Cabinetry 101: 5 Steps to Selecting Cabinets with High-Quality Craftsmanship
Welcome to Part 2 of Cabinetry 101, where we’ll be talking about everything you need to know about the cabinets’ style and construction.
While this isn’t as exciting as deciding on various colors and hardware details, the construction and features of the cabinets are like the foundation of a house. Build on a good foundation, and the rest will fall into place. Choose the right cabinetry construction, and your design will shine.
If you’re just joining us, our design process includes taking you to showrooms to see all the cabinetry options. Steve calls this Cabinetry 101, because he takes the time to teach you all you need to know about cabinets to make an informed decision for your budget, lifestyle, and home. Here are the 5 features you should consider when selecting your cabinetry…
(P.S. If you missed it, read Part 1 here: Cabinetry 101: What to Know about the Investment, Quality & Source.)
Step 1. Choose the Right Box Material
The “box” is the outer container of your cabinets, without drawers or doors. It’s important for the box to be sturdy and resist water damage.
Our Choice: We always choose cabinets constructed with full plywood sides and backs. High-quality cabinets can also feature a fully plywood box. We love plywood because it’s highly resilient to damage and has a high tolerance for moisture, making it great for kitchens and bathrooms. As a result, these cabinets will endure delivery, installation, and many years into the future.
Plywood (left) and particle board (right). Which looks like it can better tolerate moisture and daily wear and tear? (Source Unknown)
Avoid: Less expensive cabinets use particle board, which is heavy and absorbs moisture more easily. Simply put, avoid particle board at all costs. When comparing the two materials above, you can see how solid the plywood is (left) compared to the particle board (right).
Step 2. Choose Framed or Frameless for Your Box Style
Framed vs. frameless refers to the method used to make the front of the cabinet box. It’s difficult to describe, but a diagram explains it best:
Source Unknown
Technically, all framed and frameless cabinets have the same amount of space inside (assuming the overall box is the same size), but a frameless cabinet has more accessible space than a framed cabinet. Therefore, a frameless cabinet offers you storage for large items and a much cleaner look.
Our Choice: We prefer the frameless cabinets for the maximum opening and the simplicity of the box construction, but it’s entirely personal preference.
We chose a frameless box style for our Waterfront Renovation to make grabbing larger items easier.
Step 3: Choose Your Door Type
There are two different types of cabinet doors: those that sit on top of the cabinet frame (called overlay) and those that sit flush inside the frame itself, called inset doors. Again, a visual with say it best:
On the left, we have cabinet doors that fit snugly inside the outdoor box frame. These are inset doors — and our personal favorite for a clean, classic look. However, this is a custom look, and only a handful of manufacturers make this style well, so be careful who you hire to do this.
On the right, you can see what’s called a “full overlay,” meaning that the cabinet door fully covers the front of the box. This can also create a clean, classic look. The third option, partial overlay, is our least favorite and mostly seen in older ‘90s homes.
Our Choice: Inset doors are a premium product because they take skill to produce due to the exact fit of the door and the cabinet. But the look is impressive and worth the investment. Not to mention that it increases your home value. As a second choice, go with full overlay.
Step 4: Select High-Quality Drawers
Think about how many times you open and close the drawers and how much you store in them. You need to have a solid hardwood drawer box with heavy plywood bottoms, representing the best cabinet construction quality.
Our Choice: We always select “dovetail” drawers, which simply means that the drawers are constructed with dovetail joints (shown below) instead of staples. Yes, staples. You can see below how they fit like a glove. This creates secure drawers that should not bend or bow, and that will keep the front face of the drawer in alignment.
Step 5: Choose Soft-Close Hinges & Drawer Glides
This used to be an upgrade feature, but for most quality cabinet lines, this feature is standard now. Soft-close hinges close the doors consistently and easily with a smooth and quiet movement, which also helps it avoid wear and tear.
The most significant benefit to this feature is that they prevent drawers from sagging or loosening because the mechanism is under the drawer rather than on the side. The heavier the drawers (think huge serving platters), the more important it is to have glides that can keep calm under duress.
Final Thoughts on Smart Cabinet Construction
Unfortunately, your cabinetry decisions don’t end here. There are a few other details to consider, like the design on the door, the type of finish, and the color you choose. I may create a Part 3 to your Cabinetry 101 experience, but either way, it’s always worth a trip to the showroom to see your options and feel the quality differences with your own two hands.
As we tell our clients, you don’t remodel a kitchen often (hopefully), so taking the time to explore the options to make an informed decision is well worth the time!
If you’re ready to transform your kitchen into a beautiful and functional cooking paradise, reach out and let’s chat to see if we’re a good fit for your project.
Warmly,
Sarah