There is no greater eye-catching element in the kitchen than the cabinetry. As the predominant feature, cabinets reflect your personal style and set the design tone of your kitchen. But beyond the aesthetics, they also set the stage for its overall durability and efficiency. Therefore, with all the cabinetry options available, it’s important to consider style preferences in tandem with workflow, organization, and quality.
To help you arrive at the best possible choice for your kitchen, here’s some cabinetry food for thought:
Durability
The most widely used material for kitchen cabinets is wood and wood-based materials, including hardwood, plywood, and particle board. Hardwood is long lasting, reliable, and easy to repair because most minor damage can be sanded out. Because hardwood and plywood are most often associated with great quality and durability, they often cost more. If you’re on a budget, though, it’s possible to find well-made cabinets with particle board at a lower price range.
Functionality
In addition to the material, quality cabinetry should be easy and convenient to use.
A few other features that are often indicative of great quality:
- Soft-close hinges and drawer glides
- Full extension drawers with undermount glides (where the hardware is hidden under the drawer)
- A good quality finish
- Dovetail drawer boxes
Cabinet Type: Shelves and Drawers
Storage space is essential for every kitchen, but what type? Here it’s best to think about organization and accessibility. What kind of storage solutions would be helpful to you and your family? Do you need bins, racks and/or pullout trays? Do you have a cookbook library? Where will you put your spices?
Walls cabinets are typically used for basic storage and can have stylized treatments – e.g. glass doors or open shelves for display purposes. Meanwhile base cabinets define the kitchen footprint (and thus the entire flow) and offer the most flexibility for organizational configuring. Today, many homeowners are showing a preference for drawers as they are more ergonomic – bringing contents out to your rather than bending over and digging through contents.
Cabinet Styles
There are endless cabinet door styles to suit every taste, but they all fall into these three basic categories:
- Flush or Slab – a single board with no ornamentation.
- Flat Panel – a framed, recessed panel with squared edges. Examples: Shaker, Mission, Craftsman and Prairie
- Raised Panel – raised center panel that slopes to the corners. Examples: Traditional, Colonial and Victorian
Cabinet Frames: Inset vs. Overlay
There are also three ways to place doors and drawers on cabinets. They are:
- Inset frames offer a clean, sleek look in which the doors are set inside the cabinet frame. When the door is shut, it sits flush with the face of the cabinet. Inset cabinets are more costly as there is a higher level of craftsmanship required to install them and will require more maintenance to keep them operating smoothly as humidity and time may shift their alignment. Another downside of inset construction is its reduced storage space inside the cabinet.
- Partial overlay frames are the least expensive and most common construction in the U.S. With this type, the doors partially overlap the frame, leaving a portion of the frame exposed between doors. Installation is more forgiving, and the doors are easier to open and close without hardware. However, this look is beginning to lose popularity to inset and full overlay, making them a more dated option.
- Full overlay doors cover the entire cabinet frame and allow for maximum storage. Like inset frames, they are clean and sleek, providing a continuous modern look. Unlike inset frames, they require less precision for install and less finicky with alignment. However, with exposed corners, full overlay doors can be more susceptible to wear and tear.
Cabinet Hardware
Kitchen cabinet hardware may seem like a small detail in the grand scheme of things. But the right hardware can truly add character to your kitchen and serve as the perfect finishing touch. Coming in all shapes and sizes, kitchen hardware mostly falls into one of two main categories: knobs or pulls. Both styles have their pros and cons, and the right one for you will likely come down to personal preference.
Knobs
When it comes to knobs, the options are bountiful to say the least. For a classic, minimalist look, choose simple round or square metal knobs. Or for a more luxurious feel, opt for decorative, ornately embellished ones. Knobs are easy to install and tend to be a bit cheaper than pulls. However, they’re not as sturdy since they rely on a single screw. One tip to note when choosing knobs, round ones will never look crooked, while square knobs (and other shapes) can look off-kilter if the screw rotates over time.
Pulls
Pulls are a great choice for larger, heavier drawers. They allow you to grasp the hardware with your entire hand, rather than just your fingertips, and are generally more comfortable to operate. Because pulls tend to be larger, they are generally a bit more expensive than knobs.
Design Note – Don’t be afraid to mix it up! You don’t have to choose between knobs and pulls for your entire kitchen. Many people select knobs for their cabinets and pulls for their drawers.
Ready to find the perfect cabinetry for your kitchen?
Every selection and decision in the remodeling process is important. Our team at Square Deal Remodeling is dedicated to bringing every element together to create the most functional and visually appealing kitchen for you. If you have questions or want to learn more about how we work, give us a call at (503) 254-4156 or contact us online today. We can’t wait to hear about your project!
