CREATING HIGH-QUALITY CUSTOM CABINETRY FOR THE HOME IS MORE THAN a matter of design and execution, though it is art as well as craft. It’s also about a client’s experience of the project.
“In renovation, we like to say there is non-sexy money spent and sexy money spent,” says Carey Gattyan, sales executive and lead designer of Mount Pleasant-based Butler Woods (BW). “We balance the two to ensure the client understands and sees where their money is going and why. Having this shared experience and involvement with the client helps alleviate construction fatigue.”
Gattyan and her husband, Andre, who is head of sales and project management, know that renovations can mean major disruption for the homeowner.
“It is imperative that we create a working environment and process that alleviates this stress,” she says. “By the end of each project our goal is, of course, for the client to love it. But also for them to feel as though they were part of the transformation. We also pay close attention to market value when designing and doing the build-out.”
Having moved to the Charleston area from Connecticut in 2003, Andre Gattyan bought into an existing company called Cabinet Concepts. In five years, he and the Cabinet Concepts team grew the business from a $500,000 per year enterprise to $4 million, with Cabinet Concepts in the vanguard of work on Kiawah Island, Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant’s groundbreaking I’On development.
Although the 2008 Great Recession and the loss of a key partner compelled Cabinet Concepts to close its doors, Gattyan remained active with Magnolia Kitchens while his wife returned to New York City, investing 10 more years in furthering an award-winning career as an executive producer and project consultant, with more than 200 Super Bowl ad spots under her belt.
“After I returned to Mount Pleasant, we started to really look at the building community to see what we could do to contribute to growing it,” Carey Gattyan says.
One of the first things they noticed was a genuine need for a luxury showroom. “I never saw a showroom that resonated with me as one exhibiting custom, quiet luxury,” she says. “We wanted people to have a wow experience, to touch the craftsmanship and feel the difference. We wanted people to realize that luxury is attainable.”
Enter Butler Woods, in 2023, created with an intimate understanding not only of how the many diverse types of cabinets are produced but how to present a sales environment for them.
“My background in building was high-end, high-volume sales in the New York tri-state area,” says Andre Gattyan, who now owns 40 years of experience in the field. “Our client base consisted mostly of high-end users from Westchester County, Long Island and Manhattan, all the way up the Connecticut coast.”
The Gattyans’ quest in the Charleston area was to create a viable corporate structure that served both their and their clients’ needs. “Typically, a kitchen and bath dealer consists of more of a mom-and-pop type business model, with sales from $1 million to $2 million per year,” he adds. “These businesses rely on several manufacturers in order to fulfill the wide swath of specifications and design capabilities of each manufacturer. In other words, not every company has the capability or tooling to create all things. Another option is millwork or casework, often referred to as ‘custom.’ These shops tend to move slower and have limitations.”
Limitation was not in their vocabulary. The Gattyans, together with Butler Woods’ new build project manager, Nic Selk; renovation project manager, Jack Gattyan; and design engineer, Diane Segarra, created precisely the environment of professionalism, competence and accountability they envisioned.
“We are able to create from one local source that has all the capabilities of a much larger production facility with a custom feel and build quality,” says Andre Gattyan. “I maintain that there is very little consumer awareness of brand in kitchen cabinets. A homeowner is much more likely to know what type of windows they have, by make, than a kitchen company name. We are striving to be our own brand. Our goal is to help enable our clients and trade colleagues to create amazing spaces at a reasonable price point.”
Carey Gattyan assays her particular talents as those of ascertaining visual appeal, scale, lighting and project cohesiveness. Her role with Butler Woods is not that different from her work with creatives in producing national commercials.
“I use all the same skill sets,” she says. “BW is a highly creative atmosphere yet runs as a corporate business in the sense of organization and communication. Having Andre’s expertise in several flagship showroom build-outs in the past was a useful experience. We have worked tirelessly to create a balance to allow our staff’s creativity to be fulfilled.”
The Gattyans hasten to add that the process engages more than their five-person staff. On a day-to-day basis, they work with multiple layers of licensed professionals, who bring their talents to the table to make every project exceptional. Including the crew at the company’s mill shop in North Carolina.
“The cabinet business is such an art,” Carey Gattyan says. “Our mill shop is the best of the best. Not only is their craftsmanship first rate, their process and procedures really stand out as well. Each design is meticulously engineered and produced. We are pretty much able to design anything. There are no ‘pull this cabinet off the shelf’ or flat-packed products with Butler Woods. Every piece is built and assembled for each specific client.”
BW believes building and designing is about emotion and experience. The strictly practical or expected doesn’t evoke as deep a level of client contentment. BW thinks everyone should be surrounded by beautiful things.
“It’s rough out there, and we should all find comfort in our homes. We always strive to do something special within each design to make it personal and unique to each client,” she adds.
BW favors white oak for work in the Southeast due to its coastal vibe. But Gattyan believes other wood species like walnut and hickory are making a comeback with their classic, timeless aesthetics and quiet luxury.
One of BW’s latest trends is having the design of a living space flow outward to incorporate its outdoor product line, Zahbuilt, which is manufactured in Florida. “How one uses their house and what each client expresses regarding the experience that they want their house to represent defines this indoor-outdoor progression,” Gattyan says. “It’s about a balanced aesthetic that fits a lifestyle. We strive to get away from the ‘casualness’ that has become standard in kitchen design. As in, range here, sink here, a few pendants there, throw a slab on it. Imagination, precise design and details are so important. Functionality and organization also are key, along with beauty and durability.” *
Bill Thompson is the author of As Luck Would Have It: A Journalist’s Memoir.
