Popular Brands of Garage Cabinets

If you want to start a fight, just say which brand of garage cabinets YOU think is best! I have my preferences, but, bottom line, there are many brands that can meet your particular needs better. I’ll mention the leaders here to give you a start.

First, though, I recommend making a key initial decision: Will you buy the cabinets in a local retail store or are you ordering online? Or look at the online catalog of a major retailer and then look at your selection in the store? It’s a key initial decision because it limits the brands you can consider. E.g., if you plan on visiting Sears, expect to see the Craftsman line of cabinets.

Second, decide if you need to buy installation services with the cabinets. That’s much easier to do in a local retail store.

Okay, here are the major / leading brands you should consider and my comments. ($ numbers in parentheses are street costs of a middle sized wall cabinet.) At the outset, let me remind you that a “garage cabinet” is just a cabinet in the garage, not some exotic beast of its own. You can easily consider regular cabinets or furniture – even things from IKEA or industrial shelving – in addition to items specially designed for the garage.

• Ameriwood – Ameriwood is known for kitchen and bathroom cabinets, but they make “multi-purpose cabinets” that work just fine in the garage. ($150)

• Closet-Maid – Again, this company makes all sorts of storage products for inside the house (and closets) as well as wire and laminate products (white melamine, too) for the garage. ($150)

• Coleman – Coleman makes private labeled cabinets for Lowe’s and Builder’s Square. Some Coleman products are metal, but many are MDF, so be sure to check. ($160)

• Craftsman – The store-brand for Sears, known for tools, it’s not a surprise that Craftsman also sells garage cabinets, workbenches, and floor cabinets with tool-storage drawers. Most Craftsman models are made from heavy-duty steel construction with baked enamel finish. ($140)

• Frontgate – Yes, this is the same Frontgate that makes beautiful furniture for your house. They have a line of steel garage cabinets, one with glass panels on the front doors. A bit pricey, but also nice. ($ N/A)

• Hercke – a collection of stainless steel and baked steel cabinets, drawers, and work surfaces — some on legs, some on wheels and a real mix ‘n match set of possibilities. ($219)

• Husky – Available at Home Depot. Some are all steel construction and some are advertised as “metal front” – the latter being resin (synthetic) cabinets with metal doors. ($150 for the all steel; $80 for “metal front”)

• Powell – the “hot rod collection” includes steel cabinets and a butcherblock workbench. ($250)

• PremiereGarage – garage storage solutions delivered by a nationwide network of specialty shops – and solutions range from custom-designed layouts to “standard cabinets” in a host of materials from maple to stainless to “powder-coated” (whatever that means) to melamine “cabinetry systems.”

• Ulti-Mate – Two lines – Ulti-Mate and Ulti-Mate Pro, the latter being optimized for auto enthusiasts. Ulti-Mate cabinets are constructed from MDF with solid hardware and nice finishes. Middle-of the road options. ($120 – $185)

• Vault – An upscale provider of garage storage systems.

Tagged as: Coleman, garage cabinets, garage storage systems, Hercke, steel cabinets, Ulti-Mate