Kitchen Cabinets

Measuring for Cabinets

After you’ve searched the home improvement catalogs and made up your mind to replace your kitchen cabinets, the first step in the planning process is taking careful measurements. You may want to obtain professional help to create the layout you want. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, many different online resources can help you plan your remodeling project.

Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

Today, the kitchen is the central hub for the family. It's no longer just a utilitarian part of the home, however it’s not just about looks either. A kitchen is required to be functional as well. A well-equipped, attractively dressed kitchen creates a favorite hang out in the home. If you're ready to create that kitchen, but have a limited budget, refacing your cabinets may be the option you are looking for.

Refacing kitchen cabinets gives the room a fresh look while using the existing body or frame of the cabinet. You can do this job yourself or hire a professional refacer. Either way, this method has the potential to save time and money. This process begins with removing the old cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and hardware, including all knobs, handles and hinges. Once the doors have been removed, the frames and cabinet ends are resurfaced with hardwood veneer. The veneer should be stained and finished to match the new color and finish you’ve chosen for the doors. Once the veneer is in place, install your new kitchen cabinet doors and stand back and admire your fresh new look.

Ready to Assemble Kitchen Cabinets

Another option for the do-it-yourself homeowner to replace existing kitchen cabinetry is to purchase ready-to-assemble cabinets. Designers will help you to not only choose cabinets and answer questions, but help you maximize available space in your kitchen.

Many online companies make the designing process easy for you, and all you have to do is follow simple steps to lay out your dream kitchen. When you finish the process, a complete set of kitchen cabinets will be delivered to your door ready for assembly and installation.

Unfinished Wood Cabinets Doors

You may want to consider wooden cabinet doors for your kitchen remodeling project. Wood is a beautiful, durable and stylish solution. Unfinished kitchen cabinet doors are available in a number of styles online or at local home improvement centers like Lowes or Home Depot. Wood selections available include alder, ash, cherry hickory, knotty pine, maple and others.

Of these woods, hickory and oak are the hardest and heaviest. Cherry, birch and maple also make fine hard woods suited to cabinetry. Alder and poplar present less expensive choices that take well to glazed finishes but tend not to absorb stains evenly. Pine offers a rustic appearance and takes many types of stains well. However, pine is a soft wood and will more easily dent and scratch.

Theromfoil Cabinet Doors

Other cabinet door options include Thermofoil doors, which can be completely finished in a large range of colors. Thermofoil doors and drawer fronts are made from a single piece of manufactured high-quality MDF. A vinyl-like material is applied to the face and edges of the doors using heat and pressure. An adhesive that produces permanent lamination is also added. Thermofoil cabinet doors are durable and ready to install when you buy them. The prefinished surface will provide years of easy-to-clean, maintenance-free use.

One caution to take into consideration when installing Thermofoil cabinet doors is the use of self-cleaning ovens. Because of the extremely high temperatures created when using the self-clean feature, a filler should be installed between a thermofoil door and the oven. Another recommended safeguard is to leave adjacent doors and drawers opened when the oven is operated in the self-clean mode.

Cabinet Door Types

Basically, you’ll find four types of cabinet door shapes to choose from.

Storage Solutions

One more thing to consider as you design your new functional kitchen is to add updated storage solutions to your kitchen cabinets. These storage designs help organize your cabinets with things like trays for cutlery, cooking utensils and cleaning supplies. Another popular solution is rotating shelf sets for dry goods, which make good use of corner cabinets that otherwise provide awkward, hard to reach storage space.