Entry Level Custom Cabinets
Characteristics of cabinets in Entry Level Custom Category
- Clear quality step up with expanded options over national semi-custom brands (like Master Brands or Masco)
- Custom color matches
- Custom sizes
- "You design we build" – with limitations
- Expanded wood species offering that goes beyond "typical". Lyptus, Red Birch, Walnut, Quarter Sawn Oak etc., plus the more standard woods -- Oak, Maple, Cherry.
- Better quality finishes than semi-custom. They look deeper with less "junk" in top coat
- They’re good but not great at wood selection. Not as choosy in selecting out sap, etc.
- Typically use 2020 Technologies for pricing and design
- Less production driven than semi-custom, but more production oriented than Elite custom
- Customer service staff better informed and interactive than semi-custom
- Usually comes from mid-west (IL, IN, MN)
- Priced 0-20% more than semi-custom, depending on finish and wood species
** Brighton fits into Entry Level Custom **
Elite Custom Cabinets
Characteristics of cabinets in Elite Custom category
- Do everything Entry Level Custom does, just a little better. Finish has more depth, more clarity, sanding is better, box is more square
- Usually do more in their shop vs. outsourcing, like making their own doors, drawer boxes, front frames, or other custom/architectural elements, like hoods or turnings. This lends itself to better overall wood working capability than Entry Level Custom
- Pricing spectrum too complicated to fit into 2020 Technologies
- Often use programs like Advance Ware for pricing
- Broader – even unlimited, range of exotic wood species, such as Wenge, Mahogany, Crotch Mahogany, Narra, etc.
- Will perform custom requests, such as one wood species for center panel of cabinet door and another on frame of door
- Willing to build 1" thick frames and doors and upgrade box to 3/4" thick construction
- Will change drawer openings and/or wall cabinet depths for inset
- Better color matching capabilities
- Unique finish capabilities, such as milk paint and dye stains
- More likely to combine cabinets at no charge to enhance inset appearance
- Customer service team members are skilled at helping with orders, making suggestions and ensuring your kitchen goes together well
- Very little they will not do
- Usually manufactured in south central Pennsylvania or shops serving local area or smaller region
- Priced 0-20% more than Entry Level Custom
- Stylecraft cabinetry fits into Elite Custom
Premier Custom
Characteristics of cabinets in Premier Custom category
- Some capabilities that exceed Elite Custom, such as offering high gloss sheens (over 80) or work with high gloss veneers
- Usually do frameless and face frame cabinetry
- Finishes are a little better than Elite
- May have 3/4" box construction and 1" thick as standard, justifying some of additional cost
- Priced 15-30% more than Elite Custom
- Companies like Neff, CraftMaid, Premier Custom Built, and Birchcraft fit into Premier Custom