Home Repair and Paint Guide

Kitchen cabinets are available in a huge variety of designs that can really change the look and functionality of the area. Quality ranges from poor to superior, and finding the right match takes a lot of research and patience. Since you will most likely be looking at them for a lot of years, it pays to be thorough during the planning stage.

Cabinets form the core of a modern kitchen. They are surrounded by appliances such as the refrigerator, stove, dishwasher and microwave. Some of these appliances are encapsulated by the cabinets and blend with the finish. This is something that needs to be considered when deciding on cabinet style. If you are replacing the appliances at the same time, then matching colors with the new cabinets should be a little easier. Older appliances can look dated when matched with new kitchen cabinets.

There are a lot of kitchen cabinet companies to choose from. For something unique, you can hire a custom cabinet shop to build one-of-a-kind units made from your personal choice of wood. The custom approach works especially well in cases where wallspace is limited or has a lot of angles to deal with.

Traditional base and wall cabinets come in standard sizes. The base cabinets are usually around 34 inches tall and 24 inches deep, and widths start at 12 inches. Wall cabinets average about 12 inches deep and 30 inches tall and are built in the same widths as base cabinets. Wall cabinets also come in heights ranging from 15 inches up to 48 inches. Of course, there are custom sizes available from a lot of cabinet companies.

One of the nice features of custom kitchen cabinets is that they can be made as one common unit instead of separate boxes that are screwed together. The advantage is the lack of vertical seams where two cabinet boxes would mate to each another. This provides a clean, professional look to the installation.

The main difference in quality (besides the type of designs) are the materials used to build the cabinets. Lower priced cabinets are made with engineered lumber that’s selected for low cost instead of quality. Over time, these have a tendency to separate or sag. This is especially true if you place heavy objects in them such as traditional china. While it’s not necessary to spend a fortune on kitchen cabinets, you should stay in the middle to upper price range and go with solid wood instead of something like pressboard.

If you are buying from a home improvement center, ask about the cost of installation. Although cabinets can be installed by most people with average skills, you may find that the cost of a professional installer is low enough that it’s not worth your time to do it yourself. With custom cabinets, it’s a good idea to have the cabinet maker handle installation. The cost is usually included in the quote anyway. Save your time for moving applicances and handling projects such as wallpaper and painting.