When the Birmingham, Alabama, kitchen designer Cyndy Cantley, of Cantley and Company, began her career thirty-five or so years ago, she faced a lot of pickled cabinets and pink countertops—but not a lot of income. “No one mentioned that with a degree in interior design, you don’t make enough money to live,” Cantley recalls. So she decided to specialize, applying to a kitchen store that needed a designer. She ended up getting the job—and, a few years later, a husband, when she married the store’s manager, Keith Cantley.
The couple never envisioned starting their own business, though, until Cantley was asked to design the kitchen of Birmingham’s Decorator Showhouse in 1992. “We had nothing to lose,” Cantley says. “Keith built the cabinets in his parents’ basement. People saw our kitchen in the showhouse, and the rest is history.”
Since then, Cantley’s clients have run the gamut from newlyweds to the James Beard Award–winning chef Frank Stitt. Keith hand-builds all of the kitchen cabinetry and accents—doors, moldings, dovetailed drawers, and the like—in their Adamsville, Alabama, shop.
“Southern kitchens need to be unique because we socialize in them as much as any room in our house,” Cantley says of that care and attention. “We always say the good, the bad, and the ugly happen around our kitchen table. To break bread with family and friends is what really matters in life, and I am humbled that I get to create these spaces for so many.” For those considering refreshing themselves, Cantley has a few tips.
Hire a Professional
“You’re spending a tremendous amount of money. I know we cost more money, but in the long run, we can save you as much money as we cost just from [avoiding] mistakes. There are so many questions we ask clients about how they live. Hire the best people you can afford to hire and listen to them.”
Stay True to Yourself
“I have clients say, ‘I feel like I should do brass hardware because it’s so in right now.’ I’m like, well, do you like brass hardware? Have you always liked brass hardware? You don’t have to do anything because it’s ‘in.’ Do what you’ve always loved and stick with it.”
Keep It Classic
“As much as I get excited when people do color on their cabinets now, I’ve truly made my living doing white kitchens with white marble countertops. If you love purple today, then let’s paint your walls purple or do some purple stripe in your window treatment, but don’t paint your cabinets purple.”
Add Drawers, Drawers, Drawers
“I think Southerners need a lot of storage for all that china and silver we collect and inherit! But don’t do all drawers because everything won’t fit in one. Do some cabinets with rollouts in them, so you can put taller things there. I learned that years ago in my own kitchen, when I had to put the vegetable oil under my sink because it would not fit in a drawer anywhere.”
Divide and Conquer
“I do tray dividers, usually more than one, because you can put a lot of things in tray dividers, and it keeps it so organized. You’re not digging down to get to the bottom Pyrex dish. Always do two cutlery dividers—one for your everyday silver, and one for utensils, cooking spatulas, and things like that. Place them strategically where, when you’re loading the dishwasher, it’s easy to put the silver away, and when you’re cooking, it’s easy to get to what you need.”
Spice Up Your Life
“I can’t imagine cooking without my spice drawer. I have [my spices] in alphabetical order—and I’m really not that type of person. It’s just, you know, you don’t have four basils because you know your basil is right there in the b’s.”
Don’t Forget Fido
“Pets are such a part of your life. A lot of times, we’ll do pull-out drawers [for food and water bowls], but we have to talk to people about how their dog eats. If the dog eats all day, you don’t want that drawer pulled out, because you will probably fall over it. Dog food drawers, basically trash cans [for storing food], are very nice to stick out in the laundry or kitchen. We just had marble dog bowls made out of leftover black soapstone scraps, and it’s so pretty.”
