In many homes, the kitchen is the center of activity. A kitchen isn’t just where you prepare and serve tasty meals and host dinner parties. It’s likely that your kitchen is also where you pay bills, do homework with the kids, and spend hours talking with friends and family members. Your kitchen may also pull double-duty as a home office.
While a kitchen is the heart of many homes, both large and small, some people merely walk through their kitchen, order take out, and relax in another room on a daily basis. Whether your kitchen is a hub of activity or a pass-through, the space is one in which you could realize a respectable ROI if you choose to undertake a kitchen remodel.

Create a Cabinet Budget

Depending on the size of the kitchen, the extent of the renovations made and other factors, kitchen remodeling projects yielded an ROI of as much as 81.1 percent in 2018 in some instances, according to “Remodeling Magazine.” With cabinets typically being the focal point of a kitchen, it’s obvious that the cabinets you choose will have a big impact on the return you get from your investment in a kitchen renovation.
With that said, it’s vital that you choose the right cabinets for your kitchen. And succeeding at this task depends largely on creating and sticking to a realistic budget. Before you can make a budget, however, you need to make certain decisions.

Refresh or Replace

The first decision you have to make is whether you’re going to refresh or replace your kitchen cabinets. If your current cabinets are of good quality and they provide the functionality you need to make full use of your eating space, you may want to simply refresh your cabinets rather than replace them. If, on the other hand, your current cabinets are outdated or poor quality, replacing them may be the best idea.

Choosing a Type and Style

Once you’ve made the decision to install new cabinets, it’s time to choose a cabinet type and style. In general, there are three kinds of kitchen cabinets to choose from: stock, semi-custom and custom. Stock cabinets are pre-made and sold fully assembled or in flat-packs for home assembly. These are usually the least expensive kind of cabinet because they’re not tailored to any home or floor plan in particular.
Semi-custom cabinets are available in more precise configurations than stock cabinets, which means they may fit your kitchen better albeit not perfectly. Custom cabinets are made specifically for a given person’s kitchen and they typically come with highly personalized features, such as a built-in lazy Susan or a spice rack.
Kitchen cabinets are widely available in two styles: framed and frameless. If you want a more traditional look in your kitchen, it’s wise to opt for framed cabinets. For homeowners who want a more contemporary, modern look, frameless cabinets are normally the way to go.

Accessories and Hardware

Even if you don’t choose custom cabinets, you’ll still be able to add accessories like drawer organizers and other extras after your cabinets are installed. The key to choosing accessories is to ensure each addition enables the intended cabinet to fulfill a specific purpose, such as storing baking sheets in order or compartmentalizing trash and recyclables.
If you don’t decide to have hidden knobs or cut out pulls for your kitchen cabinets, you’ll have to choose the hardware you want your cabinets to show off. The knobs, pulls and handles you choose for your kitchen cabinets are somewhat akin to the accessories celebrities may be adorned with when you see them on the red carpet. So, choose your hardware as carefully as you select your cabinets.