Cheap cabinets, expensive counters? All wrong…
We were having a discussion last night about the obsession with granite and other stone countertop materials. Richard hasn’t done a kitchen, regardless of budget, in the last two years that didn’t have stone counters. In his case, he only uses high grade Euro-style cabinets so the subject of this post isn’t an issue for his customers. The issue arises when you see new home builders installing cheap cabinetry and then putting expensive granite on top of it to give the impression of a high end kitchen.
The problem is that once installed, you really don’t want to uninstall stone. If you cheap out on the cabinets below it and they start to fall apart (which they will- poor quality materials and construction mean they start loosening up not long after you start using them) you’re likely looking at not only replacing your cabinetry but also your counters.
The lesson here is if you’re on a budget, get high quality base cabinets and start with inexpensive counters in a material like laminate. Save your money and it will be relatively easy to upgrade to stone later. Lower cabinets need to be heavy duty because they typically contain loaded drawers, inserts and shelving filled with heavier items.
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