Modular Kitchen Vs Carpenter-Made Kitchen: What Type Of Kitchen Is Best For You?

by Mehnaz Farooque | February 29, 2024 | 8 mins read

Modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen comparison

Let’s see what makes a modular kitchen better than a carpenter-made kitchen

“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”

— Dr Ralf Speth, the CEO of Jaguar

While the Jaguar CEO may have said this in the context of cars, it applies equally to every facet of design. Be it the UI of a website or the design of your kitchen cabinetry, a good design is the one that will immediately add value to a space and help you in assessing different functions. That’s why people invest in relatively expensive phones, laptops or cars because the quality and value are worth the cost of purchasing. A similar dilemma appears when you design your new home, especially when it comes to the kitchen. You get a choice of following the norm of choosing a local carpenter to build your kitchen, while on the other hand, you get an option of hiring designers to plan and develop a kitchen according to your requirements. Both options have pros and cons, but you better weigh all the sides and make a well-informed decision if you are investing money. Therefore, to mentor you through this, we have brought our years of industry experience and come up with an ultimate list of modular kitchen vs carpenter-made kitchen pros and cons to let you decide what works for you!

So, start taking notes as you are about to decipher the kitchen conundrum forever!

Modular Kitchen

Modular is an adjective that refers to involving a module as the basis of design. Modules are nothing but independent units that are brought together to form a more complex structure. So, when we say a modular kitchen, it means a kitchen design with independently designed cabinets for storage, drawers, etc., brought together to form a well-equipped kitchen that enables easy cooking. For a modular kitchen, you get the liberty to choose different styles of furniture units under one roof. Modular kitchens are currently hot in the country because urban areas have houses with limited space. Therefore, a modular kitchen can be a saviour here.

Advantages Of Modular Kitchen Vs Carpenter-Made Kitchen

  • You Get A Tailor-Made Kitchen Design: Modular kitchens allow you to get your cooking space designed as per your requirements. So, suppose you are not comfortable with lower storage cabinets due to pain in your knees or if you have older parents at home, you can choose to have all the storage on the upper side of the kitchen. Also, you might need a washing machine unit in the kitchen or a microwave unit, or maybe both. So, you can just have the units custom-made, especially for your kitchen.
Modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen - l-shaped kitchen with breakfast counter elegant design in modular kitchen.
A modular kitchen design with a breakfast counter
  • Save Space In Your Kitchen: This is the most obvious benefit of a modular kitchen. The modern units are designed to utilise the space in your kitchen so that everything is compact and clutter-free. This way, you save a lot of space in the kitchen to roam around or have friends and family over while you are cooking. Also, modular kitchen designs allow you to experiment with different types of storages that are customised for your kitchen layout. 
Modular kitchen provides space-saving options with modular cabinets design
A spacious, open kitchen with modular cabinetry
Upgrade your kitchen with our modular interior solutions!
  • Bring A Lot of Variety In Storages: Modular kitchens are known for their unique storage facilities. Therefore, you can have all sorts of cabinetry solutions that you will need — be it peg drawers, skirting drawers, oil pull-outs, special dish organisers, tall units with shelves, swing-out cabinets, built-in racks, etc. 
Modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen India, contemporary kitchen with varieties of storage options design in modular kitchen
A contemporary kitchen design with a modular oil pull-out
  • Select A Unique Kitchen Interior Theme: Another great benefit of getting a modular kitchen is selecting any interior theme. For example, in one of our recent projects, we designed an Italian-style modular kitchen for a house with a traditional interior design theme. With a modular kitchen, you can have a different theme for the kitchen area which has no relation to the rest of the house’s interior set-up. This allows you to experiment with different styles of modular kitchens. 
Unique themed kitchen cum dining area with floral wall designs in modular kitchen design.
This lively kitchen design features a lot of woodwork and floral wall designs
  • You Get An Easy-To-Maintain Kitchen Set-Up: From easy-to-clean materials to easy-to-use storage facilities, modular kitchens are perfect for millennials who have busy schedules and less time to spare. Moreover, modular kitchen designs come with modern-day materials that are designed to last longer with less maintenance. So, another great reason to opt for it!
Modular furniture vs carpenter made furniture, kitchen design with an easy to clean and low maintenance in modular kitchen
A contemporary kitchen design with an easy-to-clean countertop and cabinets

Also, Read About How To Clean Kitchen Cabinets

  • Get More Than Just A Kitchen: Modular kitchens these days come with extra functionalities that can totally let you have more than just a kitchen. Well, modular kitchen designs can also come with breakfast counters, wall-mounted bar units, crockery units, washing machine units, etc., to let you have more than a kitchen space. 
An olive-green Kitchen design with in-built microwave and refrigerator units, modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen.
An olive-green kitchen design with in-built microwave and refrigerator units

Disadvantages Of Modular Kitchen Vs Carpenter-Made Kitchen

  • Modular kitchens can be a bit expensive compared to carpenter-made kitchens. However, this is not a big bummer because modular kitchen designs can vary according to your budget. So, you can choose the options that you think are preferable for your budget plan.
  • Fixing things in a modular kitchen might require experienced professionals and designers, so you may not be able to take any local carpenter’s help.
  • Modular kitchens require maintenance, especially for the surface materials and finishes. 

Carpenter-Made Kitchen

Carpenter-made kitchens are designed by local carpenters and you. Yes, carpenter-made kitchen design has been a tradition for a long time. This primarily works in small towns. These types of kitchens don’t follow any strict design rule but are built as per your understanding and the carpenter’s skill.

Advantages of Carpenter-Made Kitchen Vs Modular Kitchen

  • You Can Be Your Kitchen Designer: A carpenter-made kitchen is basically what you want in your kitchen. So, you get to be an active part of the design process while the carpenter you hired follows your decisions.
Modular kitchen vs carpenter made kitchen: carpenter made kitchen done by wooden furniture.
A carpenter-made kitchen lets you design your cooking space
  • Can Be Cost-Effective: Since you are the designer behind your carpenter-made kitchen, you get to choose anything you want. So, you can get everything under your budget and your supervision. 
Carpenter made kitchen is budget friendly compared to modular kitchen
An ongoing carpenter-made kitchen design with locally made cabinetry

Disadvantages Of Carpenter-Made Kitchen Vs Modular Kitchen

  • You are the design supervisor, so you’d need to know EVERYTHING that is going on in the kitchen design. Now, this can be very overwhelming and confusing, especially if you are new to this. 
  • The success of your carpenter-made kitchen design will be directly proportional to the expertise of your carpenter. So, in a way, you would need to be very attentive while hiring the carpenter; otherwise, things may go haywire, which might lead to a bad design, causing an increase in the project’s cost.
  • Carpenter-made kitchens cannot be as efficient as modular kitchens because the latter comes with professional, factory-made kitchen furniture solutions that are not achievable by local carpenters. 
  • You cannot expect a variety in storages as in modular kitchens because carpenter-made-storages will be basic and quintessential. So, you won’t have the liberty to have storage as per your requirements. 
  • Things might get totally messy at home with a carpenter-made kitchen because most of the furniture work will be done at your place, and this might be a dirty task for the rest of the house. 
  • You will only be able to get locally made materials, so that limits the kitchen look.
  • Including refrigerators and ovens in a carpenter-made kitchen can get very tricky. You might have to end up placing them somewhere in between your kitchen furniture or above the kitchen slab.

Overall, modular kitchens are a way of perfecting the art of creating beautiful kitchens. They come with intelligent design thinking to solve your kitchen issues and let you enjoy cooking time. Also, carpenter-made kitchens are a continuation of traditional approaches to home interiors that may not be appropriate for today’s home designs. Now that we have got you the fair list of all the pros and cons to weigh modular kitchen vs carpenter-made kitchen, make a choice that suits you and your home’s interiors. 

Modular KitchenCarpenter-Made Kitchen
Better storage facilitiesBasic storage facilities
Helps in saving spaceSpace-saving is not a primary feature
Gives a variety in storageDoesn’t give much variety in storage
Factory-made kitchen solutionsLocally made kitchen solutions

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Mehnaz Farooque is a content writer at designcafe

Mehnaz Farooque

Mehnaz is a creative content writer at Design Cafe who is often found obsessing over Ghalib's Urdu poetry or J.K.Rowling's books. She believes in this world of social assumptions and opinions, memes are the only way to make life better. Her love for detailing inspired her to write about interior design. If not working on a blog or binging on her favourite show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, she's dreaming about spending time in the mountains.

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