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Big on Quality, Easy on Process: Your New Orleans Contractors
Mon – Fri: 7AM – 8PM Sat: 8AM – 4PM
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When homeowners tackle a kitchen or bathroom renovation, cabinetry shapes the entire design from the start. Cabinets cover more visual real estate than almost any other element, and they carry the storage load for two of the hardest-working rooms in the house. Get the right cabinets, and everything else falls into place. Get the wrong ones, and even a high-end renovation can feel off.
Big Easy Contractors is a New Orleans-based general contractor serving residential and commercial clients across the Greater New Orleans area. From full-scale renovations to targeted upgrades, their team guides homeowners through every decision, including cabinetry.
Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
The three primary cabinet categories are stock, semi-custom, and custom. Stock is the most affordable, semi-custom offers more size and finish flexibility at a mid-range price, and custom is built to your exact specifications for unique layouts or high-end finishes.
Stock cabinets ship quickly from the manufacturer and typically run $100 to $300 per linear foot installed. They come in set dimensions, which works well for most standard kitchens.
Semi-custom cabinets split the difference in both price and flexibility. Manufacturers offer more dimension and finish choices, making them a good fit for homeowners who want a tailored look without the wait or cost of full custom work.
Custom cabinetry sits at the top end, often costing $500 to $1,200 per linear foot or more. According to Angi, most homeowners spend between $1,934 and $10,773 on cabinet installation overall, with full custom projects reaching $30,000 or higher. That investment makes sense for unique layouts, specialty storage needs, or homes where every detail matters.
The best material depends on the room’s moisture exposure and how much daily wear the cabinets will take. Plywood is the strongest and most moisture-resistant option for cabinet boxes, while MDF works for painted finishes on a budget but needs protection from moisture.
In kitchens, plywood boxes with hardwood veneer or solid wood door fronts hit the best balance of durability and appearance. Oak, maple, and cherry are popular wood species for their grain, stain acceptance, and longevity. Plywood resists warping and holds screws more reliably over time, especially where humidity shifts seasonally.
Bathrooms call for extra caution. Humidity from showers accelerates warping in materials that aren’t properly sealed. Plywood construction, thermofoil finishes, or moisture-resistant MDF are safer picks for vanity cabinets. Even the best cabinet material will degrade faster without a properly sized exhaust fan helping manage airflow.
MDF takes painted finishes cleanly and evenly but swells when exposed to water and should never be used where leaks or heavy splashing are common. Laminate resists scratches and moisture, cleans easily, and performs reliably in secondary bathrooms or rental properties where budget is the priority.
A kitchen with a busy household cooking multiple meals a day needs different cabinet construction than a guest bathroom used a few times a week. Higher moisture exposure and heavier use push toward plywood or solid wood. Lower traffic or investment properties make MDF and laminate reasonable choices.
Match cabinet style to the overall architecture of your home, not just the room. Your cabinetry should align with your home’s existing trim, millwork, and design language for a consistent result.
Color: White and off-white remain the most popular choices for resale value and versatility. Two-tone kitchens, pairing a lighter upper cabinet with a darker lower cabinet, are trending strongly in 2026. Deep blues, greens, and muted grays work well as accent lower cabinets against white uppers.Hardware dramatically changes how finished cabinets read and is among the easiest elements to swap out if your taste changes. Choosing the right finish upfront saves you from a costly mismatch down the line.
Brushed brass and matte black are both strong trends in 2026. Brushed nickel remains a safe, timeless choice that coordinates with stainless appliances. If you’re undecided, choose a finish that already appears on faucets or light fixtures in the same room.
Soft-close hinges and drawer glides reduce wear on the cabinet box, eliminate slamming, and give the kitchen a more polished feel. Most cabinet manufacturers offer these as a standard feature or low-cost upgrade, and over time they protect the cabinet frame from the repeated impact of everyday use.
Thermofoil wraps over MDF and can peel near heat sources like ovens. Painted finishes chip more than stained wood under daily use. Catalyzed lacquer finishes, found on higher-end cabinets, offer the most durability in busy kitchens and are easier to maintain long-term.
Staying within the same metal family across kitchen and bathroom hardware keeps the design feeling connected without requiring identical pulls in every room. If the kitchen uses matte black hardware, carrying that finish into a nearby bathroom faucet or mirror frame ties the spaces together cleanly.
The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) recommends budgeting 15 to 20 percent of your home’s current value for a full kitchen renovation. Cabinetry typically accounts for 30 to 35 percent of that total.
For a $300,000 home, that puts the kitchen budget at $45,000 to $60,000 and the cabinet portion at around $13,500 to $21,000. These figures shift based on room size, the number of cabinets, hardware choices, and whether you choose stock, semi-custom, or custom construction.
Bathroom vanity cabinets represent a smaller investment. A single-sink vanity may run $700 or less for basic options. Custom cabinetry for a large primary bath can reach $15,000, depending on size and materials.
One cost homeowners often overlook is interior demolition. Removing old cabinets, especially in older New Orleans homes where mounting may involve plaster walls or non-standard framing, adds to the overall project budget. Factor that in from the start so there are no surprises.
Professional installation is worth it whenever the project involves more than a simple vanity swap. Cabinet layout, leveling, and securing to wall studs require precision that directly affects how countertops sit, how doors align, and how long the cabinets last.
DIY cabinet installation saves money on labor but requires carpentry skills, the right tools, and patience. Simple vanity replacements are among the more manageable DIY projects. Full kitchen installations, especially those involving layout changes or new appliance placement, almost always benefit from professional hands.
In older New Orleans homes, walls often aren’t plumb, floors aren’t level, and stud spacing doesn’t follow modern standards. Plaster walls common in pre-1970s construction require different mounting techniques than standard drywall, and settling foundations can affect how doors stay aligned over time.
Getting a professional involved early, even just for a consultation, helps you avoid layout decisions that waste space or create workflow problems you’ll live with for years. Mistakes like a cabinet that blocks a door swing are easy to catch in planning and expensive to fix after installation.
Verify that any contractor carries general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. Ask for references from homeowners in older homes if your property has non-standard construction, and request a written estimate that separates labor, materials, and demolition costs.
Choosing the right cabinetry involves more than picking a color or a price point. It means weighing materials against room conditions, matching style to your home’s character, and planning for the full scope of the project, including demolition and installation.
Big Easy Contractors serves New Orleans homeowners with full-service contracting, from planning and demolition to final installation.
Call us today for a free, no-obligation estimate on your next kitchen or bath renovation.
Framed cabinets have a face frame attached to the front of the cabinet box, adding strength and a traditional look. Frameless cabinets, common in European-style kitchens, have no face frame, allowing wider drawer access and a cleaner, more modern appearance.
A standard kitchen cabinet installation typically takes three to five days for a professional crew. Projects involving custom cabinets, complex layouts, or older homes with non-standard framing can run seven to ten days or longer.
Yes. Using stock cabinets in straightforward runs while splurging on semi-custom or custom for islands or specialty storage areas is a smart way to manage cost without sacrificing quality where it counts most.
Not necessarily. Plywood cabinet boxes are often considered superior to solid wood boxes for stability and moisture resistance. Solid wood shines on door fronts and drawer faces where appearance matters most.
Thermofoil and high-gloss lacquer finishes are the easiest to wipe down. Flat or matte paint finishes show smudges more readily and can wear over time. Semi-gloss painted finishes offer a good middle ground for high-traffic kitchens.
If the cabinet boxes are structurally sound, refinishing or refacing is a cost-effective option. If the boxes are warped, drawer slides are failing, or the layout no longer works for your needs, replacement makes more financial sense in the long run.
The materials and construction principles are similar, but bathroom vanities must account for higher humidity. Specify moisture-resistant construction and ensure proper ventilation to extend the life of any cabinet, regardless of material.
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