Custom cabinetry is at the heart of every great kitchen. Locally made in Melbourne, our cabinets bring together precise craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and thoughtful details that set the style and feel of your space. Since 1978, Complete Kitchens has delivered not just beautiful kitchens, but lasting quality and reliable after-sales service homeowners can trust.
Custom Cabinetry, Proudly Melbourne
Why choose custom Cabinetry?
Custom cabinetry offers advantages that standard flat-pack or modular kitchens simply cannot.
At Complete Kitchens, our cabinetry is individually designed and built to:
- Maximize storage in every centimeter
- Suit your family’s cooking habits and lifestyle
- Fit unusual room dimensions perfectly
- integrate appliances seamlessly
- improve workflow and funtionality
- create a unique kitchen tailored to your home’s architecture
- increase long-term durability and value
Compared to mass-produced modular or imported cabinetry, custom cabinetry generally requires a higher budget. This reflects the personalized design process, premium materials, skilled local craftsmanship and made-to-order manufacturing that go into every project. However, when viewed as a long-term investment in your home, custom cabinetry offers greater value through superior functionality, durability and a tailored design that makes the most of your space. In many cases, the price difference is also smaller than homeowners expect, particularly once modifications, and installation costs are factored into modular kitchen quotes.
Manufactured in Melbourne Since 1978
Local manufacturing matters.
It means more than simply building cabinets close to home. Choosing locally manufactured custom cabinetry means investing in quality that lasts.
It means skilled Australian craftsmanship, premium locally sourced materials, strict quality control. It also means great flexibility throughout your project, faster turnaround for any adjustments, reliable after-sales service.
For nearly five decades, Complete Kitchens has proudly designed and manufactured custom cabinetry in our Oakleigh South factory. Every cabinet is made to order by our experienced team using precision CNC technology and traditional cabinet-making expertise, ensuring exceptional quality and durability.
Cabinet Carcasses
A kitchen cabinet carcass is the framework of your kitchen cabinetry- the base unit onto which doors and drawers are attached. It provides the structural integrity and foundational support for your cabinets. The most popular options for its materials are engineer wood like Particle Boards, MDFs (Medium-Density Fibreboard), and Plywood.
Particle Board, also known as “White Board,” is the most commonly used material for cabinetry in the Australian market due to its pre-laminated surface, ease of transport, and cost-effectiveness.
At Complete Kitchens, we use high quality 16mm HMR Particle Board from Polytec or Laminex as standard for our cabinet construction, including back panels. All the board we use meet the E0 & E1 environmental standards. Our carcasses are crafted with precision engineering. The Particle boards are cut and edged with our advanced CNC machinery, and built by our in-house cabinet makers to ensure a perfect fit and seamless installation.
For premium designs, clients have the option to upgrade the standard “White Board” carcass to coloured boards for certain cabinetry elements. This is particular popular in pantries with pocket doors, open boxes or shelves for display items, or even for all cabinetry when it comes to designer robes or walk-in robes. Coloured board interior can add a luxurious touch to your cabinetry design, creating a seamless and continuous feel to the colour scheme. Our designers will suggest the coloured board options for specific areas if they believe this choice can significant enhance the visual appeal of your space while fitting within your budget.
For example, the project photo on the right showcases a European laundry with Woodmatt coloured interiors. This laundry located in the hallway of our clients’ home, and was renovated at the same time as the kitchen. With the bi-fold door design, this Euro laundry space can conveniently stay open. The woodmatt colour inside the laundry was designed to match and contrast with other design elements.
Doors and Panels
The doors and panels of your custom cabinets are most visible parts and play a crucial role in defining the style of your space. They are not just a design element but also contribute significantly to the durability, practicality and the budget of your project.
Here at Complete Kitchens, we offer a variety of materials and finishes to suit diverse design preferences. All the materials are sourced from premium suppliers that we have worked with over the years. Every doors and panel is made-to-measure and come with a warranty, ensuring your kitchen cabinetry not only looks stunning but also stands the test of time.
Melamine (Laminate)
Melamine is a popular and practical choice for kitchen doors, panels, and drawer fronts. Made from resin-impregnated decorative paper bonded to a particleboard or MDF substrate under heat and pressure, melamine provides a durable, moisture-resistant and low-maintenance solution for everyday living.
These doors and panels have a smooth, flat surface and are finished with matching 1mm edge tape to protect the edges and minimize chips or cracks. Melamine is available in an extensive range of contemporary colours, textures, and woodgrains.
While melamine is traditionally considered a budget-friendly option, pricing varies across finishes. Standard melamine is generally the most cost-effective door material, while premium and innovative finishes can be priced similarly to 2-pack painted doors.
Overall, melamine offers excellent value, combining durability, practicality and modern design flexibility.
Our Melamine boards are primarily sourced from Poytec and Laminex, both offering premium ranges backed by a 7-year warranty. Polytec’s range, for example, includes Texture, Matt, Ashgrain, Finegrain, Sheen, Woodmatt and Smooth finishes – making it easy to complement benchtops and other surface materials.We also work with “Fenix” by Nover, an innovative melamine product renowned for its exceptional anti-fingerprint properties and modern aesthetic.
All the Melamine boards are cut, drilled, and edged with matching edge tapes in our Oakleigh South factory. Each piece undergoes strict quality control by our CNC operator and dedicated cabinet makers, ensuring precision, consistency and an excellent finish throughout your project.
Thermolaminated (Vinyl Wrap)
Also known as Vinyl wrap, these materials are made from moisture-resistant E-Zero MDF and finished with a durable vinyl surface. Because they can be moulded into various shapes and profiles, they offer excellent flexibility in cabinetry design – whether you prefer a traditional country style or a sleek, contemporary minimalist look.
Produced through a heat-and-pressure process, Thermolaminated surfaces feature seamless edges that help prevent chipping and peeling while delivering a clean, refined finish. They are easy to clean and maintain, and sit within a medium price range, making them a cost-effective option for achieving both traditional and modern Hamptons-style designs compared with 2-pack painted doors and panels.
Our Thermolaminated doors are primarily supplied by Polytec, with a wide selection of finishes including Matt, Woodmatt, Gloss, Texture, Ashgrain, Ravine, Natura, and Woodgrain. Before delivery to site, each door is quality-checked and fitted to the cabinetry to ensure accuracy and a high standard of finish.
In one of our recent Cheltenham projects, we used Polytec Thermolaminated Sussex and Calcutta Profiled doors in soft green to create a classic and tranquil kitchen space.
Two-Pack Paint (2Pac)
Two-Pack is typically one of the most premium finish options, usually costing 30%-40% more than Themolaminated finishes. It also has a longer manufacturing lead time, potentially adding a few weeks to your project. Despite this, it is widely chosen for luxury kitchens due to its exceptional finish and durability.
A Two-Pack door or panel is usually constructed from a medium-density fiberboard (MDF), shaped to the desired profile. The finish is applied through a careful process of multiple layers of undercoat, sealer, and paint, with sanding between each layer to achieve a perfectly smooth surface.
Two-Pac paint combines two liquids: a polyurethane resin for colour and finish, and a polyisocyanate resin as a hardener. Once the top coat is applied, doors and panels are oven-cured to achieve maximum hardness and durability. After curing, the surface can be sanded and buffed to achieve the desired gloss and smoothness. This meticulous process delivers a luxury, long-lasting finish that remains beautiful for years.
With Two-Pack doors, you have virtually endless colour and finish options. Paint can be custom-matched to your desired Pantone or any specific item, and finishes range from textured, matte, satin, semi-gloss, to high-gloss, giving you complete flexibility to achieve the exact look you want.
For example, the Canterbury Kitchen project features a custom shaker profile (MDF cut in-house by CK), finished in two contrasting satin 2Pac colours.
Two-Pack doors also have seamless edges and are highly repairable. If a cabinet is chipped or scratched, the surface can usually be sanded back, repaired, and colour-matched to the existing doors. For minor damages, a touch-up can often be done yourself using the touch-up paint provided. This makes Two-Pac not only a premium, luxurious finish but also a practical and long-lasting choice for your cabinetry.
Manufacturing Lead Time
Custom kitchen cabinetry is meticulously made-to-order, taking longer to manufacture than pre-made modular kitchens. At Complete Kitchens, all our cabinetry is crafted in-house, ensuring exceptional precision, quality, and attention to detail. The manufacturing process typically ranges from 4 to 10 weeks, depending on the materials and finishes selected.
Melamine cabinets take approximately 4-5 weeks to manufacture, while Themolaminated cabinets takes around 6-8 weeks. Two-Pac cabinets start from 8 weeks, and it is not uncommon to wait for up to 10 weeks if your cabinetry is French provincial or includes some curved details.
Need help designing and manufacturing your cabinetry?
If you are living in Melbourne and planning your kitchen renovation, or looking to create other bespoke joinery, the Complete Kitchens’ design team can assist you from the initial design phase and offer you one-stop service, including manufacture, installation and trade coordination.
Visit our Process page to learn how we work, or come by our Oakleigh South showroom to experience our products and service firsthand.
Can’t wait to get started? Give us a call on 9543 8888, and our friendly consultants will guide you through the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between custom and modular kitchen cabinetry?
Custom kitchen cabinetry is made-to-measure for your specific kitchen space and lifestyle. At Complete Kitchens, every cabinet is individually designed to suit your layout, style preferences, and storage needs. Built locally by our skilled cabinet makers, custom cabinetry offers superior craftsmanship, flexibility in design, and long-lasting durability—resulting in a truly personalised kitchen.
Modular kitchen cabinetry, available from retailers like IKEA, Kinsman, Freedom, or Bunnings, comes in standard sizes and pre-set styles. These cabinets are usually mass-produced and often overseas, making them a more budget-friendly option. However, they may not fit your space precisely and offer limited design flexibility. Gaps are often filled using larger filler panels rather than tailored solutions. Also, the modular kitchen companies do not include installation in their pricing, which is an extra cost for client to consider.
What is the average cost of custom kitchen cabinetry in Victoria?
The cost of custom kitchen cabinetry in Victoria can vary depending on the size of your kitchen, materials, finishes, and design complexity.
At Complete Kitchens, a standard-size kitchen for a typical 3-bedroom home usually starts from $25,000 for cabinetry with entry-level finishes but a well-considered custom layout. For high-end custom cabinetry featuring premium finishes, the cost can range from $45,000 to $60,000, excluding stone benchtops. To learn more about the full cost of a kitchen renovation with custom cabinetry, please click here to visit our kitchen renovation page.
What materials and construction methods does Complete Kitchens use?
We use only 100% Australian-made E0 board for cabinet construction. Our cabinet internals are made from 16mm HMR white board with 1mm ABS edging. Every cabinet is built with a solid 16mm back. We use sturdy kicker boxes to support our base cabinets – never plastic legs – for greater strength and durability.
Our doors and panels are sourced from trusted industry leaders such as Polytec and Laminex. For hardware, we primarily use German-engineered Hettich hinges and drawer systems, while also offering Blum and Häfele products to suit specific client preferences.
What is the warranty for your custom cabinetry?
At Complete Kitchens, we provide 10-year structural warranty from date of installation.
Cabinets, doors, benchtops, and internal fittings are also covered under manufacturer warranties, which vary depending on the product and supplier. These warranties protect against defective materials and workmanship within their specified terms. For full details, please visit our Warranty page.
