Have you been dreaming about a new kitchen, but the expense and amount of work keep putting that dream on the backburner? A kitchen remodeling project can be daunting and expensive, even for an experienced woodworker. Thanks to cabinet and furniture maker Jonathan Benson, you can transform your kitchen for less by using stock cabinetry and a well-thought-out plan.

From having a solid design that meets the needs of everyone using the space, to advice and lessons on what to know before going cabinet shopping, or how to live in a construction zone, Benson and his wife Sherry, a former chef and restaurant owner, show you how a little team work can make a kitchen remodel go more smoothly.

Transforming Your Kitchen with Stock Cabinetry will put you right in the heart of a remodeling project, which happens to be the Benson's own kitchen, and guide you through the complete process. The inspirational gallery at the end of the book is filled with beautiful photos and gives true meaning to the term "dream kitchen."

Jonathan Benson is a professional furniture maker who specializes in contemporary curved pieces with extensive veneer figures. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, he has won numerous prestigious design awards and is the author of Wood Art Today. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

It is a step by step "Layout your design, go to Lowes, buy cabinets and we will show you how to do a total make over of your kitchen from tearing down the dry wall to setting the door handles. So, as some of you know Mike and I just moved to a new home (almost a year ago). So I am browsing through this book and Mike is waiting for his turn to look at it. So my smile is getting bigger and bigger as I look through the ideas and instructions. So Mike finally gets the book in his hand, flips through the pages and then turns to me saying, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT" .... grin ... I didn't tell him it was too late ...

I started flipping through this book, Transforming Your Kitchen With Stock Cabinetry, without any vision of redoing my kitchen, but just after a few pages I was inspired and hopeful!

The book, by Jonathan Benson (a cabinet and furniture maker) and Sherry Benson (an executive chef), not only shows a variety of different styles and layouts of kitchens, but also walks the reader through the 'how-to's” of redoing a kitchen using ready-made cabinets.

Throughout the pages, tips are given as to what to do and what 'not to do”, ways to reduce the costs, and how to ensure you have a workspace that is conducive to your needs as well as being functional regarding actually using the space.

For home-owners who don't have the ability to make their own custom cabinets or the finances to have some made, this is a perfect alternative – installing the ready-made variety. With the inspirational photos and the step-by-step directions, the idea of a new kitchen space is definitely a possibility!

My Ratings of The Book
Layout and Appearance: Good balance of inspirations, tips and how-to photos and directions. Thumbs Up!
Instructions: Very clear and detailed. Thumbs Up!
Overall: Thumbs Up!