Industry Insider: Cabinets Plus

Before the economic downturn, homeowners planning to remodel their kitchens and baths, generally speaking, could choose to buy custom cabinets from a specialty store, or stock cabinets from a big box store. Those were the two choices.

But now there is a third choice: semi-custom cabinetry.

Cabinets Plus, located at 706 E. Northwest Highway in Palatine, is helping bring this newest option to homeowners.

The store has long provided Mouser custom cabinetry to the middle- to upper-middle portion of the marketplace, said Dave Kunzweiler, vice president of operations and marketing for the family-owned business.

“We are still serving the same customer base, but their homes aren’t worth as much as they once were, so they aren’t willing to put as much money into their homes as they would have been in the past,” Kunzweiler said. “Consequently, everyone has been looking for ways to reduce costs.”

To do this, Mouser and other cabinet manufacturers now offer semi-custom lines of cabinetry that feature slightly thinner sides (three-eighths of an inch compared to five-eighths of an inch found in custom cabinetry) and fewer options, he said.

“This allows them to make the cabinets more quickly and even to build the basics ahead of time to save time and money,” Kunzweiler said. “These cabinets still easily support granite countertops and unless you had the countertops off, you would never notice any difference in the cabinets, but they cost considerably less.”

And when it comes to finishes and options, those are limited.

“With the custom cabinets, for instance, there are 12 different routing designs available for the cabinet fronts. With the semi-custom cabinets, they may only offer one or two routing designs,” Kunzweiler said. “In addition, the bottoms of custom wall cabinets are generally finished just like the fronts and sides. With semi-custom cabinets, they are finished with a light maple, vinyl-like material. Finally, fewer glazes and finishes are also offered.”

But very popular options like soft-close drawers and door hinges are standard, even with the semi-custom cabinets, in the Omega Dynasty line, and there is just a $6 per door increase for Mouser’s Centra line.

“You can generally save 15 to 20 percent with semi-custom cabinets, even though they are installed the same way, have quicker delivery times and come with a 10-year warranty,” he said.

For the past five years, maple and cherry have been the most popular cabinetry woods and that continues, Kunzweiler said. Cherry is generally stained and is considered more formal while maple can be stained or painted and is considered more versatile.

However, grays — with names like Battleship, Porch Swing and Smokey — are working their way into the mix more recently, Kunzweiler said.

“Cabinet color choices have always been heavily influenced by what is happening in other industries like furniture, automobiles and fashion,” he said. “So I don’t know if the gray tones are coming from those influences or from the popularity of stainless steel appliances, which look really nice with these new colors.”

The “restaurant at home” trend, which has homeowners wanting their home kitchens to look like restaurant kitchens, is at the root of popular choices now like stainless steel appliances and open shelving without doors, he added.

Contemporary flip-up cabinet doors are gaining in popularity, particularly with people who have space considerations in their kitchens. New this season is a pricey pullout cabinet that allows very easy access for people who cannot easily bend down to get things out of the backs of their lower cabinets.

“Pullout shelves have been around for a long time,” Kunzweiler said. “These are taking that concept the next step.”

Kunzweiler is also noticing the growing popularity of quartz countertops. Some people like quartz because they don’t like the swirls you find in most granites, preferring the more uniform look of quartz. Others don’t want to be bothered sealing granite once a year. Still others don’t want to take the time to go to a granite fabricating facility to choose a granite slab.

“Cambria, the only U.S. quartz manufacturer, is particularly popular,” he said. “Since quartz countertops are made of 93 percent quartz and 7 percent other materials, they can use that 7 percent to add some very bright and unusual colors that you wouldn’t find in nature, and many people like that, too.”

The professionals at Cabinets Plus, which has been in business since 1962, can be reached at (847) 358-0143 or visit www.cabinetsplus.com.