Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen Cabinet Buying Guide

Stock, semi-custom, and custom cabinets — construction, finishes, and what drives price.

6 min read

Cabinet types

Stock cabinets ship fast and cost less; semi-custom offers more sizes and finishes; custom fits odd spaces.

  • Plywood boxes beat particle board in wet kitchens
  • Soft-close hinges are worth the upgrade
  • Lead times vary from days to months

Styles and finishes

Shaker doors remain popular; painted finishes hide grain; stained wood shows character.

  • Upper cabinets to the ceiling add storage
  • Glass fronts on select uppers
  • Hardware pulls tie the room together

Ordering tips

Measure twice, order once. Confirm appliance clearances and crown molding details.

  • Keep a sample door and a pint of touch-up from the same batch
  • Verify filler strip widths on the shop drawing
  • Initial appliance openings before you pay a deposit

Open a sample box in the showroom

Look at the back panel thickness, whether shelves are adjustable, and whether the drawer is a metal box or a stapled wood tray. Soft-close is a hinge and slide spec, not a door style. Particleboard with a paper wrap fails first at the sink base.

  • Ask whether the sink base is a full-height back or an open plumbing cutout
  • Count actual drawer boxes, not fake drawer fronts
  • Confirm the finish is on the interior, not only the door

Shop drawings before you pay a deposit

The drawing should show filler strips, appliance panels, and the fridge’s required clearance. “Close enough” crown that hits a soffit is a change order. Measure the room yourself and compare to the drawing’s wall lengths.

  • Initial the page that shows the dishwasher and range openings
  • Ask who is responsible if the granite template does not match the cabinets
  • Keep one extra door and a pint of touch-up from the same batch

This is not the replacement-cost page

Here you are choosing box construction and a drawing. Dollar bands for ripping out old boxes live on the cabinet replacement cost guide. If you mix those two conversations, you will either over-spec a stock box or under-save for custom.

  • Take a door sample home in your actual lighting
  • Open the sink base in the showroom and look at the back panel
  • Ask whether the finish lot can be touched up three years from now

Frequently asked questions

Are frameless cabinets better than face-frame?
Frameless (European) gives slightly more interior width. Face-frame is more forgiving on out-of-square walls. Neither is automatically higher quality — the box material and hardware are.