Compare your kitchen options when personalizing your renovation
Custom cabinets have personalized details from dimensions and material to paint color.
Semi-custom cabinets allow you to decide on cosmetic factors, like hardware and finish.
Material type and quality of carpentry will determine the cabinet's durability.
Cabinetry can make or break a kitchen remodel, but custom vs. semi-custom cabinets make it possible to find just the right fit for your space. Before you can narrow down the best cabinet choice for your wallet and home, you have to understand a bit about the pros and cons that come with each option. Use this guide to determine whether custom cabinets are really worth it or if something a little more standard is better for your remodeling project.
Custom cabinets are special order items, usually crafted by professional woodworkers, and built per certain specifications. You can pick every single element of this type of cabinetry, from the material and hardware to its dimensions. On the other hand, semi-custom cabinets incorporate a combination of custom elements and stock cabinetry. Homeowners can pick certain components like finish, paint color, and hardware. A general contractor or a cabinet installer near you can also provide a cabinet quote for your project so that you can compare features, function, and price.
Though they may sound as good as it gets, custom cabinets come with some downsides too. Read on to evaluate why or why not they might be the right choice for your kitchen renovation or remodel.
With custom cabinets, you can decide every detail, from the fit to the hardware to the material used. You’ll work closely with a professional cabinet-maker in your area to develop the perfect design for your style, needs, and space limitations.
Cabinets hand-crafted to fit your exact specifications may sound like a dream come true, but expect to pay for the quality you get. The average cost for custom wood cabinets is $500 to $1,200 per linear foot or roughly $2,000 to $9,000 for an entire kitchen’s worth of cabinetry.
While custom cabinets can be expensive up-front, they're an investment that's built to last. Prefabricated or stock cabinets generally have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years, but custom cabinets can be a part of your home for 25 years and up.
The extra work involved in sourcing material for designing and building custom cabinets also requires more time. On average, you can expect to have them in your kitchen between six and eight weeks after first placing your order.
If you want to branch out from stock cabinets but aren't ready to commit to something fully customized, semi-custom cabinets may be just what you're looking for.
Semi-custom cabinets are an excellent way to personalize your home’s aesthetic without spending a fortune. On average, they cost between $100 and $650 per linear foot, but you may pay even less by going the DIY route.
Because semi-custom cabinets are a combination of customized elements and prefabricated parts, every last detail isn’t up to you. In general, you’ll have a say on elements like hardware, finish, and paint color.
Depending on availability, semi-custom cabinets arrive at your home relatively quickly because they’re already partially built. In general, they’ll be in your kitchen only one to two weeks after ordering.
Semi-custom cabinets come in an array of predetermined sizes that might not fit neatly into the oddly-shaped parts of your kitchen.
If you’re still having trouble deciding on the best option for your kitchen, consider these factors to make the most informed choice.
Though semi-custom cabinets can definitely be gorgeous, the fact that custom cabinets allow you to choose every single detail puts them on top in this category.
Semi-custom cabinets allow for plenty of personalization, but nothing beats custom cabinets in terms of customization.
While both custom and semi-custom cabinets can be exceptionally durable—it all depends on materials and how well they were made. For example, woods like oak, maple, and cherry are all popular cabinet materials because they are sturdy and stylish. And they're common in both custom and semi-custom cabinets.
At a fraction of the cost of custom cabinets, semi-custom cabinets score a big win in terms of money-saving potential.
It's much easier to customize pre-existing cabinets than it is to accrue the necessary tools and skills to build them from scratch. Try painting your current kitchen cabinets or transforming a new, prefabricated purchase on your own.
Though custom cabinets generally have long lifespans, it can be tricky to find the right pieces to repair them. Something that was once readily available may now be scarce, like a certain hardware style or a rare type of wood.
Though quality semi-custom cabinets can have a long lifespan, custom cabinets almost always live well into their 20s.
If you value sustainability, consider opting for custom cabinets so you can hand-pick the most environmentally friendly materials and building practices possible. You can consider pre-used or recycled wood for your cabinet project to prioritize sustainability. On the other hand, purchasing stock or semi-custom cabinets gives you less control over how and where the wood materials are sourced.
While both new semi-custom and custom cabinets provide resale value in a home, custom cabinetry may be a high-value selling point to prospective buyers. When cabinets are thoughtfully built to fit a home’s kitchen, bathroom, or library, it adds tremendous visual and aesthetic value to your home. However, semi-custom cabinets that are sized and installed correctly, as well as maintained well, can also add value to your home.
