High-quality kitchen cabinets have at many characteristics that contribute to their long lifespan. When it comes to new home construction or a remodel, the best kitchen cabinets will be durable and look beautiful for many years. It’s important to choose the best kitchen cabinets featuring high-quality construction. As you shop for cabinets and compare cabinet costs, look for excellence in construction features. This will help ensure that your choice for higher end cabinets is the correct one. Things like crown molding, matching ends and glass door fronts all add a layer of elegance to your kitchen. Creative storage ideas like a wine rack or spice rack drawer will also give your kitchen and house a designer touch.
A good place to start, suggests DivineDesignBuild, is to choose a style, then select a manufacturer. You’ll find high-end design options to suit every decorating taste, and certain cabinet manufacturers do certain styles really well. If you love modern design, choosing a European cabinetry brand like Leicht or Arrital is a foolproof way to get the contemporary look, but if you prefer traditional design, custom cabinetry might be the best way to go.
This is also a good time to step back and determine just how organized you are. The level to which you prefer your organization should be part of your decision of manufacturer for your cabinets. If your credo is “a place for everything and everything in its place”, you’ll want to use a cabinet manufacturer who has plenty of customizable organization solutions like built-in drawer dividers, pull out shelving, or appliance garages that you or your kitchen designer can incorporate into your design.
CUSTOM-BUILT CABINETRY FOR YOUR KITCHEN
If no cabinet manufacturer comes close to your vision for your kitchen, then custom-built cabinets are the way to go. These will ensure that you get exactly what you envision for your dream kitchen. Custom-built cabinetry offers the most diversity in style, material, finishes and accessories. For your unique Florida kitchen, these cabinets are one-of-a-kind with tailored sizes and innovative designs, suiting even the most exclusive spaces. Narrow measurements with exact increments down to the 32nd of an inch offer precision-rivaling English Imperial standards, says HGTV. With custom cabinetry, the design options are limitless. You’ll get exactly what you want with superior hand-built construction to suit your needs and dreams. Custom cabinetry is designed much like furniture, giving you the flexibility of any size, shape, depth, or finish and accessories. Since you’re not adhering to factory sizing or materials, the possibilities are endless. Typically, the price of custom cabinetry includes installation and delivery.
On a slightly lower price point, you could go with semi-custom cabinets, which allow for some size adjustments to add to your special-order cabinets while still providing high-quality construction. Although semi-custom cabinets are built standard in certain sizes, they can be altered for increased depth. While not offering as much flexibility as custom designs, semi-custom cabinetry still boasts an extensive selection of styles, finishes, storage solutions and decorative enhancements that result in a personalized look. Semi-custom cabinets encompass everything from stock cabinets fitted with custom doors to made-to-order cabinets selected from a manufacturer’s catalogue of featured styles, materials and finishes.
CABINET BOX MATERIALS
Cabinet materials play a large role in the life span and beauty of your kitchen, given the large amount of real estate they use. When looking for higher-end cabinets, stick to plywood vs particleboard. Plywood’s weight and durability will look better and last longer, right down to the holes for the shelf pins. The types of wood in your plywood can vary. Better choices of woods used in fine cabinetry include:
Red oak
White oak
Hickory
Cherry
Hard maple
Mahogany
Birch
Ash
Pine
Stylistically, these woods vary in their color and grain. Oak and maple tend to be lighter in color, while cherry and mahogany have a richer hue. In terms of cost, pine is the cheapest cabinet wood you can use while mahogany is one of the most luxurious, with oak and maple falling in the mid-range. Durability of the various types of wood is also important to consider. Oak and maple are very hardy, and mahogany ranks as the most durable among common cabinet woods.
FRAMED VS FRAMELESS: The Best Choice for Your Kitchen
In face frame cabinetry, shares HGTV, a 1.5-inch to 2-inch border or frame is constructed to hide the edge of the cabinet box, which adds strength and sturdiness. With face frame construction, the cabinet door is attached to the frame’s side. Doors can be mounted to the inside of the frame, creating a uniform, flush-mounted look or to the front of the frame, leaving a reveal or partial overlay. Frameless or box construction omits the face frame and cabinet doors attach directly to the sides of the cabinet box.
The choice here is clear.
If you’re seeking old-world appeal or a traditional period look, HGTV advises, your choice should be face framed cabinets with drawer fronts and doors derived from solid wood. Whether opting for a flush or overlay design, face framed cabinets provide a timeless, classic appearance that leans much more higher end than the more modern cabinets provide.
With all the important decisions that go into your kitchen cabinet decisions, let the experts at J. Sweet Construction put more than 25 years of experience to work for you, with honesty and integrity. We can help with all of your construction needs! Call today 239-325-5150.