If you are going to be doing the work anyway, why not just build them yourself?

One thing you need to remember is that, while finishing them yourself can take some time, building them takes a heck of a lot more time, and therefore at least getting the cabinets themselves will save you some serious time. It's really not as much work as you might think.

Many people have such a specific idea of what they want their cabinets to look like in the end that they feel they could do a superior job in finishing them than the manufacturers.

There are a couple of benefits of getting unfinished kitchen cabinets versus finished. First, and the most obvious, is that they are less pricey.
Therefore, you are saving money on the most labor intensive part (building the cabinets) but still getting to the easier part yourself, which is painting them.

However, since you aren't paying for the painting to be done, you are saving money, and you will still be able to recoup a good savings after you have finished the painting job.

Don't forget to factor in how much painting the unfinished kitchen cabinets are going to cost you to do yourself, and often times this can actually negate the cost of the savings you are getting the first place.

Don't forget to do this important step. Having said that, however, more often than not the savings will still be substantial even after this amount is added in.

The other benefit to getting them is that, sometimes you simply can't find the cabinet design you want that would go with the rest of your kitchen. If this is the case, you have far more options available to you in finishing them.

You can really get a unique cabinet design if you paint it yourself, and you won't have to just settle for the store looks. Also, it will help you do so without paying the typical price you'd pay or custom cabinets.

When it comes to getting cabinets, your options are usually to either get stock, with very little choices, or custom, which are much more expensive but have a wider array of choices. Of course, getting unfinished kitchen cabinets can get you the same result as custom designed, but without the lofty price tag to boot.

Where can you find them? Actually, a lot of different locations sell unfinished cabinets, and they really aren't as difficult to find as you might think. You can purchase them either framed or not framed and which you get depends on your kitchen design.

One tip you want to be sure of with your unfinished kitchen cabinets is that the shelves and drawers utilize wood that is a minimum of three quarters an inch thick. This is so as not to not cave in and damage your plates or whatever else you might be holding there.