Rex Custom Cabinet Shop

Asked Rick if he could help pick up where our contractor left of on a custom kitchen cabinet job — and he did brilliantly! Completed a number of box drawers, pulls and cabinet ends at a very reasonable cost!

Rick makes amazing things. He is very helpful and super affordable for a custom cabinet shop. I highly recommend him and his services!

Rick returned our calls and bid on our project in a timely manner. We submitted drawings for two sets of cabinets. He submitted a bid that looked good to us. We took it to our clients and they approved with a couple minor changes. We resubmitted drawings to reflect the changes (a few drawers instead of doors) and he resubmitted a bit that was a few hundred bucks more.
All was good at this point so we went in to talk in person about the finer details. This is when he alerted us to the fact that he didn’t include one of the cabinets in the total cost of the bid. A $ 4,000 job was now a $ 6,000 job because he didn’t have his excel spreadsheet set up correctly. Twice. Yup, he messed it up both times with us and possibly many others, who knows.
After informing us of this he didn’t apologize or try to help us in any way, he just said it was a minor error and that he couldn’t build the cabinets for that price. Now we’re up a creek without a paddle. Totally unprofessional.

Well, I’m getting custom size cabinets, hand made locally in this shop, they’ll be ready 2 weeks, ready to install. The cost 30 percent less than Home Depot! Rick Kalem is fast, efficient, provided many upgrades at no charge, with in budget!
I had 3 bids, theirs was the most comprehensive and complete bid! No hidden charges!!! I’m real happy with order!
Nice show room, you can see the whole process, from an idea to wood building, and finished product under the same roof!!! Much better than Home cheapo cabinets!!!

My contractor just left for the weekend, and my gorgeous new handcrafted kitchen cabinets are up on the walls, glowing in the afternoon sun: smooth as silk, maple with a hint of buttermilk yellow, beveled glass doors hinting at treasures within.
And where did these beauties come from? A local Oakland business, Rex Cabinets, situated at the foot of Fruitvale Avenue — a fixture in our community for forty years. Indeed, the present shop foreman has been there for thirty years.
But the best part? I didn’t come in with a big order for a large home in a prestigious neighborhood. I was remodeling a small, 1940’s kitchen, in a workingman’s cottage located just below Highway 13. I had never remodeled a kitchen before but I had researched cabinets on-​line and in periodicals, priced cabinets at various outlets including Home Depot, and was sure I couldn’t afford custom cabinets. But unable to find what I wanted ready-​made, I finally dropped into Rex Cabinets to see if there was another option. And boy was there!
Rick Kalem, the partner in charge, worked with my amateur measurements, rough drawing, and magazine photograph of the desired cabinets to produce just what I wanted, right down to a stain that matched my existing flooring. He treated me as if I had brought in the largest order of the year, accommodating every one of my design requests, and even adding a few extras for which he refused to charge me. And it’s not like I’m «one of the guys» who could talk Rick’s language — I’m a «little old lady» who only knew what she wanted.
I cannot recommend Rex Cabinets and Rick highly enough. If you need cabinets of any sort — kitchen, bathroom, family room — or a stand-​alone piece like a work station, liquor cabinet, buffer or credenza, it’s the place to go for fine workmanship and unexcelled customer service. And the best part? The extra cost is much less than the increased quality and design flexibility, compared to ready-​made cabinets.

Strange experience. I rode down on my bike to look for cabinets to add to my kitchen. The owner queried if I was working with an architect and promptly dismissed me as not a serious candidate to purchase cabinets. In fact I was told I was supposed to come in knowing what I want to buy. I wanted to look around, and he discouraged me from that. Like a previous reviewer — owner did not seem interested in my business because perhaps it wasn’t a BIG job, or architect driven or he thought I didn’t have money. I would never buy cabinets here. I also thought the displays were ancient.

Love em! I recently went to Rex with a small project for my «mini’ kitchen makeover. Looking back, I was every cabinet maker’s nightmare… I wasn’t working with a designer, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted, and I kept thinking of additional things I wanted. Rick was patient and helpful, and came up with some brilliant suggestions on the best use of my space. He went so far as to have me measure my spice bottles so we’d be sure the cabinets were exactly as needed. I couldn’t be happier with the finished project. Rex Custom Cabinets is the BOMB!

I was in a jam working on my kitchen remodel. I stopped in and asked
them to help me out and they were awsome. They were very detail
oriented and wanted my countertop to be cut Perfect and it was.
Would recomend to anyone.