Which is better to make cabinets and overall customization?

The topic of whether to have built-in wardrobes made by a renovation company's carpenters, to buy ready-made ones, or to go for custom furniture is often discussed. Drawing from my own home renovation experience and the situations encountered by netizens in the past, I will summarize here. This article discusses furniture made from man-made boards; solid wood furniture is not within the scope of this discussion. This content was written by me 5 years ago, with some modifications made, as well as feedback from some netizens afterward, and it is still applicable now. Taking wardrobes as an example:

There are three sources for home wardrobes:

Carpentry production: Renovation companies generally recommend this, as it ensures more profit for them.
Buying ready-made wardrobes: There are many merchants selling ready-made furniture in building materials and furniture markets.
Customized wardrobes: This is a method that has become popular in recent years, where manufacturers customize.

For ordinary families, I recommend the third option: finding merchants who offer customized wardrobes.

Let's analyze the three scenarios:

Carpentry-made wardrobes

Why don't I recommend carpentry-made wardrobes? Isn't it said that they are cheaper? Aren't the materials used better? Aren't the materials environmentally friendly? Not necessarily!

Are carpentry-made wardrobes cheap?

The price of a carpentry-made wardrobe includes: the cost of the board, the carpenter's labor fee, the hardware accessories for the wardrobe, and sometimes the cost of paint and the labor fee for painting. When comparing prices, please compare the total price. If the same board material is used compared to customization, it will definitely be cheaper than big brands, but the price advantage over local brands is not significant.

Are the materials used for carpentry-made wardrobes environmentally friendly?

It's not to say that wardrobes made from man-made boards are definitely not environmentally friendly. Whether it's environmentally friendly depends on the test results. The carpenter's boards used for making furniture are also man-made boards, and cedar finger-jointed boards are also man-made. Moreover, if paint is applied later, it's even harder to say whether it's environmentally friendly, as it also depends on the environmental friendliness of the paint. If carpenters use melamine boards to make cabinets, the manual edge banding process cannot match the machine edge banding, which also affects the environmental performance.

Additionally, it's quite difficult to find carpenters with good craftsmanship nowadays. Generally, carpenters have limited design skills, and if paint is to be applied, it also depends on the skill of the painter. Furthermore, there is no warranty for the wardrobe.

Which families are suitable for ready-made wardrobes?

Under normal circumstances, ready-made wardrobes are the most aesthetically pleasing among the three options, offering a variety of materials, styles, and color choices. The problem is that they cannot be customized to fit; ready-made furniture is factory-produced in fixed styles and sizes. They are more suitable for families with a unified style requirement for furniture, where one can buy a complete set of ready-made furniture. Generally, solid wood furniture is suitable to be bought ready-made.

Customized wardrobe merchants

Customized wardrobes mainly replace carpentry-made wardrobes. Most of the materials used for customized wardrobes are melamine boards, so most of them are panel wardrobes. Of course, the doors of the wardrobes can also be made with molded door panels to imitate solid wood designs with embossed patterns. The price varies depending on the brand, the board material used, and the hardware accessories. Because they are factory-machine produced, with professional designers and installation workers, as well as after-sales workers, these aspects are stronger than those of general carpenters.

Netizen zxblh1997 says:

I strongly suggest minimizing carpentry work when renovating! Good carpenters are extremely rare nowadays, and besides the carpentry, there's the issue of panel painting. Even if your carpentry is top-notch, if you encounter a poor painter, the effect will be greatly diminished. If you're after overall cohesion and aesthetic appeal, and you have the budget, of course, the first choice would be to buy furniture. Alternatively, you could opt for custom furniture in certain areas, but it's essential to ensure the colors match well.

Netizen 猪猪的家装修啦 says:

I wanted to go for customization, but unfortunately, I didn't realize the benefits of customization beforehand and ended up agreeing with the renovation company to do carpentry. Now that I want to switch to customization, I've been told that the reduction of items cannot exceed 10%...

Netizen 风雪夜归人说：

We had a bedroom done by a carpenter at my place. Not to mention the design, even the price wasn't cheap. I had to purchase all the hardware and accessories myself. The design lacked originality, so I regret having the carpenter do it. One thing is for sure, carpentry can lead to a significant waste of materials. Carpenters tend to calculate the materials on the higher side, although a good master might help you save some, but not all masters are that considerate.

What I'm talking about here are general situations. Of course, there are definitely good carpenters and experienced painters out there; they're just relatively scarce. Sometimes, you need a bit of luck to come across them.

There's another approach. If you've found a reliable designer for your home, you could have the designer create furniture designs for factory customization. Or have the designer design the cabinets, with the carpenter making them on-site, and use customized or purchased doors for the cabinets. This way, you can choose your preferred materials, and both the design and aesthetics are more assured. I believe this method is better than the ones mentioned above.