Custom Cabinets or Manufactured?
Brandi Hamer
last year
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herbflavor
last yearlast modified: last yearChris
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Cabinet Guts - White Melamine vs. plywood
Comments (7)My Mom has the original builder's kitchen in her condo and it's a minimum of 20 years old. Melamine over 5\8 (might even be 1\2 inch) particleboard. Hinges are going but they have not come loose from the cabinets or doors (which are also melamine - maybe over MDF but I doubt it). I've attached a link to the ANSI ratings for particleboard so you can look at the properties of the various types. Usually Commercial or Industrial grade is used in quality cabinet construction (either M-S or M-2). Ask the cabinet maker or manufacturer what they are using. Of course the method of assembly is as important, staples, plastic corners, full valances, tongue and groove, doweled and glued, full backs or thinner hardbacks with hanging rails, cross valance between gables behind the toe kick, just legs, wood face frames - some of these are preferable to others. Are your edges at least colour matched to the door? I can't say for veneers but what is the veneer being mounted on? 3\4 MDF would be my guess if they are solid. This good a number of high end companies now offer their painted finishes on solid MDF doors - no cracking like on 5 piece mortise and tenon doors. That's what I picked up I'm sure some of the KD's no more for sure. Here is a link that might be useful: ANSI guidelines for particleboard standards...See MoreIkea cabinets with custom door fronts
Comments (13)We are in the process of installing an Ikea kitchen right now with custom doors/drawers/panels made by Scherr's. I cannot speak to the durability yet, but so far I am very happy with the functionality. I had the fear also about 'putting lipstick on a pig', but I don't really think this is the case here. I wanted a lot of drawers and I wanted good hardware, and Ikea makes this easy for a very reasonable price. I did not want the Ikea doors however. Using Scherr's allowed me to get exactly what I wanted for looks, with the functionality of Ikea. The only place I'm not 100% sure I made the right decision is with the cover panels. I got flat panels, and they are 3/4" thick instead of the 1/2" that Ikea sells. I did not pay attention to this detail when I ordered from Scherr's, and in one spot in the kitchen, that extra 1/4" over 2 panels is making things harder to fit. Also, I wish I had specified the panels had the rails like the doors/drawers. And I might prefer the looks of the thinner panels. It will all be ok though and I'm very happy with the doors and drawers....See MoreHelp with Kitchen Island Configuration
Comments (16)Is symmetry very important to you, even at the expense of functionality? I'm asking b/c I see cabinets that could be better designed functionally. For example, on the sink run to the right of the sink: 2-bin trash pullouts only need to be 18" wide, yet yours is 24" wide. A waste of 6" that could be better used if it was merged with the 18" wide (really, 18" narrow) drawers next to it. But, it looks like you're trying to keep everything exactly the same on both sides of the sink, regardless of functionality. If you were short on space, 18" drawers would be a compromise. However, you are not short on space -- so I have to say that 18" doesn't give you much interior drawer space. Instead, put in an 18" trash pullout and then a 24" drawer base and then the 27" cabinet as a drawer base instead of doors/ROTS (roll out tray shelves). I would examine all the cabinets in your design with functionality in mind -- assuming you aren't someone who absolutely must have symmetry. (Yes, some people are like that. It's not good or bad -- it's just the way they are. We're all different and different things are important to each of us.) If you're worried about "how will it look?"... First, it will look fine! Second, with an island no one is going to even see those cabinets unless they're right in front of them and then it's a "closeup" view and cabinet sizes won't really matter since you won't be seeing them all in one look....See MoreStacked corner wall cabinets
Comments (3)I'd suggest using an EZ-Reach corner, rather than a diagonal corner, if that's what you mean. Then for the cabinets above (in which you'll probably store infrequently used items), just void the corner. GW discussions--EZ Reach/easy reach upper...See MoreBrandi Hamer
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last yearHelen
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