Thom of AlterECO did a fantastic, beautiful piece of work with our kitchen and bathroom cabinet project. His matching of the horizontal grin of the cabinets was seamlessly perfect. The result is a warm. cohesive, rich and timeless look that has massively improved our home. Each concomitant piece of veneer was similarly perfect and his attention to detail is faultless. Thom recommended that we switch to new soft close hardware and we are very glad we listened and agreed - there is something very satisfying about now using a light touch. It may actually extend the life of our cabinets. In addition, Thom recommended installing some drawers in both the kitchen and the bathroom - what a massive improvement! There is now double the space in the bathroom and our wide new kitchen drawer accommodates everything I need it for. On top of all that. Thom is just a lovely person, easy to work with and we enjoyed many a rewarding conversation. We would give our highest recommendation to Thom and AlterECO!Read More
Anna Shimko
We are so happy! AlterECO and its leader Thom Harrison have helped tremendously to make our renovated and expanded floating home perfect, with beautiful, and useful, bamboo storage all over the house. Our gorgeous bamboo kitchen and bathroom cabinets were originally built by AlterECO in 2004, and have held up terrifically. Now, 18 years later, we have worked with Thom again to add more kitchen cabinets and reconfigure the existing ones (e.g., to accommodate a dishwasher); design and build a cool bar with glass front cabinet doors in a little niche; and fashion super useful and attractive built-ins under the stairs for storage, the most attractive pull-out laundry folding table one could envision and a cat box cubby. Nothing here is cookie-cutter, it is all specially designed for our home and our family. The materials are both beautiful and durable. The craftsmanship is exquisite. The design is thoughtful and creative. We whole-heartedly recommend AlterECO products and services!Read More
Darshan Brach
Thom is an extraordinary craftsman - painstaking and with a wonderful aesthetic. Totally honest, reliable and thoughtful. Highly recommend!Read More
Linda Marquardt
AlterECO/Thom Harrison designed and made absolutely beautiful bamboo cupboards for our recently completed kitchen remodel. He worked with us and our architect and provided innovative ideas to make our small kitchen extremely functional and convenient - as well as providing us with the maximum amount of counter space. He recommended an appliance garage that included a Blum Aventos HL lift system as well as a bottom shelf that the appliances could sit on and just be pulled out and used right on the shelf. He also included a Kessebohmer pull out pantry that was accessible from both sides. We worked through the optimum drawer configuration by mapping out exactly where to store each item to keep them close to where they would be used. Various sized drawers were included to provide for large items and all drawers were soft close. An additional bar cabinet with pull out storage was also designed. We’ve been cooking in the new kitchen for a couple months now and everything is working perfectly! We have plenty of room for all of our appliances, cookware and dishes and they are all arranged very conveniently. There isn’t anything we’d change about them. Everything was constructed with fine precision, all the grain of the bamboo matches exactly from one drawer to the next and it’s beautiful and easy to care for. We’d definitely recommend AlterECO and Thom Harrison.Read More
Houzz User
We've worked with Thom twice (approx. 10 years apart) and both experiences have been fantastic. His craftsmanship is top notch and he's a good person with real attention to detail.
We've had his cabinets for over 10 years and they stand the test of time.
He's also done some other work for us - custom mantle over our fireplace and various wood items (new Walnut top to a coffee table). It's all been high quality.
Highly recommend.Read More
Karen & Mike Kapolnek
We love these cabinets and this business so much that we have contracted with AlterECO three times! We purchased cabinetry for our kitchen, dining room and laundry in 2006, our bathroom and hall in 2011, and our family room in 2019. The product quality is always impeccable/accurate and the service is superb. After up to 14 years of living with these cabinets, we continue to enjoy their beauty, durability, functionality. As far as functionality, we have found that custom furniture optimizes the use of our space.
The owner Thom has a particular talent for design, both technical and esthetics. Our home is a 100-year-old bungalow. That comes with irregularities such as an asymmetrical nook and a bathroom wall that protrudes a couple inches for plumbing. Thom figured out how to work around these. He designed an angled built-in bookcase for the nook, and adjusted the bathroom cabinet depths to make their fronts continuous across the wall. These are just a couple of examples.
Thom is also extremely customer focused. He REALLY listens to your ideas and goals, no matter how quirky, and comes up with unique solutions to incorporate them. For example, we wanted a way to hide a large fold-up sewing table when it was not in use, but have room for it when opened. He came up with a shell that we could slip on and off with ease for regular use.
Thom earnestly wants you to be pleased with your project. Each time, there was a back and forth exchange of ideas until just the right design was achieved. We were considering a tall cabinet in one of our nooks, and he suggested a shorter one with glass shelves above and an overhead light. It was the way to go—we have a favorite Kauai glass sculpture there and we love it. There are so many details to consider: color, orientation of the grain, drawers vs. cabinets, glass fronts, type of glass, etc. and he patiently helps you figure out what will work best for you.
Now Green. This business is serious about operating as Green as possible. Since we have been working with Thom, he changed the already green formula for the finish on his cabinets to one that was even better for the environment. You do not have to talk with him long to see that he is aware of details about the production and supply chain for his raw material, and is monitoring the industry, and adapting to function as green as possible.
It has been a true pleasure to repeatedly work with AlterECO. The owner is very professional and reliable, and clearly has passion for and takes pride in his business. Each time, the process of collaborating to design custom cabinetry was productive, and fun! The outcome was upgrades to our home that we have already enjoyed a long time and will continue to enjoy. We heartily recommend this business.Read More
Maria Daverede
Working with Thom from AlterECO has been seamless. Thom is an artist, and a very thoughtful and kind person; it has been a pleasure to work with him. He pays attention to detail, and delivers as promised. The quality of the cabinets is outstanding, and they are gorgeous. They surpassed all of our expectations. Thom is extremely knowledgable, and he even helped us with the design of our kitchen, recommending colors for countertops, floor, etc. He met our deadline and most importantly, he worked with our budget so we could make it happen. We highly recommend AlterECO.Read More
Dan M
We purchased an older house at a historic midcentury location, and badly needed to update the late-70s kitchen to do justice to the house and its siting. We were looking at RTA cabinets and were reluctant to be "those people" and go with a fancy kitchen with custom cabinetry, but figured we should at least get some quotes, so we contacted Thom. We are SO glad we did.
Thom is awesome. We first contacted AlterEco because we liked the look of their specialty bamboo cabinets, but were delighted to discover that Thom is also straight up great at kitchen design, material notwithstanding. We went in with a vision of what we wanted, but working with Thom was a collaboration that took our "midcentury modern" concept and turned it into a "modernized midcentury" result that we couldn't be happier with.
Thom brought his deep experience to give us great advice on everything from layout and features to appliance & fixture selection and even color & materials for counters and flooring. He also has contacts with other experts in the area -- for instance he connected us with a countertop stone vendor who also did an incredible job at a great price.
And the final result was excellent. The installation went smoothly, and the cabinets and hardware are honestly even better than we'd hoped for. When I walk into the kitchen I like to pause and look around and just smile, because it's just the kitchen we wanted. It's practically a zen thing, mindfulness in kitchen form.
Best of all, the cost was quite reasonable. We paid more than we would have for RTA cabinetry, naturally, but the quote was considerably more affordable than we'd been bracing ourselves for, and the final cost was right in line with the quote, with no unexpected extras. When you factor in all the design work and the quality of the cabinets themselves, the value is off the charts. And if you're on the fence about bamboo as a material, don't be: the surface is a joy to touch and in person it's a wonderful, handsome, and modern look that plays very well with other woods and finishes.
See for yourself - check out our end result! (Ignore the incomplete backsplash, though -- that's on me, not Thom. ;)
The bottom line for this sort of thing is: would you go with the same vendor again? And for AlterEco, our answer is: in a heartbeat.Read More
Howard Wollner
Thom provided our new home with all the cabinetry including our kitchen and 4 bathrooms. That was almost 10 years ago and the cabinets still look like they were just installed. They have all performed beautifully. We just had Thom add a new piece of cabinetry to the kitchen under a workstation and it looks great. We highly recommend AlterECO.Read More
Denise Borocz
Thom and his crew were wonderful to work with. Their craftsmanship is 10 out of 10. Everyone who has seen our kitchen cabinets just love them. If I had to do the project all over again, I would pick Thom at AlterEco!Read More
Sonja Hanson
If you value unique high quality construction, both materials and craftsmanship, Thom is the guy. If you enjoy working with a nice human being, Thom is your guy. If you llike a straight forward and consistent timeline and budget, Thom is your guy.Read More
Brewster Fong
If you need cabinets, Thom is the man! The workmanship on my bamboo cabinets is excellent and his cabinets are top notched. He was able to source the exact color I wanted and being local, he was able to deliver on time and at a very reasonable price.
Further, there's an old saying "measure twice, cut once." Well, that describes Thom's work habits. Not only is he very thorough in making sure all measurements are correct, he also worked well with my contractor when there was a small mistake. Thom didn't know my contractor and had never worked with him before, but the repair was seamless and taken care of immediately. I ended up with a kitchen that I never could imagine going into the project.
Professional, knowledgeable and a quality product, what more can you ask?!
I highly recommend Thom and AlterEco! Good Luck!Read More
Lisa Hubbert
I am sitting in my brand spanking new kitchen marveling at the beauty of the cabinets and countertops and happy as a clam.I first contacted Thom well over a year ago, and he worked with me patiently and with great knowledge through the entire process. Before I even had a contractor or an architect, I knew that I wanted to work with Thom for our Lyptus cabinets and Paperstone countertops. He added so many great ideas, and gently dissuaded me from ones of my own that might not have been so great. In the end, he helped me to bring my ideal kitchen to life.Read More
Houzz User
Working with Thom at AlterECO was a pleasure from start to finish! Not only is he a very kind and easy going person, he is a consummate professional who truly knows and loves his craft. We absolutely love our beautiful new bamboo kitchen cabinets, and we highly recommend him.Read More
Houzz User
We have re-modeled two kitchens with Thom and cannot recommend him highly enough. For our second job, he handled both design and cabinetry. He is a true craftsman -- incredible sense of functionality, excellent design aesthetic, tireless attention to detail (which really matters with cabinetry and kitchen design) and a responsive, patient thought partner to match his work to your needs. One of our contractors said Thom's cabinets were the best he's ever seen. Thom is also very helpful lining up other great service providers -- contractors, countertops, pulls, etc. Also a really great guy. You will be in good hands getting Thom on your team, and the quality he delivers is first rate.Read More
Deeper Green
We hired Tom to design our bamboo kitchen cabinets. He's super friendly, smart and he excels at design challenges. His design gave us everything we wanted feature wise and his network of green suppliers created exquisite cabinets within our budget. We are very pleased with the kitchen cabinets. I highly recommend AlterEco for your next cabinet project.Read More
Houzz User
AlterEco refaced our kitchen cabinets with bamboo and transformed our kitchen from boring to beautiful. Thomis a true craftsman. He is also very kind, respectful and professional. He works with people's budgets. We love our cabinets so much we are now having him custom build a desk in our kitchen.Read More