I agree with Jan all of it actually.

With shaker on all drawers, the top drawer horizontal lines will be narrower, but the other 2 drawers should have the standard/wider lines.

They need to redo those drawer fronts.

My cabinets were also custom and the cabinet maker had a painting booth at their shop. The cabinets came already painted or stained.

Automatic hack status, just from not finishing the cabinets. Add in the lack of understanding about how things should be built, and this whole thing is a NOPE. But I bet they were cheap!

I find that not only is the trim an issue, but the whole configuration feels quite awkward and when hardware is added will be more so. From a functionality perspective, the long narrow drawer and very narrow cabinet on right are limiting.

The most basic question is - Is this pleasing to the eye?

My perspective is no. It is not. Paint, hardware, and having it placed in an entire kitchen full of finishes and appliances will distract from it for sure. And, the average person probably wouldn't notice. But, it is certainly not what I'd want from top dollar custom carpentry.

But, it all comes back to the drawings. What did the drawings show?

We had custom cabinets made and the designer went over every single one of these choices with us. She showed us what she believed looked the best but took us through different options because it was custom. We had to sign off on the width and height measurements of all of the rails and styles.

And as others mentioned, what is up with these not being finished before delivery? Whether it is stain, clear coat, or paint, my cabinets have always been finished in a spray booth off site and let to sit and cure and off gas for weeks prior to delivery.

Thank you very much for all your input. The kitchen cabinets have not been entirely installed yet. The section shown in the photo is on the left side of a 48" range. They are not stand-alone. This new photo shows the cabinets on the right side of the range; same problem here with the skinny rails for the drawer fronts.

I am deciding whether I should demand a correct alteration. The drawing shows the rails and stiles with equal width. Do I have a right to demand alteration?

Regarding the painting on site, yes, I would prefer they finish the painting before bringing the cabinets to my kitchen, but it is too late to think about that now.

Yes, if you have drawings that show other than what was delivered, they should remake those drawer fronts. It should not take them that long to do. Don't take no for an answer.

I would prefer they finish the painting before bringing the cabinets to my kitchen, but it is too late to think about that now.

Again, what does the contract say about painted cabinets? No professional cabinetmaker paints cabinets in your house. The paint and process they use to make the paint surface hard and durable is a special one (someone else here can educate you on it because I have forgotten the details.) It is not something done on site.

Even if they were going to paint on site, why would they have hung them instead of painting them prior to being hung? Are they really dipping a brush into paint or are they spraying them in place on your walls? This is insane.

Did you get references for these folks or see their portfolio?

It's never too late to think about how those are going to get finished. You can't shove that job off onto a painter using house paint, and expect anything like a durable result. The $1.98 TX usual is a firehose sprayer, spraying the drawer glides and hinges, and everything. Which has never ever been acceptable, but for some reason, 1974 culture persists there.

Whats up with the two open cabinets and why is the height different then the others? If the drawings show the right rail size, get them remade as he owes you that. I would demand that at the very least ALL the doors be painted offsite is a shop with the propoer paint and a spray booth. If he wants to get paid he will do what he was contracted to do. How much money have you paid him? If you owe him a substantial amount, you are in luck. He who holds the coin holds the power. If he is further into you you may very well be in trouble regardless.

It's a good time to clarify the word "custom" . It can be wonderful, or a disaster. People tend to assign a universally better quality to custom....and it isn't true. It is ONLY true, when true craftsmanship is present, but you can have that quality......and still get ugly styling or finishing, no matter how well made any customized a thing is.

Just because it is made "local and by hand........?" Be very wary. Always see the work done elsewhere.

What can happen? Wellllllll: )

You expect this "bespoke" wonder "

but receive this

The skinner top and bottom rail is NOT abnormal. I see it done all the time. My own kitchen is like this. What matters is what was discussed and what they portrayed or showed you....specified...etc. It's my guess that if these are local built custom....then they probably used a basic design program to design with....that may or may not show things as they will be exactly. There is some artistic impression when you use renderings to show a client. Which is why you need to specify details, details, DETAILS.

My kitchen is below....along with a few others I found online.

I don't think your drawers look bad. Once painted I doubt you'll be bothered by it.

1925 Plain & Fancy Kitchen - Dayton Ohio · More Info

I also had never heard of site painted custom cabinets until I worked on a project in LA. They were custom and installed like this thread. A pro painter did spray them on site after the counters and floor were in (the room was plastic’d off like a scene from Dexter and they were primed and painted in a water based finish) and it turned out perfect. The client didn’t live there or move in until about a month later. I was skeptical but it worked out. And yes you should definitely get those fronts remade and definitely familiarize yourself with the pro painter’s work that will be doing the job.

The Kitchen Place - your kitchen looks lovely and I think the inset design does make a difference vs the full overlay. And since they approved drawings and not an actual door sample then I do think they have a leg to stand on to get it corrected.

thinkdesignlive, I agree. The full overlay does make a difference. Thank you for the complement. I also did slab style on my skinny top drawers. Also agree....if the OP was shown the equal sized rails on the drawers? They should have been made like that.

OP, does your cabinetmaker make his own doors and drawers? A lot of them sub them out.

This is how I decided to have mine done. After the cabinet maker gave me choices.

This is wrong and right. There are many brands of cabinets that do a narrower top and bottom rail for the shallow drawers so you can fit hardware.

Here are pictures from Kraftmaid, Fabuwood and Cubitac - just to name a few

The bad thing is that it should not have been done on the deeper drawers - IMO.

Depending on the rail size, it might not have been needed at all in your kitchen.

The worst part of this is that you were not told. We have it on display so I show every customer who is interested in that type of door style, what it will look like. Was this spelled out for you at all?

I am so sorry this is happening to you. I also share everyone's worry over painting the cabinets on site.

I hope it all works out.

Site painted cabinet are a CA and TX thing!

Millworkmen, the open cabinets look uneven because they are deeper than the solid-door ones, and the installation has not yet been completed.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your opinions. I learned a lot from you. Now, I need to try my best to make things right.

@yiengw - will you post a copy of your drawings that show the sizes of the rails on the drawer fronts?

Also, would you mind sharing your state of residence? If you're not comfortable doing it in this post, if you send me a message with it, I will look up the applicable statute(s) for you that cover residential renovations/services.

My last comment is regarding the painting of the cabinets on site. My understanding is that you do not want someone to use a paint sprayer inside your home UNLESS it is new construction OR a COMPLETE renovation. Regardless of how well they try to prep the space in order to contain the paint particles, they will circulate outside of the "contained area." They will travel through your HVAC system. There also can be fume build up in other areas of your home.

Cabinets should be sprayed off site in a spray booth. They also should be sprayed using a lacquer or a newer 2k refinishing system (Renner/Milesi) - not paint that a homeowner is able to purchase at BM or SW.

What does your contract provide re: products that will be used for finishing cabinets/doors/drawer fronts?

Your doors/drawer fronts should look like this - this smooth of a finish (this is Milesi finish on the cabinets):

Either way is correct. Expect to pay to change.

While I prefer offsite paint, onsite is still acceptable.

Ah, Texas.

I have a bar and the bottom looks similar to yours in that the the top and bottom rail is skinner than the sides and the top drawer is also shorter than the 2 lower drawers. I don't believe that there is an issue with the hardware on the top drawers. When the mock up was done with the slab front drawers, I did not like that look at much and chose to have the rails.

For some reason there is some glare that shows up on the bottom right corner, there are not spots on the door :)

My drawers have a thinner top and bottom, the door are even vertically and horizontally. I’ve had this kitchen for 11 years and never thought anything of it until reading this post. The cabinets were all built locally.