Understanding Kitchen Cabinetry: Kitchen Cabinet Drawers
Posted by admin on July 15, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Custom Kitchen Remodeling: Understanding Kitchen Cabinetry – Part III
As stated in Kitchen Cabinetry Part II: It’s All in the Foundation, a continuation of our ongoing series into Understanding Kitchen Cabinetry, there are several components to stock, semicustom, and custom kitchen cabinets.
The list of components that make up most kitchen cabinets include:
• Kitchen Cabinet Carcase, Case, or Box
• Kitchen Cabinet Drawer or Drawers
• Kitchen Cabinet Shelf or Shelves
• Kitchen Cabinet Door or Doors
• Kitchen Cabinet Hardware
• Kitchen Cabinet Molding
• Kitchen Cabinet Countertops
Custom kitchen cabinets by Chmura Custom Woodworks do not have to break the budget to be beautiful!
Note: While technically in another category, one that will be handled in a separate post, the countertop is an integral component in kitchen cabinet construction.
Additionally, kitchen cabinets are generally either frameless cabinets or face-frame cabinets. Interestingly, while each has separate and distinct characteristics, both types may be customized to suit a variety of purposes and to provide the kitchen with a number of different looks, cabinets suitable for a variety of functions.
In frameless cabinets the drawers and doors generally overlay the carcase completely. However, frameless cabinets drawers and doors may also be inset, as in the traditional manner, they may overlay the frame fully, or they may paritally reveal the case.
In traditional face-frame cases the insent cabinet door hinges are visible. However, concealed adjustable hinges are an available option. The face-frame has a narrower cabinet opening, thus less shelf space may be available for a face-frame cabinet with the same overall width as the frameless cabinet.
The selection of a qualified custom kitchen cabinet design expert, someone who is able to walk you through the entire process from A to Z, will be invaluable. Consulting a custom kitchen expert will save you hundreds and in many instances thousands of dollars, providing you with custom kitchen cabinets suitable to your everyday needs and the overall design requirements of your kitchen…and your home.
The kitchen is after all the heart and hearth of the home!
Once you have decided which type of kitchen cabinet carcase is best for you and you’re your needs, the other components generall fall into place.
Kitchen cabinet drawers can range from:
• Doweled melamine drawers, typical of frameless cabinets
• Dovetailed hardwood drawers, often considered the top-of-the-line
• Doweled hardwood drawers with a ½” plywood drawer bottom (for drawers that may hold heavier objects)
• Glued drawers with a wood veneer surface and a 3/16” drawer bottom
• And many more…your only limitation being your imagination and your budget!
When considering your kitchen cabinet drawers, materials used in construction, as well as how the materials are joined (some noted above) is crucial:
• Solid wood
• Plywood
• Particleboard
• Fiberboard
• Melamine
Slides, ranging from an epoxy-coated, three-quarter extension unit rated at 75lb to the same at 100lb and those made with heavy-duty ball bearings are also an important consideration.
Ultimately, kitchen cabinet drawers constructed from wood and high grade wood products are the most common. The range of cabinet design and construction possibilities is, as stated above, limited only by your imagination and the size of you kitchen remodeling budget.
Custom kitchen cabinets may, at first glance, appear to be out of range financially. However, when you stop and think about exactly what you are getting for the money invested and how long quality-built custom kitchen cabinets will last, cabinets built to your precise specifications, the cost difference may be negligible.
Significantly, if a homeowner is required to replace inferior grade kitchen cabinets sooner, rather than later, it will ultimately lead to an additional long term expense. Investing a bit more in quality craftsmanship early-on may pay dividends for years to come. The added value to your home will be real and immediate in terms of function, aestetic value, and the actual enhanced value of your home.
In our next post we will discuss the kitchen cabinet door. The cabinet door is the focal point of the kitchen cabinet. The kitchen cabinet door is also the component offering both homeowner and kitchen designer alike the greatest number of possibilities for customization and creative construction, particularly when on a strict budget.
We will also explore the kitchen cabinet door in an additional post on kitchen cabinet refacing.
If you have any questions please contact us! If you have any comments or would like to add anything? Please feel free to do so!
We would love to hear from you!
Serving Ohio for More than a Decade…Your Complete Source for a Custom Home!
Rick and Bryan Chmura
Chmura Custom Woodworks
Independence, Ohio 44131
216-533-3760
Rick@ChmuraCustomWoodworks.com
PS, Exciting things will be happening in the coming week at our sister site Custom Complete Craftworks! Watch for our line of custom woodworking products, custom crafts, custom wood signs (personalized to order), wood games, custom wood wine racks, and much more!
