A quick guide to Kitchen Cabinets and Furniture
Whilst we don’t tend to take much notice of the cabinetry behind the doors once our new kitchen is installed it is the backbone to the quality and longevity of our kitchen.
With fitted kitchens the cabinets are fixed permanently to the walls and depending on your supplier will come in a range of sizes. This is where differences start to emerge as the range of choices available will increase as you move from DIY through to Local & National Retailers up to Bespoke Kitchen Companies. As you would expect in the Bespoke and High End of the market every cabinet is manufactured to your exact requirement, to the millimetre, whereas High Street companies will use standard cabinet sizes and use fillers to ensure you do not have any gaps.
Often people feel that all kitchens are the same but the quality of Kitchen Carcasses varies widely and as with other things in life you do usually get what you pay for. A good standard cabinet should be at least 18mm MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard). The higher the resin content the better and you should look for an A grade furniture board. The cabinet should have a solid back and if available be a 5 piece cabinet (A complete top panel, a base panel, 2 sides and a solid back 10mm or thicker) otherwise a good 4 piece cabinet (A top rail, a base panel, 2 sides and a solid back 10mm or thicker) will be ok. The basic rule is the more rigid the cabinet the less movement and the longer it will last as any movement will put pressure on fixings, drawers and hinges and may cause you problems.
If you are looking to install Granite Worktops or other stone or metal tops you will need quality cabinets. Nylon adjustable legs will help when installing your kitchen on uneven surfaces and they should not go brittle or crack over time. Legs are usually hidden behind the plinth unless you want to make a feature using stainless steel or chrome legs.
A wide range of drawer boxes and fixings and hinges are available and you should aim for drawer boxes with metal or wooden sides and a solid base to the drawer. Drawers are often high usage items so quality mechanisms will give better service for longer. The drawer should not move too much left or right and should extend fully to give full access to the contents of the drawer. Soft close mechanisms reduce slamming and are very nice to use. For the ultimate luxury you may consider fitting an electric drawer opening systems !! (For an example see Blum’s electric Servo Drive drawer system).
Most companies use soft close door systems nowadays. This means when you close the door it reaches a point and slows down to avoid banging and crashing (essential with teenagers !).
Some manufacturers offer different colours to the insides of their cabinets; for example you may want walnut inside to match your doors. With hand built kitchens you can often have the insides of the carcases lined with wood veneers (completely solid wood cabinets are not a good idea as they are not as stable as MFC panels).
The main thing is to do your research and not fall to fall into the trap of ‘out of sight out of mind’!
