Do you manufacture cabinets in-house or subcontract?

In-house. The Kuphela Cupboards workshop has been running cabinetry as a core trade since 2008, and every kitchen, cupboard and vanity we install is built by our team to the design we agreed with you. No subbing out, no white-labelling someone else's work.

Do you handle countertops and stone as well?

Yes. We coordinate with established Cape Town stone fabricators on granite, engineered stone (quartz, Caesarstone) and solid surface countertops. The cabinetry, the stone template and the install all happen on our schedule, so you're dealing with one team rather than three.

What's the typical lead time for a kitchen?

Four to six weeks from sign-off to install for a standard kitchen, longer for complex layouts or imported finishes. We try to do tear-out and install back-to-back so you're without a kitchen for the shortest practical window. Where the project also involves plumbing, gas or electrical work (it usually does) we sequence the trades so they don't tread on each other.

Can I see your cabinetry work before committing?

Yes. We can put you in touch with past customers who've agreed to host site visits, and we have completed projects across the Southern Peninsula and Atlantic Seaboard you can walk through with Clive.

Do you do tear-out and replacement, or only new builds?

Both. New builds and renovations are roughly half of what we do, and the rest is replacement cabinetry in existing homes. The renovation route is more involved (we manage the appliance disconnect, the existing-cabinetry tear-out, the wall make-good and the new install) but produces the cleanest result.

Which suburbs do you cover?

Cape Town Metro, the Cape Peninsula and the Southern Peninsula are our standard footprint. The Atlantic Seaboard, Helderberg, West Coast (to Saldanha) and Overberg (to Hermanus) are covered by appointment. See /areas for the full coverage spread.

Cabinetry in Cape Town

Bespoke cabinetry across Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula since 2008. Custom kitchens, walk-in pantries, built-in bedroom cupboards, home office cabinetry and bathroom vanities. Manufactured and installed in-house, coordinated with our plumbing, gas and electrical.

Cabinetry is the trade that started the family business. The Kuphela Cupboards workshop opened in 2008, two years before we picked up the plumbing trade as WayWes, and it’s been the constant ever since. Every cupboard, kitchen, vanity and storage system we install is designed and manufactured in our own workshop and installed by our own team, with the rest of the trades (plumbing, gas, electrical) coordinated under one accountability when the project calls for it. No outsourced manufacturing. No generic flat-pack systems. Every job built to the room.

Below is the full scope of what we do across kitchens, bedrooms, home offices and wet rooms, grouped into three acts. Anchor links jump to a particular service. To brief us on a project, call 083 700 8260 or drop us a line and we’ll come back inside 48 hours.

The kitchen

Kitchen cupboards

Custom kitchen cupboard manufacturing from CAD plans. We design around how the kitchen actually gets used (where the prep space lands, where the bin lives, where the corner blind spots want to be drawers not cupboards) rather than what the showroom catalogue says. Standard build: melamine carcass, edge-banded, soft-close hinges and runners as default, with option to upgrade to inset detail, painted MDF, solid wood or full-shaker style.

Stone, glass, lighting and electrical all coordinated on the same schedule so the kitchen lands as one job, not three.

Custom kitchen with central island, cream cabinetry, integrated gas hob, bar seating, and dining nook visible beyond. — Custom kitchen, cream cabinetry, central island with bar seating, integrated gas hob and double-door fridge. Coordinated plumbing, gas and electrical under one team.

Walk-in pantries and sculleries

Storage planning is half the value of a custom kitchen. Walk-in pantries (full room behind a door, takes the day-to-day clutter out of the main kitchen) and sculleries (semi-private wet area for the dishwasher, second sink, kettle, microwave) free up the main kitchen for cooking and entertaining without sacrificing storage. We design the layout, manufacture the cabinetry, and coordinate the plumbing and electrical for the appliances.

Scullery off the main kitchen with custom cabinetry, integrated dishwasher, double sink, frosted glass uppers and tile splashback. — Scullery off the main kitchen. Integrated dishwasher, double sink, frosted glass uppers, full-height base storage. Plumbing and electrical run together with the cabinetry install.

Bedrooms and home offices

Built-in bedroom cupboards

Floor-to-ceiling built-in cupboards designed around the room rather than around a standard module. Hinged or sliding doors (sliding suit smaller rooms where door-swing-clearance is the constraint, hinged give you the full opening at once). Internal layout: hanging space sized for jackets vs shirts vs dresses, drawer banks, shoe racks, accessory shelves, optional integrated mirror.

We can include mirror-fronted doors, framed or frameless, for full-length use without losing storage.

Home office cabinetry

Desks, returns, storage walls and shelving combined into one piece of cabinetry, designed for the room and the way you actually work. Cable management built in (channels behind the desk for power and data, grommets at the desktop for monitors). Footprint optimised for small rooms and converted-bedroom offices, so you don’t sacrifice the rest of the room to fit the desk.

We coordinate sockets, network drops and lighting with our electrical so the office is wired before the cabinetry goes in.

Wet rooms

Bathroom vanities

Wall-mounted (cleaner, easier to clean under, looks lighter in small bathrooms) or floor-standing (more storage, more weight). Stone or solid surface countertops with undermount or inset basins. Drawers preferred to doors for daily-use storage where the layout allows. Drawer fronts and door fronts in painted MDF, solid wood, or melamine to match the rest of the brief.

Plumbing tie-ins (mixer height, drain centring, shut-offs accessible behind the basin) handled by the same team that builds the vanity, so the result is the right height, the right hole positions, the right finish. No “the plumber said one thing and the joiner did another.”

How we work

Every cabinetry job runs the same way. You call, WhatsApp or email, whichever’s easiest. Clive comes to site for a measure and a brief; we discuss layout, finish, ironmongery, surfaces, and the budget shape that fits. We come back with a quote inside 48 hours. On approval we do the CAD plan, you sign off, we order materials, we manufacture (typical four to six weeks for a kitchen, less for smaller jobs), then we tear-out and install. Where plumbing, gas or electrical needs sequencing, we run our own trades against the cabinetry programme so the project doesn’t stall.

Workmanship guarantee on every job, with parts and ironmongery covered by their manufacturers’ warranties.

Do you manufacture cabinets in-house or subcontract?: In-house. The Kuphela Cupboards workshop has been running cabinetry as a core trade since 2008, and every kitchen, cupboard and vanity we install is built by our team to the design we agreed with you. No subbing out, no white-labelling someone else's work.
Do you handle countertops and stone as well?: Yes. We coordinate with established Cape Town stone fabricators on granite, engineered stone (quartz, Caesarstone) and solid surface countertops. The cabinetry, the stone template and the install all happen on our schedule, so you're dealing with one team rather than three.
What's the typical lead time for a kitchen?: Four to six weeks from sign-off to install for a standard kitchen, longer for complex layouts or imported finishes. We try to do tear-out and install back-to-back so you're without a kitchen for the shortest practical window. Where the project also involves plumbing, gas or electrical work (it usually does) we sequence the trades so they don't tread on each other.
Can I see your cabinetry work before committing?: Yes. We can put you in touch with past customers who've agreed to host site visits, and we have completed projects across the Southern Peninsula and Atlantic Seaboard you can walk through with Clive.
Do you do tear-out and replacement, or only new builds?: Both. New builds and renovations are roughly half of what we do, and the rest is replacement cabinetry in existing homes. The renovation route is more involved (we manage the appliance disconnect, the existing-cabinetry tear-out, the wall make-good and the new install) but produces the cleanest result.
Which suburbs do you cover?: Cape Town Metro, the Cape Peninsula and the Southern Peninsula are our standard footprint. The Atlantic Seaboard, Helderberg, West Coast (to Saldanha) and Overberg (to Hermanus) are covered by appointment. See /areas for the full coverage spread.