How to Understand Kitchen Cabinet Styles

At first there seem to be so many choices you may never narrow them all down to one, but it's easier than you think. There are two basic aspects to any cabinet style: the type of structure and the look. In the end, it will boil down to what you like to look at.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

The Structure

1. Shop for face-frame cabinets with a gap between the doors and drawers ranging from 1/4" to 1" or more; they lay on top of a wood frame 1" to 1 1/2" wide - like a picture-frame - that defines the space behind each door and drawer.

2. Be aware that face-frame cabinet-doors have their hinges visible on the outside - but not always. The doors may be hung using hidden hinges.

3. Look for frameless cabinets (also known as "European" cabinets) with a gap of about 1/8" between the doors and drawers. Opening the doors and drawers, you can only see the front edge of the cabinet box itself, usually 5/8" to 3/4" thick.

4. Remember that frameless cabinet-doors are hung using hidden (or "european") hinges, visible only when the doors are open.

The Look

5. Cabinets are broadly described as "traditional" or "contemporary". These terms, however, are highly flexible.

6. One aspect of traditional styling may be that the structure is face-frame, and for contemporary cabinetry, frameless - but not always.

7. In general, traditional cabinetry has more detail; contemporary, less.

8. Traditional doors have a frame with a panel inside. The panel is either "raised" (this is literally so), or flat (and recessed from the frame, sometimes called "Shaker"). Drawers are built the same - but only the larger ones; smaller than 6" or 7" tall and there is not enough room for the central panel, so the drawer is often a "slab" (no detail in the middle, but possibly on the outside edge, to match the rest of the doors and drawers).

9. Contemporary doors can be "slabs" (no detail, just a slab of wood or laminate or steel); simple flat-panels (which are often called "Shaker" - a traditional style); or some combination. Some contemporary doors and drawers can be opened without pulls, using just your fingers.

10. To further confuse things, many kinds of door and drawer styles can be found on both face-frame and contemporary cabinets.

11. Various kinds of trim, such as crown moldings on top, or light-valences below upper cabinets, are used with both tradional and contemporary styles.

12. Similar finishes can generally be used for either traditional or contemporary styles, whether clear, stained, or painted. Some finishes, though, such as glazed, or sanded-through, or distressed, are usually only found on traditional styles.

13. Pulls and knobs follow the same general guidlines as far as style: more ornate for traditional; cleaner lines for contemporary.