you will be happy with your kitchen cabinet colour , I had a house built and went with the eggshell colour (a off white) with an antique finish.
Sorry I don't have info on the cabinet makers.

Most kitchen & bath dealers carry product lines considered semi-custom or custom that will offer to color match a particular color. The color palettes you describe though are typically available - I would continue to do a little more research. Yes, RTA cabinets are a lot more labor intensive if you go that route. Are there any cabinet features that are important to you besides color?

I have used Conestoga cabinets for many years. Just FYI they are definitely meant to be assembled by a person who is a cabinet builder, not just a homeowner or even a contractor (this is not a small undertaking). I would say it was not a big deal if you were talking about one cabinet. But an entire kitchen I couldn’t even imagine being assembled by an average contractor. Conestoga is a good company and they manufacture doors for a lot of other kitchen brands. I have had some issues with warping before and had to deal with it on the job site. In my opinion I would stay away from doing a kitchen this way unless you have an experienced cabinet maker assembling it who really can make adjustments to the cabinets. I would say to continue to look around for semi-custom and custom brands and then have your husband and friends install to save money.

Just to tie Reico Kitchen & Bath and Artistry Constructions comments together -- and they were great comments -- I agree that you should obtain a quote from a home center or showroom for semi custom cabinets to see how it compares. Presumably, it will be somewhere in between. Then you will have quantitative information about "the price" of the quality and hassle factor. I don't know if Shiloh cabinetry is in your area or budget, but, per their website, they offer inset at no upcharge. It's a phenomenal deal, as this is usually a 10% - 30% upcharge over overlay. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies....I guess I am trying to determine whether the $10K price difference justifies the extra hassle. I know I'll be out some in assembly/installation but I figured that with the extensive instructions that Conestoga provides that anyone with half a construction brain could put them together :)

Also, I've had bad experiences in the past with custom cabinetry not being up to par with my expectations as far as construction, customer service, and finish goes. I was hoping that going this route might ensure that the finish and trim work is EXACTLY what I want.

Keep the comments coming...thanks!!

Good points. Only feedback I offer on the construction part is that, in my humble opinion as a kitchen designer (I'm not sure if that sounds pompous...not meant to), the outcome has more to do with hands-on technique/skill than the complexity of the task or clarity of instructions. Assembly and installation is more like sculpting than it is putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Anyone can put a jigsaw puzzle together, no practice really required...just intellect. Yet, not just anyone can sculpt something beautiful. It takes finesse that comes from experience. And just because one can sculpt well in clay doesn't mean they can sculp as well in metal...the first time anyway.

The same thing applies to custom cabinets -- as it sounds like you know well. As such, looking at the cabinetmaker's work will help you evaluate whether what you would be getting would be up to (your) par. Gathering one or two other custom quotes (and seeing their work too) will also be invaluable.

I guess I just go back to the time- and experience-proven point that you get what you pay for. Whether the price premium for custom is worth it for you will bear out in looking at a couple of installations of both custom and Conestoga cabinets.

Great points, Catherine...I'm not deadset on Conestoga. It's just the only other quote I've gotten so far. I have 3-4 other local cabinetmakers that I'm going to get quotes from to compare. The one we initially started with (that our contractor recommended) is known to build high-end custom cabinetry (for many homes that are $1M+) so that is probably a lot of the price difference. Hopefully, we can find a more affordable one and still achieve a great look without resorting to RTA cabinetry.

Also, we are considering trying to use some of the cabinetry in our kitchen right now and replace the face-framing, doors, and drawer fronts because the inside is very well-built. I'm not sure how much money this could end up saving us or not, but it's worthwhile to check it out.

Thanks!

I told my wife about this great site... We wanted to find some incredible, affordable wood grain semi-custom kitchen cabinets for some cutting edge kitchen remodeling. I searched and searched on the Internet, and all the information available
on Websites is not so subtly urging us to hire one designer or another to pick the semi-custom wood kitchen cabinets and do all that design or kitchen remodeling or kitchen renovation I don't want want and my wife doesn't want to pay for!! So the kitchen cabinets and
furniture pieces are what those website designers use to attract us -- the designers are the
real focus not the cabinets. When I found http://semicustomcabinets.com the CABINETS were, are the
thing! No middle man designer -- and no middle man prices. It was a relied to be able to just choose and purchase what I want without having to hire a designer to tell us what we want and what to do! We can bathroom remodel if we want, kitchen remodel, bathroom renovation, and do kitchen remodeling and kitchen renovation just the way we like it, with the .semi-custom cabinets we want -- without a designer telling us what we want and what to do!!

More cheepchinesecrap hucksters. Nothing to see here folks.

@Artistry Construction, Inc....you couldn't be more wrong. These cabinets are easy to assemble. All you need is a rubber mallet, a few small clamps (just in case) and a pneumatic brad nailer. These cabs are self squaring with very tight tolerances. Anyone with an average amount of mechanical ability, patience, and attention to detail can and will end up with a beautiful set of cabinets. That said, hanging cabinets is not so easy for the average homeowner. The hardest part is getting all the parts sorted correctly

Jimmy Crackcorn, you do realize that post was 6 yrs ago?

I assembled 18 cabinets ranging from simple wall cabinets to 3-drawer bases to pantries with rollouts.

On average, each cabinet box took under 30 minutes to assemble using wood glue, rubber mallet and a finish nail gun. They use a sliding dovetail joint for the most part. The back panel has a line scribed where you nail.

Drawer boxes and rollout trays are preassembled. Tall cabinets such as pantries, refrigerator surrounds and wall oven cabinets typically need a second person.

Aside from the cabinet box, expect to spend perhaps 30 minutes each on average installing doors, drawer fronts and hardware such as Blum drawer glides and hinges.

I spent 20 hours or less total assembly time, and I'm no speed demon. I saved $10,000 over a comparable quality brand at a big box store. That's about $500 saved per hour of assembly.

Very few people NEED custom cabinets; semi-custom is most frequently used.

CWS cabinets come in certain standard sizes, but you can order them custom down to 1/16" in height, width and depth.

They are made-to-order RTA cabinets, not the typical off the shelf RTA with few cabinet types, sizes and door styles. You can order standard overlay, full overlay or inset.

Some RTA cabinets are Walmart furniture quality. Not CWS.

They install just like preassembled cabinets. The big difference is the cabinet backs are 1/2" everywhere instead of having a hanging rail.

Are CWS cabinets for everyone? No. And if you need to hire someone to assemble them, that negates much of the savings of going the RTA route.

They have decorative wood range hoods, corbels and even solid wood shelves (not simply plywood) available.

For someone with basic DIY skills trying to stretch their budget, CWS is a viable option.