money changes hands.

If the quote works for you, the project moves into design. At that point we collect a design deposit, and we go to work drawing the job: layouts, elevations, and a rendering of the actual piece in your actual space. Design is not a separate product we upsell. It is part of how we build, and it is included in the price of the project. The design deposit simply funds the time it takes to get the drawings right, because real design is hours of work, not a sketch on the back of a quote.

Renderings Before You Commit to the Build

This is the part that matters most, and it is the reason the process is ordered the way it is. You see the rendering and approve the design before we collect anything for production. You are looking at the piece, in your room, with your materials, before a single board is cut. If something is not right, this is where we change it. We would rather revise a drawing ten times than build the wrong cabinet once.

Only after the design is approved do we collect a deposit for production and begin building. By then you are not paying for a promise. You are paying to build something you have already seen and signed off on.

How the Payments Are Structured

The payment schedule depends on the size of the project, and we set it up to match the work.

On smaller furniture and single-piece projects, we typically keep it simple: half to begin, half on completion. On a large project, a full-home package or a whole kitchen with built-ins, the payments are staged across the work, something close to fifteen percent to start, thirty-five percent as material is committed and the build begins, forty percent through construction, and the final ten percent at completion. Staging it that way keeps the payments tied to real progress rather than asking for everything up front.

Two things can shift that schedule. If you are working with a general contractor or a designer, their billing process can affect how the draws line up, and we coordinate with them. And if you are financing the project, the type of financing can change the timing too. A construction draw works differently from a home equity line or a cash-out refinance. I spent eight years as a mortgage originator in Athens before I opened the shop, so this is familiar ground. If you want to think through it, we wrote about how homeowners are financing these projects, and I am glad to help you sort out which fits.

Why We Do It This Way

Custom cabinetry is a real investment, and a lot of the fear around it comes from not knowing what you are paying for or when. So we took the guesswork out. You get a quote before you owe anything, a design and a rendering before you commit to the build, and a payment schedule that follows the actual work. If you want to understand the numbers behind a project first, our honest look at what custom cabinets cost in Georgia is a good place to start.

Every project is a little different, and the best way to know how this would work for yours is to talk it through. If you are planning a kitchen, a built-in, or a full home in Watkinsville, Athens, Lake Oconee, or anywhere across North Georgia, tell us about your project and we will walk you through the process and what it would look like for you.