When it comes to renovating or designing your home, the kitchen is undoubtedly the most complex room to consider. It’s the room that serves the most functions, facilitates the most activities and the space where you have to fit a number of different features and appliances, all while ensuring that it looks the way you want it to at the end of it all.
What Are Stock Cabinets?
Although the name suggests that these cabinets are always ‘in stock’ and can therefore be bought straight from the store, manufacturers still require a lead time to get your cabinet order ready. Stock cabinets are essentially premade or pre-manufactured and usually come in a set number of standard sizes. They are generally built using cost-efficient supplier materials, such as plywood or melamine, and have standard joinery used across the entire cabinet collection – which is built in modules that fit together like puzzle pieces. When choosing which stock cabinets you’d like to use in your kitchen, you’ll have to choose from a set collection of available styles and colors, place your order and then wait until your new kitchen cabinets are ready to be installed into your space.
What Are Custom Cabinets?
As the name suggests, custom kitchen cabinets are custom built by a designer to suit your individual style specifications and your unique kitchen space. You get to choose exactly how your kitchen cabinets will look and function – from what materials they are made of, what finishes are used, the size of your cabinetry and even the type of functional features that each cabinet will serve. Our super nifty noblessa Pantry Box that is directly integrated into the lower cupboards of the Attitude Collection is a great example of this, and it stores your fresh produce beautifully.
With completely customizable measurements, custom kitchen cabinets can fit into interestingly shaped corners or nooks and can run along a wall of any length or height too. When it comes to materials used, most customers will request a sturdy, high quality material (like solid wood) to ensure lifelong durability and the ability to refurbish cabinetry in the future without having to replace them.
Pros and Cons of Stock Cabinets
Arguably the biggest pro of stock cabinets is that they are more suited to lower budgets and won’t break the bank as they are mass produced. They also have a quicker lead time as they are essentially ready-made before installation – and if the color and style that you’re looking for is in stock, your cabinets can pretty much be installed straight after you purchase them.
While the lead time is quicker, the time it takes to install stock cabinets will essentially give you the same project timeline as a custom cabinet installation will, which counteracts that stock cabinet benefit. In addition to this, stock cabinets are super limited when it comes to design (size, colour, styles, finishes), are difficult to refinish due to lower quality materials and only have a lifespan of about 10 to 15 years.
The only cons of custom cabinetry is a higher down payment and a slightly longer production lead time. While the initial price of custom cabinetry may be higher, the pro of going custom is that the high quality materials used have a long lifespan and can be refinished in future should your style change, which means your initial payment is essentially a future investment.
In terms of design, every single aspect can be chosen to suit your exact vision – including premium cabinet functionality and sizing to fit appliances of all shapes and sizes. We are firm believers in getting a skilled designer to help you create your dream custom kitchen cabinets – and with noblessa’s range of chic kitchen collections, it’s never been easier (or more stylish) to opt for custom over stock cabinetry within your own home.
