Designer Sarah Sherman Samuel’s Latest Home Project Is Going to Make You Want Cabinets In Every Room
DIYers and storage enthusiasts alike, rejoice! Starting today, there’s a new brand in the cabinetry game: BOXI by Semihandmade, the first American-built, direct-to-consumer cabinet system for every room of the house that ships right to your door in — wait for it — two to four weeks!
If you’re wondering just what this new line can look like in the wild, well, you’ve come to the right place. Designer to the stars, Sarah Sherman Samuel is sharing her latest home design project exclusively with Apartment Therapy here, and the house features not one but three BOXI by Semihandmade installations — kitchen, bathroom, and bar area.
Who are the lucky owners of this light, bright home? Couple Mary Kate Frerichs and Achille Confuorto, who relocated to New Jersey from Brooklyn during the pandemic. They loved the location and the bones of this house but some of the finishes and the layout not so much. So they enlisted Samuel for a full-scale open-plan renovation, culminating in the new kitchen, which was designed around classic Shaker style BOXI cabinets and a striking, full height Arabescato marble backsplash (and countertops) sourced from Aria Stone Gallery.
Before they could get to the pretty things though, their contractor knocked out walls according to Samuel’s specs, moving the electrical and plumbing to create a better flow for the kitchen. Functionality was key when it came to storage, too. Because there’s no shortage of things to store in a cook space, the option to fill the entire fridge wall with cabinetry — including three pantry-sized cupboards! — is a dream for any home chef. The new Café Appliances and Hudson Valley pendant light above the farmhouse sink didn’t hurt either.
As a finishing touch, Samuel brought in brass cabinet hardware and fittings from Rejuvenation, which lend the stainless appliances a more eclectic, modern edge. The best part of the design process though? The short timeline for achieving such a bespoke look. “Having partnered with Semihandmade for years, I was thrilled to design one of the very first kitchens with their new cabinet system, BOXI by Semihandmade.” says Samuel, who has her own line of cabinet door and drawer fronts with Semihandmade. “This kitchen is so beautiful and came together so quickly — literally in just a few weeks from blank slate to finished product.”
Then there’s nearby bar area, which was outfitted with open shelving for glassware and bottles as well as a wine fridge, flanked by two BOXI cabinets that match the look of the kitchen. Literally, all you’d need to recreate this kind of a built-in look is a stretch of bare wall space and storage sized to it, whether you want a space for spirits and/or a dedicated spot for playing records with closed storage for your vinyl collection below.
If you’ve ever wished you could carry your kitchen cabinet design or aesthetic to your bathroom vanity — or just don’t like the look of store-bought styles — BOXI can help you in this department, too. Samuel again used a pair of BOXI cabinets as a base for a stunning Aria Arabescato countertop. She also managed to work some of the same stone into the design of the shower surround, which is otherwise composed of Fireclay Tile subway tiles.
Aesthetics aside, there’s a lot to like about the BOXI launch in terms of sustainability, too. The cabinets are crafted domestically with some recycled materials; specifically, the skin and resin on BOXI by Semihandmade cabinet doors are made of recycled water jugs. Moreover, down the line, if you wanted a totally different look for your home’s cabinetry, all you’d have to do is buy new doors. At launch time, a selection of Semihandmade’s most popular drawer and cabinet door fronts are available for order.
If you’re looking to configure your dream kitchen or otherwise, BOXI offers a few options, from full-service spatial design to planning via AI-3D software from Skipp Studio. You can also take measurements of your space and have a design created according to your specs for a fee of $199. Currently, BOXI is available in Austin, Chicago, Southern California, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle, but the brand has the ability to ship anywhere in the continental US and plans to roll out nationally later this year. Pricing varies depending on the size of your space, but installation is not included in the cost.