Custom cabinets, desks and vanities for Glenview homes

The Park, the postwar streets and The Glen

Glenview became a village in 1899, on its second try; the vote was 59 to 51. One of its oldest neighborhoods, The Park, began in the 1890s, when the Swedenborgian Chicago Society turned farmland into a settlement of Victorian-style houses, with a clubhouse, a school and a church. Much of the area was still farmland at the end of World War II. The Edens Expressway opened in 1951, and Glenview grew from 6,142 people in 1950 to 18,132 in 1960. Its subdivisions include Swainwood, Sunset Ridge, Bonnie Glen, Sleepy Hollow and the Willows. The newest neighborhood is The Glen, on the land of the former Naval Air Station Glenview, which closed in 1995. It covers about 15 percent of the village.

So a Glenview job starts from the house you have:

• In one of The Park's older houses: painted framed cabinets or stained wood inset, doors and trim that suit the house, and profiles matched to what is already there. We reproduce trim profiles that are no longer made.
• In a house from the postwar years: we start by asking what stays where: the sink, the range, the windows. Glenview's permit rule turns on exactly that (below).
• In The Glen, the village's newest neighborhood: we work from the house as it stands, or from your architect's or builder's drawings.

Do I need a permit for new cabinets in Glenview?

Glenview's Development Center lists "Flooring, carpeting, interior trim work, or cabinets (installation of, not involving relocation, change in layout, or electrical work)" under "Work not requiring a permit." The same page lists "Addition, remodeling, altering, or construction of any structure" and "Changing the number or location of the plumbing fixtures, faucets, or piping" as work that needs a permit, and new electrical work needs one too. (Village of Glenview, as read 2026-10-28; confirm for your address.)

So cabinets installed in the same layout, with no electrical work, are on the village's no-permit list; moving the sink, changing the layout or adding lights and outlets takes the job off that list. Ask the village about your plan. We pull a permit ourselves when one is required.

Work we have done in Glenview and nearby

• In Glenview, one house: a white kitchen island built around stacks of drawers, under a wood top; a home office with a built-in desk and bookcases, white with a dark wood top; a white gloss double vanity with vessel sinks; and a stained shaker vanity, which we leveled with a laser before the countertop went on.
• Evanston: a kitchen and a grey flat-panel butler's pantry in one home.
• Glencoe: a white oak stair rebuilt in full, two kitchens, a fireplace mantel and a bathroom vanity.
• Winnetka: a cream raised-panel kitchen with a peninsula, a bedroom wall unit and a curved stair.
• Niles, Skokie and Park Ridge: a wood fireplace wall with a beam mantel, a white shaker kitchen with a dark island, and a white shaker range wall.

Layout, lights and drawers: planning a Glenview kitchen

• Same layout or a new one. Cabinets that go back where the old ones were, with no electrical work, are on Glenview's no-permit list. Moving the sink or changing the layout is not. Decide this first, because it decides whether a permit comes before the build.
• Lights. Under-cabinet lights are the electrician's work. We build the lip that hides them and drill the holes for the wires.
• Drawers or doors. Our Glenview island is built around stacks of drawers. Deep drawers hold pots and dishes where you can see them. Tell us what goes in the island, and we size the drawers to it.
• Drawings. From your architect or builder, priced as given, or through our design package.
• Trim. Nearly every job we do includes the trim around it.

Islands, offices and vanities for Glenview homes

In one Glenview house we built an island, a home office and two vanities. That is the Glenview work on record. Other work we take on, whether your house is in The Park, on a postwar street or in The Glen:

• Kitchens: European-style frameless flat-panel, our specialty, or painted and stained wood doors, framed or inset.
• Built-ins: bookcases, media walls, libraries and window benches.
• Mudrooms, laundry rooms and closets.
• Pantries and bars.
• Stairs, mantels and trim.

From the visit to the install, from Spring Grove

1. The visit. It starts with a visit. We measure, we listen, and we give you a straight number. If it works for you, we design it with you, and only then do we build. Glenview is under an hour from the shop. Your first visit and consultation are free.
2. Drawings. From your architect or builder, priced as given, or through our design package, which ends with the final price after one major revision.
3. The permit, when the job is not on Glenview's no-permit list.
4. The build. Roughly 6 to 8 weeks from signed drawings for an average kitchen; built-ins and closets usually 4 to 6.
5. Installation. A full kitchen usually takes 1 to 3 days to install; a vanity or a single built-in takes less.

The Park, The Grove and nearby towns

Glenview is in Cook County, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. It runs from The Park to the postwar subdivisions and The Glen. The Grove, a National Historic Landmark kept by the Glenview Park District, holds the Kennicott House, built in 1856; the Kennicotts were among the first settlers in the township, in 1836. We serve all of Glenview. Nearby, we also serve Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Northbrook, Wilmette, Northfield, Golf and Morton Grove; see all the towns we serve.

Glenview questions

Do I need a permit to replace kitchen cabinets in Glenview?

The village lists cabinets installed with no relocation, no change in layout and no electrical work under "Work not requiring a permit." Moving plumbing, changing the layout or adding electrical work needs a permit. Confirm with the village for your address.

Can you build a home office into a Glenview house?

Yes. Our Glenview home office is a built-in desk with bookcases, white with a dark wood top.

Can an island be all drawers?

It can be built around them, as our Glenview island is. Tell us what goes in it, and we size the drawers to it.

Do you build bathroom vanities in Glenview?

Yes. In one Glenview house we built two: a white gloss double vanity with vessel sinks and a stained shaker vanity. See vanities.

Do you build for the newer houses in The Glen?

Yes. We serve all of Glenview, The Glen included, and we work from your drawings or from the house as it stands.

How far is Glenview from your shop?

About 37 miles, under an hour from Spring Grove.