Challenge was established in 1989 by Tom Propps, and is now owned and operated by two of his sons Jon and James.
Upon retiring Tom and his family moved to the Myrtle Beach area. Quickly, Tom realized he was not fully ready for retirement and based off of his home building experience, he decided to begin a cabinet company.
The name of the company “Challenge” came from Tom’s perspective that owning and operating his own business was going to be one of life’s big “Challenges”. Older brother Jon, was quickly recruited by Tom to help run and operate the production. Tom knew Jon’s level of craftsmanship, his attention to detail and his management skills would be just what he needed to help create a recipe for success.
By 1994 James graduated from USC and moved back to Myrtle Beach to learn the business from Jon and their Dad. James got his contractors license and in the late 90’s they did build a few homes. The family decided that in order to fulfill their passion for woodworking as well as keep the business focused, home building was not the direction they wanted to go. However, the experience gained during that process has proven to be invaluable. Builders and general contractors have expressed how they enjoy working with the brothers and one reason for that is their understanding of how a home is built. James and Jon work well with other subcontractors to ensure that everyone’s job can be done as effective and efficiently as possible. “As a builder, I continually search for sub-contractors who share the same philosophy for quality workmanship as I do. I found that with James Propps and Challenge Cabinets. Their work is of the highest quality and their attention to detail is phenomenal. Any builder or homeowner wanting fine cabinetry to showcase in their home would be remiss if they failed to contact James Propps with Challenge Cabinets. He's a great guy to work with, always listens to the builder or homeowner, and provides an exceptional product.” Harrell Hardwick,Benchmark Construction.
In the early days of Challenge, the focus of cabinet work was the standard white European design because that was what the market called for. Eventually, James and Jon began to see that the Myrtle Beach market was really in need of a higher end cabinet company and thus the transition began.
One element that makes Challenge unique is the versatility of the products we can produce. Often one home may require different quality levels. The client may desire top level kitchen and master bath cabinets, but based off of budget limitations a laundry or guest bath may need to be scaled down a bit. At Challenge we can work with you to accomplish your budget goals and still end up with the look your desire.
Our fully professional paint spray booth allows for any custom color and provides a unparalled quality finish. The options for cabinet finishes are endless, painted, painted and distressed, distressed and glazed, painted and glazed. Natural wood, stained wood, glazed wood. Cherry, knotty pine, heart pine, maple, alder, walnut, spanish cedar, mahogany or any species of wood you may desire. Thermofoil, Melemine, high end thermofoils. Inset doors…The list is truly endless. As the saying goes “If you can imagine it, we can make it!”
In 2007 Challenge was presented with a great opportunity and was able to purchase a small millworks company from Deck Dargon. In the process 2 incredible craftsman joined the team. Lonnie Jordan and Tom Hoagland are the best of the best. There abilities have truly been humbling to James and Jon who pride themselves in there own craftsmanship, but Lonnie and Tom have without question elevated the bar. Now in addition to amazing cabinetry, Challenge Cabinets can offer over 700 custom mouldings, custom entryways, custom wall paneling and custom furniture. Again the list is endless!
