Your guy ain't custom. He is a parts orderer who puts together parts and pieces from different component manufacturers. Get a quote from a real custom cabinet maker. One who can do any door style in any color and in any wood. In his own woodworking shop with a clean room for finishing.

Custom for 12K? Seriously? Tell me you really don’t believe that is possible.

Add a hundred thousand to that number….

Whether you go with Ikea (and I am a fan for a kitchen at a reasonable price) or “custom”, stay away from this guy, for sure.

White Shaker IKEA Kitchen · More Info

Thats exactly what I was wondering after he gave me the quote, originally he quoted me 21k for painted cabinets, then went down to 13k for the foil. Is he using incredibly cheap materials? Ive been in his workshop and saw employees working on building cabinets, so I had the impression that he really is building them himself, and he showed me images of his completed work which looked nice to me. Deep down I feel like the price is too good to be true, and I might end up with a crappy kitchen that only looks decent on the outside.

If you want a specific color, I see no reason why you would want to pay double the price even with the too good to be true 40% discount.

Custom cabinets doesn't necessarily mean you are getting a better product. I talked to a builder this week regarding his custom cabinets and he doesn't put a top coat on the finish to protect it. I couldn't believe it. And this builders homes start at $600K and go up from there which is expensive in our market. The house I purchased last yr has custom cabinets throughout and the finish on them is junk. How does his warranty compare to IKEA. And will he be around to take care of anything down the road if you have problems. I don't think IKEA is going anywhere any time soon...

@karemore55 Thank you for the lovely reply!! I did have one question, do your upper cabinets pull away slightly from the wall at the bottom? I watched this video and this man claims that is an issue with ikea cabinets. Is this true for you as well? I think IKEA will be the best and safest option for me within my budget.

I've got ikea cabinets and the cabinets have little spacers you install on the bottoms during the build process to account for the extra depth because of the rail at the top. So no funny hanging or pulling away. You can see the spacers in the shadow when I put my phone below the cabinets, but they're not normally visible.

Also, ikea cabinets do not come in 2" increments. It's true their sizing is more limiting than other companies, but generally they go by the same 3" increments that other companies do. They just don't carry all sizes (27" or 33" for instance). And one more point to clarify, there is a 12" pullout basket base cabinet, but there is also a 12" door cabinet. I have one and use it to store baking sheets. There isn't a 12" base drawer option though.

The current 12" pullout has two solid white shelves (set positions; can't be adjusted). I use it for cleaning supplies. Happy with my IKEA kitchen.

Ikea is both good quality and decent for the long term with their 25 year warranty. Personal opinions are great, but they don't help the OP unless you can back them up with facts and your own experiences with ikea kitchens.

Pay for the Ikea install team...it's way cheaper than marriage counseling.

Everyone will have a different opinion. I have no personal experience with IKEA kitchen cabinets, but one of our friends bought a house where they had been recently installed. Our friends said that they are of poor quality, but I'm sure that might differ depending upon the selection. IF you can afford it, I would go the custom cabinets route, but that's just my personal preference. I guess it depends upon where you live ( value of your house) & how long do you think you will live there...

IKEA and have them installed. I had a semi-custom kitchen in my old place and my husband (now our) home has an Ikea kitchen..... I like his cabinets more than the ones I paid double for. The reason I like them more is they are sturdier and easy to replace a door or change the kitchen because I can go to Ikea and buy replacements (at least for now).

We installed an Ikea kitchen this past December, Sektion cabinets with Bodbyn doors, hired the installers, best investment we could have ever made.