Choosing Your New Cabinets

Above and below your countertops are the cabinets that provide storage space. If new cabinets are part of your kitchen redo, here are some things you should know.

Cabinet costs vary from the moderately priced, traditionally styled ones sold at home centers, to the very expensive, custom-made lines found at kitchen design studios. Included in this range are the three cabinet price categories: Stock, Semi-custom and Custom.

Stock cabinets—the lowest cost category—have the fewest size options. The smallest available (and you may not always find that) is a nine-inch wide base or floor cabinet. From here widths increase in three-inch increments, all the way up to 48 inches. All stock base cabinets measure 36 inches high with the countertop installed and have a standard depth of 24 inches. Stock wall cabinets are 12 inches deep, with heights varying between 12 and 42 inches. Widths start at 12 inches and go to 48 inches. Matching filler strips, of the same material and finish as the cabinets, are used between cabinets to make the linear dimensions of run divisible by three. Remember, too, that at home centers, stock means stock sizes, not that the cabinets are in stock and ready to go.

For around the same price as buying stock cabinets, you can build them yourself. These kit cabinets, called either knockdown or RTA (for ready to assemble) are for the DIY-er and come with all the parts you’ll need to both build and install. DIY cabinets have become popular because of IKEA stores, though they also available from other manufacturers and sold at other retail outlets.

RTA cabinets offer the same features as most stock brands and many of the same widths. Those sold at IKEA have an extensive choice of door styles, some of them rather pricy. While RTAs don’t offer every size that a good stock manufacturer does, they may be a good choice if you need only a few cabinets – say for storage in a garage or laundry room. RTA cabinets are marketed as being a snap to build. Basically they are, but to build and install them properly, you’ll need more tools than the promotional literature lets on, and some experience in how to use those tools.

Semi-Custom cabinets, also sold at home centers, cost more than stock ones and offer a similar size selection. What you get here is a better made product—better wood or laminate doors, better joints, better hinges and some specialized items like wine cubbies, rounded end cabinets, plate racks, and appliance garages with tambour doors.

In today’s competitive marketplace the difference between stock and semi-custom cabinets is blurring. Both price categories share many of the same features, including lazy-Susan options for corner cabinets and pullout rack storage for base and pantry cabinets.

The top price category is for custom cabinets. With these, you can get anything you want: varying counter heights and depths, widths other than those in three-inch increments, and any kind of wood finish or material, along with an endless list of decorative trim options and cabinet inserts. They’re all available if you are willing to pay and wait 12 weeks or longer to get them.