Cabinet Buying Guide

No doubt about it. Cabinets can be expensive. In a kitchen renovation, the money necessary to buy new cabinets can eat up the bulk of your budget. With an average kitchen requiring about 30 linear feet of cabinets, and prices ranging from $40 to $500 or more per linear foot, you will want to plan carefully. You or your interior designer need to choose the layout and design of the kitchen or bathroom cabinets (most likely a mixture of wall, base, tall or other specially designed cabinets) that will give you the storage space and features you desire at the price your budget can bear.

Then it’s time to make some material and style selections to determine the look of your kitchen and how it will function for your lifestyle. The type and style decision about cabinetry shouldn’t just be budget-driven, though. With the popularity of open-concept floor plans, where the kitchen opens to other rooms of the house, it’s important that cabinetry design choices blend in with the overall style of a home. Don’t overlook your chance to make a “fashion” statement in your space; a cabinet’s finish—its texture, color and sheen—can take the room in any direction, from a sleek, modern, clean look to a rustic, charming, farmhouse kitchen.

 

Cabinets can be purchased as ready-to-assemble, stock, semi-custom and custom, and each type has benefits and drawbacks. Do your homework—it can prove a challenge to compare across brands and types, particularly when installation and extra features, like soft-close doors and drawers, may or may not be included in the price. 

 

Along with material choice, the box and door types add style to your cabinets. 

This is where the options become nearly endless. Cabinet boxes break down into two main categories: framed and frameless. Doors come in a plethora of styles, whatever material you choose for the cabinet box, doors and drawer fronts are where you want to put your money. If your budget can stand it, up the ante to solid wood doors if appropriate for your kitchen design. Add stain and color options to door-style choices, and you have the ability to completely personalize your kitchen.

 

Framed | This type of cabinet box has a frame attached to the outside “face.” Doors and hinges are mounted onto the frame, either partially exposing the frame (partial overlay) or covering the entire frame (full overlay). A center stile is used for wider cabinets to lend support to the frame.

Unframed, or “Euro” Style | Cabinet box lacks a frame, giving the box a sleek, modern look. Hinges and doors attach directly to edges of the box. Unframed cabinets lack a center stile, providing easier access to the inside of the cabinet and allowing accessories, like pull-out shelves, to be mounted easily.

Inset | Doors and hinges sit inside the cabinet box, providing a sleek look.

 

Cabinet door styles generally fall into one of three types: flat panel, raised panel or slab panel. Today’s popular Shaker-style doors offer a good example of a flat panel, which is raised around the outer edge. By contrast, a raised panel door’s center area is elevated. Slab-front panels are flat and smooth, working well in modern and contemporary homes.