A tight condo kitchen where inches count
In a condo galley, a cabinet two inches wider is real storage. We fit each box to the wall and plan around plumbing risers that can't move.
Serving Palatine & nearby Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove
Custom Kitchen Cabinets in Palatine, IL
Cabinets designed and built for your Palatine kitchen's exact walls, ceilings and appliances, then installed by the same team.
- Kitchen remodels across Palatine ZIP 60067, 60074
- One project manager from drawings to final walk-through
- Permits and inspections handled for you
When Palatine kitchens need custom cabinets
When a kitchen has odd dimensions, tall ceilings or a style worth matching, built-to-fit cabinets are the honest answer. We measure your Palatine kitchen in detail, send drawings for approval and handle construction, finishing and installation in one job.
Finish options too limited
Stock lines offer a handful of colors. Custom work can be painted any color you bring us or stained to match wood elsewhere in the house.
Cabinets that stop short of the ceiling
A strip of empty wall and dust above the uppers wastes storage. Custom wall cabinets can rise to the ceiling and finish with crown molding.
Island that should look like furniture
A built island can carry a different color or wood from the perimeter, with legs, corbels or a paneled back for the stools side.
Small appliances crowding the counter
When the counters are lined with machines, we build a closed station with outlets inside so they live behind a door.
Storage needed beyond the kitchen
We often extend the cabinet work into the mudroom, laundry or dining room so the built-ins match.
Appliances that should disappear
A built-in look depends on matching panels, correct reveals and a cabinet surround sized to the appliance. We plan all three from the model's install sheet.
Door style or detail you can't find
Beaded inset, a narrow Shaker rail, a specific profile from an old door — we can make the detail you want instead of the closest catalog match.
Everything in a custom cabinet project
- Design visit and detailed measuringAn in-home design visit with precise measurements and a list of what each cabinet has to hold.
- Drawings and renderingsYou review drawn elevations and 3D views and sign off on them before construction starts.
- Wood, door and finish samplesSample doors and finish boards for picking wood, profile and color in your own light.
- Tear-out and site prepOld cabinets removed and hauled away, walls patched and floors protected.
- Installation and scribingCabinets leveled, anchored into studs and scribed to walls and ceilings on site.
- Panels, crown and trimFinished panels for appliances and exposed sides, plus crown and light rail.
- Hardware and final adjustmentEvery hinge and slide adjusted and the hardware set straight before we call it done.
Materials and options
Inset vs. full overlay doorsInset doors sit flush inside the frame for a traditional look and need precise fitting; full overlay doors cover the frame for a modern, continuous face.
Plywood boxes and dovetail drawersSturdy plywood cases and dovetail drawers hold up to daily use and moisture far better than stapled particleboard.
Maple, cherry, oak and walnutMaple paints and stains evenly, cherry darkens with age, white oak shows a strong grain, walnut is rich and dark.
Paint-grade constructionFor painted cabinets, maple frames with MDF center panels resist the cracks that solid panels can show at joints.
Painted, stained and two-tone finishesPainted perimeter cabinets with a stained island, or the reverse, is a common custom combination.
What the work looks like in Palatine homes
Before
In progress
AfterPalatine kitchen, 1980s two-story: custom kitchen cabinets
The site: a 1980s two-story in Palatine. Before: golden-oak cabinets with oak soffits above. What bothered the owners most: wasted space above the wall cabinets. Finished kitchen: built-to-fit cabinetry to the ceiling in white uppers and deep green lowers with matte black pulls and charcoal concrete-look quartz counters. On site this meant drawings and renderings, wood, door and finish samples, plus installation and scribing.
Before
AfterAn Arlington Heights 1960s ranch: before and after
A 1960s ranch in Arlington Heights, a typical kitchen for Arlington Heights. What we started with: dark walnut-stained flush-panel cabinets with brass pulls. What bothered the owners most: catalog-size cabinets with fillers everywhere. After: built-to-fit cabinetry to the ceiling in white uppers and deep green lowers with matte black pulls and light marble-look quartz counters. On site this meant design visit and detailed measuring, drawings and renderings, plus hardware and final adjustment.
Custom Kitchen Cabinets in Arlington Heights →
Before
AfterBuffalo Grove kitchen, 1990s two-story colonial: custom kitchen cabinets
The site: a 1990s two-story colonial near Windfield. What we started with: white thermofoil cabinets peeling at the edges, oak trim. The reason for the call: worn cabinets and storage that never fit the room. Finished kitchen: built-to-fit cabinetry to the ceiling in charcoal gray with polished nickel pulls and dark soapstone-look quartz counters. Work included drawings and renderings, wood, door and finish samples, plus hardware and final adjustment.
Custom Kitchen Cabinets in Buffalo Grove →
Before
AfterBefore and after: a 1990s two-story colonial in Palatine
What changed: new cabinets in light terracotta with brushed nickel bar pulls, installed level and ready for black honed granite counters.
Kitchen Cabinet Installation & Replacement in Palatine →
Before
AfterKitchen Design & Layout Planning in a 1990s two-story colonial, Palatine
What changed: a new layout with an island, cabinets in terracotta, charcoal concrete-look quartz counters and a flush drum fixture and under-cabinet lights.
Kitchen Design & Layout Planning in Palatine →How your custom cabinet project goes
- Design consultationA visit to measure, take photos and hear what the cabinets need to do.
- Drawings and estimateElevations, a materials list and a written, itemized estimate for build and install.
- Approval and buildOnce you sign off on drawings and samples, construction begins; custom work usually takes longer than stock lines.
- InstallationWe remove the old kitchen and install, fit and trim the new cabinetry.
- Final fit and walk-throughLast adjustments, cleanup and a walk-through before countertops or after, as the schedule needs.
Custom Kitchen Cabinets questions from Palatine homeowners
Inset or full overlay — which should I choose?
Inset doors look traditional and suit older homes but take precise fitting and give slightly less opening. Full overlay is cleaner, more modern and more forgiving.
How much do custom kitchen cabinets cost?
It depends on how many cabinets, what they are made of and how detailed they are. Inset doors and specialty interiors cost more than simple full overlay.
Are custom cabinets worth it?
When the room is irregular, the ceilings are tall or you plan to stay for years, often yes. For a standard room and a tight budget, semi-custom may serve you better.
Is it cheaper to buy cabinets or have them built?
Buying ready-made is generally the budget path. Built cabinets earn their price when they solve fit problems or need to match the house.
Can you match my existing cabinets or trim?
Usually. We can copy a door profile and match a stain or paint color closely; we show you a sample before building.
Palatine contractor registration: do kitchen contractors need it?
Contractors must be registered and bonded with the Village before a permit is issued. Registration is online and expires Dec 31 each year. We take care of that before work starts.
What is the Palatine building department phone number?
Permits go through Community Development Department - Building Permits & Inspections, phone (847) 359-9042. When your scope needs one, we prepare the application and schedule the inspections.
Can you do custom cabinet project in a Palatine condo?
Associations usually set rules for work hours, elevators, deliveries and insurance, and many require approval for plumbing, electrical or structural changes. We provide the certificate of insurance and follow the building's rules.
Do I need a permit for custom cabinet project in Palatine?
It depends on the scope. Palatine's rule in short: A permit is required to remodel a kitchen or to add/alter the electrical system. We handle the permit when one is needed with Community Development Department - Building Permits & Inspections.
Do you work in my part of Palatine?
Yes. Our crews work across Palatine — ZIP 60067, 60074 — and nearby Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Lake Zurich.
Working in Palatine
- A lot of Palatine kitchens date from the 1970s. We know these layouts well and what is worth keeping.
- Condo or townhome? We follow association rules on work hours and elevators and bring the insurance certificate your board asks for.
- We know how Community Development Department - Building Permits & Inspections handles kitchen permits and pull them for you.
ZIP 60067ZIP 60074
Custom Kitchen Cabinets nearby
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Other kitchen services in Palatine
Kitchen Cabinet Installation & ReplacementNew cabinets installed, leveled and ready for counters.
Kitchen Design & Layout PlanningLayouts, 3D plans and material picks before work starts.
Kitchen Island & Peninsula InstallationNew islands and peninsulas with seating and storage.
Kitchen RemodelingFull kitchen remodels, from layout to last cabinet pull.
Kitchen Cabinet PaintingFactory-smooth painted cabinets without replacing them.