Crafting Dreams: Harold Morantz on Custom Cabinetry from Vision to Reality

Join Bella Bennett as she chats with Harold Morantz of Morantz Custom Cabinetry, a master craftsman with decades of experience. Discover how Harold guides clients from their initial vision through design, fabrication, and installation, creating truly personalized kitchen spaces. Learn about the craftsmanship, quality control, and thoughtful touches that set custom cabinetry apart from mass-produced options. Perfect for anyone considering a kitchen remodel or custom woodworking project.

• How Harold begins the custom cabinetry process by understanding the client’s vision and budget.
• Helping clients feel confident through showroom visits and personalized design collaboration.
• The difference between factory-made, semi-custom, and fully custom cabinetry in terms of flexibility and quality.
• Behind-the-scenes craftsmanship and quality control measures that ensure durability and satisfaction.
• The importance of clear communication, installation professionalism, and long-term service and support.

Transcription

Bella Bennett: Hi, I’m Bella. Thank you for joining me today. I’m really excited to be having this conversation with Harold from Morantz Custom Cabinetry, with decades of experience and a reputation for care, quality, and true craftsmanship. Harold has built more than just beautiful spaces. He built real trust with his clients.

Today, we are going to talk about that process—what it looks like to work with a custom cabinet maker from first ideas to final installation and everything in between. Before we jump into it, Harold, hi again. Welcome. How are you? Thanks.

Harold Morantz: Thank you. Thank you. I’m very well. How are you?

Bella Bennett: Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Let’s start with discovery and vision. When someone reaches out for custom cabinetry, what is the very first thing you like to ask them?

Harold Morantz: Well, the first thing I ask them is what is their, like you say, what is your vision? What are you looking for? I try to define the look that they want to achieve.

I also, of course, have to find out what stage of the process they’re in. Sometimes people want to just refinish an existing kitchen. Most of the time, we’re doing new kitchens, and we’ll set up the framework of what they’re looking for to make sure that I can provide it to them. I also kind of pre-qualify in terms of their budget.

Today, for instance, I got a call from a client that said, “I have some drawings from Lowe’s and I can send them to you.” Well, that was a clue right away. If it’s Lowe’s and I do high-end custom, are you looking for high quality or not? They said no, Lowe’s was too expensive. So I right away said, “There’s no point us speaking because I’m going to be more expensive than Lowe’s.”

So prequalification for me and the client to not waste each other’s time is very, very important. And then, of course, the vision of what they are looking for. Can I make it? Is this the type of product that I can make? And, to be able to satisfy the client.

Bella Bennett: Perfect. That’s such a smart way to do it. What about homeowners who feel overwhelmed by all the options? How do you help them feel comfortable and confident?

Harold Morantz: Well, the first thing I usually request them to do is to come to my showroom. It’s by appointment because I’m in and out a great deal. But our showroom is where our shop is, so they can come in and see the actual cabinets that are being manufactured on the floor.

Basically, help them to zero in on the type of kitchen they’re looking for and find a style that’s pleasing to them. Once we do that, then we can look at colors, we can look at different materials. In terms of the overall project, they usually have a designer, but not always. And if they don’t, then we go through some of the processes of what’s involved. First, they’ve got to get a contractor. Then they have to get their permitting. Do you want to change appliances in place or space? We basically define all the different aspects of what the job is going to entail. Sometimes with timeframes, we often don’t discuss timeframes immediately because a lot of my work is planned months in advance.

So they really have to go through stages first of getting their contractor, getting their licensing, getting their permitting. But I will always advise them as we’re talking on what the different timeframes are and the different steps that are going to occur in the process.

Bella Bennett: Perfect. And, I’m curious, are there any misconceptions people tend to have about working with a custom cabinet maker?

Harold Morantz: Not in my experience. Once someone’s coming to somebody for custom cabinetry, they are not expecting a retail store experience or a box store experience.

They’re expecting personalization. Most of my customers that come to me through referrals, through other clients or their builders and designers, they have a good idea of what custom entails. They know that they can get pretty well anything that they want. They don’t have to worry about large fillers or perhaps a color that is kind of strange.

We work, we’ll spray anything, any color at all if it’s a finished product. And my samples—I have thousands of different materials—so they are coming to me as a custom cabinet maker expecting all the options.

Bella Bennett: Perfect. When it comes to design collaboration, could you please walk us through what the design process looks like at Morantz Custom Cabinetry? How involved are your clients in shaping the final version?

Harold Morantz: Well, they are very involved. Of course, the client—it’s the client’s house. So my first thing is to find out what their needs are. Are you a young family with a lot of children? Are you an older couple and you don’t need such a big space? Are your appliances going to be very high-end and very big? Are they going to be paneled? There are many, many questions that I need to know from them of what they are looking for. If they already have a designer, then those questions are already answered. They’re coming to me with a finished design. We often refine it, because again, the designer is thinking of something specific and if I have some advice on something, I’m not afraid to say.

So, the customer is always right in the end, but if they’re coming to me for custom, they should be taking some of my advice. Basically, I’m there to provide them and make them comfortable with the process, whatever it is. So young families have certain needs. An older couple has different needs. Somebody who has, for instance, maybe a partner in a wheelchair, might need a dishwasher at a different level, might need a sink that they can reach under, they can roll their wheelchair underneath. So each individual has different needs, and basically we have to discuss those needs and plan it appropriately in the design.

Bella Bennett: It sounds like a real collaboration. I think the clients must love being part of it. You literally build the dream space together. Perfect. Absolutely.

Harold Morantz: Absolutely.

Bella Bennett: Yes. And what happens when someone brings you a picture from Pinterest or Houzz? How do you approach those kinds of projects?

Harold Morantz: Well, just like any other project. As a matter of fact, the more pictures and inspiration that my client has, the easier it is for me to be able to refine what they’re looking for.

I myself—I have a site on Houzz and I have over 85 reviews, not over 90 reviews on Houzz already. People very often come to me with a picture, sometimes even one of my kitchens, saying, “I saw this, can we do this?” Or they’ll have another kitchen, or my kitchen and other kitchens, or they’ll have details from a magazine or things that they’ve Googled online, saying, “Can we incorporate this double drawer, double waste pullout? Can we incorporate spice drawers?” So the more educated the client is in what they want and what they need, the easier it is for us to design it, and it makes the communication much clearer and simpler.

Bella Bennett: Perfect. How do you balance the design elements like style, function, and budget when working on a project?

Harold Morantz: Sometimes they have nothing to do with each other. I have had clients where we’ve done massive kitchens for brand new homes that are big enough to play soccer in, with 16-foot islands—and it’s only an older couple. But that’s what they’ve been used to all their life and they want the same thing.

There may be a 48-inch Wolf gas range, or even a 60-inch gas range with three ovens. Those things, sometimes two dishwashers, if they’re socialites and they have lots of parties at their home for charitable events, or if they have a very, very large extended family for the holidays, they may want to have two dishwashers permanently there, even though they may only be used very occasionally.

So, through discussing the client’s needs, we then work with the space that they have to maximize the design—assuming, of course, that the designer isn’t already on the scene, then she would’ve already done that.

Again, like I said before, even if she is, I still would come up with ideas that make improvements, only because the designer is designing this job. She may have designed other jobs, but I’ve been building cabinets for 44 years, so I have experience and the designers appreciate that as well.

By the way, they appreciate the feedback and very often the support that I give them as well—that the design is a good one.

Bella Bennett: That’s a great approach. Let’s skip to fabrication and craftsmanship. What would you say really makes your cabinetry stand out from a factory-made or semi-custom option?

Harold Morantz: Well, factory-made options are usually locked into certain sizes. They don’t have the flexibility that we have in terms of manufacturing. If a client has a very specific need or a very specific dimension, we can build our cabinetry, of course, to the exact length of that wall, leaving a three-quarter inch filler.

Not usually more than that. If there’s a large door that opens up and has to open at the end of a wall, then we might leave a two-inch filler to allow for a large handle to not hit the wall next to it. But the design of a custom kitchen is everything according to what the customer wants.

We’ve had all kinds of requests. I’ve had clients that want a pullout for a simple Cuisinart, which is not very heavy. A Cuisinart you can take out and put on your counter and use—it doesn’t weigh much, a couple of pounds.

Some clients have a large KitchenAid with the hook and everything, which might weigh 15 pounds.

They have different needs for that. Some people don’t need as much recycling, some want more recycling. Some customers, if they have a family with children, when we design a pantry, for instance, I ask them right away, “Do you buy your cereals at Costco?” because the Costco boxes are way taller than the ones you buy in Publix.

You know, that’s a standard cereal box size, but the Costco ones are huge. I have to take that into account in having a very large pullout for those things in the pantry.

So all the things—through getting to know the client, their family situation, and their desires—we then plan the design accordingly.

If you’re just going into a box store, they don’t care about that. They’re not going to ask you. And they don’t have the flexibility. When they do a pantry, there’s full-height pullouts and they put them at standard heights.

I basically look in the customer’s present kitchen and say, “Well, you might need some tall things here, some short things there, to use a lot of canned goods.”

We discuss all these things, so it becomes a much more intimate relationship and we can satisfy the customer’s needs much more readily than a box store or even a semi-custom. Semi-custom is still also a mass-produced product, but it’s made in larger numbers of sizes or a larger variety of colors. They won’t just offer white and brown or something like that.

So somebody custom is not that different than a standard, whereas total custom is exactly that. We can do the kitchen in leather, in suede, lacquer, any material at all. So the possibilities are endless.

Bella Bennett: And how do you choose materials, finishes, and construction techniques for your projects? Is it always based on client input?

Harold Morantz: Not always. Our construction techniques are pretty set by our shop in terms of how we like to build cabinets.

The general saying is if you ask 10 different cabinet makers how they make a drawer, everybody will give you a different reason for the way they make it.

So our processes have been refined over the years. We, of course, are not only looking to make a strong and beautiful product, but we want to make it profitably as well. We’ve picked processes in our manufacturing which I’ve refined over the years to produce things faster and, of course, not lose any of the quality.

A common question about that would be dovetail drawers. People ask about dovetail drawers. Dovetail drawers are very pretty, but they have very thin bottoms. And if you’ve got a 36-inch pot and pan drawer with a lot, a lot of weight, they are not as suitable as the drawers we do, which have a full three-quarter inch bottom.

I often open up my drawers and I stand inside, and nothing happens to the track or the drawer. So, we build according to our standards of how we construct things in the shop, but we will modify it according to what the customer’s needs are. Finishes really vary. If a client has a young family and they want to do something in a white painted material, we’ll do it, but I will give them a caveat saying you are looking at five, maybe 10 years down the road of refinishing again because paint doesn’t last forever. Something that is an acrylic material that also is white—it could be high gloss or not white high gloss—you can wash it forever. All you need is a rag, a little spritz with some Windex, and it comes clean right away.

So, according to the family’s needs and according to the look that they want to achieve, we suggest the best material for that project.

Bella Bennett: That’s such a thoughtful process. It really feels customized from the ground up. Are there any features or techniques you use that people don’t notice right away but really appreciate later on?

By the way, this is my most favorite question in this interview, so I’m really curious about this.

Harold Morantz: Not so much in the sense that when a client comes to us, I believe in total education and total transparency. So there’s very little that we would do that later on they would say, “You know, they wouldn’t ask me why,” or they would assume that’s what they’re getting, because when they come into the—it’s not just a showroom where they’re seeing imaginary cabinets on a computer screen.

When a client wants a lazy Susan, I take them into the shop and show them a live lazy Susan that we’re manufacturing at the time, or double garbage pullout or whatever. They get to see the machinery. They get to see the way things are built. They’re watching my guys building things.

I do it, of course, safely. We have a large, large space. I’ll ask the guys to stop cutting while we’re going through with the client. We have great dust control and no one’s going to get hurt, but you know, it’s not like going into a car mechanic where they stop you and say, “You can’t come past this line because of our insurance laws.”

I will stop everybody’s production, take a client on a complete tour, and they will see everything that they’re going to be getting.

That being said, I still like to surprise customers with little extras. So if I see that there’s something that would be really, really applicable, there’s some extra space somewhere, and I have a space to put in, let’s say above a garbage drawer, if I have some extra space and I can do another little pillow drawer for them to put their garbage bags in, I’ll do it without asking them. I mean, just to—and they’ll be very, “Oh, wow, I didn’t know you were going to do that.”

But generally, we’re building according to the design, especially with a designer. We don’t want to go against their plan. If there’s a little something extra that I can see that will be helpful, I’ll do it.

Bella Bennett: Oh, perfect. That’s so sweet. And I’m sure by the time it goes, they’re exploring all of those advantages, what they got. And when it comes to installation and experience, what should customers expect during installation and what do you do to make that experience smoother?

Harold Morantz: Well, even before the installation, we, of course, are licensed and have insurance and workman’s compensation.

So if we’re going into a home, that’s not as much of an issue, although we do provide our insurance so they know that if anything ever happens, they’re covered. In condominiums, we have to supply the building with our certificate of insurance and give them all the information. Everything that arrives is going to be wrapped, is going to be labeled.

We build our cabinets; we build a complete project in the shop before we deliver it. So I do have a lot of clients that are snowbirds from New York, Chicago, Toronto, and they aren’t always here while the renovation’s going on. So we will constantly be taking photos of the work as it progresses.

There are several advantages to that. They will see what they’re getting so there’s no misunderstanding later. Even though we do full 3D renderings of the kitchen, people like to see the actual cabinets. It also keeps the customer engaged and very excited about what they’re going to be getting.

So that’s pre-installation. Our delivery is done with our own trucks. My guys are totally experienced handling freight elevators, handling, you know, we cover the hallways with plastic or cardboard. And then when we get to the client’s house again, everything is protected, and we’re told with total respect for the clients.

Usually, their apartment looks like an empty space because we’re often doing complete renovations. But if the rest of the house is already furnished, we will tape off the walls and only work in the area that we’re in. My guys know to be respectful in a client’s house.

Very often, while we’re installing, the clients have lots of questions. They see a cabinet that doesn’t have a finished end and right away say, “Is it going to look like that?” We explain to them, “No, there’s an added panel going on there. What you’re looking at right now is just the raw cabinet without a finish on one side.”

They’ll look at the doors and say, “But the doors aren’t level.” I say, “Don’t worry.” They’ll say, “Don’t worry. Once it’s installed, we have adjustable legs and hinges that can be adjusted. Everything will be perfect.” They’re trained to be able to discuss that with the client.

I can’t be at every installation, and they’re trained to discuss that with the client and make them feel relaxed and comfortable.

Bella Bennett: Oh, perfect. I love it. They’re all so excited and curious, but that sounds so professional. My next question is, do you build everything in advance or do you sometimes adjust things on site?

Harold Morantz: We build everything in advance. It has happened—you know, nobody’s perfect—we suddenly realized we are oversized by two inches while my guys are installing. It might only happen to one cabinet. One of the guys will put it back in the truck, drive it back.

All of our stuff is very modern and easy to take apart and modify.

So if we have to cut something down, we do it, come back, and put it back in. The customer will never know there was a mistake. But these things happen rarely. We do go on site before anything is built to get critical measurements. If there’s no drywall yet in a new construction, we take off the width of the drywall plus room for a spacer.

We also are very careful about marking all the walls on the location where every cabinet is going, along with where we want all the LED electrical components to be. So if there’s an outlet behind a microwave drawer—microwave drawers, which are built into the base cabinet—basically have a space for an outlet on the left-hand side near the top of the microwave. We will mark that on the wall. We will also speak to the electrician, provide them with our drawings and all the explanations of where we need anything.

We will check where the plumbing is. Is the plumbing in the right place? Did the plumber follow our directions? Most of the time it’s fine. Sometimes the plumbing ends up being on the wall between two cabinets before we get there. We want to know that so they can do the adjustment. Otherwise, we’re going to get there and I’m going to have to send my guys back to the shop because they can’t work.

So the integration of everything requires all the trades to be working from the same page, which is our drawing or the designer’s drawing. Everybody’s got to follow the same directions or we’re all over the place.

Bella Bennett: Yeah, that sounds amazing. Are there any behind-the-scenes quality control steps you take that customers might not see?

Harold Morantz: Oh sure. I mean, the whole shop is based on quality control. Every step we have documented, and each person signs off on what they did. The general rule and principle that should be in every cabinet shop is: don’t pass something on to the next guy. So if something’s being cut and there’s a chip, well, cut a new piece.

Don’t pass it on to the next guy and let him build the cabinet. And after the cabinet’s built, if somebody says, “Oh, wait a minute, there’s a chip inside,” now you’re going to have to take the cabinet apart. So things like that—each person is responsible for their steps, and they are responsible to sign off on those steps before they pass it on to the next person.

So quality control is essential to build properly.

Even when we receive materials—when materials come in—we have a purchase order that we make to our vendor. I always tape samples of those materials onto the purchase order. So when the shipment arrives at our factory, whether it’s laminate materials or veneer, when my guys get the shipment, they take a look at the purchase order, look at the color, look at the color of the sample, and know they’re building the right thing.

Otherwise, they could get something, not realize the color, build it, and then the customer receives it and says, “That’s not the color I ordered.”

Everyone’s shocked, right? It has to be checked all along the way.

Bella Bennett: Yeah. So it’s all about teamwork and step-by-step controls.

Harold Morantz: Yes, yes.

Bella Bennett: Yeah. And this will be our last topic—post-project trust and support. Once a project is finished, how do you handle service or follow-ups if someone needs a tweak or adjustment?

Harold Morantz: That is something we are always ready to do. We may not be able to do it the same day, but we’ll certainly do it within a week, or sometimes sooner. It kind of depends on where we’re working, which neighborhood. If we are doing a lot of installations in bulk, or we are a small shop—I have two crews that do installations and they’re the same guys—we do everything ourselves. So if they’re really booked up, unless it’s something dangerous, if something’s actually loose, then I’ll go myself right away and take care of it.

I only have my car, but in the back of my car I have screwdrivers, an electric drill, and things I need for adjustments.

Adjustments and service are part of any manufactured product. Nobody buys a car and never goes to their dealer for service. When they’re there for their service, they might say, “Oh, can you take a look at this? By the way, there’s something not right there,” right? Something is rubbing or whatever.

And of course, it’s also the garage’s responsibility to tell you, “Great, this car is fantastic, but your tires are worn out; time for new tires.” So we have the same situation.

Doors open and close. We use hardware that is all clip-on as opposed to just screwed on, so they automatically lock in place.

But over time, adjustments are necessary. So if it’s something that we’ve done that is incorrect, I’ll send somebody over for a service call at no charge. If it’s something they did wrong, which can happen—maybe a large family and a couple of kids hang on a door and swing and break something—then we charge them for it.

But generally, as a matter of fact, with Houzz, we’ve won Best of Houzz every year since 2013 up until this year. Our award is always for service. The people who remark on Google or Houzz, who give us reviews, always add that.

And I tell them, don’t be afraid to say something. If there’s something that you saw and you’re not happy, say so. I submit that Mr. Morantz proudly corrected that, right? Because nobody’s perfect. Service is part of the job.

The timeframe can depend on what the project is, but generally I don’t consider my time limits on service as long as the person needs me. We’ll be there.

If it’s a really long time, there will be a service charge for the work. If not, we’ll just fix it the way it’s supposed to be done.

Bella Bennett: That’s such a reassuring approach. It really shows long-term commitment.

Harold Morantz: Yeah.

Bella Bennett: And next question, what do you hear most often from your clients after a project is complete?

Harold Morantz: Well, basically it really depends on the client. There are some clients that you never hear from again. There are clients that send lovely notes. Sometimes it happens that they’ll give my guys tips, saying, “We were so happy with the work.”

I do always ask for a review.

Afterwards, because that is integral to my business, whether it’s a Google review or whether it’s a Houzz review. Generally speaking, people are usually pretty amenable and more than happy to do it. If a customer’s really, really happy, they’ll do it. Sometimes customers don’t really care.

They’re really, really happy, but they’re busy. So getting them to give a review is sometimes like pulling teeth. But I try to give them incentives to do it, and usually people do. I’ve probably done hundreds of jobs since I’ve been here in the past 20 years, since opening up here. And I don’t have anywhere near that many reviews.

People do tend to go on with their lives afterwards, but I do have a lot of people that I meet within my community, within the religious Jewish community. We’ll meet later on in a store, in a bakery, in a butcher shop, and they’ll say, you know, “By the way, I’m really, really still really, really happy with the kitchen or with the wall unit or with the closets.”

So we get pretty good feedback.

Bella Bennett: Oh, that’s so sweet. And last question: for someone just starting to think about custom cabinetry, what one piece of advice would you give to them?

Harold Morantz: My first piece of advice is do your due diligence. The first person they’re going to have to find is generally a contractor.

If it’s a complete home renovation or the contractor for the kitchen, they’re certainly always welcome to come see me first for the cabinets, and my main goal is to get them into the showroom—to come see what we’ve got, come see what we can offer. That right away puts us in a situation of discussion.

And then of course, that helps them a bit with their budget. They have to, before they start thinking of a renovation, be ready for that budget. Sometimes a housewife calls me, or the husband calls me and says, “We want to do this renovation.” Later on the husband says, “You know, it’s too much money,” and they don’t do it. So, it depends.

But the person obviously has to know what they want, how they want to start, how they want to proceed, and then they look to the professionals—whether it’s the contractor, the architect, or myself, the cabinet maker, or the countertop people—to get all the particulars that they need.

Bella Bennett: Amazing. These were my questions for today. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to add or share with the people who might be watching or listening?

Harold Morantz: I think the main thing is to do your due diligence. Ask as many questions as you want. No question is a bad question. I’m always surprised by questions people ask. I’m always happy to show them, tell them, explain the answers that I know, and show them the product.

Just like anything else, an educated customer is always the best customer because they are not surprised later, and they know the steps they have to take to get to where they want to go.

Bella Bennett: Thank you so much, Harold. It’s been a real pleasure to hear your story and your process and everything. It’s clear how much care and passion you bring to every detail. Thanks again for being part of this session. We look forward to seeing more of the incredible work coming out of Morantz Custom Cabinetry.

Thank you. Take care and see you soon.

Harold Morantz: Nice. Be well, Bella. Bye-bye.