Custom Cabinets for Sunnyvale Homes

Short answer: Excelle Kitchen & Bath designs and supplies kitchen cabinetry, vanities and custom storage for Sunnyvale homes from its San Jose showroom at 1350 Ridder Park Dr, Suite B. We plan the space, design and specify the cabinetry, and coordinate your order; your contractor or a partner we refer handles installation. The showroom is open Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, for walk-ins or booked consultations.

Sunnyvale homes, by the numbers

According to the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey one-year estimates, the median Sunnyvale home was built in 1977, and about 56% of housing units predate 1980, with the 1960s and 1970s each accounting for roughly 18%. About 34% of units are single-family detached homes and 10% attached single-family homes such as townhouses; about 6% are mobile homes, and 18% are in buildings of 50 or more units. Roughly 44% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.

For cabinet planning, that age profile is a reason to measure rather than assume: a kitchen in a house from the 1960s or 1970s may have been reworked before, so the room you measure today is the one to design for. Where a wall is shared with a neighbor, as in a townhouse or duplex, that wall has rules of its own (below).

Do you need a permit in Sunnyvale?

Excelle is a design studio and does not install, so this is background for you and your contractor. The City of Sunnyvale's Residential Kitchen Remodel handout, which applies to permits submitted on or after January 1, 2026, says a permit is required for kitchen remodels, and is not required for only replacing countertops (no electrical work) or only refacing existing cabinets (no electrical work). The city's separate list of work that does not require a permit includes cosmetic work such as cabinets mounted less than 5 feet 9 inches high in residential installations, and countertops. Where your job sits between those two documents, ask the One-Stop Permit Center at City Hall (456 W. Olive Ave., 408-730-7444) with your scope before work starts.

If a permit is needed, the handout says to:

• obtain it before the remodel begins;
• photograph all four walls of the existing kitchen before construction and have the photos at the first inspection;
• upload plans through the city's e-OneStop online services, including a floor plan showing existing and proposed walls and whether any load-bearing wall will be removed.

If the house has existing fire sprinklers, the handout adds that a Fire Permit is required, with fire inspections before the building rough inspection and before the final inspection.

If the work grows beyond the kitchen — the handout's example is removing sheetrock throughout the house and bringing the interior down to the studs — bedroom windows are to be lowered to meet emergency escape and rescue requirements, the added scope has to be submitted for review, and the handout asks owners to "discuss Eichler window requirements with the City Staff." Raise that with your contractor before the scope is fixed.

One cost to plan for: when a building permit is issued for an alteration, the handout requires non-compliant plumbing fixtures throughout the house to be upgraded — for a kitchen faucet, anything over 2.2 gallons per minute is replaced with one of no more than 1.8 gallons per minute average at 60 psi.

Where Sunnyvale's rules meet the cabinet drawing

Several items in the handout decide how cabinets are laid out, so they belong in the design conversation:

• Island and peninsula outlets: an island or peninsula receptacle must sit on or not more than 20 inches above the work surface, and outlets cannot be installed below the countertop or on the side of the cabinetry. If no outlet is installed, provision must be made for adding one later.
• Countertop receptacles: required at every backsplash or countertop area 12 inches or wider, with no point along the wall more than 24 inches from one, and backsplash receptacles no more than 20 inches above the countertop — worth knowing before tall pantry cabinets or appliance garages break up a counter run.
• Under-cabinet lighting: on its own switch, separate from other lighting.
• Shared walls: cabinets installed against an existing fire-rated wall, such as between townhomes or an attached ADU, must keep that wall's fire-resistance construction intact.

For layout thinking, see our guides to planning a kitchen layout and kitchen island design.

Cabinet options for Sunnyvale kitchens

Premade manufacturer lines — Shiloh, Eclipse, Bellmont, J&K and Boxy — cover most kitchens with size modifications at a more accessible price and lead time; the Excelle custom line is built to exact dimensions for odd-sized or non-standard spaces. Framed cabinets have a face frame for a classic American look; frameless, European-style construction gives full access, clean lines and more usable interior space. Doors come in full overlay, partial overlay or inset. For compact kitchens, small kitchen storage design covers the planning; for everything beyond the kitchen, see custom closets and storage and bathroom vanities. Actual pricing depends on scope, sizes and selections, so ask the showroom for a quote on your layout.

How a project runs

• 1. Consultation: your space, storage needs, lifestyle and the look you're after.
• 2. Space planning: layout, flow and storage before a single cabinet is chosen.
• 3. Design and selection: cabinetry, door styles, finishes, materials and hardware, refined together.
• 4. Delivery and support: we coordinate your order and connect trusted partners for the rest of the project.

Excelle is a cabinet and storage design studio, not a general contractor; installation and structural work are handled by your contractor or by partners we work with regularly. More on the design stage is on our kitchen design page.

Visiting the showroom from Sunnyvale

The showroom is at 1350 Ridder Park Dr, Suite B, San Jose. Walk in Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, to compare door styles, finishes and hardware, or book a design consultation to reserve a designer. Bring measurements, a floor plan or photos. Our team works in English and Chinese. Call 650-285-0888.