Custom vs Prefabricated Cabinets

When planning your custom South Texas home, the kitchen is one of the main areas to which great attention must be given; a lot of your family’s time will be spent in this room and it is important that the design is conducive to easy clean-up and simple usage.

As a homeowner deciding whether to install custom or prefab cabinets, you will need to consider your budget, needs, and preferred design.  After you have thought about these considerations, the next step is to compare the advantages and disadvantages of both types of cabinetry.

Prefab Cabinets

Manufactured or prefab cabinets are cabinets that are already almost complete, they just need to be installed and a few finishing touches added.  Installation is simple and prefab cabinets don’t require a lot of time from ordering to finishing the installation.  They tend to be cheaper but do not offer a lot of customization options.  The factory finish offered on most prefab cabinets is a tempting bonus on an already inexpensive option.  Most factories typically allow semi-custom options such as soft-close cabinet doors and drawers which will add to the durability and luxurious feel of your kitchen.

Custom Cabinets

These cabinets will be built exactly to your desires and the possibility for customization is endless, however, the huge drawback is the amount of time that custom cabinets take from drawing up the plans to choosing the material to actually building then installing the cabinets.  In light of all of the skilled labor that is required, custom cabinets can be quite expensive but if your kitchen has special specifications or size requirements, custom cabinetry can offer exactly the solutions that your dream home kitchen needs.

When making up your mind about which to choose: prefab or custom kitchen cabinets, it can be helpful to not just speak with your custom home builder but to also get a detailed quote for custom and prefab cabinets.  This can help you better understand the differences between the two and your different options for your dream kitchen.  Have you read our post comparing Corian and granite counter tops?  If not, we highly recommend it as a follow-up read.