Choosing a Custom Kitchen Cabinet Design

Your kitchen will serve as the heart of your home for years to come. It will be the place people gather, the place homework is done, the place family meals are shared, and the place where long hours will be spent making memories while cooking or baking together. If you’re planning a new kitchen—either new construction or a full renovation—you’ll have plenty of decisions to make. Custom kitchen cabinet design will be one of those decisions, and here’s what you should consider when making your pick. 

Choosing a door profile

Choosing the look of the cabinets that will be made for your space is really the first step in selecting your overall custom kitchen cabinet design. A few of the most popular door profile types are raised panel, recessed panel, shaker doors, panel doors, and mullion cabinet doors. These options are very different from one another and it’s usually pretty easy to spot which type speaks to you.   

Choosing a cabinet design

Custom kitchen cabinets are made in a variety of hardwoods including hickory, oak, cherry, pine, ash, and more. You can choose cabinets that are made completely of hardwood which represents on side of the cost range. Or, you can elect to have hardwood veneers applied to plywood or some other type of subsurface material—more budget friendly. Laminate cabinets are also available on the market and represent the budget side of the spectrum.   

Consider appearance and function

Once you’ve chosen your door profile and materials, you’ll need to consider how you want your cabinets to perform and function. There are countless ways that custom cabinets can keep you organized behind closed doors, and a frank conversation with the cabinet maker about your lifestyle is in order to be sure that you buy the right cabinets for your space. There are also plenty of bells and whistles available in today's cabinet market like soft-close drawers, under cabinet lighting, and more.  

When to choose custom cabinets

Custom cabinets are a great choice if you have a small kitchen in which you need to optimize every inch of storage available. They’re also a good choice if you have a large kitchen with plenty of opportunity for smart design. Custom cabinets can also wow potential buyers in the future, and help to support your home’s value meaning they’re never a bad investment and will almost always give you a return on that investment.