What is Millwork? (+ 4 Inspiring Examples)

Did you know we have our own millshop? Guerilla can create custom woodwork for your home that fits your style. If you’ve been exploring renovating your home or having a new home custom-built, you may have heard of millwork. Maybe you’ve talked to some potential builders who have mentioned millwork as an option to add to your home, and you nodded along pretending to know what they meant.

Want to know what’s considered millwork and how it’s different from other woodwork?

In this article, we’ll break down what millwork actually is and show you examples of how it can enhance your next building project.

What is Millwork?

Put simply, millwork is any wood product that’s been fabricated by a carpenter. For example, taking a beautiful slab of wood and turning it into cabinets. Millwork pieces can include a variety of woodwork, including doors, cabinets, moldings, etc. Millwork is custom made and installed on site to fit seamlessly with a client’s specifications.

Think of it this way: in fashion, you have ready to wear pieces and couture.

With ready to wear, you can buy these items straight off the rack in a store. They’re not fitted to you and you can’t make any changes to them before you buy.

With couture, you’re getting a garment that’s custom fitted. You can specify elements like color, and your piece is measured exactly to fit you and only you.

In the realm of construction, millwork is couture. Instead of simply painting an old cabinet with green paint, you can have crafted cabinets that are stained a custom shade that matches your personal style.

You can create woodwork that’s as maximalist or as minimalist as you want. Quality custom millwork will fit seamlessly into your home and look like it was part of the original house.

What’s the Difference Between Millwork and Casework?

People might confuse millwork and casework, but the two are totally different.

Millwork is custom made and custom fit into your home.

With casework, an item’s construction isn’t done in the space. Casework pieces arrive ready to use. Casework is modular, closer to definition to furniture. A good example of casework are glass and wood vitrines used in exhibition design. Effectively millwork and casework are cousins. Good casework pieces will have millwork details, such as wood trim on display cabinets.

Thinking back to our fashion analogy, casework is the ready to wear option, and millwork is the couture option.

Inspiring Examples of Millwork

At Guerilla we have our own millshop. It’s one of the many reasons our projects are so special. Guerilla can create custom woodwork for your home that fits your style.

Check out some gorgeous examples of our work below.

Kitchen Millwork

In this example, the client and the architect designed a space that was all about clean lines. Our carpenters carefully matched up the wood grain on the custom cabinets. The natural variations in the wood became a design element unto itself. Lighting and discrete hardware round out the presentation.

In this kitchen, our designer-client had a vision for a space that blended, wood, concrete, and stone. Cabinets were built to his exact specifications. Appliances, such as the hanging exhaust hood, were wrapped in wood.

Bathroom Millwork

This bathroom renovation looks simple to the eye, and that’s intentional. Not every bathroom needs a big design moment, this one falls closer to the quiet luxury trend. That includes a custom pocket door, and beautiful cabinets that have a wood slat pattern. Radiant heat in the floor, soft pink ceramic floor tile, and brass fixtures warm up the space.

Another Millwork Example

This is a coffee station in a splendid mid-century house in Greenspring Valley.

The woodgrain has been carefully placed to show its best advantage. The color stain was chosen to match some of the existing woodwork in the adjacent dining room. This space used to be a closet.

Want Millwork In Your Home?

If you love these examples, talk to us about how millwork could fit into your next home renovation project.

Want to check out more examples of our design work? Read this post about a recent renovation project on Park Avenue.