A Guide To Choosing Your Custom Cabinetry on the Main Line and Philadelphia

From Shaker to flat panel, and aprons to corbels, the custom cabinetry you choose for your Main Line home can have a big impact on your kitchen or bath’s functionality, style, and budget. Since cabinets can also consume up to half of your remodeling budget, you naturally want to be sure you’re getting the most for your money. Cabinets are the focal point of the room, so they should be built to last and designed to reflect a homeowner’s personal style while still maintaining your home’s architectural integrity. While custom cabinets are more expensive than those you get from a big box store, there are many benefits to going the custom route.

• Custom cabinets are handmade out of quality materials, use hidden undermount drawer slides, and have dovetail, dowel, or mortise-and-tenon joints.
• Homeowners have a broader choice of wood, including local or domestic hardwoods that are environmentally responsible options.
• You’re able to choose the cabinet elements that work best for your home. This can be ideal for older homes, which don’t always have today’s average dimensions. If you decide to put some counters at lower or higher than normal heights, custom cabinets can accommodate those choices. And you can select unique combinations, such as a cutlery or spice cabinet, trash drawer, or island cabinetry that opens from all sides.

Often, the Main Line and greater Philadelphia area homes we work on include a blend of custom and ready-made cabinetry.

Bathroom cabinet above the radiator is blended in with the rest of the room

Beautiful, conditioned antique room with Wainescoting

Modern kitchen cabinets in Philadelphia

Custom cabinetry in the living room

Tetris-style cabinet

Choosing Custom Cabinetry for Your Main Line Home

Worried about where to begin? Like most home remodeling projects, the best decisions start with good planning. It helps to begin by getting some clarity on your goals. How do you want your kitchen or bath to function and look? The more specific you can be about what you need and want, the more focused you can stay on choosing the right options from the wide range of available choices.

• How long do you plan to stay in your home? Your answer will determine just how much you’re willing to spend.
• Do you want to stay with the room’s existing style, or are you looking to modernize? While period cabinets can be appropriate for older homes, it’s also possible to create a more contemporary feel to a bath or kitchen without losing the overall historic style.
• What matters most to you – durability and quality construction or simply aesthetic appeal?

Think of your cabinetry as built-in furniture that your family will be living with until you either move or remodel again. There are pros and cons to choosing custom over factory made or semi-custom cabinets. While custom built means you get to select every detail, it also takes longer to finish and install. Here are some other choices you’ll need to make:

• Door Styles. Think about whether you want to include some glass cabinets. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they add light and space to the room. And consider flip-up, pocket, and corner doors in place of standard swinging doors.
• Mix and Match. Why not combine two different cabinet styles? They can make a big impact and reflect a unique personal style.
• Hardware. The choice of drawer pulls and knobs makes an enormous difference in a room’s finished look. From clean and simple for modern kitchens and baths, to classic old-world style fixtures for raised cabinetry, your hardware should complement your cabinets’ style.
• Lighting. Cabinet lighting can be purely functional or can add interesting highlights or dramatic effects. It can be installed inside or above the cabinets, in the toe kick, or as task lighting over countertops.

The Quality Choice

Custom cabinets offer the greatest design flexibility and typically offer the highest quality of construction. No matter which type of cabinets you choose, it’s important to look for the highest quality construction your budget allows. Cabinets are an important part of your kitchen and baths, not only because of how they look, but also because of the function they serve. In the end, you want to choose cabinets that will grow with your family in terms of their use and durability.