The two terms get used interchangeably on drawing sets and RFQs — but on the shop floor they describe different work, different budgets, and different tolerances. Here's how we scope them at Riggins.
Millwork is custom architectural woodwork — anything drawn specifically for the space, built to profile, and finished as part of the architecture. Casework is the box-based storage work: cabinets, shelving, closets. Casework can absolutely be custom, but its construction logic is modular. Most real projects specify both, and the distinction matters for how they're drawn, priced, and installed.
Custom-designed woodwork built to architectural drawings — mouldings, paneling, stairs, built-ins, ceilings.
Box-based storage units: cabinets, shelving systems, closets. Modular in logic, though often custom in finish.
Shop-drawn and hand-fitted. Solid hardwoods, veneered panels, integrated joinery, site-scribed for existing conditions.
Panel-processed boxes (typically 3/4" ply or MDF) with dado/dowel/confirmat joinery, edgebanded faces, adjustable hardware.
Fully bespoke. Profile, species, finish, and scale all specified per project. No two runs are identical.
Standard box logic with custom face, finish, and hardware. Efficient when the same detail repeats across a project.
Libraries, wine walls, fireplace surrounds, wainscoting, integrated seating, stair skirts, feature ceilings.
Kitchens, sculleries, primary baths, mudrooms, offices, retail fixtures, hospitality back-of-house.
Elevations, sections, and full-scale profile details. Species and finish samples approved before shop release.
Plan + elevation with box schedule, door style, hardware, and finish. AWI Custom or Premium grade typical.
Site-scribed and hand-finished by the same crew that built it. Longer install window, tighter reveals.
Faster install — leveled and anchored as pre-built boxes, then filler-scribed at walls and ceiling.
A refined kitchen usually reads as casework — inset doors, integrated appliances, custom hardware — because the underlying logic is still boxes and doors. Wrap that kitchen with a plaster hood, reeded oak paneling, and a run of coffered ceiling, and you've crossed into millwork. On residential projects the line often runs through the same room.
On commercial jobs the split is usually cleaner: back-of-house and retail storage is casework; the front-of-house feature walls, bar fronts, and display millwork are drawn and priced separately. Getting the split right in the scope keeps schedule and budget honest.
For every project we separate the millwork line items from the casework line items on the estimate. Millwork carries shop-drawing time, sample approvals, and a longer install window; casework carries hardware selections, finish schedules, and appliance coordination. Splitting them early makes value engineering conversations easier — a client can trim a paneling run without touching the kitchen scope, or upgrade cabinet hardware without re-pricing the library.
Working on a set?
Send drawings — we'll scope both.