Questions we hear most

National figures from HomeGuide (2026) put custom cabinets at $500 to $1,200 per linear foot installed, or $15,000 to $30,000 for an average kitchen of 100 to 200 square feet. Stock and semi-custom lines run $100 to $700 per linear foot. Those are national ranges, not our prices. Your estimate comes with the plan, after the consultation. More national ranges

Labor and materials. HomeGuide (2026) puts the labor to build and install custom cabinets at $200 to $300 per linear foot, or 25% to 40% of the total, and notes that plywood cabinets with solid wood doors cost more than laminate or MDF. Stock lines come in set sizes that may not fit a kitchen with non-standard measurements. Our cabinetry standard is premium soft-close hardware, robust ¾-inch pre-finished plywood boxes and solid hardwood under all paint-grade finishes.

HomeGuide (2026) puts custom built-ins at $400 to $1,000 or more per linear foot installed, or $2,000 to $7,500 in total on average. By type, it lists $1,500 to $9,000 for an entertainment center, $1,000 to $8,000 for home office shelving and $2,000 to $8,000 around a window. See built-ins and entertainment centers.

HomeAdvisor (2026) gives $1,000 to $4,250 as the typical range for a custom piece, with an average of $2,600, and says an intricate hardwood dining table can reach $10,000 to $20,000. One furniture maker’s published tiers (Graeber Design, 2026) put a 6 to 8 foot table seating 6 to 8 at $2,500 to $5,000. Size, wood and the base move it most. See dining tables.

Usually, if the cabinet boxes are sound. Refacing keeps the boxes and replaces what you see: doors, drawer fronts and the visible faces. HomeGuide (2026) puts refacing at $150 to $450 per linear foot, against $500 to $1,200 for new custom cabinets. Boxes that sag or have water damage are better replaced. See refacing.

It depends on the size of the project, the finish and what’s already on the schedule, so we don’t publish a standard timeline. Yours comes with the detailed plan, after the consultation and before anything is built. If you’re working toward a date, like a move-in or a holiday, tell us at the start.

Stock cabinets are built ahead of time and wait in a warehouse. Custom work starts once your plan is approved: each piece is cut, assembled and finished for your room, then installed. Kraftersland’s 2026 roundup of cabinet ordering times ranks full custom as the longest wait of the three, after stock and semi-custom.

For stained or clear cabinets, harder woods resist dents better. Janka hardness from The Wood Database: shagbark hickory 1,880 lbf, hard maple 1,450, white oak 1,350, red oak 1,220, black walnut 1,010 and black cherry 950. On painted cabinets the grain disappears, so a smooth, stable surface matters more, and our standard is solid hardwood under all paint-grade finishes. The wood guide compares 13 species side by side.

Oak. On the Janka test white oak rates 1,350 lbf and red oak 1,220, against 1,010 for black walnut (The Wood Database). People choose walnut for its dark color and figure, and oak where a surface takes hard daily wear.

Plywood. Cabinet maker Deslaurier notes that plywood "holds nails and screws extremely well", while in particleboard "the screws may loosen slightly over time". Our cabinet boxes are ¾-inch pre-finished plywood.

Stain-grade wood is picked for how its grain looks under a clear or stained finish. Paint-grade is picked for a smooth, stable surface that’ll be painted, where the grain won’t show. On our cabinetry, painted work still gets solid hardwood underneath.

Framed cabinets have a face frame on the front of the box, and the doors hang on it. Frameless cabinets "do not have a face frame", and their doors attach "directly to the side of the box" (Wellborn, 2025). Inset doors sit inside the frame openings, flush with the frame; full overlay doors cover most of it. Send a photo of the look you like and we’ll talk it through at the consultation.

One live-edge maker’s rule of thumb is a year of air drying per inch of thickness, then the kiln, aiming for 12% moisture or less (Lancaster Live Edge, 2026). Indoor furniture settles at 6 to 10% moisture in most of the US, according to the USDA Wood Handbook, and a slab that’s still drying keeps moving after it’s built. More on moisture and wood slabs.

House of Hardwood (2026) puts most live-edge dining tops between 1.5 and 3 inches: 1.5 for a lighter household, 2 to 2.5 for a busy one, and about 2.5 to 3 for a table over 7 feet long, so it stays flat. See live-edge furniture.

It depends how far out of flat it is. A planer copies the face riding on its bed, so a cupped slab comes out thinner but still cupped, and most slabs are too wide for a jointer. A large planer or wide-belt sander gives the best finish on a slab that’s close to flat; a router sled or CNC works like a huge jointer on cupped or twisted ones (Blacktail Studio). See wood slab flattening.

Oil it with food-grade mineral oil: every day for the first week, once a week for the first month, then whenever it looks dry, which SlabWise (2026) puts at every one to six months depending on use. That schedule follows John Boos’s care guidelines. If you cut on it, stay with oil; a hard film like polyurethane suits a counter nobody cuts on. See butcher block.

Use coasters and trivets, wipe spills up, and keep it out of strong sun and away from heat vents. Wood swells and shrinks with the humidity in the air: at 70 degrees F, 30 to 50% relative humidity keeps it at about 6 to 9% moisture (USDA Wood Handbook), so steady indoor air helps it stay flat. Care for the finish itself depends on the finish, and we’ll tell you what yours needs.

That’s cherry doing what it does. The heartwood starts a light pinkish brown and darkens "to a medium reddish brown with time and upon exposure to light" (The Wood Database). Anything left in one spot shades the wood under it, so move lamps and runners now and then while the piece is new. The wood guide shows the change.

Yes. We design, build and install cabinetry, built-ins and millwork, from concept and design through installation, so one shop can carry the kitchen, the mudroom, the built-ins and the trim as one project. It all comes out of our shop, so the wood and the finishes match from room to room. The consultation covers every room in the project, and the detailed plan, timeline and estimate cover them together.

Yes. If you’re building or remodeling, we can work from your designer’s or architect’s drawings, or alongside your builder on the cabinetry, built-ins and millwork. Send the drawings with the project planner or bring them to the consultation, and we’ll plan the woodwork from them.

Yes. Our work runs from concept and design through installation, and installation is the last of the four steps in how a project works.

Yes. We work from concept sketches to the final finish. Send what you have with the project planner, or bring it to the consultation. If you’re not sure what you want, we’ll guide you through the possibilities.

Our hardwood is locally sourced. Species and boards vary from job to job, so ask us what’s available right now. The wood guide shows how the common woods compare.

Homes across Springfield, MO and the 417. The where we work page maps the towns we serve, and if you’re just outside them, ask.

We get back to you by the method you picked. We review your ideas and anything you sent, set up a consultation about your space and your style, and then you get a detailed plan, a timeline and an estimate.