It sounds like a big tough project doesn’t it? Surprisingly, it was easier than doing the flooring in our house, in my opinion. You can build your own kitchen cabinets and save thousands. If you look at some of the more expensive cabinets for sale, you’ll notice that some of the materials they use are cheap. I thought, why in the world would I pay thousands upon thousands for that?
So Simple: It’s amazing how simple it is to build your own cabinets. If you have any carpentry skills at all; even basic skills, you can do this. We used a high grade ply board that is used in furniture. After deciding exactly how many cabinets we would need, sizes, and functions we wanted, we got to work building a basic box for each with three sides, a top and bottom.
We attached feet onto the lower cabinets, and installed any extras on the inside; shelving, rolling drawers etc… I then used strips of precut wood in the design and color that I desired and used wood glue to cover the ply board; attaching the strips for a cottage type look in the kitchen. They looked great, but I was a little worried about the cabinet doors.
The doors were really easy. I picked out the hardware I wanted and measured and cut simple square doors. I then attached molding to the front of each door to give it a finished, beautiful, and expensive look. We just built our home, so my general design theme is “outdoorsy and natural.” I used gorgeous slabs of wood that have been glossed and still have imperfect edging for counter tops.
Compare Costs: To get the same look I wanted in my kitchen, I was quoted prices that ranged from $15,000 dollars to $24,000 dollars. I spent under $5,000 dollars for everything and even had enough money to add some really cool features and extras. I created a beautiful bar with wrought iron, river rock, and wood. Designed some beautiful hanging lighting for over the bar and had it installed, and also put shelving in my pantry.
What really shocked me, was the when I started asking what the expensive cabinets were made of. Most were made of he same materials that I used, but cost three or four times as much as making them yourself. I would recommend trying to build one before you commit to an entire kitchen. That’s how we decided that we could do it ourselves. If you measure carefully, make sure everything is level, and think about your entire design in advance, you’ll really save some major money by doing it yourself. It’s also a great way to show your children how to safely use tools, build things, and grow up to think outside of the box.
More from Carrie:
Term Life Insurance Must Knows
Building A House for House for Under Fifty Thousand Dollars
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