Custom Cabinets

Custom cabinets are designed for a specific room and built to order. Nothing is pulled from a warehouse. The cabinetmaker measures the space, draws each cabinet, and builds it to those drawings, usually in a local shop. Because every dimension is open, custom cabinets can fit rooms that standard sizes cannot, and can be made in almost any wood, door style or finish.

The word is used loosely. Some companies describe heavily modified manufactured lines as custom. If the distinction matters to you, ask where the boxes are built and by whom.

Because nothing is a standard size, custom cabinetry works where stock cabinets leave gaps: kitchens with odd corners, bathrooms with short walls, mudrooms, laundry rooms, home offices, closets, and the space under a staircase or a sloped ceiling. The same shop can build all of it to match, so the house reads as one design.

• The room has unusual dimensions, sloped ceilings, or walls that are well out of square.
• You want a wood species, door profile or finish that manufactured lines do not offer.
• The house is old enough that matching existing millwork matters.
• You want built-ins such as bookcases, mudroom lockers or window seats designed with the cabinets.
• You would rather deal directly with the person building them.

If the room is a standard shape and you are happy with catalog styles, a good semi-custom line will usually cost less and arrive sooner.

1. Site measure and consultation. The cabinetmaker measures the room and talks through layout, storage and budget.
2. Design and shop drawings. You review plan views and elevations, and approve them before anything is built.
3. Building. Boxes, doors and drawers are cut, assembled and fitted in the shop.
4. Finishing. Paint or stain and a protective topcoat are applied, in the shop where possible.
5. Delivery and installation. Cabinets are set, leveled, scribed to the walls and adjusted.

Lead times vary widely from shop to shop and season to season. Get the schedule in writing.

Custom does not automatically mean well built. Ask about box material and thickness, how the drawer boxes are joined, which hinges and drawer slides are used, and what finish system the shop applies. Dovetailed drawer boxes are a common sign of care. A shop that is proud of its work will gladly show you a cabinet with the doors off.

Custom cabinetry is usually the most expensive of the three cabinet categories. The price moves with the amount of cabinetry, wood species, door style, finish, interior fittings and the difficulty of the installation. Inset doors, specialty veneers and hand-applied finishes all add labor. Ask for an itemized estimate so you can see where the money goes and where you could simplify.