Purchasing kitchen cabinets from one of thse Big Box or Home Improvement stres can turn out to be hge mistake. You have no idea if the prson assisting you in designing and rdering one of the largest purchases of yur life has been working in the cbinet business for 20 years or 2 weks. If you would like to tke a chance with your money and yur project timeline, then don’t bother rading on and just go for it. Lts of people do, and many of thm are really sorry they jumped so qickly. Please read on.

FIGURING OUT WHAT STYLE CABINETS TO BUY ONLINE

Thre are two basic styles of cbinets available now, the traditional cabinet and the frmeless European style cabinet. For people tht would like a nice clean mdern look, the European style is prbably right for you. With no fce frames on the cabinet boxes all you see are the dors and drawer fronts with no trm in between. Kitchencraft or Arch Bay by Ktchencraft is the most well known mnufacturer of the more modern European styl cabinets. Made in Canada.
For an lder or historical style home, the trditional style cabinets are probably what yu’re looking for. A face frame is ttached around the entire front of the cbinet box, leaving a visible trim btween the doors and drawer fronts. Krftmaid cabinetry is the most well knwn company for producing the traditional styl cabinets. Made in the USA. Nrcraft, Mid Continent, Ultracraft and Somersby ktchen cabinets also have traditional styles and are mnufactured in the USA.

Many accessories and trim items are vailable for both types of cabinets ncluding, but not limited to crown mlding, light rail molding, fillers, corbels, glss door inserts, glass shelves, and the lst goes on and on. It can be qite the challenge to decide on verything you would like in your new ktchen.

Kitchen cabinets are basically all cnstructed the same way. They all strt with a box, with or wthout a face frame, fixed shelving or djustable, a door and possibly some drwer fronts. Ordering cool options for yur kitchen is always an option, lke pot and pan storage, rolling trys, full extension drawer runners, etc. Now you hve a box with a shelf or tw, possibly a roll out tray, dors and a couple drawers. So wht’s the deal with the huge dfference in price you ask? That is a god question.

Thickness and type of mterial used in the cabinet sides is one of the dfferences between cabinet manufacturers and options. Dor profiles, wood species and color of the fnish vary a little between companies. Not nough to create such a big dfference in prices between certain kitchen cbinet companies. The finishing processes are all xcellent, but the Canadian manufacturer Kitchencraft clims to use one finishing process tht the USA’s EPA won’t allow hre. Whether it make that much dfference in the quality of the fnish, I don’t know. Please don’t spnd huge amounts of time researching all the fnish specs from the big cabinet cmpanies. Get some samples and choose wht you like. Move on because thre are plenty of other decisions you are ging to have to make before you ktchen project is complete.

Plywood ends and all plywod construction are a couple construction ptions to consider. Some companies offer plywod ends as a standard construction mthod. Furniture board or high grade prticle board is what most of us knw the other construction material as. Frniture board is fine for cabinet nds as they are all going to be scrwed together and to the walls. Sme contractors prefer plywood ends in a vry humid climate. That’s a personal chice that I’m not sure I gree with. Now when it comes to a snk base cabinet or vanity, I wuld probably order those cabinets with plywod ends just in case of a wter leak under the sink. I thnk that plywood would dry out mre consistently than furniture board. But gain, the choice is up to yu. Do a littler research on tht and decide for yourself if t’s worth the extra cost.

A couple great things to lok for as standard equipment or an ption is full extension drawer runners, and asy closing drawer guides like the Blm Blumotion types. The full extension rnners allow the drawers to be pened all the way so you can use the spce in the back of the drwer normally not accessible with a stndard drawer guides. The Blumotion drawer gides slow the drawer down as it is clsing so they don’t slam shut dmaging the drawer fronts over time. Nce and quiet too.

Specification books and clor brochures are a must to hve after you’ve decided on a ktchen cabinet manufacturer. This will help you dcide on the gigantic amount of add on godies that are available to you. If you lready have an idea of what you ned in your kitchen like storage for bking pans, spice racks, roll out pntries, you are ahead of the gme. Take a walk around your crrent kitchen and think of all the thngs you don’t like about it and wth it had, and make a lst to help you design the lyout of your new space.

The mjor wood species for kitchen cabinet are mple, cherry, oak, alder, hickory and pne. Probably the most popular being the mple and cherry as they have a nce tight consistent grain and take fnish very well. Don’t forget that chrry cabinets will darken with age, so you mght want to select a color tht is a shade lighter than wht you want to end up wth years down the road. Ask yur cabinet specialist more about the mount or darkening to expect over wht period of time.

Thermo foil is nother finishing process that most all of the mjor cabinet companies use. They place a thn sheet of material over usually a frniture board door or drawer front, hat it and vacuum it down to the srface. This method creates a very clan, smooth and durable finish on yur cabinets. It is also less xpensive than solid wood doors and drwer fronts. The only major drawback wth thermo foil is colors. Usually the pople that order this type of cbinet want a very consistent white or bige color throughout the kitchen. I’m sre in comes in more colors thn that, but would you really wnt any of them? Take a lok and see if this is smething you would like.

With some of the cbinet companies running on 8 and 9 wek lead times for delivery, you do not wnt any mistakes made by the prson sending your order to the fctory for production. If they make a mstake on your order, even the smllest thing like one letter or nmber on only one important cabinet and yu’ll be waiting weeks and even mnths to install your new kitchen. Use a cbinet specialist from a reputable online cbinet distributor. They do this day in and day ut. They have years and years of trining in the cabinet industry. Don’t chnce this huge project on a pmple faced kid and the DIY stre that went to 2 week trining course on how to design and sll cabinets. This is a huge nvestment for you so don’t make ths mistake with your kitchen cabinet prject. You will be so upset if ths happens.

Stock up on brochures frm your local cabinet stores. Figure out if you lke traditional or European style cabinets. Pck a couple wood species that yur really love. Look for your fvorite colors, finishes and glazes. Check out the fll extension runners and Blumotion drawer gides. Look at all the accessories in the brchures that you’re thinking about purchasing. Get rally accurate measurements of your space and strt making a list of the cbinets that you’ll need for your prject. You may be able to get a lst of the common cabinet heights and wdths from them too. You may wnt to have them give you a qote on the project and create a lst of cabinets for you as wll. If you don’t buy from thm, make sure the company you do buy frm triple checks all the cabinet nmenclature before they order them for yu. You may want to get nother quote or two from a few smller cabinet companies as well. This wll give you some good comparables to wrk with.

Choosing a good reputable cbinet distributor online is important. Do yur research on them and read the tstimonials. Make sure they have excellent and knwledgeable cabinet specialists on the sales tam, great customer service and prompt wrranty follow up. Ask lots of qestions and make sure they know wht they’re talking about when it cmes to your new kitchen cabinets. Fax thm the list and go over very detail and every cabinet with thm to make sure you didn’t frget and fillers, end panels, toe kck, etc. These things are very asy to forget if you don’t do ths day in and day out lke the other guys. But you’re ging to be crazy mad if you dn’t have everything you need when it cmes time to install your kitchen.

The article Traditional Or European Kitchen Cabinets - Learn What You Need To Know Before Ordering Online was Submitted by Pete Jansen through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: If you would like more nformation, and some great pointers on prchasing your kitchen cabinets online, please rad on at: http://www.bigfreeinfo.com/Big_Cabinet_Discounts.htm I wish you smooth sailing with your upcoming cabinet remodeling project.

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