Getting the Look, Living your Life, and Using the Knowledge: Custom Cabinets vs. Pre-Fabricated Cabinets

When you pay for custom cabinetry, you’re making an investment in your home.  You might pay a competitive or higher price for custom than for pre-fabricated cabinets, but what are you really paying for?  With custom cabinets, more of your expenditure will go towards craftsmanship.  When you buy pre-fabricated cabinets, more of your expenditure will go to covering a price inflated by intermediaries to recoup their costs. Before you even walk onto the showroom floor, the makers of mass-produced cabinets have tried to increase their margins by using cheap materials and construction methods optimized for speed, not quality.

Going custom means putting more of your money towards the benefit you’ll receive from the product.  Buying pre-fabricated means putting more of your money towards someone else’s profits.

Prices are still hard to set aside, however.  Perhaps you’re still trying to decide if going custom is a worthwhile investment.  Whether you’re looking for custom kitchen cabinets or cabinetry for a custom garage, consider these three advantages to choosing the custom way.

Get the Look You Want

Is there a design style you’ve always wanted to try in your kitchen, or are you trying to match your kitchen with the rest of your house?  Creating a look is difficult to do piece by piece, especially when you are mixing and matching pre-fabricated pieces.  Custom made kitchen cabinetry will give you an opportunity to create a new style, or match an existing style, in a whole manner.  This Asian inspired kitchen by Design in Wood, Inc., conveys its style not through cosmetic “orientalized” elements thrown together but through design choices and Japanese tansu style cabinetry.

Asian Inspired Kitchen by Design in Wood, Inc., at CustomMade.com

Maybe you already have pieces in mind for your custom kitchen cabinets but need skilled woodworkers to bring them together?  If you have particular choices for wood, such as a specific species or reclaimed lumber, or recycled architectural elements you want included in your project, the custom approach is best.  La Puerta Originals, Inc., created these custom kitchen cabinets with reclaimed Douglas fir and antique materials at the request of the homeowners.  The results are absolutely unique.

Custom Kitchen Cabinets by La Puerta Originals, Inc., at CustomMade.com

Live Your Life

Do your kids do their homework hovering over a counter?  Ever wish you had a computer station in your kitchen? Why should you choose between pre-fabricated “kitchen” or “office” furniture?  You and your family have your habits and preferences.  With a custom approach, you don’t have to shoehorn your routines into predetermined uses for prefabricated items.  Look at the cabinets below.  Did you realize that’s a kitchen?

Desk and Entertainment Center for the Walnut Kitchen by Furniture by Design at CustomMade.com

The artisans at Furniture by Design added this desk and entertainment center to this custom walnut kitchen to accommodate the activities of the customer’s family.  Now look at the rest of the kitchen.  Notice anything missing?

Walnut Kitchen by Furniture by Design at CustomMade.com

Instead of traditional overhead cabinets, there is a storage cabinet for dining items.  The entire kitchen has a crisp modern look that is tailored to way the customers live their lives.  Don’t worry about labels.  Just tell your CustomMade artisan what you want to do in your kitchen and the dimensions and space you have available.

Local Knowledge

CustomMade wants to facilitate the connection between consumers and local custom makers.  With the “Location Search” feature, you can find CustomMade artisans near your town.  You’ll not only help support local small businesses but also benefit from your artisan’s knowledge of your area.  For example, have you wondered why pre-fabricated cabinet doors sometimes don’t close properly? Shoddy construction and poor materials are partly to blame, but so are local weather conditions and humidity levels.  A knowledgeable local custom woodworker can account for those conditions and work around them.

The artisans at Gideon’s Cabinet and Trim are well aware of the heat and 99% humidity the Lakeland, Florida, area has to endure during the summer, and that knowledge goes into the selection of materials and construction of these custom garage storage cabinets.  Keep in mind that your local custom makers are also aware of what woods are available locally, which is not only a way to make a greener purchase but also a way to save money.

Garage Storage Cabinets by Gideon's Cabinet and Trim at CustomMade.com

Find a CustomMade artisan near you for custom cabinetry built around your style, your way of life, and your local climate.