When it comes to custom cabinetry, what you can have is limited only by your budget. A custom built cabinet is not constructed until it is ordered. The assumption is that custom work will be the most expensive this is not the case.
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Upper end semi-stock and basic custom cabinetry often price-out same. Should the only issue be that of width, a custom piece can readily be built using engineered wood, but to the homeowner's specs. If expense is not an issue, custom-built cabinets provide the best to the homeowner. Choices include everything from hand-selected wood to exotic woods like mahogany. Cabinetmakers will even match the paint or finish of an existing corner cupboard.
Homeowners can select from glass doors inset doors with decorative beading. Pie-cut corner cabinets, full extension glides on drawers, and Super-Susans, provide convenience. Custom cabinetmakers vary in delivery time. Depending on the complexity, a homeowner should allow six to 12 weeks for construction and delivery, although some jobs may require six months.
When turning your dream kitchen into reality, work with a professional. Once you have hired a professional he/she will produce a drawing, to show the area that already exists. After talking you should agree upon style, function, and budget. This agreement becomes the basis for the drawings. These drawings show how the kitchen will look, which parts of the house the builders may use and how. Once changes that have been made are incorporated into the drawings, the designer gets the costs from the builders. The expert must recommend a builder and a price.
Most retailers and manufacturers of kitchen cabinets offer free design service. Kitchen designers spend their lives planning kitchens and they know exactly what their products can do. Professional designers are skilled at making the most of your available space and dollars.
Keep on budget by using luxury material sparingly. Reserve the island for an expensive granite countertop, for example, while using more affordable materials elsewhere. Don't overlook butcher block and stainless steel.
When it comes to purchasing countertops you have all kinds of options from plastic laminate to marble, tile, and butcher block. You also can customize the edge for a different look. Combining form with function, countertops set a tone and a standard. Be it the elegance of granite, a colorful surface or laminate countertop options abound.
Dealers price counter surfaces by lineal or square foot, with template, delivery, and installation (TDI) quoted in the total price. Prices vary depending on texture, color, pattern, and intricacy of edging, sink type, and seams. Seams lead to water seepage. A qualified, certified kitchen designer can help research qualified manufacturers and fabricators. Heavy countertops, like cement, natural, and engineered stones, are held in place with fixatives. Prices range from $16 per lineal foot to $100 per square foot. Since countertop pricing ranges from the economical to the astronomical, it's important to consider, durability, maintenance, and price installed.
Concrete is a more dynamic product.
It boasts texture and detailing unlike any solid product. It is porous, absorbs stains and must be sealed regularly. Concrete weighs the same as a granite countertop. But, since it must be poured and cured it's important to get it right. Every fabricator has a different formula. The fabricators should first template then create from a pre-cast mold in a controlled factory setting. Concrete runs about $100 per square foot installed.
Engineered stone is a quartz-composite product mixed with colored pebbles, polymers and epoxy. It has more color options than natural stone. Engineered stone is one-and-a-quarter inches thick, and is installed using epoxy. At $50 to $100 per square foot, engineered stone is as costly as granite.
Stainless steel is chic and associated with professional kitchens. It is stain resistant. Newer applications include brushed or textured finishes. Welded stainless-steel sinks create an integrated look, while corrugated patterns create dimension. Stainless steel, when attached to a wood substrate, becomes sound resistant. Regular rolled edges, bullnose, or Marine edges are standard. Stainless steel runs anywhere from $100 to $200 per square foot.
Natural stone needs to be seamed and sells for anywhere from $50 to $100 per square foot. The colors and patterns reveal the region and the geological conditions that created it. With granite, each slab is unique. Buyers may visit the fabricator to select their own slabs. Granite is graded for density, strength, water absorption, and acid resistance. A 3/4-inch granite sheet can be purchased and applied to a wood substrate for the same look at less cost and weight.
Marble is less stain-resistant and more porous, so it may be damaged by acidic foods. New England slate, from New York, Vermont, and Maine, is durable and requires no sealing. Some designers prefer Slate for breakfast bars. The beauty of slate is that it comes to room temperature. Natural stone runs from $50 to $100 per square foot, with black slate, followed by red slate as the most expensive.
Wood has luminous appeal for countertops and kitchens. Oak, maple, cherry, red beech, walnut, teak, and mahogany are all hardwoods favored for countertop applications. Wood is one of the more sanitary products for the kitchen, with inherent properties to protect from bacteria build-up. Prices for wood countertops range from $50 to $100 per square foot installed.
In solid surface countertops seams are only visible from the underside. With solid surfacing, sink and counter materials can be integrated to create a graceful line. Solid surfaces come in a rainbow of colors, patterns, and styles, including stone and glass look-alikes. They are stain and heat resistant. Scratches are easily softened with a non-abrasive scrubbing pad.
Laminate countertops come in a host of colors and patterns. Laminate is not scratch or heat resistant, but stain resistant. Laminate is glued onto an inch-and-a-half particleboard base and can be constructed using a home store's standard blank. For cosmetic revamps, sheets of laminate can be glued to the existing particleboard substrate.
Ceramic tile is a popular and economical option. It is scratch and heat resistant, but high maintenance. Ceramic tile runs from $11 to $30 per square foot. Keep in mind that undertaking a laminate or tile installation can be a nightmare, so its best to do the homework first.
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