Choosing Kitchen Cabinets

There are three cabinet types: stock, semi-custom and custom. Stock cabinets are pre-assembled and are limited in style and colour choices. Semi-custom cabinets require assembly and have more style, colour and configuration options that stock cabinets.

Custom cabinets allow you to choose what you want to your specifications.

Cabinets with the best quality construction have solid wood drawers with dovetail joinery instead of stapled particleboard. Quality cabinets also have full extension drawer glides instead of integrated rails and doors with solid wood frames with a solid wood or plywood panel instead of veneered particleboard or medium density fibreboard (MDF) panel.

Materials Solid wood is the go to choice for cabinets teak is the popular option but there is also, appa matt, cypre, mahogany, bamboo, knotted pine, oak, MDF or resin.

Door Styles Door profile and door styles prove to be the most difficult decisions when designing your kitchen cabinetry. The typical door styles are shaker, louvered, flat panel, raised panel, inset with or without glass with or without frosting, texture or seeding, mullion and accent, beadboard, distressed and thermofoil.

Door Mounting Styles The most common door mounting style is overlay where the door lays over the cabinet frame. Fully overlay doors are mounted close together on the frame.

Inset doors fit within the frame. There is the option of framed or frameless cabinets.

Function Functionality is the most important element in a kitchen. More and more people are opting for more drawers in the kitchen. There are also have soft close hinges incorporated in the door and drawers.

They are great for eliminating doors and drawers from being slammed.

Finish Wooden cabinets can be painted, stained or pickled with a high gloss or matte finish. Grey and white are the most popular colours for cabinetry. Natural wood finish is great for a laid back look.

Laminate, melamine, acrylic and thermofoil are also very common finishes for kitchen cabinetry.

Try incorporating two different cabinet colours, materials or finishes in the kitchen.

Hardware The hardware completes the look and adds jewels which can dressed up or dressed down the cabinets.

The style of hardware should reflect the style of the cabinets, however, this rule can be broken. Hinges also play and important role in the aesthetic of the cabinets however, keep the finish the same as the hand pulls.

Details Other details which can be added to kitchen cabinetry are crown or edge mouldings, decorative supports, aprons, corbels and toe kicks. These are not standard on cabinetry but they create a big visual impact..

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