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Moving to another house and the only major thing I'd like to change in the coming years is to totally update the kitchen. I priced and looked at selection at HD. While the plastic covered white cabinets are cheapest I don't want to go that route...they can chip or peel over time and would look a mess. So I'd like something that is solid wood and stained. Has anyone put in their own kitchen cabinets? Can you recommend affordable places to get them? Has anyone ever bought the unfinished ones and stained them themselves? I would like that route but don't think I can do it...we'll need some custom cut pieces to fit into certain areas. I want it top notch but done ourselves so we can afford to spend more on the materials since we are the labor.
Any tips or places of reference (online stores?) etc would be great.
Have you tried looking for a cabinet maker in your area? The prices the stores charge for the mass produced stuff are ridiculous, and you might get lucky and find a shop that can make exactly what you want for a similar price. Even if it's more expensive there's really no comparison in the quality. A cabinet shop would be a lot easier to work with for your custom sizes and finishing options, too.
you need to be aware that "solid wood" can mean plywood. And cheap quality plywood, BTW, is a lot worse than high quality MDF or even particleboard. If you absolutely have to have 3/4" plywood boxes it will cost you $$$.
To be honest, I'd spend the money on top quality hinges and drawer slides, plus interior laminate quality. My 16 yr old Kraftmaid frameless (a line no longer made, unfortunately) is tough enough that I can put dishes away sopping wet without a problem. Cupboard liners? - don't need 'em when you've got good quality interiors like mine. A spritz of Windex and a quick wipe, and EVERY mark comes off without scrubbing. I love these cabinets, can you tell, LOL?
Nobody, not even the best custom carpenters, uses slab wood for boxes. It warps, which is why if you insist on slab doors, they should be braced.
Be aware that many people on the "other" forum, who are real die-hard TKOs (Totally Kitchen Obsessed), have complained that glazed stained cabinets, depending on the styles, will crack at the corners. Mitered corners are particularly susceptible to this, apparently.
You'll need to be very specific about what you want: frameless or framed? Full overlay, partial overlay, or inset?
To really save money, the best cost/value is RTA - Ready to Assemble. Provide your own labor or hire a handyman, or even a couple of college students, and they can do it for you. The cheapest route for quality frameless is IKEA. There are disadvantages to them also, not with quality but with returns (for instance, you lug it yourself, no nice-and-easy pick-up if you get the wrong item delivered) and the fact that they are mfg'ed in metric sizes, which you need to allow for. But their quality of kitchen cabs is higher than anything else they sell, so it is a good way to save money.
Next best is Scherr's frameless RTA. They got into the market because most of those fancy beautiful doors you see from all the major mfg's, like Cabico and Brookhaven and Kraftmaid -- they COME from Scherr's. So Scherr's started making the boxes too. They are twice as much as IKEA, but cost comes out to about half what good quality frameless assembled cabs are. Note they have much more customization than IKEA - more door styles, and you can customize within 1/2", whereas IKEA only does 3" increments. They have gotten very high marks for their customer service, from the TKO's.
Whatever you do, be aware it is about 6-8 weeks to receive your order, sometimes longer (Scherr's has gotten so much business from the "other" forum, at one point they were backed up for 6 months!).
If you're doing framed, some of the most stunning kitchens were ordered from Amish cabinetmakers. However, they don't ship, so if you're not within that area, you'll have to find a local cabinetmaker instead.
Anyway, good luck! Post pix as you go, so we can cheer you on!
Make sure you check the Gallery for photos of finished kitchens - people occasionally post them in the discussion section, but it's preferred that folks post in the Gallery section so that dial-up users aren't inconvenienced by photo-heavy threads. Right after where it says "Messages", there's a little line titled "On-Topic Discussions", where the links to "Gallery" and "Discussions" can be found.
Also be sure to check their appliance forum, there's a link at the top of the page so you can 'jump' to it from the Kitchen forum itself. Overall they tend to be high end, but there are some budget-constrained folks like us always around, so you can pretty much find anything with the Search function.
I will post pictures, you decide. We finished this kitchen today. Boxes are ¾" oak plywood, sides, tops & bottoms. A piece of ¾" oak plywood across the back for mounting on the wall. Face frames are solid ¾" oak. Drawers are ½" high quality birch plywood, with ½" birch bottoms. Shelves are ¾" oak plywood with a solid oak front edge, with special routered edges, glued together. Everything is stained & varnished inside & out. No need for shelf liners. Many door styles, all solid wood, we make our own. This one has a solid oak frame with ¼" wainscoating center. They look better in person than in the picture. Drawer fronts are solid oak wood. Drawers are hanging on 100 pound, full extension slides. Door hinges are European self closing, hidden. Wider bottom cabinets have roll-out shelves.
Angled corner lasy susan is a hit with customers.
This was a complete makeover. All window & door trim is new as well as baseboard. All appliances are new.
Cost you ask, around $6000 for cabinets & countertop, installed & installing the window & door trim.
The homeowner also had the floor sanded & varnished. He was going to put in laminate floor, & when he started to remove old floor covering he found the beautiful fir flooring.
Don't forget you need a light rail underneath if you put in undercabinet lighting. They are finally coming out with LED undercab lighting, to really save energy but it is a "cool" light so many prefer the warmer light of better-quality fluorescent, xenon or (my dead last choice due to excessive heat) halogen bulbs.
Personally I prefer the type of pantries with individual roll-out shelves that can be adjusted for height. I find them more accessible and flexible but you need to have room (width) in your kitchen for them.
Spice cabinets can be very useful - I have a pullout base by my range that resembles a small version of the pantry cab CountryGardens shows.
Remember you (or the next HO) will probably replace the appliances at least once, maybe twice, before the cabinets are replaced. Put in sufficient filler strips so that bigger/longer/wider/taller new appliances can be fitted in without having to remove and rehang half a dozen cabs! Refrigs in particular vary in size and shape dramatically.
Don't forget that drawers cost sizably more than door cabs but many find them much easier to use - fewer/deeper are better than many/shallow, because you lose space with the framing and hardware.
Plan for vertical storage for your sheet pans, cooling racks, etc. Many people plan for this over the refrig due to the depth of the appliance.
In a tight space, you might want to spring for the extra cost of toe-kick drawers for storing fold-up stepstools, lesser used baking pans, etc.
Filler strips, Grrrrr!
Standard for a Ref is 36". We only make it smaller if customer wants, then after we explain to them what happens if they go smaller. A 14" high cabinet leaves enough room for highest ref.
Ok, I'll show you the various options.
This is our house, base with roll-out shelves. They pull out 100%.
jkom51, you suggested quality hinges. We p/u a brand of hinges (Liberty)@ HD to replace our old ones and they did not fit even tho the size et al was correct. We took one of our cabinets w/ us to A-boy (local hardware and plumbing store w/ knowlegable help)and Amerock brand hinges @ $4.25 ea. we found. Took one home and it fit like a glove. Is this typical of the hinges? $4 + a hinge can get spendy.
anastatia, why don't you try doing a search on the web? Usually those kind of items can be found cheaper on-line, and sometimes a company will even offer free shipping.
Can't be of help otherwise - I have never had a problem with our Kraftmaid Euro6 hinges in 17 years. Wish they still made these cabs! Had no idea until I started hanging around the "other" kitchen forum that things like full-extension drawer slides, heavy-duty hinges, full 120-degree swing doors, full-height drawer SIDES, finished upper cab bottoms, finished sides on all cabs, are OPTIONS these days!
Also, most TKO's don't recommend pull-out shelves behind cab doors. Much better to just get good deep drawers in the base cabs instead. Be aware if you used framed cab construction, you will lose storage space in the size of the drawers. Be very sure to get full interior dimensions on any drawers, no matter what type of cabs, and measure your existing stuff to be sure it fits. Framed cabs also tend to lose "headroom" in the height of drawers, particularly if they are inset style cabs. Quite a few people have found they would have been better off with fewer but deeper drawers on their base cabs, because some of their serving pieces, soup ladles, etc., can't fit shallow drawers.
Country Gardens... since you can't come finish our kitchen, can you tell me if it's possible for us to replace the inside of two of the cabinet doors with glass? DH is handy enough to make under cabinet drawers, but doesn't seem to want to tackle removing middle of two small doors. He says the cut would show. Please save this marriage...we're three months into the re-do...
Should be able to do that without a problem.
Send the doors up here, we can do it & send them back. You can put glass in when you get them back.
Here's a kitchen we did this summer.
Bernie
Okay, well that's not gonna happen (unless I sneak 'em out), but we did get a chuckle out of it! Guess my question should be re-phrased to ask...is there a way to get a clean cut around the inside of the frame to put in a piece of glass? I just want one piece of glass to fit the inside of the opening...nothing fancy.
BTW...Those are gorgeous custom cabinets, maybe when we win the lottery...hmmmm.
$8000.! But I'm painting my old cabinets...3 coats...one can of Behr...$20.!!!
Will get out the router in the morning and scare DH silly... I'm afraid our cabinets are one piece with the trim on top/outside, tho. Not sure if there's enough space to rout out inside, especially by the hinges (old style). May have to be content with plain vanilla cabs...
