The heart of any home is in its kitchen: kitchens bring a family together and are where most get-togethers between friends both begin and end. Thus, it is important for a kitchen to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing. In order to achieve this, it is also crucial to choose the right kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets are usually built-in and provide storage for food and cooking utensils, as well as silverware and dishes. Other kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers can be integrated to work with and around kitchen cabinets.
The first thing to do when refacing your kitchen is to determine the distribution of the kitchen cabinets depending on the space available and the kitchen type: single-row, L-or corner-shape and U-shape kitchens all require different kitchen cabinets. The traditional line-up for kitchen cabinets – practical because it keeps the heat from the oven away from the refrigerator – is refrigerator, space, oven, space, and finally kitchen sink with dishwasher. However, there is no all-encompassing formula, and the perfect distribution of kitchen cabinets depends on your specific kitchen space and needs.
Beyond deciding on the distribution of kitchen cabinets, it is important to also choose the right material and style for your counters. Wooden kitchen cabinets provide a very warm and friendly environment – yet are more difficult to clean then those made of plastic or stainless steel, for example. Other materials that can be used for kitchen cabinets include marble, granite (and other stones), laminated plywood or metal. Furthermore, when installing kitchen cabinets one must decide how and whether to frame the doors: nicely framed mortise doors create a more traditional look then do plain panel fronts, for example.
For durability, the knobs, drawer slides and hinges of kitchen cabinets should be of excellent quality. It is important to design kitchen cabinets that function well, while also fitting in with the rest of the kitchen and house.