Are you unsure whether to choose premade or custom cabinets for your upcoming bathroom renovation?
In our experience, prefab cabinets are only an option for a bathroom refresh for a house you’re planning to flip or sell in the near future. When you’re investing in a high-quality remodel, custom cabinets are the only option.
3 Reasons Custom Cabinets Are the Only Option Worth Considering
We like to use a fashion analogy when discussing custom vs. prefab bathroom finishes.
Everyone understands the value of a well-made, personally tailored suit or dress. The clean lines, classic architecture, and high-quality fabric are unmistakable and cannot compare to anything you’d purchase at a discount clothing store. If you’re purchasing a suit or a classic black dress to last a lifetime, you will invest in the very best. You should honor this same philosophy when selecting cabinets and other finishes for a bathroom renovation.
We understand it’s easy to be seduced by the “cost-saving” production cabinets available at local big box stores at first glance. However, the costs you save upfront are never worth the headache you’ll experience on the other side. A bathroom renovation goes beyond a minor bathroom remodel or makeover, so every selection should be top-notch for a timeless, lasting finish.
With a renovation, you overhaul the entire bathroom from top to bottom, which includes ripping out sub-par fixtures and updating them with well-made, contemporary options. Craftsmanship, durability, and longevity should always lead the way when selecting fixtures and finishes.
Here are three of the main reasons we encourage clients to choose custom vs. prefab cabinet options.
1. Compare First-Time and Lifetime Costs
Ultimately, prefab cabinets will disappoint you—we guarantee it. First and foremost, today’s prefab options are made with cheap compressed and particleboard-type materials that do not compare to solid hardwood options. While they may look impressive online or in a catalog, closer inspection inevitably reveals unskilled finishing details, uneven connections, and doors and drawers that aren’t perfectly balanced.
In the end, the vanity will be a cheap link in the finished renovation because these unskilled shortcut errors will stand out like a sore thumb when installed next to the other high-end finishes and fixtures.
Customers who cut corners on cabinetry become plagued by things like:
- Cabinets that are more vulnerable to water and moisture damage.
- Seams, connections, joints, hinges, and trim that are misaligned or installed slightly crooked.
- Paint or melamine finishes are prone to peeling, cracking, staining, and scratches.
- Doors and drawers that get off-track or out of whack and require repeat adjustments to continue working properly.
The long-term costs of continuous repairs, adjustments, or the decision to tear them out and go custom make prefabricated cabinets more expensive in the long run.
2. Prefabricated Cabinets Offer Limited Dimensions
When we work with clients to completely renovate their bathrooms, we adopt a “from scratch” mentality. We’re interested in learning more about what works and what they appreciate about the current layout and design, but we also take a big-picture approach, considering how the bathroom could be completely re-envisioned. This may also include adding additional square footage or redesigning the layout.
Refabricated vanities and cabinets are limited in their dimensions and shapes. With custom options, you get built-in furnishings designed specifically for the space and your needs, using the highest-quality materials and craftsmanship.
3. Limitless Aesthetic Options
Similarly, cabinet production lines must be designed to the median taste (read: current trends vs. timeless quality) to maintain profitability. As a customer, this limits the aesthetic possibilities, and you may end up with the same cabinet as your neighbors.
As one of Orlando’s leading kitchen and bath renovation groups, we’ve spent decades partnering with the area’s leading artisans. Our artisan partners enjoy being a part of the design team, learning more about you and your household, and reviewing the selections and finishes to craft custom cabinetry that develops visual interest, texture, and uniquely integrated elements that yield a one-of-a-kind finish.
A Bathroom Renovation Deserves Once-in-a-Lifetime Custom Cabinets
A full-scale bathroom renovation should only happen once in a lifetime. That requires partnering with a highly experienced design/build firm that has the expertise, resources, and connections to provide exactly what you need.
Details Construction Group would love to show you our portfolio of recent bathroom renovations and remodels. Once you see the stunning custom cabinets and vanities we’ve designed and built for our clients, you’ll understand that prefab alternatives are not an option. That level of luxury spa-like bathroom aesthetic is only available when clients select passionately designed and attentively crafted furnishings.
Contact us to learn more about our process, and let’s design and build a bathroom space with a timeless finish you’ll enjoy for decades to come.
