If you’re remodeling a half-million-dollar home’s kitchen, you can probably afford to go with the very best cabinets, maybe something truly custom, hand-made for the space by a craftsman. For the rest of us, we need to do things a little bit more cheaply. Cabinetry is one of the big expenses in a kitchen remodel, along with appliances. Since with appliances, if you cheap out, you lose major features pretty quickly, most people wind up cutting corners on the cabinets.
The thing is, cheap cabinets at the store are, well… cheap. They’re often made with particle board at worst, or MDF at best, with iffy finishes that scratch easily, and shoddy construction that won’t last five years in a real kitchen, to say nothing of twenty. So how do you get kitchen cabinets on a budget that aren’t just a pile of junk?
DIY Kitchen Cabinets, Only Easier
As with many things in home remodeling and maintenance, you can save tons of money if you do things yourself. But unless you’re a carpenter, with a wood shop, you can’t manufacture the cabinets yourself! However, you can build them, if you order RTA cabinets. RTA stands for “ready to assemble,” and means you get all the pieces and parts, finished, stained, and painted, and then you put them together yourself. Kind of like IKEA furniture.
All you need is a screwdriver, a drill for some models for the door hinges, since many doors come undrilled so you can install them on either side, and maybe some wood glue, and a free weekend. A helper to help hang the wall cabinets is also a must, but otherwise you can pretty much do the whole thing alone if you need to.
Budget Kitchen Cabinets that Aren’t “Cheap”
At RTACabinetStore.com, our RTA kitchen cabinets are made from premium materials. We use warp-resistant furniture-grade plywood for the boxes, and real hardwood for most face frames, doors, and drawer fronts. A few models do use MDF or HDF, but only where it has no impact on the quality or sturdiness.
They’re easily assembled using cam-lock technology, and come with detailed instructions so that even if you’re a DIY novice, they’re well within the capabilities of the average homeowner. Then just pair them with a countertop from a local supplier (countertops are impossible to ship long distance!), and you’ll be a huge step closer to realizing your dream kitchen, on a fraction of the cost.
Come check out our digital showroom. We have models starting as low as $1009 for a typical 10’x10’ kitchen, and we have sales every month! While you’re at it, check out our free DIY online kitchen design tool. It lets you visualize and lay out your entire kitchen with a simple drag-and-drop interface, and then builds the order for you when you’re done. It’s that simple. Get started today!
