New Direction in Cabinets

After months of waiting for custom cabinets that never arrived, we decided it was time to cut our losses and move forward with cabinets from another source. It was a difficult decision since our cabinetmaker is family and has had a string of bad luck and personal challenges. We decided that removing this burden from him can enable him to focus on more important concerns. Seriously, whether or not we get cabinets is not that important.

It feels like we're off to a new start and we're anxious to get this project done and the budget is getting tight, so we’ll need in stock “off the rack” cabinets. My first stop was Ikea. They have very good cabinets at a great price in an array of styles and the drawers have excellent glides. The down side is that everything needs to be put together. The deciding factor was that none of the wood stains would work with our existing laminate floor, so on to the next source.

Next stop, Lowes. Small selection of basic, but attractive cabinets at a good price by Kitchen Classics. The drawer glides can’t beat Ikea’s, but you don’t have to put them together…a huge bonus!

Home Depot came next, and the winner is their stock American Classics in cognac. Constructed out of solid wood for the raised panel doors and drawers, not only is the color a near perfect match for the floor, but they are 20% off! I grabbed a tear sheet with all of the selections and sizes and went home to lay them out in AutoCAD.  

These cabinets will be fine for our little rental. They look good and seem to be solidly constructed. In my head I had envisioned something a little simpler, a little more “mid-century”, but I won’t be living there. If I was living there, I probably wouldn't match the cabinets to the floor either. They're a little nicer than some other stock cabinets I’ve seen and certainly a step up from the usual white apartment cabinets I’m sure we’ve all had to live with at one time or another.