01 · Custom Cabinets
Custom cabinetry built to fit the house, not the catalog
Furniture-grade custom cabinets for kitchens, baths, libraries and built-ins across Nashville, designed, built and installed by one crew.
Custom cabinets start with the room you have, not a box that almost fits it. We measure the walls, the ceiling height and the way you actually cook, then build the cabinetry to those numbers: plywood boxes, solid hardwood doors, finishes sprayed in the shop and hardware chosen for how it feels in the hand. The result looks like it was always meant to be there, whether the house is a 1930s Belle Meade colonial or new construction in Nolensville.
What does custom cabinetry actually involve?
It begins with a field measure, not a price list. We record every wall, window, outlet and out-of-square corner, draw the cabinetry to those dimensions and review the drawings with you before a single board is cut. The boxes are built from three-quarter-inch plywood, the drawers are dovetailed hardwood on full-extension undermount slides, and the doors are solid wood, five-piece or slab, sanded and sprayed in our shop rather than brushed in your kitchen. Then we bring it to the house and install it ourselves.
Building to order is what lets the cabinetry solve problems a stock line cannot. Uppers can run to the ceiling with a crown that actually meets the plaster. A refrigerator can sit flush behind matching panels. A blind corner can become a swing-out or a pair of angled drawers. In an older Forest Hills home the walls are rarely plumb, so we scribe every filler and end panel to the wall instead of caulking the gap. That fit is most of what people mean when they say a kitchen looks custom.
What drives the cost of custom cabinets?
Four things, mostly. The first is how much cabinetry there is and how much of it is drawers, since a bank of dovetailed drawers takes far more shop time than a door with a shelf behind it. The second is species: walnut and rift-sawn white oak cost more than hard maple, and a painted finish takes more prep and more coats than a clear one. The third is door style, because inset doors on a face frame have to be fitted by hand to a tight, even reveal.
The fourth is everything inside and around the boxes: glass doors, integrated appliance panels, lighting, spice pull-outs, a mixer lift, a hidden pantry door. Site conditions matter too. A slab foundation in Spring Hill and a 1920s pier-and-beam house in Belle Meade are different jobs to level cabinetry in. We do not quote from a photo. The free in-home design consultation is where we measure, talk through the options and put a real number in front of you.
How long do custom cabinets take, and what does the process look like?
The consultation comes first, in your home, so we can see the light, the traffic patterns and the condition of the walls. From there we produce drawings and a finish sample, and revisions happen on paper while changes are still free. Once you sign off, the job goes into the shop schedule. Build and finish time depends on the size of the order, the species and how many hand-fitted inset doors are on it, and lead times shift with the season. We give you a real date at sign-off, not a range you have to guess from.
Installation is quicker than most people expect. We set the base cabinets first, level and shim them to a single plane, hang the uppers, then scribe fillers and end panels to the walls. Countertops are templated after the cabinets are set, so the counter fabricator's schedule becomes part of ours and we plan the sequence with you. Doors, drawer fronts and hardware go on last, and we adjust every reveal before we leave.
What makes custom cabinets last?
Construction you cannot see from the showroom floor. Plywood does not swell the way particleboard does when a dishwasher leaks. Dovetails hold when a drawer full of cast iron is slammed for twenty years. Undermount slides rated for the load keep drawers running true. We use kiln-dried lumber and let it acclimate before machining, which matters in Middle Tennessee, where a wet August and a dry January move wood more than in most of the country. The finish is a catalyzed conversion varnish, the same class of coating used on fine furniture, because it stands up to cleaning, grease and sunlight.
You should also know what to expect afterward. Solid wood moves with the seasons, and on a painted inset door that can show as a hairline at a joint or a reveal that tightens in summer. That is the material behaving normally, not a defect, and it is why we build in the adjustment to bring things back into line. Our approach is simple: build it so it does not need us, and come back to adjust it if it ever does.
The look
Cabinets we would be glad to build again
How much do custom cabinets cost?
The cost of custom cabinets depends on how many linear feet you need, how much of it is drawers, the wood species, the finish and the door style. A painted inset kitchen in white oak sits at a different point than a slab-door maple bath vanity. The free in-home design consultation is where we measure, discuss options and give you a real number.
Are custom cabinets worth it?
Custom cabinets are worth it when the room has odd dimensions, when you plan to stay in the house, or when you want a specific species, finish or door style a stock line does not offer. You get plywood construction, cabinetry that fits the walls exactly and storage laid out around how you live. For a rental or a quick flip, a semi-custom line may be the better fit.
How long do custom cabinets take to make?
Custom cabinets typically take several weeks to build and finish once the drawings are approved, with the exact time set by the size of the order, the species and how many hand-fitted inset doors it includes. We give you a firm build date at sign-off. Installation of a full kitchen usually takes days, not weeks, and countertops are templated once the cabinets are set.
How long do custom cabinets last?
Well-built custom cabinets can last for decades, and often outlast the finish trends around them. Plywood boxes, dovetailed hardwood drawers, quality slides and a catalyzed conversion varnish are what separate cabinetry that ages well from cabinetry that swells, sags and peels. Solid wood will move a little with Middle Tennessee humidity, which is normal and adjustable, not a sign of failure.
Why are custom cabinets so expensive?
Custom cabinets cost more because every piece is built for one house by skilled people, not run through a factory in standard sizes. Hardwood, plywood, dovetailed drawers, hand-fitted inset doors and a sprayed conversion varnish all take real time and real material. You are also paying for a field measure, drawings and an installer who scribes the cabinetry to your walls rather than hiding the gaps.
Do I need a permit to replace kitchen cabinets?
Replacing cabinets in the same layout generally does not require a permit, because no plumbing, electrical or structural work changes. Permits usually come into play once you move a sink, add circuits, relocate a range or open a wall, and the rules vary between Metro Nashville and the surrounding Williamson, Sumner, Wilson and Rutherford County jurisdictions. We tell you at the consultation whether your project will need one.
Free in-home design consultation
Let us design the room you actually want to live in.
Tell us about the space. We come out, measure, listen, and bring back drawings, renderings and a written quote. No cost, no obligation.