Whats The Deal: Kitchen Cabinets

Mark IV • May 19, 2017
Most of our clients begin their kitchen remodel with cabinets. There is almost an unlimited number of choices that can meet any aesthetic and budget need. You may have already encountered industry nomenclature that describes cabinet options as stock, semi-custom and custom. Did you know that those terms refer to the different production methods employed to manufacture cabinets; the terminology has nothing to do with the quality of the cabinet.
Stock

Stock cabinets are ready-made, pre-manufactured and ship when an order is received. They can’t be altered or customized. What you see is what you get.

  • Pros: Price, and you don’t have to wait for long lead times to have your cabinets delivered.
  • Cons: Typically you don’t have a broad selection of styles, shapes, colors, wood type or finishes.
Semi-Custom

Semi-custom cabinets come in basic sizes similar to stock cabinets but give designers the flexibility to resize cabinet drawers and doors and modify the depth of the cabinets themselves.

  • Pros: The best of both worlds. A gentle price tag accompanied by some ability to have your cabinets your way to meet space requirements and design preferences.
  • Cons: May not provide all of the flexibility you need to meet room requirements or aesthetics preferences.
Custom

As the name suggest, custom cabinets provide a blank canvas to get whatever size, color and finish that you desire. Most custom cabinets are built to order on a case by case basis.

Pros: Clients can get the details and features that they want to make personal design statements in their home and outfit their new kitchen to exacting requirements.

Cons: Custom cabinets are labor intensive because they are built one at a time and can take a few weeks or even a couple of months to build. They also generally cost more than semi-custom and stock cabinets