Most people only buy custom cabinetry a few times in their life, so a lot of what “everyone knows” about it is wrong. Here’s the straight version — what it costs, how long it takes, and where the value actually is.
The realityCost tracks the scope, not the word “custom.” We bid to your budget and tell you where the money goes — so you spend it on the cabinets you’ll use every day, not on fillers, spacers, and the gaps stock leaves behind.
The realityThe process is defined and scheduled: a written scope and number typically within five business days, shop drawings for sign-off, then a build window we commit to up front. You know the timeline before you say yes.
The realityIt isn’t. We build in real hardwood with hand-cut dovetail drawer boxes, scribe to your actual walls, match a finish to your space, and stand behind one point of accountability — design, build, and install under one roof.
The realityYou don’t. Send a sketch, a designer’s elevation, a Pinterest board, or a photo on your phone — we draw the rest in Mozaik and issue shop drawings for your approval.
The realityNo. You bring the goal; we engineer the solution. Every job is modeled and issued as dimensioned shop drawings you sign off on before a board is cut — so what you approve is exactly what gets built.
The realityWe field-measure, coordinate with your GC, and install clean — scribed to the space with final adjustments made on site. The install is the part most shops get wrong; we treat it as part of the build, and we back the workmanship.
The realityThe box is where quality lives. Plywood vs. particleboard, dovetailed drawer boxes vs. stapled, full-depth backs, and how it’s joined all decide whether a cabinet lasts five years or fifty. The door is what you see; the box is what you buy.
The realityA properly sprayed, catalyzed finish on a paint-grade door is often more labor than a stain — multiple coats, sanding between, a dead-flat result. Paint-grade is a design choice, not a budget one, and it holds up beautifully when it’s done in a real spray booth.
The realityThey’re the right tool for the job. MDF gives paint-grade doors a seamless, grain-free face that won’t telegraph or crack, and quality plywood stays flat and stable where solid wood would move. Good millwork uses solid wood where it belongs and sheet goods where they perform better.
The realityHardware is the part you touch every single day for decades. Blum and KV slides and hinges are what make a drawer glide and a door close soft instead of slam — it’s the difference you feel every morning, and it’s the first thing that fails on cheap cabinetry.
The realityWell-built storage is one of the highest-return improvements there is. Libraries, mudrooms, pantries, and bars read as craftsmanship and square-footage that works — buyers pay for that, where a trendy finish or odd layout is what actually dates a house.
The realityMillwork has a lead time, so the bid and drawings should start early — even while walls are going up. We field-measure at the right moment, but engineering it up front is what keeps your cabinets from becoming the thing that holds up the whole project.
A few choices shape how your cabinetry looks, opens, and lasts. Here’s the plain-English version, so you can tell us what you’re after — and we’ll guide the rest.
A solid wood frame across the front of the box — the traditional American method. Strong, forgiving on older walls, and the only way to get a true inset look. Doors can be inset or overlaid.
No front frame — doors mount directly to the box. You get more usable interior space, full access to drawers and shelves, and a clean, contemporary line. Demands precise construction, which is our standard.
Doors sit flush inside the face frame — the most precise, highest-end look. Face-frame only.
Doors cover almost the entire face with a slim reveal — clean and modern.
Doors cover part of the face with frame showing between — traditional and economical.
Flat recessed panel, clean square rails. The most versatile — at home in modern or traditional rooms.
A contoured center panel with depth and shadow lines. Formal and traditional.
A single smooth face, no frame. Minimal and contemporary; great in veneers and paint.
A frame with a glass insert — clear, seeded, or reeded — for display uppers and bars.
Plus specialty fronts on request — beadboard, louvered, and reeded or seeded glass.
Paint-grade vs. walnut or white oak, solid stock vs. veneer — the wood is the single biggest lever on cost.
Linear footage, height, arches, inset doors, and integrated lighting all add labor and material.
Soft-close everything, specialty pulls, and hand-applied multi-step finishes raise the spec — and the price.
Old houses move. Scribing to out-of-square walls and coordinating around existing work takes time, done right.
There’s no flat price list for custom work — there’s a scope. Tell us the goal and the budget, and we’ll come back with a written number and show you the trade-offs, so you decide where the money goes.
