When you think of ‘custom kitchen design or cabinetry in Southwest Michigan, your mind’s search engine likely goes to Priebe’s Creative Woodworking. For almost 30 years, Jeff and Lillian Priebe and their staff of experts and craftsmen have been designing, creating, and installing custom kitchens inside many of the finest homes in Michigan’s Great Southwest.
Beginning today, the Priebe’s would like you to also think of them as the market leader in custom designed OUTDOOR kitchens. Helping clients transform outdoor spaces into culinary retreats.
As Americans turned the page from the pandemic, they found themselves more focused than ever on ‘home.’ And to many, home means kitchen and backyard. Right in the middle of that confluence is the opportunity to marry those two hallowed spots into a dynamic outdoor living space—an ‘outdoor kitchen’ your family and friends can enjoy for years to come.
Jeff and Lillian Priebe recognized the outdoor kitchen opportunity for their business a couple of years ago and began to research how they could bring it home to Southwest Michigan. They found the answer in South Carolina at a company called ‘John Michael Handcrafted Kitchens’.
What the Priebe’s have done for decades with fine woodwork, crafted for interior kitchen cabinetry, is precisely what John Michael has done more recently with high quality, durable stainless steel or aluminum, crafted for custom designed outdoor kitchens all over the USA and Canada. Priebe’s have now forged an exclusive partnership to bring this new dimension of outdoor kitchens to Southwest Michigan, bringing beauty and luxury to your family and friends.
The key to this revolution in outdoor kitchens is stainless steel. Jeff Priebe explains that there’s been major progress in recent years in the quality, beauty, and durability of custom stainless steel cabinetry. Couple that with the ability to use decorative multi-color powder coating and the opportunities are boundless, says Jeff.
“We’re no longer constrained by having to build outdoor appliances into masonry walls or frames. Weatherproof, stainless steel cabinetry with a choice of dazzling colors made possible by the powder coat finish process have opened the door for designer creativity. With those color options, you are no longer limited by stainless steel to an institutional look.”
Lillian adds that Priebe’s had prior experience building outdoor kitchens with specialty woods like teak, but upkeep and maintenance were challenging. After three to five years, there often were issues. “We never felt outdoor kitchen components lived up to Priebe’s commitment to long term product quality,” she said. “But with heavy gauge stainless steel cabinets—cabinet interiors and the appliances are protected from the elements, any critters, and can last much longer.”
“John Michael is a product we can stand behind,” says Lillian. “Its quality parallels what our team creates in our woodworking facility. It’s worthy of the Priebe name and reputation. We have added it to our family of products that we confidently offer to southwest Michigan. Your backyard outdoor kitchen can now be an extension of your home: as beautiful and functional as your family’s indoor kitchen.”
Lillian explains that they found in their research that there is a trend toward specialized cooking in outdoor kitchens. “People are centering their outdoor kitchen on a ‘hero appliance’, a centerpiece for the cooking activity they are going to highlight. They aspire to be the ‘rotisserie chef’ or the ‘pizza guru’ or the ‘flat top grill guy’ of their neighborhood. This focus or personalization encourages an outdoor kitchen installation even in a small space like a condo patio. It can be as simple as 3-4 cabinets, not necessarily a full kitchen, allowing the homeowner to pursue their personal passion for outdoor cooking or entertaining.”
In recent years, passion for outdoor entertaining has grown out of homeowners’ strong connection to favorite TV channels like The Food Network or HGTV. Viewers become fans of certain luxury brands and want to include them in their new outdoor kitchen. She cited Appliances like Kalamazoo Grill, EVO Flat Top, Green Egg, Hestan, Lynx, True and Perlick Refrigeration add cooking versatility. Each cabinet is customized for your chosen brand, your appliance, your measurements, your personal deck or backyard.
When it comes to budgeting for your custom outdoor kitchen, the space or footprint and the number of appliances is the major driver of cost. Jeff explains that a small installation on a condo patio can be relatively economical. A full kitchen with multiple appliances and enclosures and ample countertop work surfaces will be priced more like what it is: a full kitchen. The wants and desires of the homeowner drive the project. It’s important to note that research shows almost a 100% return on investment for outdoor spaces. Quality cabinetry whether for indoor or outdoor settings is an investment—low-cost cabinetry will not have lasting value.
Part of the design process will involve working with other specialists to incorporate technology, lighting and other landscape related elements. From there, they’ll help adapt and refine those ideas into the perfect plan for you, utilizing high tech visuals to help you better envision how the finished product might look in your own backyard.
That expertise and experience in kitchen design—indoors or outdoors—is why homeowners in Southwest Michigan have been choosing Priebe’s Creative Woodworking for their personal cabinetry projects for almost 30 years.
The team at Priebe’s is truly excited about the new offering of outdoor kitchens and how they will elevate entertaining and extending time outdoors. They want to share their excitement—and their expertise—with you as you consider the possibility of creating an outdoor kitchen that’s a truly special place for you, your family and friends.
Start imagining the possibilities for YOUR outdoor kitchen!
Visit online at priebeswoodworking.com. Visit the showroom located at 2113 Plaza Drive in Benton Harbor, MI. Call 269-926-2469. Or use the form below to ask a question.
Photos courtesy of John Michael Handcrafted Kitchens
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