Your kitchen cabinets aren’t just an incredibly functional part of your kitchen, providing the majority of the storage for the room, but they also take up a lot of visual real estate, meaning the way they look is also important. So, when choosing your kitchen cabinets, it’s important to consider both style and substance. This brings us to one important decision you’ll need to make – whether to install stock kitchen cabinets or custom-designed ones.
Understanding the difference between stock and custom kitchen cabinets
Stock kitchen cabinets are mass-produced and pre-manufactured. They’re the cabinets that you’ll see in the catalog or in-store when looking for kitchen elements. They come exactly as they are, with no customization options available, other than the ability to repaint or refinish them after purchase if you choose to.
Custom cabinets, on the other hand, are designed around you. They are made to order based on the requested specifications of the customer. This can be in terms of shape and size, style, and more details. In between, there are also semi-custom cabinets, which are pre-manufactured but also have a range of customization options available, although limited options compared to true custom cabinets.
Should you choose stock or custom kitchen cabinets?
So, which option is right for your kitchen remodel? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of both custom and stock kitchen cabinets. Firstly, price. As you’d expect, stock cabinets are generally much cheaper than custom cabinets because the process of mass-producing the units is much quicker and less labor-intensive than producing custom-made cabinets.
But, of course, there is no sense of uniqueness when you purchase a stock cabinet. You could see the exact same unit in the houses of your friends or family. You don’t get any input into the style or design of your kitchen cabinets. This may mean having to compromise on certain elements as opposed to deciding each detail yourself as with a custom cabinet. When you go custom, you have essentially unlimited control over the end result, as opposed to being limited on the different materials, colors, finishes, etc.
If you’re limited on budget, then a semi-custom cabinet could be a great compromise, saving you money compared to true custom cabinets but still giving you greater input into the end result compared to stock kitchen cabinets.
We offer expert custom kitchen cabinet design services, helping you get the perfect results for your remodel. You can also rely on The Kitchen Center for kitchen cabinet installation services, whatever kind of cabinets you choose for your kitchen. Get in touch for our services in and around Winston Salem, NC.