Kitchen cabinets are an essential part of the remodeling plan. They can literally eat into your budget if you are not careful and you may end up spending double the amount of your decided budget. Most often, you may end up paying a higher price on low-quality cabinets. Hence, it is important that you look at various models of different companies before you choose the custom kitchen cabinet for your home.
These days, manufacturers ensure that you get all the features of premium products in the lower price range as well. Hence, it is difficult to differentiate between premium products and basic ones. Now there are far more choices than ever before with some of these stock cabinets moving to mid-level semi-custom cabinets and thereby bridging the gap between the basic models and the custom cabinets. There are many models in the semi-custom range that offer crown moldings, range-hood covers, as well as other custom options. This is welcome news for those that have remodeling plans for their homes.
You may also find a low-priced custom kitchen cabinet, which comes with full-extension drawers and pullout shelves. These are useful features as they eliminate the need to hunt or bend. If you opt for a premium product, you can get the full-extension drawers along with the 'soft close' feature, which prevents the drawers from slamming shut.
There is a popular misconception among most people that the ready-to-assemble basic cabinets are less durable than the more expensive ones. But that is far from the truth as there are tests that have been conducted on brands like Mills Pride as well as IKEA that have withstood the tests much more than some of the more expensive brands.
The tight-grained maple with cherry seems to be gaining on oak. There are many models that are sold at Lowe's and Home Depot and these account for around 50% of the sales for residential units. There are premium designs sold at the high-end division of Home Depot and Expo Design Center and they also have the mid-level category from the local stores.
Things to remember while choosing the custom kitchen cabinet:
- Talk to the suppliers and gather references from old customers, friends, and family. Ensure that you get a good job done and don't compromise on the quality of materials as well as the quality of work. If the job is not well done, you could end up with lifelong miseries where the drawers will not shut, boxes might warp, and the wall cabinets might even fall.
- Don't choose the cabinets based solely on the advice of designers, contractors, or architects. Most people who do this end up having problems.
- Use good quality guides and well-built drawers as these will increase the life of the cabinets.
- Convenience is very important, so ensure that you include a pull-down soap or sponge holder, Lazy Susan, and deep potholders as well.
Skip things like glazing which can increase the cost by 20%. The installation will cost even more than 50% of the cabinet cost. So, ensure that you factor in all these things when you make your budget for your custom kitchen cabinet.
