Where projects usually start, by room
These are typical starting prices for custom, shop-built cabinetry installed in a home, not a price list. There is no upper figure on purpose: a tall, deep, drawer-heavy project with glass doors, an island and lighting can cost several times the starting price, and it should, because it holds several times as much. Your quote is built from your drawings.
| Project | Typically from | What moves it up |
|---|---|---|
| Reach-in closet rebuilt inside: shelves, shoe shelves and hanging | $400 | Drawers, new doors, a tall section |
| Walk-in closet: hanging and shelves, no drawers | $2,000 | Long walls, ceiling height, doors |
| Walk-in closet with drawers, glass doors, island or lighting | $5,000 | Island with drawers, glass fronts, integrated lighting, vanity |
| Wardrobe wall, floor to ceiling | $5,000 | Full-height doors, drawer stacks, fitting around windows |
| Mudroom: bench, hooks and open lockers | $1,500 | More people, more wall |
| Mudroom with locker doors, bench drawers and uppers | $2,500 | Doors on every locker, drawers, uppers to the ceiling |
| Garage cabinets, one wall | $1,500 | Workbench with drawers, tall cabinets, slatwall |
| Home office built-ins | $3,000 | Two desks, file drawers, bookcase wall, cable management |
| Kitchen cabinets, custom | $500 per linear foot | Pull-outs, tall towers, high-gloss or wood-grain fronts |
| Kitchen cabinets, semi-custom | $250 per linear foot | Upgraded door styles and interiors |
The six things that move the price
Two closets of the same size can be quoted far apart, and the starting prices above become something else entirely once these six come in.
- Linear feet and height. Cabinets are priced by the parts in them, and a wall that runs to a 9 foot ceiling has more parts than one that stops at 7.
- Drawers versus shelves. A drawer is a box, a front, a pull and a pair of full-extension glides; a shelf is a board. A drawer-heavy island or dresser section is the single biggest step up in any closet.
- Doors. Open hanging sections and shelves cost less than the same sections behind doors; glass-front doors cost more than solid ones.
- Finish. Solid colours from the in-stock range are the baseline; wood grains, ultra-matte and high-gloss fronts add to it, and a finish ordered outside the stock range adds lead time as well.
- Accessories. Pull-out valet rods, jewellery trays, tilt-out hampers, belt and tie racks, spice and tray pull-outs, lazy susans, lockable cabinets and integrated lighting are each a line in the quote and each can be dropped.
- The room itself. Sloped ceilings, windows and radiators inside the run, out-of-square walls and a third-floor install with a narrow stair all add work, and that work shows up in the quote.
What is included and what is not
In our quotes the design visit, the 3D mockup, the fixed quote, the installation and the applicable taxes are included; there is no separate assembly charge. What is not included is the work of other trades: the electrician who runs the circuit for closet lighting or a charging drawer, the painter if the room is being redone, and the removal of an existing closet system beyond what the crew takes out on install day. Ask for each of those to be listed, so the number you compare is the whole number.
Reading a quote: parts, not linear feet
A quote priced by part lists every cabinet, drawer bank, bench, shelf unit and accessory as its own line. That is more to read than a single per-foot figure, and it is the format that lets you change the price yourself: take the glass doors off the uppers, swap a drawer stack for shelves, leave the slatwall for next year, and the quote moves with each change. A per-foot price hides where the money is; a parts list shows it.
How to bring the number down without losing the closet
- Keep the layout, change the fronts: open sections where the clothes are nice to look at, doors only where the mess is.
- Fewer, deeper drawers instead of many shallow ones; shelves with baskets where drawers are not needed.
- An in-stock colour. The range covers wood grains, solids, ultra-matte and high-gloss, and it is in stock for a reason.
- Phase it. The main wall now, the island or the second wall later; a wall built to the plan accepts the next section cleanly.
- Skip what you will not use. A valet rod you use every week is worth it; a tie rack for six ties is not.
Stock, semi-custom and custom
For kitchens the three words describe three different products, and the price gap between them is mostly about what is inside the boxes and how the cabinets meet the walls. We build custom only, which is why there is no stock row in the table. The custom vs stock kitchen cabinets guide walks through the size grid, fillers, corners, materials and lead times, so the figures above can be compared like for like.
How the quote is built
A designer measures the room on a free in-home visit, sketches options and asks how you use the space. You receive a 3D mockup and a fixed quote; the cabinets are built in our Warminster, PA shop and installed by our own crew, usually within 2 to 4 weeks of the visit. Every system carries a lifetime limited transferable warranty, and we beat any competitor's quote on a comparable system.
Questions people ask
How much does a custom walk-in closet cost?
Typically from $2,000 installed for hanging and shelves without drawers, and from $5,000 with drawers, glass doors, an island or lighting; there is no upper limit, because a large closet holds several times as much. The fixed quote for your room comes from a free in-home design visit.
How much does a reach-in closet cost?
Typically from $400 installed for shelves, shoe shelves and hanging inside the opening you have. Drawers, new doors and a tall section move it up.
How much do custom kitchen cabinets cost per linear foot?
Typically from $500 per linear foot installed for custom cabinets and from $250 for semi-custom. Interiors, tall towers and the finish decide how far above the starting figure a kitchen lands. Closets and built-ins are not priced per foot at all; they are priced by the material and hardware in each piece.
Is installation included in the price of custom cabinets?
In our quotes, yes. The design visit, the 3D mockup, the fixed quote, the installation by our own crew and the applicable taxes are included, and there is no separate assembly charge. Electrical work is a separate trade.
What makes custom cabinets more expensive?
Drawers instead of shelves, doors instead of open sections, glass fronts, wood-grain or high-gloss finishes, accessories such as pull-outs and lighting, and rooms with sloped ceilings, windows or out-of-square walls inside the run.
Can I get a quote without a home visit?
A fixed quote needs measurements and drawings, and the visit that produces them is free and without obligation. A rough range over the phone is possible from the wall length and what you want to store.
