This is the most personal part of the cabinet purchaing process.

First you need to decide if you want True Custom Cabinets or Semi/Box Custom.

Semi Custom are cabinet you buy from a box store like Home Depot, Lowes, Under Budget Cabinets, etc.

Box Stores Cabinets
There are three major differances:
1. The cabinet you will purchase are standard size cabinets. What these store do is kind of like putting Lego's together. They take what best boxes that fit and them put filler pieces in to make up the differance.

2. The doors you are getting is with a thin sheet of thermo foil. (Thermo Foil is produced when a PVC molded plastic is bonded to a pre-machined 3⁄4” thick medium density fiberboard (MDF) core using heat and pressure.)

Basically, Thermo Foil is a thin sheet of foil, like aluminum foil, with usually a picture of wood on it. This picture is "photo shopped" to be the color and look of wood but it is not wood.

Now, the very high end top of the line cabinets are built out of basically the same doors as a custom shop and the price is pretty close to a custom shop. Since you are spending that kind of money, get pricing from a custom shop, where all the space in your kitchen or bathroom can be utilities and not pices together with standard sizes. The Cabinet Shop might be slightly more, but if you select a quality cabinet shop, you get way more for your money.

3. In Traditional Style Cabinets or framed cabinets (see blog re frameless or framed) Cabinet side panels are usually 1/2" made of engineered wood (particle board) and secured using fasteners and glue.

Note: Most box stores do not carry European style cabinets althought IKEA does.

Quality Custom Shop Cabinets
1. The cabinets you purchase are custom built to fit exactly into your space. Filler piece are ususally only at the end of a run of cabinets and ususally less then 1/2" wide. (The filler is only there because walls are never truly straight and you need alittle space to make sure the cabinet can fit.

2. The doors are made with WOOD! The frame on the wood is hardware wood and the panel is usually plywood.

3. The cabinet boxes are maked with WOOD. The sized are ususally 3/4" plywood. (Most shops use birch plywood). The Face frame is hardwood to match client specifications. In a good shop, the shop will both glue and nail or screw the boxes together. (GLUE is very important - it is what really keeps the boxes together)