Custom cabinets in Palos Verdes

Four cities, a century of houses

The Peninsula is four separate cities. Palos Verdes Estates was planned in the early 1920s, with the Olmsted Brothers firm laying out roads and parks, and it incorporated in 1939. Its oldest neighborhoods, around Malaga Cove and Lunada Bay, hold Spanish and Mediterranean houses with tile roofs and plaster walls. Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates both incorporated in 1957 and are known for horse property and single-story ranch homes. Rancho Palos Verdes, the largest, incorporated in 1973.

That range means there’s no single Palos Verdes kitchen. A 1920s house in Malaga Cove and a 1960s ranch on a Rolling Hills Estates lot need very different cabinetry.

Remodeling what’s already here

Mediterranean and Spanish houses. These rooms often have arched openings, deep window reveals and plaster walls that are rarely square. We field-measure carefully and scribe cabinets to the walls, and we lean toward painted or stained doors, framed construction and simple iron or bronze hardware that sit comfortably with the architecture.

Postwar ranches. Many were built with a closed kitchen, a separate dining room and a long low roofline. Remodels usually open the kitchen to the family room. Then the island becomes the room’s main piece of furniture, and tall cabinetry has to fit under lower ceilings.

Design review is about the outside. Palos Verdes Estates has a tradition of architectural control through the Art Jury of the Palos Verdes Homes Association, set up in 1923. Its review centers on exteriors: style, materials, color, height and site planning. Replacing interior cabinetry generally isn’t its focus, but if your remodel adds windows, changes the exterior or adds square footage, check with the Homes Association early so the cabinet schedule lines up with any approvals.

Salt air on the bluffs

Houses along the Peninsula’s bluffs face open ocean, with wind, fog and salt carried well inland. That’s hard on wood and metal:

• Finishes sealed on every face, so humid mornings don’t move one side of a door more than the other.
• Hardware specified for salt air, particularly in kitchens and baths with ocean-facing windows that stay open.
• Stable door construction for large panels, which take the most stress when humidity swings.

Hillside access

Peninsula lots are steep, driveways are long and some streets are narrow and winding. Rolling Hills is a gated city on private roads. We talk through access, parking and carry distances at the design visit so delivery days are planned around the property rather than discovered on the morning.

Thinking about a kitchen or whole-house remodel on the Peninsula? Book a free design visit. A designer will look at the house, the plan and the light, then we’ll draw it up and build it in our own shop.