Can Massachusetts Homeowners Choose Their Own ADU Finishes?

By Buz Artiano, BuildX | February 2026

When you're looking at spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an ADU, the last thing you want is to feel like you're stuck with a bunch of standard finishes. We hear this concern all the time from people who have had bad experiences with other builders or contractors who basically only offered them two or three options and called it "customization."

At BuildX, we've built dozens of ADUs in Massachusetts, and we have really learned a lot. The selections process is where you will either feel like you own your new space or whether you feel like you're settling with someone else's choices. We believe your ADU should reflect you, not our ideas. This way of thinking is the whole reason behind how our showroom is set up in Carver, and it's also why we only work with suppliers who offer hundreds of options in every category.

Customization doesn't always mean the same thing in the ADU industry. Some builders use an allowance system with not a lot of selections in order to keep the process short and simple. Others will offer very basic packages and then try to sell you expensive upgrades. We've also seen some modular companies deliver units where everything is pre-done, no customization at all. Knowing how much you want to customize your ADUs finishes should be part of who you choose for a builder.

What Finishes Can You Select for Your ADU?

The selections process at BuildX covers every surface and fixture in your ADU. We schedule a special meeting at our Carver showroom where you can see, touch, and compare everything in person. Here are the categories you can choose from.

Cabinets and Vanities

Our standard cabinet line is US Cabinet Depot. They have 8 to 12 colors in all-plywood construction with the nice soft-close hinges and doors. They're manufactured in Cambodia and assembled in the United States. They are an amazing value for the price. For these cabinets it usually runs around $8,000 for a typical ADU kitchen.

If you want full customization for your cabinets, we also work with a company called Showplace Cabinets, they are employee owned and are based in South Dakota. They have over 200 door styles in any color you can imagine, and sizing in one-eighth-inch increments. This is as custom as you can get. But of course it adds quite a bit to the cost. Upgrading to Showplace cabinets usually adds around $20,000 to the project, sometimes more depending on how complicated the design is.

Countertops

We use granite or quartz for countertops, with right around 30 options available in our showroom. They both come in various colors and patterns. But if you want even more variety, we can send you to Boston Granite Exchange in West Bridgewater, where they have 200 to 500 different slabs including quartzite, specialty granites, and translucent materials. The installation cost is the same regardless of which slab you choose.

Flooring

Our standard flooring is luxury vinyl tile (LVT) manufactured by Mohawk in the United States. It's fully waterproof, includes a built-in pad for quieter walking, and comes in 22 to 30 color options. This stuff is really durable, easy to maintain, and looks great. If you'd rather have something different like maybe Brazilian hardwood, we can install that as well, we would just charge the price difference between LVT and what you choose.

Interior Paint

Interior walls are painted with an eggshell finish, and two paint colors are included. If you want to add more colors, each one costs $250. Most homeowners find two colors to be just fine for a single ADU, but there is room for you to be creative if you want accent walls or special room treatments.

Interior Doors and Trim

You can choose your door style, whether you want two-panel, one-panel, four-panel, or some other kind. If you want stain-grade millwork, we can do that as well. The trim style is also adjustable to your preferences. These choices give your ADU a clean inside look that shows off your taste.

Hardware

We install only lever-style handles, because they are easier to operate than knobs and meet accessibility standards. We can do them in chrome, brushed nickel, black, and several other colors. For cabinet hardware, we have over 50 different pulls and knobs you can choose from for the kitchen and bathroom.

Exterior Finishes

For siding, we only use CertainTeed vinyl in their Monogram line, which is the absolute top-of-the-line product. Exterior decks are made with Timbertech composite decking, which is available in multiple colors. Roofing options are also part of the selections process.

What Items Will You Provide Yourself?

There's two categories that work best when homeowners make their own purchases: appliances and shower doors.

Appliances: We don't supply appliances. You buy them, and we install them. We started doing it this way after years of trying these allowance systems that never really made anybody happy. Some people wanted basic appliances while others wanted more expensive high-end stuff. So instead of guessing, we just let you choose exactly what you want. Whatever you bring us is what we install. That includes TV mounts, window shades, and other things like that. Our goal is for you to be able to move in without needing a single tool.

Shower Doors: Similar to appliances, shower door preferences vary too much for us to pick them for you. We have great shower door vendors we can connect you with, you pick what you want, and we then coordinate the installation with them. That way you get the exact style and price that you want.

Can You Supply Your Own Materials?

Yes, with some conditions. If you want to supply your own cabinets, for example, we can accommodate that depending on where you are getting them. You might have a relationship with a local cabinet maker or maybe you like a brand we just don't have. In that case, we can leave the kitchen alone and let your vendor do the installation, or we can go ahead and install the cabinets you provide.

The main thing is that we need materials from suppliers we know have high quality standards. We can't install cabinets from an unknown source when we have no idea how they are made or what they are made with. If you want to use your own supplier, we will work with you to make sure you are getting good quality materials.

How Do Upgrades and Pricing Work?

The way we price our upgrades is really simple: you pay the difference between our standard selection and your chosen upgrade. If standard LVT flooring costs $5 per square foot and you want Brazilian hardwood at $15 per square foot, the math is easy, you just pay the $10 difference per foot.

For countertops, the installation cost stays the same regardless of which slab you pick from our suppliers. You only pay the difference in the cost of the material. This way, all the upgrade pricing is transparent and simple.

A note on alternatives: Some builders offer fewer selection options in order to simplify their process, which isn't a bad way to go for those people who want decisions made for them or are overwhelmed by the decision making process. If you prefer a simpler experience with limited choices, that's a great reason to explore other builders. Our methods are designed for homeowners who want control over their finishes and are willing to invest time in the selections process to get exactly what they want.

What Happens During the Selections Meeting?

The selections meeting happens at our showroom in Carver, Massachusetts. You'll see physical samples of everything. We have flooring planks, cabinet door colors, countertop materials, trim profiles, siding options, and decking boards. We walk you through every category one by one.

If you know exactly what you want, we can finalize everything in the first meeting. If you need time to think about some things, you can always come back for a follow-up meeting. This is all part of the pre-construction process, and we never charge extra for follow up meetings.

We also use a really cool 3D visualization software during pre-construction. It lets you see your cabinet layout, interior finishes, and overall design on the screen before we build. This way you can see how your choices will look together in the actual space. The last thing we want is for you to see the finished ADU and hate it. Spending time on computer visualization is basically free compared to how much it can cost to change things during construction.

Why Does BuildX Emphasize Quality in Standard Finishes?

We never use cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel products. Every product in our standard packages are quality finishes that we know work, that clients are satisfied with, that lasts a long time, and that minimize any warranty issues.

We have heard people say that they think they can save $100,000 by picking out cheap finishes. The truth is more like $10,000 to $15,000, and then you regret it for the next 30 years. Our standard line is the absolute minimum quality baseline that we will work with. Even our lowest level cabinets are all-plywood construction with soft-close features, we don't use particleboard with basic hardware.

An ADU is a big investment, and we want to make sure you are proud of what you own. A well-built, high-quality ADU lasts a long time and holds its value. We've built our product selections around that way of thinking.

Want to see our selections in person? Schedule a consultation and we can arrange a showroom visit during the pre-construction phase.

Ready to Choose Your ADU Finishes?

The secret to a successful build is picking and deciding everything up front. When you work through selections before construction begins, you eliminate surprises and ensure the finished ADU reflects your vision.

You have options in nearly every finish category. Standard selections offer strong quality and variety. Upgrades are priced transparently. And if our suppliers do not have what you need, we have relationships with showrooms that offer hundreds more choices.