FOR THE SEVENTH YEAR IN A ROW, VALET CUSTOM CABINETS & CLOSETS HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY HOUZZ AS A TOP-RATED HOME BUILDING, REMODELING, AND DESIGN PROFESSIONAL IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD.

FOR THE SIXTH YEAR IN A ROW, VALET CUSTOM CABINETS & CLOSETS HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY HOUZZ AS A TOP-RATED HOME BUILDING, REMODELING, AND DESIGN PROFESSIONAL IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD.

This is part of a series of "Ask Valet" blogs featuring tips for your home from the design team at Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets.

We asked a few designers at Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets what they felt all guest rooms should have to ensure the comfort of their overnight guests. Here’s what they had to say:

For the fifth year in a row, Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets has been recognized by Houzz as a top-rated home building, remodeling and Design Professional in the United States and around the world.

In 2015, Patrick Layne, Valet’s Vice President & General Manager, started on a quest to update two major pieces of equipment in the Valet production facility: our edgebander and our panel saw. Patrick traveled all over the country (and even to Canada) and met with many machinery vendors and end-users (other manufacturing companies) in search of the perfect machines. After many long flights and meals on airplanes, all of his hard work and research paid off. Over the summer of 2016, we successfully installed a new Holzma HPP 300 panel saw and a Holzher Accura 1554 edgebander in our shop. 

When Patrick Layne (our VP & General Manager) came on board with Valet in 2005, the manufacturing and installation teams, unfortunately, did not have the best track record with safety. Patrick knew that the team could do better. He created a safety committee, we started doing regular safety training, and so began the annual Holiday Safety meeting and awards. That first meeting set the stage for all of the holiday meetings that have happened since.

Ward Wildanger started out as an Engineering Geologist and got tired of all of the travelling after 10 years in the business. His parents owned a cabinet company called Eurodesign and Ward decided to make the change from geology to cabinetry in 1984. He eventually bought the company from his parents and then subsequently sold it to Valet in 2005, when he also joined the team as Manager of Engineering and Product Development. Since then, Ward has done a little bit of everything for Valet including design, sales, installation, repairs, machining, and inventory.

For close to 15 years, Robert Gudanets worked for a custom furniture and closet company in San Carlos. When it went out of business, it was the perfect opportunity for Robert to check out Valet, which he had heard great things about and was much closer to his home. He met with Larry Fox, they both decided it was a good fit, and so Robert joined the Valet team in 2003.

Karin Parodi’s journey to her career with Valet was a bit circuitous like many of ours. After many years in corporate America, Karin reached burn out and “retired” to take stock and plan a next chapter. Dabbling in different things, all signs pointed to something more creative. Her 18-year-old-self dreamt of a career in architecture, so augmenting her undergraduate degree with a degree in Interior Design wasn’t a huge leap. Canada College fit the bill and she joined the student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). She saw an ASID announcement for an event at Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets. That sounded interesting; she liked organizing things, was good with space, and small spaces, so she went to the event. She fell in love with the concept and felt that a company like Valet was right in her wheelhouse. She spoke with the host, told her the back story and asked where she could fit in the Valet team. As luck would have it, this woman was moving out of the area and realized Karin’s background in account management and passion for space would make a great combo for working with industry professionals. And, as they say the rest is history. Karin joined the Valet Team in 2010 and hasn’t looked back.

Larry Fox, Owner and President of Valet Custom Cabinets & Closets, spent the 18 years after he graduated from college working at his family’s metal recycling business. The family business was sold in 2000 and Larry chose to make a career change rather than stay in the industry. When making that decision, a number of factors came into play.