What is actually filed under specialty, and when a plain box plus a part beats it
Reviewed September 2026 · Captivating Cabinets
Most people arrive on a specialty page without knowing what they are looking at, because "specialty" is a shelf label rather than a description. So the inventory first, exactly as the catalogue lists it, and then the question that actually decides these orders: when is an odd-shaped box the right answer, and when is an ordinary box with a good part inside it cheaper, better and easier to change later?
What is in this group, honestly
Two cabinets carry the specialty label on this site, and both are microwave bays:
- GN BMC24, $614.25 — a 24″-wide base, 24″ deep and 34½″ high, with an open bay sized for a countertop microwave or a warming drawer and storage beneath it.
- GN BMC30, $695.50 — the same cabinet six inches wider, $81.25 more.
That is the whole specialty page. Four more odd boxes sit under the plain base cabinets listing rather than here, and no other page on the site explains them, so they belong in this inventory: GN FD18 at $559.00, an 18″-wide file drawer base built at desk height rather than counter height; GN KD30 at $172.25, a 30″ knee drawer only about 5″ high, whose front trims down on site to span a leg space; GN BOC30 at $598.00, described on the listing as a 30″ base oven cabinet but tagged as a base open cabinet, which are two different things — confirm with us which it is before it goes on a quote; and GN BSS3 at $2,021.50, a base cabinet that ships with storage accessories fitted, whose listing states neither its width nor what is inside it.
It is a short list, and the inventory is not really why you are here. The decision underneath it is.
A specialty box, or a standard box with a part in it
Nearly every "specialty" question turns out to be this one. Both routes are on the site, both are priced, and the answer is not the same in every case — so here are five common problems with each route costed out, using displayed prices on the review date.
| The problem | The specialty box | A standard box plus a part | Our call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get the microwave off the worktop | GN BMC24, $614.25 | GN B24, $471.25 — and the appliance stays on the counter | The bay. $143.00 buys back two feet of worktop permanently |
| A bin that is not standing in the room | Nothing in this group does it | GN B18FD, $373.75 + GNK TC18 BLUM trash pull-out, $734.50 = $1,108.25 | The part, because there is no box for it here |
| A desk at desk height | GN FD18, $559.00 | Nothing — a 34½″ base cannot be shortened | The box. This is what specialty is for |
| Leg room between two stacks | GN KD30, $172.25 | Nothing — no accessory makes a gap | The box |
| Cutlery, knives and spices, sorted | GN BSS3, $2,021.50, contents unstated | GN B18FD, $373.75 + GNK CBKD-B18 BLUM insert, $672.75 = $1,046.50 | The part, until somebody tells you what is in the BSS3 |
The rule that table is really teaching: buy the specialty box when what you need is a different shape — an open bay, a desk-height carcass, a 5″-high drawer — because a shape cannot be added afterwards. Buy the ordinary box plus a part when what you need is an arrangement of the inside, because insides can be changed at any point in the next twenty years, and the accessories list will have moved on by then. The trash pull-outs are the clearest example: $617.50 to $809.25 depending on width, dropping into a box you would have bought anyway.
The bay, and four things to settle before the appliance
- The opening. It is not printed on the listing. Ask us for the current cutout from Fabuwood’s spec book before the microwave is bought, then check the appliance against it the way its own manual instructs — outside dimensions plus the air gap it needs at the sides and the back. This is the single most common way a bay goes wrong.
- The outlet. A receptacle behind or beside the bay, on the electrical plan at rough-in. Adding it afterwards means fishing a circuit through a finished wall to feed what is otherwise an open shelf.
- The hinge side, and the landing. A microwave door cannot be reversed, and a base bay means lifting hot food down and toward you rather than down from shoulder height — which suits some households and rules it out for anyone who should not be bending. Either way there must be clear worktop within a step.
- The end of the run. If the bay finishes a run, GN SK MC is the end skin listed for the microwave cabinet, at $50.05 under decorative accessories.
Between the two sizes, take the 30 whenever the run can give up the six inches. It is $81.25 more and it rules out far fewer appliances, and cabinets outlast microwaves by two or three appliance generations. A base bay also frees the wall above the range for a proper hood rather than a combination unit, which is a better outcome for the cooking and for the room.
The desk, counted in widths
Two of the parts above build a desk in the same paint and the same drawer hardware as the kitchen, and the arithmetic is done in inches before it is done in dollars. GN FD18 is 18″ wide; GN KD30 is 30″ wide with a front that trims down to 24″ on site. A file base on one side of a knee drawer against a wall gives 48″ — GN FD18 at $559.00 plus GN KD30 at $172.25, $731.25 as displayed. A file base on each side gives 66″ for $1,290.25, with a deep letter-file drawer at both ends.
Measure the finished opening before ordering the knee drawer, since it is sized to the gap it spans rather than the other way round, and confirm the listing dimensions with us — the file base is built to desk height rather than the 34½″ the rest of the run stands at, which is the whole reason it exists.
If a corner or a bench brought you here
Specialty pages collect the searches that do not fit anywhere else, so the odds are the box you want has a page of its own. For a 90° corner: the blind corner is the cheapest turn, the easy reach opens the whole square through one angled door, and the lazy Susan brings the back of the corner to you. For the end of a run, the return angle bases. For seating, the drawer bench seats. And the whole finish, every box in it, is on the Galaxy Nickel collection page — with a free 3D design if you would rather have somebody else decide which box the problem calls for.
Common questions
- What counts as a specialty base cabinet?
- On this site, the two base microwave cabinets — GN BMC24 at $614.25 and GN BMC30 at $695.50. Four more unusual boxes are filed under plain base cabinets: the FD18 file base, the KD30 knee drawer, the BOC30 and the BSS3.
- Should I buy a specialty cabinet or a standard cabinet with an accessory?
- Buy the specialty box when you need a different shape — an open bay, a desk-height carcass, a 5″ drawer — because a shape cannot be added later. Buy a standard box plus a part when you need the inside arranged, because inserts and pull-outs can be changed at any time.
- Is there a trash base cabinet in this finish?
- Not as a cabinet. The route here is an ordinary box plus a pull-out: a GN B18FD at $373.75 with an 18″ GNK TC18 BLUM trash pull-out at $734.50, $1,108.25 together. The pull-outs run $617.50 to $809.25 across the widths.
- How much is a microwave base cabinet?
- $614.25 for the 24″ GN BMC24 and $695.50 for the 30″ GN BMC30 as displayed. Take the 30 where the run allows it: $81.25 more rules out far fewer appliances, and the cabinet will outlast several microwaves.
- What size microwave fits the bay?
- The opening is not published on the listing. Ask us for the current cutout before buying the appliance, then add the ventilation gaps its manual requires to its outside dimensions and compare. Doing it in that order is what prevents the expensive version of this mistake.
- What is the GN BSS3?
- A base cabinet supplied with storage accessories already fitted, at $2,021.50 — the priciest base in the finish. The listing states neither the width nor the contents, so confirm both with us before it is quoted; the same money buys a box plus a cutlery insert plus a trash pull-out with change left over.
- Can I build a kitchen desk out of these parts?
- Yes. GN FD18 at $559.00 is built at desk height, and GN KD30 at $172.25 spans the leg space, trimming to 24″ on site. One of each makes 48″ for $731.25; a file base on each side of the knee drawer makes 66″ for $1,290.25.
Keep reading
The guides behind the numbers on this page.
- Kitchen Cabinet Terminology Glossary
What BMC, KD, FD and BOC stand for.
- Space-Saving Cabinet Solutions
The accessory half of the decision, laid out by problem.
- Beam-Mounted and Pull-Out Cabinet Accessories
How the pull-outs mount, and what they need from the box.
- Fabuwood Cabinet Sizes and Specs
Catalogue dimensions for the bay cabinets and the desk-height parts.
- Important Kitchen Dimensions Before Buying Cabinets
Landing space beside a bay, and the lane in front of it.
- Types of Base Cabinets
Every base shape, with the odd ones set beside the ordinary ones.
- How to Read Cabinet SKU Codes
Reading an unfamiliar code before it goes on a quote.
