Judging a Cabinet’s Craftsmanship

When picking a kitchen cabinet that is made of wood, it is important to consider the overall look of your kitchen. Would traditional custom kitchen cabinets blend more perfectly with modern kitchen setups as opposed to something more contemporary?

Whether you only have a design in mind or have selected a style of kitchen cabinets already, it is still imperative that you choose either a ready-made or custom kitchen cabinet that spells craftsmanship. The tricky part is often how to tell the difference between a kitchen cabinet that exudes high quality and not just a mass of nailed and plastered particle board.

Examining a Cabinet’s Quality
First thing you need to check in a wooden stock or custom-made kitchen cabinet is the drawer (if your cabinet has one). Examine the joinery, the texture of the surface, the fit of the drawer to the inner part of the furniture, how far out the drawer extends and how smooth it slides on its tracks. Also, try to determine if the drawers glide on high-quality ball bearings, mid-quality rollers, or cheap plastic sliding mechanisms.

Check the door’s hinges and note how far the door swings and whether the door fits snugly to the rest of the cabinet.

Another question you should ask the cabinet manufacturer or distributor is what type of wood was used for the construction of the cabinet. A wooden cabinet is durable. Among the favorites include birch, mahogany, and alder kitchen cabinets. The stain and finishing details also provide a benchmark for quality cabinets.

Listed below are just a few names in the industry that manufacture high quality wood furniture, including ebony, cherry, and alder kitchen cabinets:

• Shiloh Cabinetry
• Dura Supreme Cabinetry
• Ovation Custom Cabinetry

Form Vs. Function
Fitting your kitchen with high-quality wooden cabinets and cupboards adds beauty to the interior of your home, but they can also add function as well. Many cabinet manufacturers feature functional storage options such as knife blocks, tilt-out bins, pull-out pantry towers, rotating shelves, spice drawers, bin recycling centers, mixer cabinets, pull-out towel cabinets, (cooking) tray partitions, and many others. A kitchen is typically considered the heart of the home, so why not make it as functional as it is beautiful?

Installation Specifications
When buying a kitchen cabinet or any other furniture that requires installation, it is best that you opt to have it custom made to fit the specifications and measurements of your kitchen. Ready-made kitchen cabinets may look good with your overall theme but might not fit the space you have available. Also, ready-made kitchen cabinets may present structural problems and cause you to modify your kitchen or kitchen walls and ceiling heights just so the new cabinets fit - which results in an unnecessary expense.

High-grade craftsmanship communicates taste, even when it’s regarding a kitchen cabinet. A quality wooden cabinet or cupboard installed snugly to your kitchen not only adds to the beauty of the room, but also increases the value of your home. The higher quality of kitchen cabinets that you install in your home, the more value your home will possess.