Total Kitchen Outfitters

I can't say enough about Total Kitchen Outfitters. Stefanie who is the main point of contact/designer was amazing and super responsive to all emails and phone calls. She really made the process easy and was willing to work with me on my budget and vision. Her team was professional, showed up on time and completed the job in the time frame that was communicated to me. Couldn't be happier with my new kitchen. I would recommend them 100%

First, let me say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. My project designer - Stephanie Favale - was a joy to work with. Her design was spot on from the beginning. She was easy to get in touch with - usually responding to phone calls/text messages within an hour. I had very clear ideas about what I wanted. Stephanie worked with it and gave me what I wanted. One of the items I wanted was an accent wall in the dining room that didn’t require a whole new paint job. Stephanie suggested using shiplap that worked out beautifully. The TKO crew that worked on my job - Peter, Patrick and Bobby - were top notch and very easy to work with. They were professional, knowledgeable, courteous/friendly. The job site was cleaned up each day after work was done. I would not have any reservations recommending Stephanie or the crew that worked on my job.

Most ideas seemed very good in beginning. Everyone was extremely nice. Major kinks with delivery time and adjustments of some cabinets to fit pipes and some measurements were off. I guess due to not being custom. Owner did come to try and make us happy with some errors and did his best. What I didn't like, that I just found out, is that they charged me more than what they paid for appliances. One of our appliances kept breaking and the service finally said that they were going to replace. When I went to pick out, the price was much lower then what I was charged by TKO. My beef is not being told.

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TKO did a wonderful job for us from start to finish. Designer Stephanie Favale came and assessed the space and quickly identified one important structural element (moving the doorway over) that would have to be addressed to enable us to install full size cabinets on both sides of the galley kitchen and maximize storage space. She promptly produced drawings of the design, then we went to their showroom and picked out the cabinets, counter-top, back-splash tiles, flooring, appliances and other fixtures. Stephanie was extremely helpful in that process, suggesting different possibilities along the way. The work started on schedule. After the complete demolition of the old kitchen, TKO's electrical sub contractor, SKY Electric, replaced the old fuse box with a circuit breaker panel and totally re-wired the space. Daniel Stack and his electrician who did almost all of the work, Tony, were both outstanding. Bobby from TKO put up new drywall, expertly framing the new space and slightly lowering the ceiling to accommodate the new wiring and fixtures, then installed the new porcelain tile floor and maple cabinets, assisted by Pat, Pete and others on the contracting team. They were all a pleasure to work with and were completely professional and responsive to any questions or concerns that arose along the way. Stephanie checked on the status of the work regularly and everyone was very attentive to the details of the job, such as the optimum placement of the floor tiles, the installation of the moldings, the placement of lighting, paint colors, working with the counter-top man to cut additional pieces of ceaser stone to use on a windowsill and doorway, and other small things too numerous to mention. One great advantage of TKO is their ability to handle all aspects of the project - they are a "one-stop shop" - and they are very nice, professional people. We could not be happier with the kitchen that TKO designed and built for us and have highly recommended them to friends and neighbors.

It never gets done fast enough or when they say it will. So patience is a virtue. I really didn't mind living here through the mess, but my plans to have refrigeration didn't work as planned and then it got untenable. I found it an advantage to be here to see and document the progress. Demo began Aug. 18th, and they pulled out Oct. 24th! The devil is in the details; so be sure you shop around and find what you like. Stephanie the designer is an excellent resource and has great ideas, and will help at every step of the process. Their showroom on 4th Ave. has many model kitchens to inspire you. The quality of their workmanship is excellent, local and licensed. A big relief, but it isn't free! I highly recommend them and already have.

Last August, I chose TKO to renovate the kitchen in my 900 sq. ft, 2 bdrm Manhattan apartment. Stephanie Favale was my project manager. It is a small kitchen (approx. 10x6’ ) and I only needed some minor changes to be made (no change in the footprint, just new cabinets, backsplash and dropped ceiling with canned lights) so I assumed this would be a quick and easy job - it dragged on for 6 weeks. I'm sure there are many reasons for this, but one of the reasons why it dragged on was because Ms. Favale forgot and/or ignored several details we had discussed during the planning phase. For example, she forgot to order the glass doors I had requested for three of my cabinets. She also forgot about the hardware we had discussed. In another instance, she ordered the cabinet above the stove at a height that I knew was going to be too low for my comfort level. I brought this to her attention but she told me that was “standard” height and ignored my warnings. Once the microwave oven was installed underneath it, however, it was clear that it would indeed be too low for any comfortable level of cooking. In the end, she had to reorder a shorter cabinet, causing a delay of another week. The following is a quote taken directly from TKO’s website: “Our project manager overseas each installation to insure a professional job without leaving any work unfinished. Every detail of your kitchen or bath is a reflection of TKO.” During the course of my 6-week renovation, Ms. Favale came to my apartment a total of 2 times and for about 5 minutes each time. She also did not communicate many of the details we had discussed with the workers so I had to oversee much of the work being done, no easy feat as I work full-time. One last important detail and possibly the most egregious example of her negligence was her refusal to tape (close up) any holes that existed in the walls behind and under the cabinets. This would prevent any rodents or bugs coming into the kitchen - a basic and absolutely necessary job that any contractor of integrity should have done automatically. Ms. Favale refused to make sure it was done. Her response when I asked her why: “Well, you know those holes were there before, right?” Consequently, I now have a worse roach problem than before the renovation (and I keep my kitchen fastidiously clean). If the details of my kitchen now are a reflection of TKO, then they reflect poorly. Two of the workers, Bobby and Patrick, had integrity and did a nice job on the aspects that they worked on, so I do not fault them. It is because of Ms. Favale's lack of interest in the details of my renovation that TKO will not be getting any recommendations from me.

They were good. They did everything we asked. They took care of any problems. They were very knowledgeable. I would definitely use them in the future.