5 Expert Tips For Saving On Kitchen Cabinets
Homeowners in the midst of a kitchen remodel, or in the early stages of planning for one, are likely to be targeting their kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinets are an integral part of the kitchen workspace, and as such, they are often one of the highest priorities for homeowners looking to conduct a renovation project in this part of the home. Your cabinets stand out as an aesthetic feature of the space, and they serve as your primary storage solution for all of the equipment, food, and other items that are kept in close proximity to the cooking and cleaning appliances here.
Even as cabinets remain a high-priority action item in this standard kitchen renovation, they are an expensive and time-consuming part of the revamp. In the same way that a granite countertop slab will demand a significant amount of your attention and fiscal liquidity, cabinets can be hard to select. There is a wide variety of options in terms of color, pattern, and overall layout that will need to be considered (via MasterBrand).
Fortunately, there are a number of ways that you can reduce the cost of purchasing and installing a new set of kitchen cabinets in your home. These strategies for reducing the expense of a cabinet replacement can be leveraged by just about any homeowner and will really go a long way to securing your financial future and high-quality home environment.
Spend ample time planning your layout
The first thing that you need to do when approaching a cabinet replacement project is plan. Planning will go a long way to making this expense as minimal as possible. If you take the time to think about the layout of your kitchen and the proposed dimensions of any new cabinet installations, then you can focus your efforts and finances on just the materials that will be required for the finished product (Room Sketcher notes seven possible solutions). A homeowner with a poorly laid out plan for installing new cabinets might have to purchase an extra shell, additional cabinet doors, and other materials that will drive the price of the project skyward in a hurry.
Because there are so many options when it comes to replacing your old cabinets, the planning phase of this project is simply crucial in the effort to remodel even the smallest kitchen space. When removing your cabinets and replacing them with new shells and doors, you have the ability to transform the layout of the room. You can install cabinets that fit in with the same orientation and simply upgrade the materials, or you can reimagine the entire space and build an entirely new kitchen setup. The best course of action will be different for every homeowner, so spending time planning this endeavor is a key stage that can't be curtailed or skipped.
Purchase the highest quality materials that you can afford
Experts across the board recommend that homeowners purchase the best quality materials that they can afford in many different renovation realms (via Reader's Digest). High-quality materials will last longer than a cheaper, budget option in most instances. This means you won't have to replace your new installation as quickly as you otherwise might. Gaining more years of viability is an important component of any well-planned renovation. Regardless of what type of cabinet you choose, the expense is likely to be substantial. So, reducing your budget in order to save a few hundred dollars here or there might come back to bite you in the future when that short-term savings translates into a much faster timeline for necessary replacement down the road.
Beyond the cost-based ramifications of selecting low or high-quality base materials, higher build quality also adds financial value to your property and can make the space feel more luxurious and welcoming to you and your guests. Incorporating upgrades at home can translate into a wealth of benefits that start with your comfort level and end with greater financial strength over the long term.
Blend premade cabinet shells with customized face components
One great trick that homeowners have taken immense advantage of is the ability to mix and match different base materials for a quality finished product on a budget. A standard cabinet is constructed from both an exterior shell and forward-facing doors or drawers that can be seen by anyone standing in the kitchen. Typically, homeowners will make use of one or more sections of cabinetry that extend from one wall to another. This layout strategy essentially secrets away the cabinet shells entirely from view. This means that premade cabinets or cabinet shells built from quality, but lower-cost material can be substituted for a more expensive option without changing the aesthetic of the kitchen in the process.
A purist with an unlimited renovation budget might scoff at the idea of blending top-quality woods with something notably inferior (yet still significantly valuable). However, most homeowners do not fall into this category and can take extreme advantage of the fact that most of their cabinet material will remain beyond the gaze of anyone standing in their kitchen, including themselves. This trick will give you a greater slice of the budget to spend on more intricate cabinet doors or higher-quality wood options that incorporate luxurious grain patterns and other features. The shells themselves make use of simple construction (via French River Woodworks) and mixing these elements can stretch your budget a long way.
Incorporate wall shelves
Wall shelves can provide a sense of minimalism in the kitchen. Adding shelves to your kitchen reduces the need for big, boxy cabinets that take up space along your upper wall sections. Shelves can be a great addition for homeowners looking to organize spices, lay out pasta or rice containers, and much more. Cooking equipment can also be displayed on shelves in an organized and aesthetically pleasing fashion. Vaunt Design notes that this matching of elements can be immensely visually appealing.
Apart from the nod toward minimalism, making use of wall shelves also drastically reduces your cabinet budget. Instead of purchasing cabinet shells and all the hardware required to fit the unit to the wall and add doors to complete the look, a shelf provides a versatile storage solution that can change the vibe of this space while costing pennies on the dollar in comparison. Similar to the blending of top-quality doors with premade shells, making a change in one or more sections of the upper area to use shelves instead can give you breathing room in the budget to purchase extraordinary shelving materials and other features.
Assemble and install cabinets yourself
For homeowners who foster a DIY spirit, assembling and installing cabinets without the help of a professional can also give you a significant boost to your budget when it comes to purchasing new cabinets. The process can seem daunting for those who haven't built and installed cabinets before, but the workflow is actually quite simple. A finished cabinet consists of a wooden box, perhaps an interior shelf or two, and the hardware that holds the unit together and provides access through the door. Taking the build process slow is the best advice when assembling your own cabinets, according to I Like to Make Stuff.
In fact, it may not be advisable for most homeowners but building kitchen cabinets from scratch is even a possibility for those with enough time on their hands and the DIY chops to see the project through from raw material to completed kitchen. Finalizing the build yourself is a fantastic way to shave critical dollars off of your budget or redirect this funding to other parts of the project.