What Should I Consider When Buying Cabinets?

Cabinets hold pots and pans, dishes and food, a sink and possibly a microwave, cleaning supplies, towels and soap. They set the tone for the room in which they are installed. Seemingly so simple, there are a lot of options – more than meets the eye – when buying cabinets. The trick is knowing what to consider when shopping for cabinets.

Kitchen cabinets are one of the largest interior investments when building or remodeling a house. Since they set the tone for the room in which they are placed, the two initial concerns when buying cabinets are the color and style of the cabinets. This boils down mostly to personal preference. As a general rule, however, the rarer the type of wood, the longer the finishing process and the greater level of detail on the cabinet doors, the greater will be the price of the cabinets.

In addition to the obvious details of “look” in buying cabinets, it is important to take into account the quality of the manufacturing of the cabinets themselves. For instance, looking for solid wood construction instead of plywood will increase the quality and overall durability of the cabinets. Also, details like having dovetail joints and full access to the drawers are also marks of quality workmanship.

An easy way to find quality work when buying cabinets is to look for certification by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association ("KCMA Certified"). This will guarantee that the cabinet has been through a process of certification, ensuring that after cabinet purchase, the cabinets will not immediately fall apart.

The sequence from buying cabinets to getting the right pieces in the house is much easier with the use of a cabinet professional. After choosing the look and style, measurements of the spaces needing cabinets must be taken. If ordering through a local home improvement store or cabinet store, they will have someone come out to do this, generally free of charge.

Once measurements are taken, most cabinet retailers then design a kitchen or bathroom on a computer program that enables a 2-D and 3-D printout of the cabinet design to be made and approved by the cabinet buyer. After getting the basic layout, details on pricing as well as additional accessories, such as moldings, cabinet hardware, lazy Susans, roll-out shelves, light rails or glass in some doors, as well as countertops for base cabinets, will be determined.

In choosing where to buy cabinets, one has many options. From local home improvement warehouses to specialty cabinet stores to kitchen cabinets online, there are many retailers available for making a cabinet purchase. The same process as used for kitchen cabinet buying can be used for bathroom cabinets, though the process may not be quite as involved, as there are generally fewer cabinets.