Flat pack
versus delivered assembled.
We ship both. Same cabinetry, same hardware, same warranty; the difference is who builds the carcasses and how much truck they take. This is how to choose.
The short answer
The cabinetry is the same. What differs is who assembles it and what it costs to ship. Flat pack arrives as pre-drilled, labelled panels for you or your installer to build, and travels for less. Assembled arrives with carcasses built, hardware fitted and doors hung and adjusted, and takes more truck. We quote both on the same drawing so the difference is a line item, not a guess.
What is genuinely the same
Be sceptical of anyone claiming flat pack is categorically rubbish. A good flat pack in 18mm moisture-resistant board with Blum hardware is a perfectly sound kitchen, and plenty of them outlast badly specified custom work. The board, the hardware and the edging are the things that decide longevity, and they are specification questions rather than assembly questions. Ask any supplier those three regardless of which route you take.
What is genuinely different: who assembles it
A flat pack transfers the assembly labour to you. That is the saving, and it is honest. The consequence is that the squareness of every carcass, the alignment of every drawer and the adjustment of every door now depends on the person doing it — usually at the end of a build, usually tired, usually on an unfinished floor. Cabinetry assembled out of square does not announce itself; it shows up as doors that do not line up, and it cannot be fixed afterwards without taking it apart.
Time is the cost people underestimate
A full kitchen is a substantial amount of assembly. People routinely budget a weekend and lose a fortnight of evenings, and it lands at the point in a renovation where patience is already gone. If your time has any value at all, price it in before comparing quotes. If you enjoy the work and have the space to do it properly, that changes the calculation entirely and there is nothing wrong with the answer being flat pack.
Where the risk sits
With a flat pack, a damaged or mis-drilled panel is your problem to resolve with a supplier, mid-build. With assembled delivery, it arrives built and any fault is visible on delivery rather than discovered at hour six of assembly. Neither is immune to problems; they differ in when you find out and who is holding the pieces.
What we actually do
We ship both, anywhere in Australia, from the same drawing. Cabinetry is imported to our specification — we are not a workshop and do not pretend to be — and either packed flat with the hardware bagged per cabinet, or assembled before delivery with doors hung and adjusted. Within Central Queensland our own team installs the assembled version. Our flat pack and assembled pages cover what arrives in each case, and the price bands apply to both.
Which one you should choose
Flat pack if you have the time, a flat floor to build on, and the room is hard to get a built cabinet into — or you are interstate and freight matters. Assembled if you are on a build programme, want your carpenter fitting rather than building, or are at the end of an owner-build with no evenings left. Mixed if some units need to go flat for access. Either way, ask about board, hardware and edging first — those decide whether the kitchen lasts, and they are the same on both of ours. Our renovation checklist has the seven questions worth asking any supplier, and the assembly guide shows what the flat pack route actually involves.
Frequently asked
Common questions
If your question is not here, call the studio. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Ask us directly →Is a flat pack kitchen worse than an assembled one?
Not necessarily. The board, hardware and edging decide longevity, and a well-specified flat pack beats a poorly specified custom kitchen. What differs is who assembles it, and therefore how consistent the result is.
How long does it take to assemble a flat pack kitchen?
Longer than most people budget. A full kitchen is a serious amount of assembly, and it lands at the end of a build when time and patience are shortest. Price your own hours before comparing quotes.
Do you sell flat pack kitchens?
Yes, and assembled. Same cabinetry cut to your drawing either way; the quote shows both with freight to your postcode. Flat pack ships as pre-drilled, labelled panels; assembled arrives with carcasses built and doors adjusted.
What should I ask any kitchen supplier?
Board thickness and moisture rating, hardware brand and warranty, and whether the edging is glued or laser-bonded. Those three matter more than flat pack versus assembled, and a supplier who is vague on any of them is telling you something.
Delivered assembled
The assembly is done
before it arrives.
Carcasses built square on a bench, Blum hardware fitted, doors hung and adjusted to even gaps. On site you are fixing finished cabinets to a wall, not building them on the floor. Our own team fits it in Central Queensland; your installer fits it anywhere else in Australia. Prefer to build it yourself? The same kitchen ships flat pack.
Drawer fronts aligned on the bench, not on site
Stone on a compact run
Black joinery, marble bar
Your call
Flat pack or assembled.
Two prices, one drawing.
Send us the dimensions and the quote comes back both ways, fixed and itemised, freight to your postcode on each. Then decide.