We got the same type of quote for our kitchen. There is a $10K difference between custom and semi-custom. This was for an apples to apples comparison: same hinges, same thickness of plywood in bases, same number of drawers, same drawer slides. I think we'll go with the semi-custom. Stock cabinets come in sizes that are multiples of 3", 9", 12", 15"...60", etc. When your kitchen has an inch or two space, they have matching spacers that fill in those spaces and look like extensions on the cabinets. The factor I'm concerned about it the color of the stain. Most semi/custom stock will stain certain colors with or without glazes. If you want a certain stain color, they may not be as flexible as your custom cabinet guy. Another factor in durability is how long the shelf run is and how thick it is. Without good support, a long run will sag in the short term; a thinner shelf sags sooner. I will probably order a door from each before I make my decision. I ordered one door awhile back; when it got here, I realized the cherry wood the cabinet company was using wasn't top quality. A great installer with an eye for detail is what makes ordinary cabinets shine. My son just had a bottom of the line series installed. We had them put plywood in the bottom of the sink base instead of particle board. They look high end because they go to the ceiling, there is a nice crown molding up there, and he doesn't have low end knobs. They are just a builder grade cabinet with a dark stain over birch. They won't last as long, but he doesn't need them to. My builder cabinets I have now are 20yo and are just starting to show their wear. The funny thing is that my sister who is married to a contractor and have built their own houses with custom cabinets thought I had a custom job. No, I just had an installer who takes pride in his work, cabinets that went up to the ceiling, and plywood panels installed on unfinished sides. I guess my conclusion is that I'd go with the customized in-stock cabinets and save the $$$.

lynn: Your cherry office sounds wonderful. Are they built-in or freestanding? I can't wait to share pics!! I'm also wondering what to do for chairs since we have hardwood floors. It would work best to have chairs with castors so we can roll out of the way when we need to open the drawers, but am worried now I'll scratch the floors. rmkitchen: Ah, gentleman's closet, yes something like that. Who knows it'll have all our files, charging station, etc. DH wants it to go to the ceiling so my new idea is to do that and split the difference between ceiling and top of window molding (which is about 12") for the other cabinets. Would you mind posting a pic of your taller cabinets? I'm also wondering how it will work/feel with the huge upper doors (about 56"H)? Sort of like pantry doors sitting on top of a desk. I could td two stacked cabinets instead, but that will cost more, plus make the space less flexible to store larger items in adjustable shelves. Perhaps she could break up the look visually by making it look like one door is stacked on another. Does that make sense? I should probably go back through the FKB to see what the taller doors look like. Also with the taller cabinets, now the shorter base seems out of scale. Where it'd be really nice is for the two cabinets between the desks, but would be odd I think to do 2 different heights. I can't quite comprehend how these drawers eat up so much space with the glides, framing, etc. I'd at least like a drawer to store envelopes there. I can't quite get it as I have it in my freestanding desk--top pencil drawer, middle for envelopes, bottom of files--but it's a shorter base. I may have to loose the notion of a trash cabinet and just put under one of the desks--which I suppose there is room towards the back area. Anyway she'll come tomorrow and I think for the base, I'll see what she recommends will work best for the area where the cabinet butts up to the step and carry that look everwhere.

@LizPel12, we were looking seriously at using Cabico Espresso last fall - I posted a query or two here under a different user name. Our contractor flamed out (I changed my username because I was posting here about what to do afterward and wasn't sure how it would all shake out.) I really liked what I saw of the Espresso line (they had a couple of great greyish brown stains that remind me of what @feisty68 has been posting about.) The cabinet shop that recommended them also impressed me - they only carried higher end lines and were very professional and serious KDs. I also saw the prior posts about glides but was assured that at minimum I could get Blum as an upgrade. We found a new contractor who works with a different shop and a different semi-custom cabinet line; it meant not using frameless, but after the drama with the original contracting firm, our priority was all about finding a rock-solid contractor (and as we're now on day 4 of the reno, I don't have any doubt about that decision.) I couldn't find a stain I liked as well as the Cabico options, and we wound up choosing a painted greige (a totally last-minute call, after about 3 years of planning on stained maple.) I also considered Ikea, but we never found a contractor who had experience doing the incredible hack/customization work that I see on here all the time. I couldn't find any feedback on the Ikea-affiliated contractor in our area, and they weren't game to do the structural work we needed. And we have neither space nor time nor skills for any DIY, not even just box assembly. Still, I love a lot of the aspects of the Ikea kitchens, and there are some seriously awesome ones that have been showcased on this site. I think either Ikea or Cabico are very good options; if you really want to throw a third in there, I priced out Innermost at HD and it wasn't much more than Cabico, maybe 10 percent-ish at a good sale time (which are perpetual to some extent.) Fwiw I also live in a high-priced area, tear-downs in my neighborhood start at $500k. I think there's probably a tiny bit of snobbery that might apply to an Ikea kitchen, but given how many houses sell around here for $750k and upward with kitchens from the 1950s, it simply couldn't be a deciding factor unless you were well above the "lower" end of the price spectrum.

Interesting thread! We built our home 15 years ago and had custom built (and I mean a single guy built them himself) cabinets throughout the house. All solid wood. Book matched. No stain--let the natural beauty of the wood show!. Maple in the kitchen. Cherry in the bar area. Walnut in the kitchenette in the lower level. They are beautiful, no doubt. My husband is a hobbyist woodworker and is a total SNOB about cabinetry. Then we bought a vacation/retirement home in northern CA a couple of years ago. Renovating it now. Here's how I looked at it. - The boxes for the kitchen cabs need to be solid, well built - If I get frameless boxes, I have the choice of changing the doors if I want something different down the road - I want a decent amount of options for designing the space, but I have long ago decided that I never will be a professional cook, and I don't need every single design feature (those of you who cook a ton deserve those clever design details!). - I wanted high end finishes (counter and backsplash in particular). - We have to spend a lot of money on the rest of the renovation and I didn't want to spend so much on the kitchen that I limited what we spent on other areas. So, we looked at IKEA. Don't be scared by the furniture. The cabinets are totally different. When we looked at what we could pay for IKEA cabs relative to other cabinet manufacturers, it was easy to say yes. We considered custom doors, but in the end we decided to do the doors with IKEA too. DH and I assembled and hung a lot of them. He is VERY handy, and he has said many times that it's all about the installation if you are DIY. We found a local former cabinet maker to finish the installation (we had to travel back home). Interesting thing is this guy, who is an amazing cabinet maker, said he can't stay in business doing cabinets any longer because he just can't compete with IKEA (this may be more true in CA than other parts of the country). Now, when I compare the kitchen in both homes, one doesn't feel more "high end" than the other. They are simply very different. Both look custom built. When we sell our current home, will 90% of the buyers out there realize the quality of our cabinets? Nope. I'm sure someone will walk in and say "I can't wait to paint these wood cabinets white". LOL! I will say that working with IKEA is easiest if there is one near you. The people in the stores seem to be very knowledgeable and eager to help. During their kitchen sales it is busy, so go on a Tuesday or Weds. And there is a learning curve when it comes to ordering. What made our process a PIA was doing it from a distance. I won't go into the gory details! Good luck with your decision!