How Much are Custom Kitchen Cabinets?

Custom cabinets will cost more if you choose a high-quality cabinet finish.

That said, higher-quality cabinet finishes are always worth the additional cost because they last longer than cheaper cabinet finishes.

We’ll list the most common kitchen cabinet finishes we see in Phoenix from least to most expensive:

• Varnish or lacquer (for natural hardwood): If you’re going with natural or stained solid hardwood cabinets, the cabinets will need a coat of varnish or lacquer to make them water-resistant. While this type of finish is technically the most affordable, you’ll pay more for the hardwood base than you will an engineered wood that can support the finishes below.
• Laminate: Laminates are thin plastic coatings applied to the cabinet’s base material. While laminates are one of the most affordable cabinet options, they tend to chip or bubble after a few years.
• Veneers: Veneers are thin sheets of wood that are adhered to the cabinet’s base material. Veneers are on par with laminates in terms of cost, but also start chipping or peeling after a few years, which is why we’d never use veneers in your kitchen cabinet remodel.
• Water-borne coating: This type of finish is sprayed onto the cabinet’s base material to create a smooth paint-like finish, but is waterproof and much more durable than paint. The water-borne coating we use at Cabinet Coatings is so durable, we guarantee it won’t chip, crack or fade for 5 years—or we’ll come back and redo them.

While water-borne coatings generally cost more than veneers or laminates, each finish type has a range of low- to high-quality finishes. So, a mid- to high-quality veneer could cost you the same amount as or even more than a low- to mid-quality water-borne coating.