The Ultimate Guide to Base Cabinets for Stunning Built-Ins

Planning Your Project: Choosing the Right Base Cabinets for Built-Ins

What are built-ins with base cabinets?

• Seamless storage units integrated into your home’s architecture
• Built using standard or modified base cabinets as a foundation
• Achieve a custom, high-end look affordably
• Key elements include base cabinets, a durable countertop, upper shelving, and decorative trim

Want to transform your home with custom storage? Using base cabinets for built ins is a smart way to achieve a high-end look without the custom price tag. Built-ins offer amazing storage and add a ton of character to any room.

Imagine a wall of beautiful bookshelves, a cozy window seat, or a functional media center. You can create these stunning features yourself! This guide will show you how to turn basic cabinets into custom built-ins that fit your home perfectly.

With decades of experience in home remodeling, Dun-Rite Home Improvements, specializes in crafting stunning solutions, including using base cabinets for built ins. We are committed to quality, guiding homeowners through projects that transform spaces beautifully and functionally.

Starting on a built-in project is exciting, and the first step is choosing the right base cabinets for built ins. These foundational pieces are the “heavy lifters” of your built-in, providing the bulk of your storage and setting the stage for the entire unit. We’ve seen countless homeowners in Denver and across Colorado transform their spaces, and it all starts with a thoughtful selection process.

When considering base cabinets, you’ll generally encounter a few types:

• Stock Cabinets: These are pre-manufactured cabinets available off-the-shelf from large hardware stores. They are budget-friendly and versatile, making them a popular choice for DIY built-ins. With a few simple modifications, you can transform them into a stylish unit that fits your space and storage needs.
• Semi-Custom Cabinets: These offer a balance between affordability and customization. They come in a wider range of sizes, styles, and finishes than stock cabinets, and often feature frameless construction for maximum storage. This allows for a more custom fit without the full custom price tag.
• Repurposed Cabinets: Sometimes, you can find used cabinets from places like online marketplaces or architectural salvage stores. This can be an incredibly cost-effective option, especially if you’re willing to put in the effort to clean, repair, and refinish them.

One of the biggest advantages of a DIY approach using stock or semi-custom cabinets is the significant cost savings. You’ll save a considerable amount of money compared to what a contractor might charge for fully custom work. We’ve seen projects where the entire built-in cost around $400 for materials, especially when homeowners had scrap wood and other supplies on hand. This makes it a really affordable project for almost any budget.

What to Consider When Choosing Base Cabinets for Built-ins

To ensure your built-in looks truly custom, careful consideration of your base cabinets is key. Here’s what we recommend focusing on:

• Size and Dimensions:
  • Standard Depth: Most traditional base cabinets for built ins are around 24 inches deep. This is ideal for ample storage but can sometimes feel bulky in smaller rooms.
  • Wall Cabinet Depth: A popular DIY hack is to use upper wall cabinets as the base for built-ins. These are generally shallower, around 12 inches deep, which can be perfect for hallways, media centers, or creating a less imposing presence in a room. Using upper cabinets can also be more budget-friendly as they are often cheaper than standard base cabinets.
  • Width and Height: Measure your space carefully. You’ll want to choose cabinets that fit the width of your desired built-in area as closely as possible to minimize large gaps. Standard base cabinet heights are typically around 34.5 inches, but you can adjust the overall height of your built-in with a custom base and countertop.
• Material Options:
  • Plywood: A strong and stable option, often preferred for its durability and ability to hold screws well.
  • MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard): A cost-effective material that offers a smooth surface for painting, though it can be heavier and less resistant to moisture than plywood.
  • Solid Wood: The most durable and often the most expensive, offering a classic look and feel. Unfinished stock cabinets often come in solid wood or plywood, allowing you to paint or stain them to your exact preference.
• Door Styles: The style of your cabinet doors will significantly impact the overall aesthetic of your built-in.
  • Shaker Style: Characterized by clean lines and a five-piece door with a recessed center panel. This is a versatile and popular choice that adds depth and interest without being visually overpowering.
  • Slab Doors: Offer a clean, minimalist look without additional detailing. Ideal for modern designs.
  • Raised Panel: Features a center panel raised from the rest of the door, often with a contoured edge, giving a more traditional or ornate feel.
  • Framed vs. Frameless: Framed cabinets have a face frame that adds strength and dimension, while frameless cabinets eliminate this frame for a more contemporary look and often offer slightly more interior storage space.

For more insights into choosing the perfect style for your project, take a look at our guide on Choosing Kitchen Cabinet Style.

Stock vs. Custom: A Cost and Benefit Analysis

When planning your built-ins, a key decision is whether to go with stock cabinets or invest in custom cabinetry. Both have their merits, and the best choice depends on your budget, desired level of customization, and DIY comfort.

Feature	Stock Cabinets (for DIY Built-Ins)	Custom Cabinetry
Cost	Significantly lower (e.g., ~$400+ for materials in DIY projects)	Higher, as they are built to your exact specifications and often professionally installed
Availability	Readily available at hardware stores in standard sizes and finishes	Made to order, requiring lead time for design, manufacturing, and installation
Customization	Limited sizes and styles; requires DIY modification to achieve custom look	Unlimited sizes, styles, materials, and finishes; perfect fit for any space
Quality	Varies; can be improved with DIY modifications and finishing	Generally higher quality materials and craftsmanship
Installation	DIY-friendly, but requires time, tools, and skill	Professional installation ensures precision and warranty

Advantages of Stock Cabinets:

• Budget-Friendly: As we’ve mentioned, using stock cabinets can save you a significant amount of money. The inexpensive cabinets make it a really affordable project!
• Readily Available: You can often pick them up the same day from your local hardware store in Denver, Colorado Springs, or Fort Collins.
• DIY Potential: They are designed for straightforward assembly and modification, making them a great starting point for DIY enthusiasts.
• Versatility: Stock kitchen cabinets, whether base or upper, can be modified to create furniture-like built-ins such as buffets, media centers, or window seats.

Disadvantages of Stock Cabinets:

• Limited Options: You’re restricted to standard sizes, depths, and finishes, which might not perfectly match your vision or space. This can lead to more modification work.
• May Not Fit Perfectly: Gaps might need to be filled with filler strips or trim, and creative solutions are often required for awkward corners.

When to Choose Custom Cabinetry:
While DIY built-ins with stock cabinets are fantastic, there are times when custom cabinetry is the superior choice. If you’re looking for a truly seamless integration, specific dimensions for an unusual space, unique materials, or a high-end finish without the DIY effort, then custom is the way to go. Custom cabinets offer an best level of precision and design freedom. They can be custom to change your kitchen layout, add special cabinetry, or simply refresh the look with an exact fit.

For projects where you need a perfect fit and exceptional quality, or if you simply prefer to leave it to the experts, exploring our Custom Kitchen Cabinets might be the best option.

How to Prepare and Install Your Cabinet Base

Once you’ve selected your base cabinets for built ins, the real work—and fun!—begins. Proper preparation and installation are crucial for a sturdy, long-lasting, and professional-looking built-in. This is where attention to detail pays off, especially when dealing with the charming quirks of older homes in areas like Boulder or Golden, where floors and walls might not be perfectly plumb.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

We’ve guided countless homeowners through installations, and these steps will set you up for success:

1. Space Preparation:
   • Clear the Area: Remove any furniture, decor, and clear the floor space where your built-in will go.
   • Remove Baseboards: To ensure your built-in sits flush against the wall, carefully remove any existing baseboards in the area. You’ll reinstall new trim later.
   • Mark and Plan: Tape off the exact area on the floor and wall where the built-in will be. This helps visualize the footprint and ensures you have enough space. Measure the wall to determine how many cabinets you need.
   • Locate Studs: Use a stud finder to locate and mark the wall studs. You’ll need these for securely anchoring your cabinets.
2. Building the Foundation Frame (Plinth):
   • Leveling is Key: Floors are rarely perfectly level. To account for this, find the highest point on your floor where the cabinets will sit. Mark a level horizontal line on the wall, then measure down to the floor at various points. The shortest distance indicates your highest ground point. This is the reference height you’ll shim all your cabinets up to.
   • Construct the Base: Cut 2x4s to create a sturdy frame for your cabinets to rest on. This frame (sometimes called a plinth) raises the cabinets off the floor, allows for the installation of a toe kick, and helps level the entire unit. Attach these 2x4s to the floor, ensuring they are perfectly level using shims.
3. Placing and Leveling Cabinets:
   • First Cabinet First: Begin with one end cabinet. Place it on your prepared 2×4 base. Using a level, shim beneath the cabinet until its top edge is perfectly level with your reference line. If your wall isn’t plumb, you might need to shim behind the cabinet as well to ensure it’s truly level and plumb.
   • Secure to Wall Studs: Once the cabinet is level and plumb, drill through the back of the cabinet into the wall studs. Use appropriate screws to securely fasten the cabinet to the wall.
   • Join Cabinets: Align the next cabinet box to the first. Use clamps to hold them tightly together, ensuring their faces are flush. Drill pilot holes and then screw the cabinets together through their side stiles (the vertical pieces of the cabinet frame) from the inside. Repeat for all subsequent cabinets, ensuring each is level with its neighbors and secured to the wall.

For a more in-depth look at installing base cabinets, refer to our comprehensive A guide to installing base cabinets.

How to Prepare and Modify Base Cabinets for Built-ins

Even if you’re using stock cabinets, a few modifications and preparation steps can lift them to a custom look:

• Creating a Flush, Seamless Look:
  • Filler Strips: If you have gaps between cabinets and walls, or between cabinets themselves, use filler strips. These narrow pieces of wood can be cut to size and attached to the cabinet face frame, then trimmed or scribed to fit perfectly against uneven walls.
  • Finishing Exposed Ends: For any cabinet sides that will be exposed, attach thin plywood panels or decorative end panels. This covers the raw cabinet side and provides a finished, furniture-like appearance.
  • Dealing with Crooked Walls: This is a common challenge! The trick is to keep the front of your cabinets perfectly straight and level, aligning them with the floor or other straight elements. Any unevenness in the wall itself can then be hidden behind the cabinets and later concealed with trim and caulk. Shims and scrap wood braces are your best friends here.
• Prepping Unfinished Cabinets for Paint:
  • Sanding: Even unfinished cabinets benefit from a light sanding to ensure a smooth surface for primer and paint adhesion. Use fine-grit sandpaper (e.g., 220-grit).
  • Cleaning: Wipe down all surfaces with a tack cloth or damp rag to remove dust and debris.
  • Priming: A high-quality primer, like Kilz, is essential, especially for unfinished wood or if you’re painting over a factory finish. Primer creates a uniform base, blocks stains, and ensures your topcoat adheres properly and looks vibrant.
  • Painting: For the best results, remove cabinet doors and drawers before painting. This allows for easier and cleaner application. Apply several thin coats of paint, sanding lightly between coats for a professional finish.

When it comes to selecting the perfect hue for your built-ins, our Tips for picking cabinet colors can provide inspiration and guidance.

Creating a Cohesive Design with Countertops, Shelving, and Trim

The true magic of built-ins lies in the details—how all the elements come together to create a unified, custom piece. This is where your base cabinets for built ins transition from mere boxes to a stunning architectural feature.

Adding Countertops and Upper Shelving

Once your base cabinets are securely installed, it’s time to add the horizontal surfaces that define your built-in.

• Countertops:
  • Material Options:
    • Butcher Block: Offers warmth and a classic, natural look. It’s durable and can be sanded and refinished over time.
    • Laminate: A budget-friendly option available in a vast array of colors and patterns, mimicking more expensive materials like stone or wood.
    • Wood Planks: For a rustic or custom look, you can join together wood planks (like 2x12s or 2x10s) to create a unique countertop. This often involves using a Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws for strong joinery.
    • Other options: While more costly, traditional options like granite or quartz can also be used if your budget allows.
  • Attaching the Countertop: Secure the countertop by driving screws up through the inside top of the cabinet frames into the underside of the countertop. For added stability, especially with wood plank countertops, use wood glue in addition to screws. If the countertop will be used for food preparation, ensure you use food-safe sealants.
• Upper Shelving:
  • Building the Bookcases: For the upper section, you’ll typically build open shelving. This usually involves creating a frame attached to the wall, ceiling, and sides. You can use standard 1×12 boards or have sheets of plywood cut down to size.
  • Shelf Material Options: Plywood (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick) or 1×12 solid wood boards are common choices.
  • Shelf Depth: While 12-inch deep shelves are standard, we often recommend a slightly deeper shelf, around 15 inches, for a more substantial and intentional look. This also provides more display space.
  • Support: For longer shelves, especially those holding heavy items like books, include a divider or vertical support in the middle to prevent sagging.
  • Installation: Screw shelves into the prepared frame at your desired heights. If you want adjustable shelves, you can use a Kreg Shelf Pin Jig to drill evenly spaced holes for shelf pins.

To explore all your options and ensure your countertop perfectly complements your built-in, check out our insights on The Custom Countertop Approach.

Finishing Touches: Trim, Hardware, and Paint

This is where your built-in truly comes to life and gains its custom, seamless appearance. Don’t skip these steps!

• Installing Trim:
  • Baseboard: Install new baseboard around the bottom of your base cabinets for built ins, flush with the cabinet faces. This hides the plinth and makes the unit look like it’s an integral part of the room. If there are small gaps between the cabinet and the new baseboard, use scrap wood shims to bring the new baseboards flush.
  • Crown Molding: Add crown molding to the very top of your built-in unit, connecting it to the ceiling. This adds an neat, finished detail and helps integrate the built-in with the room’s existing architectural elements.
  • Face Frames and Side Trim: Use 1×2 or 1×3 boards as face frames around the cabinet openings and along the edges of your shelves. This gives the built-in a more substantial, furniture-like look and covers any raw edges. Use a brad nailer for easy attachment. Trim can also be used to cover any small gaps between cabinets and crooked walls, creating a seamless transition.
• Caulking All Seams: This is a game-changer for a professional finish. Caulk all seams where wood meets wood, and where the built-in meets the wall or ceiling. Use paintable silicone caulk for flexibility, as wood can expand and contract. This step fills small gaps and gives the entire unit a smooth, continuous appearance, making it look truly built-in.
• Choosing Cabinet Hardware: Select knobs or pulls that complement your chosen style and finish. Install them using a template to ensure even and symmetrical placement across all cabinet doors and drawers. For inspiration, explore Examples of cabinet pulls.
• Applying the Final Coat of Paint:
  • Sanding: After all trim is installed and caulk is dry, give the entire unit a final light sanding for ultimate smoothness.
  • Cleaning: Wipe away all dust.
  • Paint: Apply your chosen paint color. Many homeowners in our Colorado service areas, from Parker to Highlands Ranch, opt for durable, semi-gloss or satin finishes that are easy to clean. Apply several thin coats for the best result. Don’t forget to paint the walls around the built-in to complete the integrated look.

Frequently Asked Questions about Built-In Projects

How do I handle uneven floors or crooked walls?

This is one of the most common challenges in DIY built-ins, especially in older homes around Denver. Here’s how we tackle it:

• Shims for Leveling: For uneven floors, shims are your best friend. As detailed in our installation guide, find the highest point on your floor and use shims under the 2×4 base and directly under the cabinet boxes to bring everything up to a perfectly level plane.
• Focus on the Front: The key is to make the front of your base cabinets for built ins and shelves perfectly level and plumb. Don’t try to force the back of the cabinet to meet a crooked wall.
• Scribing Trim: For gaps where trim meets an uneven wall, you can “scribe” the trim. This involves carefully marking the contour of the wall onto the trim piece and then cutting it to match.
• Caulk and Molding: Small gaps between the built-in and the wall can be beautifully hidden with paintable caulk. Larger gaps can be concealed with trim pieces like quarter-round or custom-cut filler strips. This makes the unit appear seamlessly integrated.

Can I use upper wall cabinets instead of base cabinets?

Absolutely! This is a fantastic and popular hack for DIY built-ins. Here’s why:

• Shallower Depth: Upper cabinets are typically around 12 inches deep, compared to the 24-inch depth of standard base cabinets. This shallower depth is often ideal for built-ins in living rooms, dining rooms, or hallways where you don’t want the unit to protrude too far into the room. It also helps them look less like kitchen cabinets.
• Cost Savings: Upper cabinets are generally cheaper than lower (base) cabinets, making your project even more affordable.
• No Top Drawer: Many upper cabinets don’t have a top drawer, which can simplify the modification process if you’re aiming for a clean, door-only base.
• Ideal for Media Centers or Bookcases: Their shallower depth is perfect for housing books, decor, or media components without wasting space.

You’ll still need to build a sturdy base (plinth) for them to sit on to bring them up to a comfortable height, and then add a countertop and upper shelving. For guidance on assembling stock cabinets, check out our Assembly tutorial for stock cabinets.

How much can I really save with a DIY approach?

The savings from doing a built-in project yourself can be substantial!

• Significant Savings on Labor: The biggest saving comes from eliminating labor costs. We’ve seen estimates of saving a couple of thousand dollars compared to hiring a contractor for a similar project.
• Material Costs Vary: While a project might ballpark around $400 for materials, this can increase if you need to buy all tools and supplies from scratch. However, if you have scrap wood, screws, stain, etc., on hand, your costs will be lower.
• The Value of “Sweat Equity”: Your time and effort are an investment. By doing it yourself, you gain valuable skills and the satisfaction of creating something beautiful for your home. This “sweat equity” translates directly into financial savings.

So, yes, you can create a gorgeous, custom wall of built-in bookcases or storage using these easy tricks with basic cabinets, saving a significant amount compared to fully custom options.

Conclusion: Your Stunning Built-In Awaits

Building base cabinets for built ins is a rewarding project that combines practicality with personalized style. You’ve learned how to choose the right cabinets, prepare your space, install the base units, and add the crucial finishing touches that transform ordinary cabinets into extraordinary built-ins. This DIY approach not only improves your home’s aesthetics and functionality but also significantly increases its storage capacity and overall value.

We’ve seen countless homeowners across Denver, Aurora, Littleton, and our other Colorado service areas successfully tackle these projects, adding character and custom storage to their living rooms, dining rooms, offices, and more. You now have the knowledge and steps to create your own stunning built-in.

While the DIY route offers immense satisfaction and cost savings, we understand that some projects demand professional precision, intricate design, or simply require expert hands. For those complex built-in designs, or if you prefer a guaranteed professional result without the hassle, our team at Dun-Rite Kitchens is here to help. We pride ourselves on honest, handcrafted work with a personal, neighborly touch, treating every client like family.

Transform your home with beautiful and functional custom kitchen cabinets and built-ins that reflect your unique style and meet your family’s needs.