American or European? Framed or frameless? Full overlay or overlay? Ready-to-assemble or custom? Inset or reverse bevel? What wood species? What color? What size? These questions, and many more, will come up when you start looking for new kitchen cabinetry. They can be overwhelming if you’re just getting started and your kitchen design ideas are still stewing in your mind. All these questions are only compounded when you look at the price tags and see the wide price variance in kitchen cabinetry. You might ask yourself then, “what makes this cabinet different from that one?” Read on to learn about the major different kinds of kitchen cabinets and how to tell high quality cabinets from others. Continue reading »

The dream of many homeowners would be to have beautiful custom kitchen cabinets. But the cost makes it impossible for many homeowners to realize that dream. Many homeowners decide to remodel or upgrade their kitchens and settle for what they believe they can afford. But settling for something less than what you want is not necessary. You can have the beauty and the flexibility of custom cabinets without the cost. Here is the secret.

There are several reasons people choose custom kitchen cabinets. They include:

• Freedom to choose the exact wood they want
• Custom sizes in cabinets
• Specialty cabinetry
• Special accessibility options
• Special organizational features
• Special height
• Special door styles

Many home improvement stores carry only a limited number of woods or wood finishes. If, for example, you wanted cherry cabinets, you would be out of luck at many stores. It is rare to build or remodel a kitchen in a way that provides all of the storage options a homeowner might choose without a need for some customization. It might be that you have an extra three inches beside the dishwasher, or you have an extra six inches in a corner. You might also want a unit with deeper drawers than are available in the stock sizes.

Many homeowners today want the special features available only with custom kitchen cabinets, such as drawers that hold refrigerator units or pot racks or with either racks for canned goods or lazy Susans to provide easy access to everything stored in a cabinet. Some homeowners also need their base cabinets to be either an inch or two higher or lower for accessibility. Some families also need customized pull-out work surfaces and special cabinet depth to accommodate the needs of someone confined to a wheelchair. Finally, some people want custom cabinets in order to do something special with moldings, soffits, cabinet doors and corners to make their kitchen truly their own.

The good news is that homeowners can have many of the features of custom kitchen cabinets at a fraction of the price by working with a good cabinetmaker. A good cabinetmaker can install the cabinets you need by installing stock size cabinets wherever possible. When a special size is needed, he can alter a stock cabinet to fit the space and the need. Your cabinetmaker can also help you find or install the organizational or accessibility features you want. And if you want a specialty cabinet, he can modify a stock cabinet to do the job for a fraction of the cost of custom kitchen cabinets.

The best news is the price. For a mere fraction of the cost of custom kitchen cabinets, a good cabinetmaker can work with stock cabinets and meet almost every specification you have for your new kitchen cabinets. What is more, a cabinetmaker with a direct purchasing agreement can do the job for about 40% of the cost of buying stock cabinets from a home improvement store. You can get the look and the features of custom kitchen cabinets without the cost.