The right kitchen cabinetry depends on your personal tastes, budget, and reasons why you’re having new cabinets installed.
“A first time home owner, rental property manager, and a person building their dream home may all have vastly different requirements, budgets, and overall expectations. Due diligence should always be exercised to understand exactly who you’re hiring and exactly what they’re producing. It’s our recommendation to evaluate overall value versus cost alone. Sometimes, slightly increasing a budget will result in a considerably better product and service experience,” advises Ryan Pemberton, General Manager at Norcab Kitchen & Millwork Co. Inc. in Barrie.
There are options for Do-it-Yourself kitchen cabinet projects, but Robin Partland, President, Owner, & Designer at Astro Kitchens in Barrie, emphasizes choosing the right cabinets is all about design and consulting a professional designer.
“Our designer will assist you in choosing the material that’ll endure daily wear and tear and last you for years to come. It’s also very important to know and use the best finishing product for your cabinets,” says Partland.
Seek advice from a professional such as a cabinet manufacturer, or dealer because the type of cabinetry you want installed can be challenging depending on your experience level and expectations.
“Fully custom cabinetry can arrive in a large number of individual pieces without a step-by-step instruction manual. Further compounding this complexity, many components are purposely built oversized to allow for professional fitment against imperfect walls, ceilings, floors, or other site conditions. When in doubt, seek advice from the cabinetry manufacturer, or dealer you’re looking to purchase from,” recommends Pemberton.
The type of material kitchen cabinets should be made from can vary. “Every material has advantages and drawbacks, as well as appropriate and inappropriate usage,” says Pemberton.
“A good finisher would know to use polyurethane over lacquers. Polyurethane is very durable and long lasting, and creates depth for true colour on painted style finishes, and clarity with durability on wood-stained finishes,” says Partland.
To determine overall quality of the cabinetry, you should consider the material grade and source, hardware styles, finishing processes, joinery, and construction.
“Exterior components are generally made from solid wood, or wood veneer, whenever the grain is visible through the finish. The species of wood is generally determined by client preference based on visual characteristics. One-piece MDF doors are a very popular option for solid colours because they offer the benefit of zero wood joints, unlike wood doors. Wood joints can often appear as hairline cracks within the paint when temperature and humidity levels vary between seasons and are often not popular with clients. Popular choices for interior casework include premium domestic grade plywood with a clear finish, and quality thermally fused laminate (TFL) on particle core,” explains Pemberton.
Both Pemberton and Partland say the consumer trend for cabinet colours are dark woods, classic or off-white, as well as greys, blues, and greens.
“It’s imperative to have experienced cabinet makers and exceptional talent for installation to transform the design into a reality,” says Partland.
LOCAL LINKS
Astro Kitchens, Barrie
astrokitchens.com
Norcab Kitchen & Millwork Co. Inc., Barrie
norcab.ca
