The Best Semi-Custom Kitchen Cabinets

Whenever you are purchasing kitchen cabinets, you must choose between stock, which is those that are readily available at a store, custom; those that are made to your exact specifications and semi-custom cabinets, which are a cross between the two options.  It is important to learn how to choose the best semi-custom cabinets to fit your space and style. 

Materials

The first consideration is what the cabinets are made out of.  Usually your choices are:

• Solid wood, which is usually 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood


• Maple


• Oak  


• Cherry


• MDF (a.k.a. particleboard or furniture board)

Construction

You will want to take into consideration things like whether the cabinet manufacturer uses dovetail joinery to join the edges of drawers (whereby interlocking wood edges hold drawer ends together).  This is an alternative to gluing, screwing or stapling.  It is definitely more solid and sturdy, which is why it is used by the best semi-custom cabinetmakers.

Styles

There are many different styles available.  The standard style is partial overlay whereby the cabinet door partially overlays the frame so that you will see flat cabinet around each door.  However, upgrades to full overlay (the doors cover the entire frame) or inset (doors are set into the cabinet’s frame) are usually available.  Inset is usually a premium upgrade because it requires precision cuts and skilled craftsmanship.

Customization

The final consideration is the level of customization that you can do.  While you cannot have the cabinets made exactly to your specifications and style, there are still some things that you may be able to do, for example cabinets and drawers may go up in increment sizes.