Start with how you cook
Before drawing anything we ask how the kitchen gets used. Who cooks, and how often? Where do groceries land? Where do the kids do homework? Where does the trash go? The answers decide where drawers go, how wide the aisles are and whether an island makes sense at all.
Then we measure: every wall, window and door, the ceiling height, the outlets, vents and pipes, and how far the floor and walls are out of level and plumb.
Door styles and wood
- Inset doors sit flush inside the face frame. They suit the Victorian and early 1900s houses around the Square and take the most fitting time.
- Shaker doors, a flat panel in a square frame, work in almost any Independence house, from a bungalow to a 1960s ranch.
- Slab doors are flat and show off grain in rift-sawn white oak or walnut.
Painted doors are usually maple or another paint-grade hardwood. Stained doors are often oak, cherry or walnut. We bring samples of both to your house.
An inset door with an even gap and aged brass hardwareInside the cabinet
Drawers and doors get opened every day for decades, so the hidden parts matter more than people expect. On a quote, look for:
- solid wood drawer boxes with dovetail joints
- full-extension, soft-close drawer slides
- adjustable, soft-close hinges
- finished interiors, not bare boxes
- pull-outs for trash, sheet pans and spices where they'll be used
Islands and pantry walls
A rift-sawn white oak island with inset drawers and brass cup pullsAn island can be a different color or wood from the perimeter, which is one of the easiest ways to make a kitchen look designed. A pantry wall of tall cabinets with pull-out shelves often replaces a walk-in pantry in houses that don't have room for one.
Prices
Custom kitchen
$15,000to$25,000
Average about $18,600
Fixr · checked Oct 2026 · national
Per linear foot
$500to$1,200
Installed
HomeGuide · checked Oct 2026 · national
Fixr's custom cabinet guide bases its $18,600 average on about 30 linear feet of maple cabinets with raised panel doors and a paint finish. HomeGuide lists $500 to $1,200 per linear foot installed. Angi's custom cabinet guide reports a national average of $7,429 across 2,684 projects of all sizes. These are national figures. Your price comes from your drawings.
