Factory made Vs Carpenter made kitchen: Which one is better?

Kitchens are fast becoming the center of homes today. All the activity is moving away from living rooms to kitchens. With nuclear families and working couples, men are increasingly contributing to the kitchens. As a result, with disposable incomes rising and both the lady and the man of the house involved in using the kitchen, purchasing a kitchen is a decision demanding a fair share of mind and heart. Yet, modular kitchen makers, and re-sellers, a.k.a. retailers, face the BIG question from homeowners, ‘WHY is their kitchen more expensive than the one offered by the carpenter?’ Also, ‘Which one has a better finish – Factory made modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen?’

Our ‘technical fraternity’ – Architects & Interior Designers, should take up this role of convincing the homeowner much more vigorously, of the advantages of a standardized, factory made modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen.

Image Source: Flicha Interiors 

Benefits of factory made modular kitchen vs carpenter kitchen

The list of advantages is endless but broadly, these can be listed as follows:

1. Right Selection of Raw Material – MDF/Plywood/HDF/Chipboard, there are many choices. Hence a broad range of pricing remains open for scrutiny.
2. Right Selection of Components – Hardware (branded kitchen hardware, unbranded, grades of material used in each) selection is another grey area. Known kitchen players will not compromise here.
3. Small Details Matter – Things like fasteners and adhesives, though costing very less in the total kitchen cost, are usually compromised on by the carpenters.
4. Fit & Finish – Standardised, factory made kitchens offer unmatched quality in terms of the overall finish of the kitchen vs carpenter finish. It goes much beyond the ‘overall look’ of the kitchen. Small elements like the integration and colour matching of edge-bandings with the laminates, integration of sink with the counter-top, seamless marriage of different materials – shutters, edge-bands, counter-tops, and hardware.
5. Installation of the right hardware (and the right way!) – Quality factory made kitchens offer solutions where the hardware is installed the right way. This ensures years of maintenance-free working. So, the longevity of factory made modular kitchens is more vs a carpenter made kitchen.
6. Service – Kitchen makers have a reputation to keep. They will stand by their kitchens, for any quality concerns post-purchase
7. Specifiers, too, have a reputation to keep. Architects and Interior Designers are often trusted by homeowners. A poorly done kitchen also drags them into a quagmire.

All the above areas are worth paying attention to, and worth appreciation. A ‘modular kitchen’ is way above the scope of a carpenter, however good he may be.

Conclusion

To sum up, the kitchen, being a ‘system’, needs a proper vision and ‘technical prowess’ to get it going. As an industry, we must promote the adoption of ‘Standardised, Factory Made Kitchens’. This will go a long way in not only bringing more economies of scale but also catapulting the kitchen industry to the next level.