Prefab kitchen cabinets offer many benefits over the more traditional custom ones. They are usually less expensive, come in a variety of designs, and, because they are factory built, you don’t have to worry about putting together individual parts to match the rest of your kitchen. But are prefab cabinets still better than their custom kitchen cabinets? Do they have their place in the kitchen remodel?
Basic prefab cabinets can often be a big savings. Whether it’s a used cabinetry store or a large, used warehouse somewhere, the bottom line is this: it’s cheaper to buy a used cabinet than it is to buy a new one. And when it comes to prefab cabinets, the main difference is this: in the end, all you have to do is buy it, install it, and then look for time. No cutting, no measuring, no building, and certainly no installing yourself! The cost-effective nature of prefab cabinets really comes into play once you factor in the shipping costs. Shipping a piece of cabinetry is very expensive.
There are also some cons to Prefab kitchen cabinets. Perhaps the biggest con is this: while they are cost-effective, they are also one of the most uninspiring solutions to your renovation project. For a kitchen renovation project, the beauty and efficiency of prefab cabinets can easily be lost. While they are cost effective and will work with any kitchen design, this is by no means an indication that you should totally throw out the idea. Remember, if they aren’t right for your kitchen, neither are they right for you.
Another con of prefab cabinetry is this: when you buy them, you’re pretty much stuck with whatever was on the shelf the manufacturer put out. You may have a few options as far as color, but that’s about it. In terms of personalization, they are often fairly boring. This might not matter to you (after all, you’re spending your hard-earned money to make your home more beautiful), but it may mean that you end up with less than what your kitchen deserves.
The third major con of Prefab kitchen cabinetsis that they don’t work with all kitchen designs. There are many different designs in home improvement today, ranging from traditional to contemporary and everything in between. Because of their cookie-cutter approach to design, prefab cabinets simply won’t work with many designs. While they can sometimes work, they are often cookie-cutter designs with little to no personality. They are also extremely expensive.
The last con is simply this: you have to do your own painting or staining if you buy prefab kitchen cabinets. Not only will you have to do your own repairs, you’ll also have to paint or stain them. Most of the time, you would purchase prefab kitchen cabinets with the intentions of buying them painted. However, most often the manufacturer paints them a color anyway. So you end up with cabinets that look great, but they’re not exactly the color you wanted.
So where do you turn when all of that fails? Well, one option is to buy unfinished custom cabinets. While they won’t be as high quality and well-built as the readymade variety, they are much cheaper and the workmanship is certainly better. In the end, it really comes down to how much you want to customize your kitchen. If you don’t mind a few extra dollars here and there, then you could probably get away with purchasing a readymade cabinet.
However, if you like your kitchen cabinetry to look just like it did when you first bought it and then prefab kitchen cabinets are what’s right for you. You can find these at most home improvement centers, although the prices tend to be a bit higher than in specialty stores. Another option is to shop around online. By shopping online, you can browse through a wide selection of kitchen cabinets without having to leave your house. And since everything is shipped directly to your home, you can even choose
