Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets can make or break a kitchen, both in terms of design and in terms of functionality. This is probably why many people find selecting new kitchen cabinets to be a very daunting task. The goal with this two part article is to simplify the process and try to break it down into easy steps for you.

Planning

When choosing the right kitchen cabinets, planning is such an important part of the process. No matter what quality or what design style cabinet you choose, if you don’t layout it out right, you’ll likely end up hating your kitchen. Remember, this is an area of your home you will be spending a lot of time in. Nowadays, even when guests are visiting, people tend to congregate in the kitchen. So, it has to be both practical and attractive, both being equally important. If planning your layout seems overwhelming, consider purchasing software that will help or using the services of a professional to assist you in deciding on your layout.

Stock, Semi-Custom & Custom

These are the three basic groups of kitchen cabinets to choose from. The group you choose depends on your budget and your layout needs. Stock cabinets, the lowest cost option, can be ordered from your local home improvement store and widths start at nine inches and increase in three inch increments up to the maximum width of forty-eight inches. Special sizes are not available and if you end up with gaps between cabinets and walls or appliances, filler strips will need to be used to close the gaps. Semi-custom kitchen cabinets allow you to make certain changes to width and style of the cabinets. This option allows you a little more customization of your cabinets but at less cost than full custom cabinets. Custom cabinets are exactly that, you choose the size and style of your cabinets. This is obviously the most expensive option, but allows you to have complete control of your layout and can be built to suit any space.

Choose a Cabinet Style

At least this part of the choosing the right kitchen cabinets has only two choices, face-framed or frameless (European). Face-framed cabinets are the most common cabinets in the U.S. In this construction method, the kitchen cabinets are made with a hardwood frame on the face of each cabinet. This frame masks the raw edges of the wood used to construct the sides of the cabinet and it helps to add to the structural integrity of the cabinet. This construction method allows cabinets to be made without a top on each cabinet piece. When doors are installed, there is enough of a gap between for the doors for the frame to show. In frameless construction (Eurpean style) kitchen cabinets are made like a box. The cabinets are made out of plywood or particle board and everything is covered with wood veneer, melamine or plastic laminate. Doors on frameless cabinets usually have very little gap between them, resulting in an unbroken appearance for the cabinets. So, still not sure which style you want? If you’re looking for a traditional feel in your kitchen, go with the face-framed kitchen cabinets. If you want a contemporary, more modern feel, choose the frameless (European style) cabinets.

In part two of Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinets I’ll cover accessories, hardware and the topping on the cake, countertops.

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