Kitchen Design in Chester County, Delaware County & the Main Line

Your GC Manages the Project. We Design the Kitchen.

Kitchen design with Fedor — serving Chester County, Delaware County, and the Main Line — is the layout, cabinetry specification, and cabinet ordering for your kitchen, typically $10K–$65K+ depending on cabinet line and scope, available whether or not we build the project.

Kitchen design is a specialty — layout, workflow, appliance placement, sink location, island sizing, and cabinet configuration take someone who lives and breathes kitchens. General contractors are experts at managing the remodel (trades, schedule, permits), but the design itself is a separate skillset.

That’s where we come in. If you have a general contractor lined up but need a kitchen design expert, we’ll handle the design, specify and order the cabinets, and — if needed — install them too. Your GC handles the rest.

What’s Included in Kitchen Design with Fedor

Kitchen Layout & Flow

• In-home consultation to evaluate your current kitchen — what works, what doesn’t, and what’s structurally possible
• Layout design built around how you actually use the kitchen: cooking workflow, prep zones, storage access, traffic patterns, entertaining
• Appliance placement — making sure the fridge, range, dishwasher, and sink work together, not against each other
• Sink location optimization — factoring in plumbing access, window placement, and workflow
• Island sizing and placement — clearances, seating, electrical, and whether the space can actually support one
• Wall removal and structural feasibility assessment — what opens up, what can’t move, what it costs

Cabinetry Design & Ordering

• Full cabinet design: layout, door style, finish, hardware, interior organization (lazy Susans, pull-outs, tray dividers, etc.)
• We specify and order cabinets from Shiloh Cabinetry and Great Northern Cabinetry — semi-custom and custom lines that give you real design flexibility without the cost or lead time of a fully bespoke shop
• Our fabrication background (1989) means we understand construction tolerances, filler details, crown molding integration, and the small things that separate a cabinet installation that looks built-in from one that looks bolted on
• Soft-close hinges and full-extension drawer slides are standard on everything we specify
• We can install the cabinets too, if your GC doesn’t have a cabinet installer

Material & Finish Selections

• Countertops: quartz, granite, solid-surface — selected with your cabinet finish and backsplash in mind
• Backsplash tile: selections at Avalon Flooring or The Tile Shop (King of Prussia)
• Plumbing fixtures: selections at Weinstein Supply (West Chester or Kennett Square) or Ferguson (King of Prussia)
• Appliance coordination: we’ll walk the showroom at Gerhard’s Appliances (Malvern) with you and make sure everything fits the layout
• Hardware finishes: we help you coordinate pulls, knobs, faucet finishes, and lighting so the kitchen reads as one cohesive design

Construction-Ready Deliverables

• Fully specified cabinet order with detailed drawings
• Material schedule covering every surface and fixture
• If you’re doing a full remodel with us, this feeds directly into a fixed-price contract — no gaps, no allowances, no guesswork
• If you’re working with another contractor, the plans and specifications are detailed enough to hand off cleanly

Who Is This Service For?

Homeowners who have a GC but need a kitchen design expert

Your general contractor can frame walls, coordinate trades, and manage the schedule — but kitchen layout is a specialty. We handle the design side: workflow optimization, appliance placement, sink and island location, cabinetry configuration, and material selections. We design and order the cabinets, and we can install them too if your GC doesn’t have a cabinet installer.

Homeowners who want new cabinets without a full remodel

If your layout is fine but the cabinets are dated — builder-grade oak from the 1990s, particleboard boxes that are falling apart — we can design, order, and install new cabinetry, countertops, and hardware without a full gut renovation. Faster, less disruptive, and significantly less expensive than a full remodel.

Homeowners doing a full kitchen remodel with Fedor

If we’re handling the entire remodel, design is already built into the process. You won’t need to hire a separate designer — this is part of what we do on every project. See our kitchen remodeling page for the full scope.

Stock vs. Semi-Custom vs. Custom Cabinets: An Honest Comparison

This is one of the most common questions we get, so here’s a straightforward breakdown:

Stock Cabinets

• Pre-built in standard sizes, limited finish and configuration options
• Available at big box stores (Home Depot, Lowe’s) and some kitchen dealers
• Fastest delivery — often in stock or 1-2 weeks
• Best for: rental properties, budget-first projects, or kitchens where the layout perfectly fits standard sizes
• The tradeoff: filler strips, limited interior options, and finishes that may not hold up over 15-20 years

Semi-Custom Cabinets

• Built to order in a wider range of sizes, finishes, and configurations
• This is what we specify most often — Shiloh Cabinetry and Great Northern Cabinetry both fall in this range
• Cabinet lead time: typically 4–8+ weeks
• Best for: most kitchen remodels. You get design flexibility, solid construction, and a reasonable lead time without paying for a fully bespoke product
• The tradeoff: longer lead time than stock, and you’re still working within the manufacturer’s option set (which is extensive, but not unlimited)

Custom Cabinets

• Built from scratch by a local cabinet shop to your exact specifications
• Unlimited finish, size, and configuration options
• Lead time: 8-16+ weeks
• Best for: architecturally unique kitchens, unusual dimensions, or homeowners who want a specific wood species or finish that semi-custom lines don’t offer
• The tradeoff: significantly higher cost and longer lead time. In our experience, semi-custom cabinets from a quality manufacturer deliver 90% of the result at a significantly lower cost

What we recommend for most kitchens in Chester County, Delaware County, and the Main Line: Semi-custom. The homes in our service area — stone colonials, split-levels, and center-hall builds from the 1980s through 2000s — work well with semi-custom sizing. We can get the exact fit and look you want without the cost and timeline of full custom.

What Does Kitchen Design Cost?

We publish real cost ranges because we think you deserve a ballpark before picking up the phone. These ranges reflect typical projects in Chester County, Delaware County, and the Main Line as of 2026:

Stock Cabinetry: $10K – $30K+

Stock cabinet lines (standard sizes, limited finish options). Range covers small to medium kitchens — the lower end is a small kitchen with basic stock, the upper end is a larger kitchen still using stock. Plumbing or layout changes don’t move the design fee meaningfully — the design is the design.

Semi-Custom Cabinetry: $15K – $45K+

Semi-custom cabinets (Shiloh, Great Northern Cabinetry — full size flexibility, expanded door styles, full finish range, modifiable specs). Range covers small to large kitchens. This is what we recommend for most homes in our service area.

Custom Cabinetry: $20K – $65K+

Fully custom cabinetry — built to exact specs, any door style, any finish, any hardware. Works at any kitchen size. The premium choice when stock and semi-custom can’t accommodate the design.

What drives the price

• Number of cabinets and linear footage
• Cabinet line and door style; wood species drives price (walnut runs more than hickory, hickory more than maple, etc.)
• Countertop material and edge profile
• Whether layout changes require structural, plumbing, or electrical work
• Hardware and fixture selections

An important note about pricing: When you see cabinet pricing from a big box store, that number typically covers the cabinets only — not design, not installation, not countertops, not the trim work that makes everything look finished. Our pricing includes the complete scope from design through installation. Compare the full picture, not just the cabinet line item.

Frequently Asked Questions

I already have a general contractor. Why do I need a kitchen designer?

A GC manages the build – trades, schedule, permits – but kitchen design is a separate skill, and that gap is where most regret comes from. Layout, workflow, appliance placement, sink location, and island sizing decide whether you love the kitchen or just tolerate it. Fedor started in 1989 as a fabrication shop, so we design around real construction tolerances – filler details, crown integration, drywall thickness – and hand your GC a fully specified cabinet order and material schedule detailed enough to build from cleanly, with no allowances or guesswork.

Can I get design and cabinets without a full remodel?

Yes. If your layout works but the cabinets and finishes are dated, we will design the space, specify and order new cabinetry, countertops, backsplash, and hardware, and either your GC or our crew installs it – no full gut required. This is the Cosmetic Refresh path ($30,000-$45,000 when done as a full kitchen project), and it is faster, less disruptive, and far less expensive than relocating walls and plumbing. Soft-close hinges and full-extension drawer slides are standard on everything we specify, even on a refresh.

How long does the design process take?

Typically 3-4 weeks from the first consultation to a finalized design and a placed cabinet order, mostly driven by how quickly you make material and finish selections. We deliberately do not rush this phase: once Shiloh or Great Northern cabinets are ordered, changes are expensive or impossible, and a wrong dimension becomes a permanent one. We coordinate selections at Avalon Flooring or The Tile Shop, Weinstein Supply or Ferguson, and Gerhard’s in Malvern so every surface and fixture is locked before the order goes out.

What cabinet brands do you use?

We specify Shiloh Cabinetry and Great Northern Cabinetry. Both are semi-custom manufacturers that offer a wide range of door styles, finishes, wood species, and interior configurations. We chose these partners because they deliver consistent quality, reasonable lead times, and enough flexibility to handle the range of kitchens we design.

Why don’t you build cabinets in-house anymore?

Fedor started as a fabrication shop – we built custom cabinetry and millwork for decades. The reality is that modern semi-custom manufacturers produce a better, more consistent product at a lower price point than most local shops can match. Our fabrication background means we know exactly what to specify, how to detail the order, and how to install it so it looks like it was built for the space – because we used to build it ourselves.

What if I already have a design from another source?

We’re happy to review it. In our experience, designs created without construction input often need adjustments – a cabinet that won’t fit once drywall thickness is accounted for, a sink location that requires rerouting a drain line, an island that’s six inches too close to the wall. We’ll tell you what works, what doesn’t, and what it will cost to build.

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