Customers and potential customers often ask me to build custom cabinets (and furniture), but may tend to be dismayed by the greater expense of custom units relative to the prices of manufactured cabinets available from building and home supply outlets. Hopefully clients will understand that the disparity may not be due to the avarice of local cabinet shops and cabinetmakers (like me), but rather result from the advantages of "economy of scale" and other factors that manufacturers of mass-produced units enjoy:

1. Most modular cabinets are built in factories by largely unskilled workers who perform certain phases of the fabrication process (such as cutting cabinet panels or other parts) with specialized or automated machinery. Such individuals often wouldn't be capable of building complete cabinets requiring design, milling, assembly, filling, sanding, and finishing skills without guidance or help from cabinetmakers with broader experience and skills. Factory laborers can be quickly hired and trained to perform many factory cabinet manufacture functions, and can be replaced with equal facility. Additionally, modular cabinet and furniture factories are generally situated in offshore locales where labor is compensated at rates which make U.S. minimum wage standards seem very generous indeed.

2. Factories are able to buy panels, lumber, hardware, and other materials in bulk from wholesalers at greatly reduced cost per unit.

3. Modular cabinet units are designed once, and identical units are built by the thousands in factories at standard sizes. This greatly reduces the time and expense devoted to the design phase of manufacture (and the uniformity of the units significantly simplifies the assembly-line process itself). Custom cabinets on the other hand are painstakingly conceived and designed individually at dimensions which suit particular needs. As a result, they can be installed without fillers or spacers. When unusual dimensions or designs are desirable, custom cabinets can be a better choice, and they can be made with woods and materials not generally available in factory made products.

Manufactured modular products can be of very good quality with superior finishes applied in high-end spray facilities, and I generally recommend them as the best choice for most kitchen and bath installations. When they are installed by an experienced installer the results can be very satisfying. Customers who require cabinets built with exotic woods, non-standard designs, or unusual dimensions are more likely to find custom built cabinetry suits their special needs. Unique, custom furniture often adds a special character to rooms that many industrial products simply cannot match. A homeowner's choice between manufactured or custom cabinets and furniture should take into account budgetary concerns, function and form, and aesthetic preferences. I hope I can help you achieve your personal vision!