4 ways to fake the look of custom cabinets

If you're buying budget-friendly stock or semi-custom cabinets, you don't have to settle for the ordinary. Decorative elements can give even basic stock cabinets a more personalized look in an array of styles, including modern, country, and traditional. Here are four things you can do to give everyday cabinets an upscale look.

Accent doors. Available in a variety of styles—textured or colored, frosted glass, and stainless steel—accent doors can enhance visual interest or create an industrial look, suggests Janet Vanderlugt, kitchens manager for Ikea.

Moldings. Ranging in style from simple and classic to elegant and ornate, moldings can be added to the tops, bottoms, or edges of cabinets as a finishing touch, or along the bottoms of wall cabinets to conceal under cabinet lighting. Just be sure the style you choose suits the look of your cabinets

Legs. Feet, added to the bases of built-in cabinets, create the "unfitted" effect of freestanding furniture.

Decorative trim. Pieces, such as corbels, corner details, turnings, and onlays, can be found for a great price in local lumber stores and home centers.

How to choose kitchen cabinets
Style might be what grabs your eye at the store, but it's the inner details that help well-made cabinets look good and last year after year. Most manufacturers offer a similar range of door styles, whether they're selling ready-made, semi-custom, or made-to-order custom cabinets. Here are the features to look for:

• Full-extension drawer guides.
• Plywood shelves that are ¾-inch thick.
• A cabinet box made of furniture-grade plywood.
• Drawers with solid wood sides, dovetail joinery, and a plywood bottom.
• Doors with a solid-wood frame surrounding a solid-wood or plywood panel.

For more information, read our full cabinet buying guide as well as our Kitchen planning guide.

—Adapted from Consumer Reports Kitchen Planning & Buying Guide