The cabinets that you choose for your kitchen remodel can easily amount to 60% of the total amount spent on the project. In home renovation projects, a kitchen remodel is the most expensive home improvement project that can be undertaken and the cabinetry is the single most expensive item in a kitchen remodel. There are many options, quality levels, styles, joinery, hardware, trims, and finishes. Considering that the vast majority of kitchen cabinet installations have a minimum 35-year life, it is important to understand and consider your requirements before you purchase.

Kitchen cabinets have an enormous spread in pricing from $80 a lineal foot for laminate faced, self-assembly to $300 a lineal foot for hardwood doors, glass insets, and ceiling trims. Because of this spread in price, it is important to set a top amount that you can afford. Then you consider the cabinet designs available up to that price point. There are a few additional items to consider. The price per lineal foot does not include the countertop or cabinet installation.

To estimate the costs of your kitchen cabinets measure the length of the area that will have base cabinets, the ones that sit on the floor, and the length of the wall cabinets. Add these two numbers together and you have the number of lineal feet of required cabinets. If it is your intent to install a pantry or other cabinet that is floor to ceiling, include the length dimension in both the base and wall cabinet number.

Most home centers and kitchen cabinet specialty retailers will post an average lineal price for each design and quality. The lineal foot price indicated is usually based on a 10 foot long, straight wall configuration, (no corner cabinets required or glass doors). It will not include any trim or cabinet options and in most cases will not include doorknobs, or drawer pulls. Unless specifically indicated the price will not include installation.

As a rule of thumb, you can double the lineal foot price of the cabinets to arrive at the total cost of the project, installed.
There are 3 basic cabinet types:

• Stock: Stock cabinets come in 2 styles, assembly required and pre-assembled and are based on standard sizes with few options for base and wall units (custom sizes are not available and spaces are completed with filler strips).
  
  
• Semi-Custom: These cabinets are mass produced but have a lot more options such as sliding drawers, multi-door pantries, a variety of trim material and specialty cabinets, (these cabinets are only available in standard sizes).
  
  
• Custom Cabinets: which provide complete flexibility in cabinet sizes, materials, options and configurations.

It may be noted that almost all cabinets, no matter what the price point, are built using a veneered MDF board. MDF has the advantage of being very stable and will not warp. Veneers can be a synthetic laminate or hardwood.

The lineal per foot cost is in the doors and hardware. Doors can be made of veneered MDF or hardwoods that are richly stained. Luxury door hardware, such as hinges, knobs, and pulls can add as much as $50 to the price of a specific cabinet. Drawer slides are also an important price driver. Quality drawer slides makes a major difference to the price of a cabinet.

When you are shopping for your cabinets, pay special attention to the hardware that is used and fabrication techniques. Make sure you are comparing similar qualities when looking at “best” price.
Knowledge and planning are the keys to a successful home remodel project.