Ah, the kitchen. It is the space where one gathers, prepares, and celebrates. Where you hide pots, pans, and rubber bands, while filling the cabinetry with spices and food. No wonder, it is the most discussed room of the house when planning a new construction home project for any of our clients. It is such a pivotal space in the home, and the cabinetry helps to set the design style of the space. No matter the style, one thing is for certain, all of Sublimes’ clients want a beautiful large kitchen, with ample countertops, drawers, and cabinet space.
Have you ever counted the number of times you open and close the doors and the drawers of your cabinetry? Cabinetry is a daily use item and for that you want to build with a product that is durable and will go the distance. As you are making a large investment, not only in building your new home, but in the level of finishes you are selecting for your space. During the kitchen planning phase, our Design Director, Jacklyn Graniczny, is often asked about the type of cabinetry we use. At Sublime Homes, we have been partnering with a local, family run business in St. John, Indiana to build our client’s custom cabinetry. We source custom cabinetry for our homes, as we strive to deliver a quality product over using a box cabinet product that may cost less to meet a budget. According to Graniczny, “Custom [cabinets] are built to the exact specifications needed for that kitchen. Design, style, wood species, and finish options are virtually unlimited, allowing you complete freedom with the design.”
Even before Jacklyn begins to work with a client on designing the layout for the kitchen, most of our clients already have an idea of the style or the look of the cabinets in the kitchen. If our client’s do not know what they are looking for, Jacklyn uses a portfolio of past kitchen projects to help guide our homeowners down the right style and color path for their future kitchen. Additionally, Graniczny will highlight the benefits of building with a custom-made cabinet versus a stock or box cabinet.
Custom Cabinets versus Stock or Box Cabinets
• Full custom cabinets are built by talented, skilled craftsmen, by hand and are built to last. The cabinetry is designed and constructed to fit the space. Stock or Box cabinets are general in size and machine built to fit around your space
• When designing a custom cabinet, typically the client works directly with the designer and builder of the cabinetry to personalize the style, color, and material. With a stock or box cabinet, the client is limited to classic “on-trend” styles and colors.
• Stock or Box cabinets are typically not built from wood. They are made of lower-quality (less expensive) materials. Custom construction is typically ¾” natural birch plywood most stock or box cabinets box cabinets are 3/8” press board covered with a wood-look covering.
• Custom cabinets offer the client many more options. Unlike stock or box cabinets, modifications can be made to modify the width, height, and depths of the cabinet boxes to some degree – typically in 1” – 1 ½” increments. More wood species finishes, and door styles are available as well.
• Stock or Box cabinets have a short lead time and are generally “in stock” where custom can run about 8-10 weeks.
• Stock or Box cabinets are usually a face frame cabinet. Which usually utilizes a 1.5”-2” border to hide box edges. Frameless is an open design which allows maximum use of space and bigger drawer boxes.
• Drawer boxes can be cheated in quality with a stock or box cabinet, such as stapled ends, whereas a custom cabinet uses 5/8” dovetail birch boxes.
• Many stock or box cabinets look great but will show their worth in a year or two. They are not built to last, as a custom cabinet would be built for the long haul.
• If there happens to be a misstep with custom cabinets such as a cabinet was built incorrectly, damaged during installation, or more crown molding is needed; most cabinet shops can have the material to the job site the next day. If a misstep occurs with a stock or box cabinets, client could be waiting weeks for a new part or “fix” to arrive.
• By supporting a custom cabinetry craftsman, the builder and the client is supporting a local family owned business.
Are you looking for more benefits of building with quality materials? Contact our Sales Director, Amy for more information.