Urban Effects -- Reasonably Priced Quality Cabinetry -- Made in Canada

Recently, a few members of Monarch’s design team hopped aboard an early morning flight to Winnipeg so they could spend the day with the crew at Urban Effects. Urban Effects is a division of Norcraft, now the fifth-largest kitchen and bathroom cabinet manufacturer in North America. This fall, Norcraft announced its first major expansion in 10 years: the doubling of its Winnipeg plant to more than 130,000 square feet. The expansion will be completed by mid-2015. 

First stop for designers Melissa Foley and Amanda Willson-Suppa was a tour of a new-home build. “The home was very large and the homeowners were having Urban Effects cabinetry installed throughout,” says Amanda. “From lockers in the mudroom entrance and kitchen, to all four bathrooms…even the bar! It was truly gorgeous.”

Melissa and Amanda returned to Urban Effects’ expanding manufacturing facility and showroom where they learned that the upcoming expansion will allow Urban Effects to move their shipping department on site. It will allow them to add even more of the most up-to-date manufacturing to their repertoire.

“One of the most interesting things I learned while I was there is that although we refer to one of the materials used for doors as MDF, Urban Effects only uses HDF – high-density fiber board -- for their painted cabinet doors,” says Amanda. “HDF is a superior product to MDF, allowing for stronger doors and a cleaner finish.”

Cabinetry is certainly one of the biggest expenses in a kitchen renovation. If you're looking for ways to stay within your design budget without sacrificing quality, drop by the Monarch showroom and allow one of our designers to show you the wide range of products Urban Effects has to offer.

Urban Effects: Quality Cabinetry, Reasonably Priced

A few weeks ago, Monarch Kitchen and Bath Centre designers Melissa Foley, Kevin Samson and Amanda Willson-Suppa spent an entire day with the team at Urban Effects brushing up on their Norcraft Cabinetry product knowledge.

"It was great to meet many of the people we have spoken to over the phone for so long," says Amanda. "A big thank you to Phil, Jack, John and Dawn for making the trip from Winnipeg and taking the time to explain how their cabinetry is made."

In addition to winning one of the mini-competitions held during the product knowledge seminar, Monarch designers also learned that when the Urban Effects' staff paints or stains their cabinetry, they do all of the cabinets at one time -- from start to finish.

Cabinetry is undoubtedly one of the biggest expenses in a kitchen renovation. If you're looking for ways to stay within your design budget without sacrificing quality, drop by our Pickering showroom and allow one of our designers to show you what Norcraft Cabinetry has to offer.