Traditional or European Kitchen Cabinets – Learn What You Need to Know Before Ordering Online
Buying kitchen cabinets from one of those Big Box or Home Improvement stores can be a big mistake. You have no idea if the person who helped you design and order one of the biggest purchases of your life has been working in the cabinet business for 20 years or 2 weeks. If you want to take a chance with your money and your project schedule, don’t bother reading any further and go for it. A lot of people do it, and a lot of them really regret jumping in so fast. Please keep reading.
DECIDING WHICH STYLE CABINETS TO BUY ONLINE
There are two basic cabinet styles available now, the traditional cabinet and the frameless European-style cabinet. For people who would like a clean, modern look, the European style is probably right for you. With no front frames on the cabinet boxes, all you see are the doors and drawer fronts with no intervening trim. Kitchencraft or Arch Bay by Kitchencraft is the best known manufacturer of more modern European style cabinetry. Made in Canada.
For a vintage or historic-style home, traditional-style cabinets are probably what you’re looking for. A face frame is attached around the entire front of the cabinet box, leaving a visible border between the doors and drawer fronts. Kraftmaid Cabinets is the company best known for producing traditional style cabinets. Made in the USA. Norman, Mid Continent, Ultracraft and Somersby kitchen cabinets also have traditional styles and are made in the USA.
Many accessories and finishing items are available for both types of cabinets including but not limited to crown molding, light rail molding, inserts, corbels, glass door inserts, glass shelves and the list goes on and on. It can be quite a challenge to decide on everything you would like in your new kitchen.
Kitchen cabinets are built basically the same way. They all start with a box, with or without a front frame, fixed or adjustable shelves, a door, and possibly some drawer fronts. Ordering cool options for your kitchen is always an option, like pot and pan storage, rolling trays, full extension drawer runners, etc. You now have a box with one or two shelves, possibly a pull-out tray, doors, and a couple of drawers. So what’s the deal with the big price difference you’re asking? That is a good question.
The thickness and type of material used on the sides of the cabinet is one of the differences between cabinet manufacturers and options. Door profiles, wood species, and finish color vary somewhat between companies. It’s not enough to create such a big difference in prices between certain kitchen cabinet companies. All of the finishing processes are excellent, but Canadian manufacturer Kitchencraft claims to use a finishing process that the US EPA does not allow here. Whether it makes that much of a difference to the quality of the finish, I don’t know. Please don’t waste too much time researching all the finish specifications of the big cabinet companies. Get some samples and choose what you like. Keep going because there are many other decisions you will have to make before the kitchen project is complete.
Plywood ends and all plywood construction are a couple of construction options to consider. Some companies offer plywood ends as a standard construction method. High-quality furniture board or particle board is what most of us know as the other building material. Furniture board is fine for the ends of the cabinets, as they will all be screwed to each other and to the walls. Some contractors prefer plywood ends in very humid weather. That’s a personal choice that I’m not sure I agree with. Now when it comes to a sink or vanity base cabinet, I would probably order those cabinets with plywood ends in case of a water leak under the sink. I think plywood would dry more consistently than furniture boards. But again, the choice is up to you. Do some research on that and decide for yourself if it’s worth the extra cost.
A couple of great things to look for as standard equipment or an option are full extension drawer runners and easy-close drawer slides like the Blum Blumotion types. Full-extension slides allow drawers to open all the way so you can use space in the back of the drawer that isn’t normally accessible with standard drawer slides. Blumotion drawer runners slow down the drawer as it closes so they don’t slam shut and damage drawer fronts over time. Nice and quiet too.
Specification books and color brochures are a must after deciding on a kitchen cabinet manufacturer. This will help you decide on the gigantic number of plugins that are available to you. If you already have an idea of what you need in your kitchen, like storage for baking sheets, spice racks, pantries, you’re ahead of the curve. Take a walk through your current kitchen and think of all the things you don’t like about it and what you had with it, and make a list to help you design the layout of your new space.
The main wood species for kitchen cabinets are maple, cherry, oak, alder, hickory, and pine. Maple and cherry are probably the most popular as they have a firm, consistent grain and take a finish very well. Don’t forget that cherry cabinets will darken over time, so you may want to select a color that is one shade lighter than what you want for years to come. Ask your cabinet specialist for more on the amount or darkening you can expect over what period of time.
Thermal foiling is another finishing process used by most major cabinet companies. They place a thin sheet of material on a cabinet door or drawer front, heat it, and vacuum it to the surface. This method creates a very clean, smooth and durable finish on your cabinets. It’s also less expensive than solid wood doors and drawer fronts. The only big drawback of thermal foil is the colors. Typically, people who order this type of cabinet want a very consistent white or beige color throughout the kitchen. I’m sure it comes in more colors than that, but would you really want any of them? Take a look and see if this is something you would like.
Since some of the cabinet companies work on 8 and 9 week lead times, you don’t want the person sending your order to the factory for production to make any mistakes. If they make a mistake on your order, even the smallest thing like a letter or number on a single important cabinet, you will have to wait weeks and even months to get your new kitchen installed. Use a cabinet specialist from a reputable online cabinet dealer. They do it day after day. They have years and years of training in the cabinet industry. Don’t risk this big project on a pimply-faced kid and the DIY store who attended a 2-week training course on how to design and sell cabinets. This is a big investment for you, so don’t make this mistake with your kitchen cabinet project. You will be so upset if this happens.
Stock up on brochures from your local cabinet stores. Find out if you like traditional or European style cabinetry. Choose a couple of species of wood that you really love. Browse your favorite colors, finishes and glazes. Take a look at Blumotion full extension runners and drawer runners. Look at all the accessories in the brochures that you are thinking of buying. Get really accurate measurements of your space and start making a list of the cabinets you’ll need for your project. You may also be able to get a list of common cabinet heights and widths. You may want them to give you a project quote and also create a cabinet list for you. If you don’t buy from them, make sure the company you buy from triple-checks all cabinet nomenclature before ordering them for you. You may also want to get another quote or two from some smaller cabinet companies. This will give you some good comparables to work with.
It is important to choose a reputable online dealer. Do your research on them and read the testimonials. Make sure they have excellent and knowledgeable cabinetry specialists on the sales team, excellent customer service, and prompt warranty follow-up. Ask lots of questions and make sure they know what they are talking about when it comes to your new kitchen cabinets. Fax the list and go over every detail and every cabinet with them to make sure you didn’t forget any infills, end panels, baseboards, etc. These things are very easy to forget if you don’t do them day after day like everyone else. But you are going to be very angry if you do not have everything you need when installing your kitchen.