Love to dream, you should check out semi handmade. When we were considering idea, they directed me to this company. They are out of California. In the end we went with something else. I didn't want anything modern and I didn't want to paint my own cabenits.

Good luck!

Since you're planning to make the peninsula & refrigerator panels, a few cabinet end panels should be no big deal. You will probably have nearly enough scraps left over to make the cab panels and you gotta' paint anyway. Go for it.

DH built our cabinets and our end panels. I painted some, but he did most with a sprayer when I got frustrated with my unsightly brush marks from backbrushing and trying to 'perfect' my work. ;-)

I did. And I am no carpenter. All I used was a miter saw. I had a huge ordering debacle when I went to a local mill to buy some walnut toe kick. I ordered 309 inches of 4" wide, 1/4" thick walnut. They gave me 309 feet (told you I had no idea what I was doing). Best mistake in my kitchen. I used it to build 3 end panels, the wine rack, and panel my walls. I saved several hundred dollars by not getting premade end panels. I will try to take better pictures tomorrow.

Here's another pic showing the panel on the opposite side of the cabinet in the first post. I have since hung some shelves on my end panel.

My DH made the end panels for our ikea cabinets. He made them more decorative with molding, but once we got the hang of it, it was a breeze. He cut and nailed, I would prime and paint. If the cost saving are significant to you, then go for it.

Thanks everyone! @vsalz- that is a COOL wine rack! Very clever way to utilize that space.

You have given me confidence! And I can spend the savings 1,000 times over. :)

Well, for $450, it's may not be worth your time and tool investment if you're doing this to save money. If you're doing this because you like projects like this, that's another story. But you will still barely save any money. If you already do have the tools, then you have to be able to cut a REALLY straight line with them. Or it will show in comparison to the cabinets. That means you have to be pretty comfortable with your table saw, or very very consistant with a circular saw and a jig. If you're doing MDF (HEAVY compared to plywood), that's $50 a 4x8 sheet (actually 49"x97") for 3/4" A hand held router will be easier to use, but a table router will give you more consistant results on easing the edges. Are these going to be shaker "panels", or just simple flat panels? There's a whole other bit of complexity to the finished shaker panels than the just the flat panels, and if that's what your'e comparing $$ quotes with, then not just no, but hell no, it's not worth the dollars to make your own.

I agree with Green Designs about the tool investment. Unless you already have a table saw, I wouldn't attempt it. You could use a skill saw but your cut won't be as straight.

We built ours, but out of ash, not MDF. If you want the MDF to match the cabinets you are buying, I'd spray, not brush on the paint.

We (well, DH, not ME) has a table saw and router and he does nice woodwork - we're talking about flat panels, not finished shaker. The rest of the doors/drawers are paint grade poplar so in actuality, we could get that and truly have matching end panels, I guess.

I guess I'm also thinking that if we're already doing the peninsula and fridge end panels, doing the other ones ourselves would actually be better because then they can all be consistent. So if we see that we can get paint grade poplar, or even ash or plywood, over MDF, we don't feel as committed since we'd want the fridge and peninsula to match the other end panels.

Of course, I'm not the one who would be doing the work (*cough, cough*)