StudioHow we scan, draw, build, and finish, written down. The long answers to the questions we get on every job.
Materials · August 5, 2026
Most painted cabinet doors are MDF. Ours are paint-grade HDF — a denser, harder-faced board that holds a sprayed finish the way MDF can't. Here's the difference, why it matters at year five, and what the rest of the cabinet is made of.
Read the note →Process · August 5, 2026
Nobody publishes real numbers, so here's the next best thing: exactly how a custom millwork estimate is built — what's priced per linear foot, what moves a project to the upper end of its range, and when semi-custom is honestly the better call.
Read the note →Process · April 22, 2026
Field-measuring a kitchen with a tape can take 4 hours and still miss the out-of-square corners. A LiDAR scan captures everything at sub-4mm tolerance in 45 minutes. Here's how the process works and why it matters for custom millwork.
Read the note →Craft · April 15, 2026
Belle Vie's name is French and intentional. The discipline behind French menuiserie (careful joinery, tight tolerances, generations-deep apprenticeships) is what we apply to every kitchen, vanity, and built-in we mill in our New Hampshire shop.
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