Ask your designer for the new "soft-close" doors - This prevents the door from slamming and provides a gentle closing action.

Budget for some "extras" for your cabinets, such as roll-outs, lazy susan cabinets in the corners, etc... But keep to your budget!  These extras can add up fast.

What You Should Know When Choosing Kitchen Cabinets

 

To most consumers, few cabinet brands are well-known and a lot of cabinetry looks alike today. It is almost impossible at a glance to tell the difference between expensive and inexpensive cabinetry. Even for many professionals in the field!

 

Yet cabinetry can represent as much as 60% of an average kitchen’s cost. That is why it is so important for you to be thoroughly informed about the quality differences in cabinetry. It will prevent you from making a wrong decision and being disappointed with the end result.

 

 

Construction Differences

 

There are basically two types of cabinet construction systems. The first is called “framed” construction and represents the traditional American methodology from yesteryear. It takes a “box” and attaches a solid 1 ½” wide x ¾” thick “frame” to the front of it. Doors can then “slab”, “lip”, “set in flush” ( like fine furniture ) or “marginally cover” this front frame.

 

The second production method was developed in Europe in recent decades. Called the “frameless” ( or “European” ) system, 5/8” - ¾” thick melamine ( or plywood ) panels are assembled to construct the cabinet chassis ( or “box” ). This thicker side panel material eliminates the need for a front “frame” to keep the “box” rigid.

 

Which system is better? This subject is open for debate. Purists prefer “framed” cabinetry for its authentic look, “old world” construction, and general absence of substitute wood materials like “particleboard”. “Frameless” enthusiasts point to the many functional advantages inherent to this more modern construction system.

 

 

Quality Grade Differences

 

Our organization has identified seven ( 7 ) different quality grades: Shop-built, Ready-to-assemble ( RTA ), Production, Semi-custom, Popular, Furniture, and Luxury. With so many quality grades, you can imagine the broad spectrum in features, benefits, and pricing.

 

Indeed, no cabinet manufacturer - local, regional, or national - can stay in business very long unless its product is priced right for value received. If a product costs more, you can correctly assume that there must be more invested in the way of materials, manufacturing, or marketing dollars that add value. Knowing how, where, and why these investments were made, and what they mean to you as a consumer, is one major reason to see a professional kitchen specialist.

 

Recognizing both the tangible and intangible differences between quality grades will help you understand the seemingly wide feature/price variances. This investigative process will lead you to a wise final product selection.  

Local cabinet shops produce the ”shop-built” cabinetry which, in some regions, are only finished on the site. RTA, Production, and Semi-custom are mostly available through home centers; some kitchen specialists carry them as well. Since skilled designers and craftsmen are necessary, Popular, Furniture, and Luxury grade cabinetry are almost exclusively available through professional kitchen specialists.

 

 

The Most Critical Factors In Quality

 

In terms of function and durability, the two most critical quality factors are exterior finish and drawer action.

 

One of the major reasons why Americans remodel their kitchens results from “finish failure”. The mere acids from your hands can deteriorate a lacquer finish around a cabinet door pull, leaving a ”whitened” area. Household spills and residue grease from an inadequate ventilation system can also leave cabinet surfaces in a sticky state.

 

The best wood cabinet finishes use a multiple step process of sanding, sealing, hand-wipe staining, finish coating of conversion varnish, and baking in an oven. Because local cabinet shops usually lack the capital to invest in state-of-the-art finishing equipment, the finishes on their products are the most suspect. Indeed, it is the “shop-built” variety that is the most frequently removed quality grade in kitchen remodeling projects.

 

 

As for drawers, look for those with smooth sliding action and a positive closure. Make sure the “drawer box’ is sturdily built and well joined at the corners. Take the drawer out of cabinet and turn it over to see how it is constructed. Press your fingers against the bottom of the drawer body to see how much “flex’ there is.

 

 

Since drawers take the weight of heavy utensils and pots, and are subject to a great deal of everyday “slamming shut”, they need to be functionally sound. Like the exterior cabinet finish, they are among the first to show signs of wear and tear in a kitchen. Choose a cabinet quality with a good drawer system.

 

 

 How The Intangibility Factor Affects Your Satisfaction

 

A set of beautiful cabinets is much more of an intangible product than a tangible one. Unlike a refrigerator, car, or sofa, it does not come off an assembly line as a finished product. Cabinetry must be installed in your home from a dizzying number of individual parts according to a detailed set of blueprints and specifications.

 

 

The human element will have a huge impact on your level of satisfaction. For example, a professional Designer can create a dramatic plan using a relatively inexpensive Production grade cabinet line. Then, in the hands of a skilled craftsman, that unique design can be given a ‘fit and finish’ that could make the Production grade cabinetry look like it is worth thousands more.

 

Conversely, Luxury grade cabinetry designed by relatively inexperienced personnel could become your worst nightmare. The only tangible result might be an inferior-looking project with a very poor return on your investment. The worst part is finding out too late when the cost of making a change is insurmountable.

 

When it comes to choosing cabinetry, your best insurance policy, regardless of the brand name or quality grade, is the selection of a professional kitchen firm with a qualified staff and the right services. Find someone with whom you feel comfortable, takes an ‘educational approach’ as a ‘working partner’ in the project, furnishes objective advice, has strong references, and offers proof of the value of his services. Without question, the quality of the people used at all stages of the project - measuring, designing, ordering, scheduling, and installing - will ultimately determine the degree of quality and value you receive from your cabinet investment.