Kitchens Etc of Ventura County

Overall people included in the process is excellent.

Excellent!! Very organized, clean.  Daily communication on what was being done each day and who was doing it.  Always on time and very helpful.  Could not recommend them more highly!!!

If we could give then an A+++++ we would.  They helped us select handles and knobs and did not try to up sell us, they went with a product that was simple and elegant and looks great!   They came out an measured and dropped by through out the process.  Their installer, Ryan, also did an awesome job.  He was knowledgable, professional and a joy to watch the detail and fine tuning that went into the installation.  We got so many compliments on our kitchen that they wanted to take pictures, which they did, and their photographer was wonderful too! 
Both Dean and Michelle have been in the industry for a number of years and have honed their craft.  The greatest part though is their personalities.  They were wonderful to work with and I would choose them again if we ever move and need to fix up our home.   I would "highly" recommend them if you are considering a facelift on an existing property or new construction.  

Dean and Michelle Oldenkamp were so professional and helpful with the ideas.  Their crew was amazing - on time, clean and friendly.

Work completed 5 or 6 years ago.  Refaced all cabinets in kitchen and one bathroom.  Very happy with outcome.

I have been doing one project a year since I retired 2 years ago, and this year I took on a completed downstairs renovation, which included a kitchen, bath, den , living and dining rooms, entryway and a couple of closets. I started the contractor interviews in April and May and selected Kitchens Etc from a list of 4 contractors. I interviewed 3 contractors and Dean and Michelle from Kitchens Etc impressed my the most. The have over 30 years experience doing kitchens and baths, and both compliment each others skills so that there is little of no guess work by the customer. Michelle is there to provide the design and creative side of the team and Dean provides all the mechanical and engineering expertise.
They domo'd to the studs the kitchen and bath and took up the existing floors in early July. Over the course of the next 8 weeks all the plumbing, electrical, insulation, wallboard, cabinet, fixtures, appliances, granite, tile, floors, paint and anything else that goes with a complete new kitchen and bath was performed pretty darn close to schedule.
Kitchens Etc does not use subcontractors, as all the technicians are employees and did an outstanding job. Their attention to detail resulted in not only in a beautiful kitchen and bath, but an extremely functional space as well. Either Dean or Michelle or both visited the job in progress daily and kept me informed of what was planned for each day. Both worked to resolve design issues and worked extremely hard to keep the job on schedule while allowing for changes I made during the project. They were easy to work with and provided their honest opinions and input when needed.
I will be using Kitchens Etc when I remodel my master bath for my next project and can say I would highly recommend this company to anyone considering a new kitchen and/or bath. The quality is outstanding, the service is superb and the results just beautiful.

Short Version: We spent hours (over 2 weeks) picking out everything (because Kitchens etc. insisted we do that before they can give us a quote) for a new kitchen in a new house we were buying. They promised to give us a quote in 2 weeks. Now a month after their measurements of the kitchen, we still don't have a quote, haven't heard a peep from them and now will have to pay thousands of dollars (carrying two mortgages for one month) because of the delayed kitchen re-model. Save your time and money and avoid Kitchens Etc. of Ventura County. If he can't be responsive before he takes my money, I can only imagine how poor the service would be once someone pays him.
Long version: Initially even before the owner of this kitchen remodel company (its been so long since I talked to him that I can't remember the name) visited our new house, I spent hours over 3 different phone calls talking to one of their assistants and designers on the process for what we will need to go through. After his visit, they insisted we come to their showroom so we pick out styles for cabinets, hardware and other preferences. They promised to give us a design and a quote for the complete kitchen remodel. They insisted that we pick out appliances and everything else before they could give us a quote. So in the midst of buying a house, we spent hours making sure Kitchen'sEtc. had everything they need as soon as possible to provide us the quote as they promised. They never called us. We called a couple of times and the owner basically told me that he is too busy and he can't even estimate by when he can give me a quote. This was 1 week after he had taken measurements. When I asked him to provide me some kind of a time frame for the estimate he said 2 weeks or less. So this would be three weeks after he got the measurements done to give me a quote. Tomorrow, Sep 20, 2013 will be 3 weeks since when he promised to get us a quote in 2 weeks and we still haven't heard. Very disappointed. I thought I had timed his visit to get the measurements so as to minimize the delay in getting the kitchen done, however now a month after his visit, we dont even have a quote. This will now cost us thousands of dollars extra as we cannot move into the house in time. I recommend you DO NOT waste your time or your money with Kitchens Etc.

My husband and I waited 3 years after owning our home to save up enough money to finally remodel our very outdated 1970's kitchen.  The things that were most important to me were budget, time frames and quality.  I wanted to find a kitchen designer and cabinet installer who could give me a beautiful, functional new kitchen within my modest budget.  Prior to deciding to go with Kitchens Etc. I met with a few other local cabinet designer/installers who were quite expensive and also met with Home Depot.  Surprisingly, Home Depot is not as inexpensive as you might think, even with their promotions and 10% discounts, the cabinets and installation only priced out to be only $2,000 less than Kitchens Etc. for what I thought was very inferior design.  Home Depot often has to give you fillers and where cabinets could only be a certain size, the designer gave me a vertical wine cubby which I didn't even want but she didn't have a choice.  That is just one example of some weird design decisions that HD wanted to give me.


We worked with Dean from Kitchens Etc. who came out to my home, took measurements, listened to what I wanted and within a few days later, we met on a Saturday at his showroom to go over his design proposal. He was very patient in answering our questions and explained every item on the quote thoroughly.  The one thing that I want to warn homeowners is that Home Depot gives you just cabinet costs. They do not give you estimates on all the prework (demo, electrical, plumbing) and associated renovation work (countertops, backsplash, electrical etc.) - so it will seem like they offer a good price.  Kitchens Etc. gave me a quote end-to-end which although it gave us a bit of sticker shock, it was so helpful to really budget properly for this project.  


My dad is an electrical contractor and I have built contacts with a plumber, countertop and flooring contractors of my own, so I asked Dean if it would be possible for Kitchens Etc. to just design, deliver and install the cabinets.  Without hesitating, Dean said "Sure! No problem."  Dean continued to be this accommodating, helpful and responsive throughout the whole process.  He never tried to upsell me on more expensive cabinets (like some others do, warning me that they will fall apart after a few years).  He never warned me that coordinating and general contracting my own kitchen remodel was going to be hard.  He even went out of his way to mark the kitchen after the demo for the electrician to know where to install new outlets and lights. His detailed quote gave me a  good roadmap to follow when directing my contractors.  I could go on and on about how easy this process was thanks to Dean and Kitchens Etc. He always returned my calls promptly no matter what question I had (big or small), whether it was his problem or not, he always helped.


The cabinets arrived on time as promised, installed on time. I wanted to complete the remodel before I had my first baby (I am pregnant) and Dean explained the timeframes to me and met them. It ended up being perfect because of all the prework we needed to complete.  The installation crew that arrived, led by Chris was extremely professional and skilled. It is clear that they do this a LOT.  It is complex and yet they make it look so easy. They were pleasant, friendly and hard working.


The kitchen turned out BEAUTIFUL.  I can't believe it went so smoothly and Dean's design expertise and professional cabinet installation crew was a big part of it.  Today was the last day for finishing work and I couldn't be happier. I highly recommend Kitchens Etc.

They have a nice showroom and their crew does good work. But, the only thing that I have to say negative about them is that they tell you they were going to be there but as soon as their done working, they always say that you got to go to the manufacture of that for the warranty. They're too quick to dodge out from underneath their responsibility after they are almost done but not quite. They did a better than satisfactory job. They were here everyday until they totally finished.

I had to call him to get the quote and I had to call him again to come out and that frustrating. When I asked him for the quote, he gave it to me very quickly, but he just didn't seem very interested in doing our job.

Dean and Michelle were very helpful in that this was our first adventure into remodeling.  They made great suggestions on things we should consider, recommended excellent vendors and provided thorough plans and cost estimates.  It was very clear as to what was included and what was not, so no surprises.  The work was expensive...but it looks expensive.  The subcontractors they use are very talented craftsmen.  Michelle was particularly helpful in referring us to vendors who could provide the various components of the remodel such as granite, tile, doors, plumbing fixtures, etc.  The work began and ended on time.  The workers were courteous and picked up after themselves each day.  We had a great experience with Kitchens, Etc.  and will use them again to remodel our master bathroom, paint the interior of our home and install baseboards throughout the house.

Dean was extremely professional in pricing and completion of work. He provided detailed accounting and plans in an organized notebook for me. His workers were punctual, professional, very pleasant and highly competent. In addition, Dean designed the kitchen of my dreams. I followed his suggestions in terms of placement of cabinets and appliances.

We needed our kitchen remodeled after flooding.  I called them up and Dean and Phil came over.  They listened to our ideas about the remodeling and said they would have a plan drawn up in a couple of days, no charge.  When we went to look at the plan, it was what we had envisioned and more.  Dean was excellent with the layout.  A wall was taken out to expand the kitchen.  Michelle was excellent in helping us develop the layout for the backsplash. She also pointed us in the right direction for specialty tiles.  The cabinets which they had in their showroom were excellent as well.  Everything was custom.  It took 6 weeks from teardown to completion.  Phi, the project manager, ran the crew expertly and made sure everyone stayed on schedule even when we had an unexpected kitchen sewer line replacement.  Everyone who worked on the kitchen was excellent.  They also kept everything as clean as possible and cleaned up everything when the project was completed.  Finally, whenever we needed to speak with anyone, someone was always available.  Working with Kitchen Etc was a wonderful experience.  I will use this company again when we need another remodeling job.

The experience was outstanding. They completed the job on time and at cost. The workmen they sent were very courteous and friendly. The work was well done. After the horror stories I have read of remodels, I could not be more pleased.

They completed the job on schedule and everything is beautiful. When a couple discrepancies popped up staff sent someone to correct it in a very timely manner.

The amazing thing is everything did go smoothly from Start to finish. Hard to believe BUT TRUE! After we spent most of our spare time for several months making all our choices, A BIG TRACTOR TRAILER that drove to our house all the way from Iowa delivered a garage full of Cabinets. Demolition was messy but the Kitchen's Etc work team cleaned up well after themselves and removed the dumpster in our driveway as soon as it was filled. First they worked on the kitchen and then moved to the bathrooms one at a time. Everything they did was very organized and systematic and the five months went fast The results was a beautiful like new house representing our taste .The work performed was exceptional and we couldn't be happier with the results!  We highly recommend KITCHENS ETC. AND I'LL SAY IT ONE MORE TIME!  MICHELLE AND DEAN ARE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS!

Excellent service, sales and design, true professionals, experienced and efficient. I love my new kitchen.

From start to finish, they were great to work with.  They even gave me some free accessories.  When some of the doors came in looking a bit rough around the edges, they replaced them at no charge.  Best part was the explanation of what would work best with my kitchen layout.  They made things 'work' when I wanted what seemed impractical (like a 48" stove/oven).

I expanded the remodel to raising my ceilings and everything. everything was perfect. Their design and they were creative. Their schedule was great. I was the one delaying things by not being able to make up my mind. Even the utility room got cabinets. The did electrical also. I moved things out of the utility room to the attic. They were expert at everything they did. They were very very friendly. It is a small company. They were understanding and personable. They were understanding of what I wanted and did not try to steer me into anything. I appreciated that. I don't think the price was outrages. They changed a few things in reason and did not change the price. They explained everything and stayed to the contract. All of their staff are competent professionals.

They handled all of the work. They put the tile in, they put the appliances and cabinets in. Their master craftsman really is. Most of them say they are and aren't. This guy was really good.

They use good contractors, but the blonde working for them is fake as she listens to your concerns. Additionally, they are not "looking out for you" - after I spent well over 20K with them, not once did they mention anything about my flooring, they said it would be just fine - well, after all is said and done, I come home to find GAPS in 3 places in my kitchen floor ... what can they do? Nothing, I was weak at the time, first time ever dealing with a contractor as a new home owner. I paid them, felt cheated, and lived with it. Thankfully I'm renting the home now to a family that doesn't care about the gaps and I don't have to look at it and feel taken everytime I make breakfast.

EXCELLENT. THEY FINISHED ON THE DATE THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD AND WITHIN THE BUDGET THEY SAID THAT THEY WOULD. ALL WORKERS WERE POLITE AND NOTHING WAS RUINED. IF THERE WERE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE WORK THE WORKERS, DEAN THE OWNER WOULD TAKE CARE OF IT.

THE JOB WAS DONE SO QUICKLY WE COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. THE CABINETS LOOKED GREAT, AND THE JOB WAS A LOT CLEANER THAN WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. OVERALL IT WAS A GREAT BUSINESS EXPERIENCE.