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keith_james737

New Cabinet Quality vs. Older Cabinets

it'sALLart
6 years ago

Currently I'm slowly moving from one house to a newly constructed one. We purchased new kitchen cabinets in the new place - naturally - and older 1960s cabinets in the old house.


While I love the look of the new kitchen's white maple-wood cabinets (some have frosted glass with lighting, all shaker style, great hardware, easy to clean, etc.), the doors sit on top of the cabinet with a tiny bit of a gap, which is due mostly to the rubber feet that keep the slow-close door from banging. I've noticed over time that a bit of dust gets into the cabinets and the inside needs to be cleaned every once in a while. Not that big of deal.


But in comparison...


The older cabinets are solid cherry and the doors fit inside with a lip that covers all four sides. When these cabinet doors shut, they are tight, zero gaps, nothing can get in, no dirt or insects at all. I've never had to worry about ants, flies or spiders getting into them. Yup, they're a bit noisy when you open and close them, but it's not irritating. The cabinets are fantastic quality, but I hated their style. It was outdated, the doors had horrible plastic trim on top which had faded to a different color over time and intricate copper hardware (hard to clean) which I changed to clean nickel (the hinges were a fortune for this style cabinet) and then painted over the entire kitchen in almond to match the appliances. It helped immensely, making the space look larger and cleaner. After that, I liked the cabinets well enough, knowing I was moving at some point and they'd do "for now".


Question: I'm wondering if any cabinet manufacturers still make cabinets with a door that fits as well and as tight as the old cabinets? They sure are a high-quality cabinet that I doubt we'll ever see again. I didn't find them in any of my searches at various big-box stores or online. Anyone know of a mfgr that still makes cabinets in this style?

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