5 Tips to Consider When Choosing Bespoke Kitchen Cabinets
No matter how large or small a renovation you’re undertaking, you should make sure your kitchen cabinets are one of the significant priorities you’re working on. It may be a difficult decision, as they are the face of your kitchen. There are a few basic areas you need to consider and ask yourself some questions as you go forward. The following tips will give you a hand in the matter and ways to make the right choices: Consider Whether You Really Need to Customise Your Kitchen Many people out there think they need to do something special with a kitchen, just because they have a wall that is longer than usual or something similar. They simply don’t know that custom cabinetry is a costly option on the market, it has a long lead time, and you
can achieve a similar look using a stock of semi-custom options regarding your cabinets. Semi-custom means the cabinetry is made to the required sizes. It is pretty common to use spacers to fill in the unused space in your kitchen. Stock cabinets can be purchased with an off-the-rack style, already predetermined for you. Though these are the least expensive option, you still have a choice in material quality, as many of those aren’t made of wood.
Choosing a Door/Cabinet Combination That Works In most kitchens out there, you can find base cabinets and wall cabinets, both of them have doors instead of shelving or drawers. Upper cabinets are most often used as a selective display rather than in any practical way. In contrast, the base cabinets are the ones that hold most of the pans, pots and other items necessary to run a kitchen without creating a cramped look on visible shelves. Popular features on these cabinets include a pull-out drawer instead of a swinging door. Many modern kitchens are getting rid of upper cabinets completely, going for a cleaner, more open space that emphasises a tight combination of base cabinets and a good backsplash. Framed or Frameless Cabinets? Another major decision you will need to make when selecting your kitchen cabinets is to determine whether or not you want the framed or frameless variety. Framed cabinets are far more popular in traditional kitchens, where the doors attach to a front frame and around the opening with visible hinges. For cabinets that have doors attaching directly to the side of the cabinets with no hardware or hinges showing, you should consider going the frameless route. This decision of frameless vs framed will have a massive impact on the type of hinge, door and cabinet you’re going for. Assessing Added Costs of Features
Although many kitchens operate just fine without swinging doors, specialised doors and drawer accessories can increase the functionality and clean look. Pull-out rubbish bins or countertop compartments to conceal the smaller appliances are a good choice. Drawers in the base cabinets will make reaching the pots and pans easier, but the price may increase by almost as much as 20% due to the added installation and hardware costs of such features. Choosing the Lighting Whether or not you’re designing a completely new kitchen or looking to revamp your existing one, lighting is one of the most critical factors that make or break a room. Integrated lighting is becoming more popular with cabinetry. Integrated lighting with cabinetry ranges from fixtures that turn on as you open a drawer to keeping power consumption to a minimum if you’re going for a midnight snack or just want to see what’s at the back of the cabinet. Under-cabinet LED lights are also easily installed in a kitchen, giving it a unique and practical look. ©K&I Kitchens