Are you on the fence about purchasing RTA kitchen cabinets? There are so many different brands floating around online that it can be downright overwhelming to even consider which line might be right for your kitchen remodel.

This post is sponsored by RTA Cabinet Store and may contain affiliate links. However, all opinions and recommendations are my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.

I’ve been there, so I understand completely just how big of a decision this can be to make. We remodeled our last kitchen using a well-known semi-custom brand and I’m kicking myself for not going the RTA route sooner.

The cost savings alone are enough to pique your interest, but are they high-quality kitchen cabinets?

New cabinets are a big investment, so naturally you want to know if these affordable kitchen cabinets will stand the test of time.

Lucky for you, I just wrapped up our dream kitchen remodel using RTA Cabinet Store. And now that we’ve been living with our new kitchen for a few months, I’m ready to answer all your burning questions about this Online store.

I’ll take you through everything from their features, assembly process, customer service and even the design process, but first let’s answer the top two questions that are likely on your mind, and the reason you stumbled across this post in the first place.

Why are RTA cabinets so cheap?

I absolutely hate the word cheap. It’s synonymous with poor quality, and with RTA Cabinet Store, I’ve found that’s just not the case.

There are two big components that factor into their affordable prices.

First, RTA cabinets come ready to assemble, hence the name. Ours arrived flat packed in individual boxes, which drastically cuts down on shipping materials and the cost associated with it. Which is why the company is able to pass those savings directly on to you.

Secondly, you’re doing all the assembly of the cabinets so there’s no need for the company to pay additional labor overhead. Another win-win.

Are RTA wood cabinets good quality?

I’m going to go through the assembly process with you, but as my husband and I were putting them together, the theme of our conversations was always “gosh these are really good cabinets.”

I mean that to say, we were continuously impressed with the quality of the materials from the solid wood face frame on the cabinet boxes to the dovetailed drawer boxes, and right down to the full extension soft closer drawer glides and door hinges.

Every single piece of material we handled looked and felt to me exactly like our previous custom cabinets, even the particle board cabinet box.

All the cabinet lines at RTA Cabinet Store also come standard with full overlay door styles. This is something you typically see as an upcharge with most custom cabinets.

So yes, they have my vote as being very high-quality RTA cabinets.

Free Kitchen Design

I haven’t even mentioned one of my favorite parts. RTA Cabinet Store has a dedicated team of kitchen designers.

With your purchase, you have the option to upload your kitchen measurements and get a complete custom cabinetry design from a certified interior designer.

I don’t think I can say enough great things about our designer Jill. To begin with the design team took in all our existing hard surfaces in the kitchen before they would make a recommendation on various colors or cabinet styles.

When we finally narrowed down our style, a sample door was shipped directly to our home so that we could be sure of our selection.

We opted for the Weston Sand shaker cabinets. Stunning doesn’t even describe it.

Then we dove right into planning our new kitchen layout.

Floorplan templates are provided along with instructions on how to complete the measurements. But I would definitely recommend checking all of your measurements and fixture placements before submitting them.

I think I was the most apprehensive about this step because we were maxing out every available inch we had both vertically to the ceiling and across the perimeter of our kitchen. But everything came out flawlessly.

The kitchen designers make the entire process incredibly easy. You’re able to schedule zoom calls to chat face to face, and even share inspiration photos with them to help guide the design.

I consider myself to be a huge home design enthusiast, so I was worried I might come off a tad demanding when requesting the look of true custom cabinets. Jill was amazing at accommodating all of our requests to help make the space feel one of a kind.

It’s also important to note that the kitchen designers at RTA Cabinet Store have access to custom sizes that might not be visible on their website, so I highly recommend using them to help you plan.

When it came time to wrap up our quote and make the purchase, our designer was more than happy to make minor changes to help keep us within budget without sacrificing the customization we were going for.

I would say it paid off beautifully don’t you think?

Customer Service

Along with their low prices, RTA Cabinet Store is known for its fast-shipping times. All of their Quick Ship Cabinetry is guaranteed to ship from their warehouse within three business days. This applies to some of their most popular styles too.

Delivery day was pretty straightforward. The shipping company contacted us prior to set up a designated time and they handled unloading all of the pallets into our garage for us.

I took the time to go through all of my boxes and pair them against my invoice to make sure nothing was missing, which is what RTA Cabinet Store Recommends. But, I didn’t unbox everything at once, and apparently you’re supposed to inspect everything right away in order to submit any damage claims.

I must’ve missed that part and took my time opening and assembling them in my own little system to avoid confusion. But when I did come across some minor damage, the customer service team was very easy to work with, simply requesting photos and a list of items to be replaced.

Out of over 6o something boxes of product we maybe only had 2-3 items that had to be replaced, and none of it was anything major. The protective packaging on these cabinets was pretty close to child proof.

The Assembly Process

Don’t let the idea of assembling cabinets intimidate you. This really was a DIY friendly project, and I learned a lot from it.

Not to mention the fact that I get to tell everyone I assembled all the cabinets when they complement our new kitchen.

We did have to go out and purchase a staple gun, but I consider that an investment with all the projects we continuously have going on anyway.

Other than that, a simple bottle of wood glue, a rubber mallet, and a power drill will be all you need to assemble any of RTA Cabinet Store’s products.

Every cabinet box comes packaged with face frames, cabinet sides, door, and drawer fronts as well as any hinges or slides. They also include more than enough screws and brackets needed for assembly, which is incredibly helpful.

Worried about having to read through instruction manuals all day? No worries! All of the assembly instructions are loaded on the BILT app which you can download right onto your phone.

You can click through the step-by-step instructions at your own pace, and even view the assembly in 3D.

But to be fair, the assembly was so straightforward, that once you’ve completed one or two cabinets, you pretty much get it down to a science.

There are a few important things to keep in mind. First, do your best to make sure the sides of the cabinet box are square when assembling.

I’m not known for being precise and this came back to bite me when we were installing the stacked wall cabinets.

One would be out of alignment, and it was incredibly noticeable. Lucky for us we were covering the sides in paneling anyway, but it just made it a tad more difficult.

Second, before you begin stapling anything, test your gun on a scrap piece of wood.

You’ll likely need to turn down the power to prevent the staples from going directly through the sides of your cabinets. Another one learned the hard way.

Final Thoughts

Would I use RTA cabinets again?

Absolutely! In fact, I’m in the planning process of designing our small bathroom and laundry room around them as we speak.

Plus, RTA Cabinet Store has some of the best prices among online cabinet manufacturers. They advertise that if you receive a quote for a lower price on the same ready-to-assemble cabinets from anyone else, they’ll not only match their price, but they’ll beat it by 5%!

I’m so thrilled with how our kitchen remodel turned out. This really was the best way to achieve the look we were hoping for while still getting such a great value.

Now here’s the best part!

RTA Cabinet Store is extending a special discount just for my readers.

All you have to do is use code “THELIVEDINLOOK25” at checkout to receive 25% off your entire cabinet purchase. There is a $50 minimum purchase required, but when buying cabinets, you’ll easily surpass that.

Have a kitchen design question? I love hearing from you! Drop me a message below in the comment box and I’ll be in touch.

And if you’d like to see the entire kitchen renovation from start to finish, you can check out my Instagram highlights here.

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