For homeowners staring down the barrel of a kitchen reno, choosing cabinets is perhaps the most daunting and costly of all design decisions to make — right up there with choosing which type of stone to use for your kitchen countertops. Traditionally, options have basically consisted of big box home improvement store cabinets, which can leave much to be desired in terms of quality and still run you a serious bill, or the fully custom build route, which can be as pricey as it sounds. A third and potentially game-changing option is available through Costco, as the retailer not only sells must-have pantry staples but offers two lines of surprisingly high-quality, affordable cabinetry.
Just how much can this route save homeowners? Pinning down hard numbers is tricky, as kitchen cabinetry costs vary hugely depending on the size of the kitchen, whether you go stock versus custom, and which materials and finishes you choose. According to Angi, the cost of cabinetry for a 10×10-foot kitchen clocks in between $2,000 on the low end and a whopping $30,000 if one goes the fully custom route with more premium materials; the average works out to about $6,000. You’ll need to start the simple online quote process to price out your exact kitchen using Costco’s cabinets, but, for reference, you can outfit a 10×10-foot kitchen with the store’s semi-custom line for as little as $3,000, which would be considered a steal by any measure in today’s market.
Both cabinet lines come with customization and free design help
Both the semi-custom Value Express line and the fully custom Ultimo Custom line are made by a third-party cabinet company, Tuscan Hills, which partnered with Costco to offer these options exclusively to card-holding members. Don’t expect to see these displayed in stores — they’re an online-order thing only, and can be delivered, fully assembled, to any doorstep in the continental United States, according to Costco’s website.
One major selling point making this option a bit of a unicorn is that both lines are made with real wood, while still staying on the affordable end. The more premium Ultimo custom cabinet range comes in over 40 colors, nine kinds of wood, and six design categories ranging from traditional to shaker to contemporary. The “value” line, while still available in a wide range of colors and configurations, offers less customization (though some are available for an upcharge — hence the “semi-custom” description), which might be all you need if your cabinet design is straightforward and consists of standard sizes.
Regardless of the line, homeowners who purchase kitchen cabinets from Costco paired with a free design consultant to help guide you through the potentially dizzying planning, designing, and ordering process — a major value-add, especially for DIY renovators. Picking cabinets is a complex decision requiring some pretty significant research and price comparisons, but having an option beyond the usual home improvement stores and first-page Google results is a win for all homeowners hoping to give their pocketbook a big break.
