Kitchen cabinet

Kitchen cabinets in a farmhouse.

Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often silverware and dishes for table service. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens are often integrated into kitchen cabinetry. There are plenty of options for cabinets today.^[1]

History

As commonly used today, the term kitchen cabinet denotes a built-in installation in which a single counter covers multiple cabinets and neither wall nor floor is generally accessible behind or under the cabinet. Kitchen cabinets per se were invented in the early 20th century. An early precursor was the Hoosier cabinet, a single piece of furniture incorporating storage and work surfaces.

• Pre-WW-I cabinet design. Typical kitchens before World War I used freestanding work tables and a pantry for dry storage. Cupboards were sometimes used in kitchens, though in larger houses dishes were more typically stored in the dining room or butler's pantry. Perishable foods such as milk, meat, and vegetables were purchased daily.

• Post-WW-I industrial era. Increasing interest in household efficiency pioneered by Lillian Moller Gilbreth led to more systematic kitchen design in the 1920s, typically including built-in cabinets surfaced with linoleum or stainless steel. Improved materials and tools also made the industrial production of cabinets possible.

• Post-WW-II cabinet design. In the U.S., countertops of high-pressure laminates such as Formica became popular. Laminates led to the adoption of a seamless flush-surface kitchen look that is almost universal today, though laminates themselves are often replaced today by synthetic solid surface materials or (in more expensive installations) natural stone. In Europe, built-in cabinets had also been pioneered in the 1920s. With improved materials, the frameless cabinet style, appealing for its architectural minimalism reminiscent of Bauhaus design, emerged in European kitchen design, and elements have now been widely adopted worldwide.

• Post-modern cabinet design trends. Other elements of kitchen design affect the choice of cabinetry as follows. In post-modern kitchens, hardwood floors are increasingly installed, earth tones are in greater use for painted surfaces, and wallpaper is less favored. Further trends include the introduction of more expensive options in kitchens, a larger number of ovens, the use of thicker solid countertops (2–3 inches), the use of higher base cabinets, the introduction of "quartz" countertops and countertops with honed rather than glossy finishes, higher countertop appliances, pervasive use of undercounter lighting, and the use of higher 9-foot ceilings rather than more traditional 8-foot ceilings formerly used in postwar construction. While not all are kitchen cabinet trends per se, they all affect the choice and design of cabinetry. Space-saving features are especially important in condos, townhouses, and smaller homes.^[2]

This modern kitchen in Newport, Rhode Island has a simple and elegant design, with a central island and plentiful windows providing natural light.

• Kitchens today. Modern kitchen design has improved partly as a result of ergonomic research by pioneers such as Lillian Moller Gilbreth. Functionality is important; one research study had "anthropological scientists" observing homowners "interact with their kitchen cabinets."^[3] Kitchens are larger and have more cabinets; some kitchens may have as many as fifty drawers and cabinet doors. New features today include deep drawers for cookware, pull-out shelves to avoid excess bending, sponge trays on the front of sink cabinets, pullout hideaway garbage/recycling containers, pull-out spice cabinets, lazy susans in corner cabinets, vertical storage for cookie sheets, full-extension drawer slides, and drawers and doors with so-called soft-close/positive-close mechanisms enabling drawers to shut quietly, or which shut fully after being pushed only partially. As the housing stock gets older, many homeowners face problems with visually unappealing older kitchen cabinets; in such situations, there is a choices to buy new ones (most expensive choice), reface existing ones (less expensive), or strip and refinish the existing ones (least expensive choice.)^[4] In 2009, there is more emphasis on cabinets designed with environmental factors in mind. So-called "green cabinets" are becoming more popular.^[5] As homes are becoming more airtight to save on heating and cooling costs, sometimes air quality can suffer, and gases which come from kitchen cabinets can be a factor.^[5] According to a recent report:

Considering Americans spend 90% of their lives indoors, it’s clear why this is a key issue in designing healthy spaces. Additionally, air quality is not a stand-alone issue; rather, every other component of the home can have an impact on overall air quality. Air quality can be compromised by off-gassing from cabinetry, countertops, flooring, wall coverings or fabrics; by cooking by-products released into the air, or by mold caused by excess moisture or poor ventilation.^[5]

Cabinet wood choices

Cabinets consist of six-sided wooden boxes or "carcases" closed on five sides with a door on the sixth.

A cabinet wall, and a counter with sink and backsplash.

• Cabinet faces. Solid wood is an effective choice for cabinet parts seen by people such as face frames, doors, drawer fronts, and so forth. Traditional-style kitchen cabinetry remains highly popular, although some signs point to consumers being willing to compromise on choices to achieve better value for the dollar.^[6] Among solid wood choices used for cabinet doors, cherry is more expensive than maple or oak in most cases. Solid wood is more expensive than plywood which, in turn, is more expensive than particle board or similar sheet goods. Some products need special protection from moisture.

• Cabinet body. The cabinet carcase is usually made from plywood or high-quality particle board, particularly for those flat sections which don't need to be shaped, such as shelves, cabinet sides, or drawer bottoms. Typical plywood thickness in these applications varies from ⅜- to ¾-inch (with ¼-inch used often for drawer bottoms). Stiffness and strength are important factors since cabinets are expected not to bend or sag and be able to support a heavy load. The best choices for strength are plywood and higher-quality particle board. Stiffness increases rapidly with shelf thickness; regardless of material choice, a ¾" shelf is 73% stiffer than a ⅝" shelf though only 20% thicker. What helps keep particle board strong is the choice of resin used in manufacture which binds together its wood particles. Plywood carcases are usually assembled with screws and nails while particle board carcases use glue or mechanical fasteners such as confirmat-cam assemblies. Generally, plywood-carcase cabinets are more expensive than particle-board-carcase cabinets. Some particle boards can sag.^[7]

• Cabinet frames and doors may be made of solid wood, medium density fiberboard (MDF), particle board, plywood, or a combination of these. For example, a floating panel in a door could be veneered plywood contained within a solid wood or medium density fiberboard frame. Medium density fiberboard can be shaped and coated with flexible veneers such as thermofoil, or it can be painted. The only way to get a look showing the grain of the wood is, of course, by using solid wood. There are a variety of choices of transparent grain-showing finishes; they're made of lacquer, varnish, or polyurethane, and may contain pigments, dyes, glazes, or fillers. Finishes can be applied using a brush or by spraying.

• Trade-offs: solid wood versus particle board. Solid wood and plywood lasts longer, are stronger, but cost more. Solid wood is durable; many centuries-old solid wood antiques remain in daily use today. Since cabinets can break, strength and durability should be weighed against cost factors. Solid wood parts can be repaired by furniture refinishers to match exactly the existing wood finish. Particle board cabinets are good choices when the service life of the cabinet is expected to be intermediate.^[7]

Cabinet construction

Cabinet carcase

Cabinets may be either face-frame or frameless in construction. Each option provides features and drawbacks.

Most kitchen cabinets feature matching tops and bottoms and are available in different styles.

• Face-frame cabinets. Traditional cabinets are constructed using face frames which typically may consist of narrow strips of hardwood framing the cabinet box opening. Cabinet carcases were traditionally constructed with a separate face frame until the introduction of modern engineered wood such as particle board and medium-density fiberboard along with glues, hinges and fasteners required to join them. A face frame ensures squareness of the cabinet front. It also increases rigidity and provides a mounting point for hinges. Face-frames confer an appearance of strength and durability, and face-frame cabinets retain popularity in the U.S. An important distinction to be made between modern (manufactured) and traditional custom-built face-frame cabinets relates to the catalog-selection of cabinet components entailed by mass-production. Original custom face-frame cabinets accommodated multiple sections (cavities) in a single carcase. But stock (or semi-custom) face-frame cabinets are constructed individually and joined during installation. As a result, modern face-frame cabinets differ in having significantly wider (double-width) stile materials overall after installation. Two 1½" stiles joined as adjacent cabinets result in, effectively, a 3" stile. Wide stiles can interfere with access to the cabinet interior. When base cabinets were typically shelved, this was not much of a drawback. But with base cabinets increasingly being fitted with trays and drawers (using modern hardware), the extra stile width results in significantly less access to the cabinet cavity space. This drawback does not pertain to custom face-frame cabinets.

• Door Mounting. For both face-frame and frameless kitchen cabinets, it is conventional for cabinet doors to overlay the cabinet carcase. Face-frame cabinets allow for various door mounting options. Traditional overlay doors do not abut, allowing a view of the face frame when the doors are closed. Full overlay cabinet doors fit closely so that they obscure the face frame when closed. A third less-conventional option for face-frame cabinets is to inset doors into, and flush with, the face frame (see below). Since frameless (see below) cabinet doors also fully overlay their carcases, the two types (frameless and full-overlay face-frame cabinets) have a similar installed appearance (when doors are closed), both may use European cup hinges, and both require decorative door and drawer pulls (since there is no room for fingers at the door or drawer edge when installed).

• Custom. Custom face-frame cabinets offer more efficient use of space because double width stiles (see above) can be avoided.^[2]

• Frameless (full-access) cabinets. Frameless (a.k.a. "full-access") cabinets utilize the carcase side, top, and bottom panels to serve same functions as do face-frames in traditional cabinets. In general, frameless cabinets provide significantly better utilization of space than do face-frame cabinets. A preference for frameless cabinet design developed in 1950s and 1960s Europe following the devastation of World War II. A burgeoning market for reconstructed housing in Central Europe provided a fertile environment for introducing improved hinge and cabinet designs. Frameless cabinets rely on updated manufacturing methods that permit the production of modern cabinet hardware (hinges and slides) and engineered wood products (for strength, dimensional tolerance, and stability). The intent of the frameless design is to achieve a more streamlined appearance but also a more efficient use of space, a proliferation of well-designed moving components such as drawers, trays, and pull-out cabinets providing better access to interior components. Many benefits coming out of frameless cabinets have been applied to face-frame cabinets such as the proliferation of multiple drawers in base cabinets, the use of full-overlay doors, and the use of cup hinges. Accordingly much of the hardware used by U.S. cabinet manufacturers is imported from Europe.

A kitchen cabinet display in a store in 2009 in New Jersey.

• Space-utilization. Since typical face-frames are 1½" wide and frameless side panels ¾", access to the cabinet interior is 1½" wider for a typical frameless cabinet as compared to a face-frame cabinet. A 12"-wide cabinet accommodates a 10"-wide drawer in frameless construction or a 8½"-wide drawer in framed construction. The 1½" difference is most significant for narrower face-frame cabinets. Hence, the nomenclature "full-access." Custom (higher-cost) face-frame cabinets, which use one 1½" stile to frame two cabinet openings, can also accommodate wider drawers comparable to frameless cabinets. Frameless wall-oven cabinetry further saves 3" of wall space as compared to the same wall-oven installed in a face-frame cabinet: Many, if not most, contemporary ovens (and other cabinet-front-mounted major appliances) have been designed with the space-utilization advantage of frameless cabinets installation in mind. The oven is dimensioned, and thermally insulated, to fit within an industry-standard external width (e.g., 27 or 30 inches) cabinet cavity, less two standard ¾-inch cabinet side-wall thicknesses while providing for a small space between the oven box and the internal cabinet wall. In ovens, the bezel is sized to fit the full external cavity width and overlay the cabinet side wall. Such an installation avoids any unused lateral space around the oven. (While, hypothetically, ovens can be installed similarly in face-frame cabinets, such an installation may requires cutting away all but ¾" of each 1½" face-frame – specifically not recommended by vendors as it may weaken the joint between side-wall and face-frame – and buttressing face-frame cabinet side walls accordingly.)

• Wood options. Frameless cabinets, which exhibit a modern appearance in keeping with the design movement of "minimalism," are typically constructed of particle board, which features a high degree of dimensional stability, adherence to dimensional standards, absence of warping (as supplied), and uniformity. Accordingly, the so-called European hinge includes a 35-mm-diameter cup press-fit to a bored recess particularly well-suited to particle board construction. By virtue of the 35-mm "European" cup design, European hinges avoid reliance on screws as a primary mechanism holding door to hinge. Plywood and/or solid wood can also be used in frameless cabinet construction, generally at higher cost.

• Hinge design features. Those European hinges intended for use with frameless cabinets afford a quick-release mechanism enabling a door to be removed and replaced without the use of tools. Such hinges typically afford six-way (three-axis) positional adjustment by screwdriver for door alignment. Some accommodate complex motions, e.g., to avoid interfering with interior cabinet components while fully overlaying the carcases (e.g., permitting the full-interior-cabinet-width dimensions for pull-out trays). Scissors-type articulating hinges support wide-angle non-interfering adjacent doors.

• Inset door face-frame cabinetry. A special, and unconventional, category of framed cabinets is represented by those with inset doors. An inset-mounted cabinet door is fitted to the frame just as would be an ordinary full-sized room door; such doors fit into a frame when closed. (Full-size doors do not simply cover the opening between rooms or at an entrance to a building.) Inset doors require more precise alignment of the doors to the frames. Further, this alignment must be maintained with use. Upon opening or closing, inset doors are gently braked by the air cushion trapped between the door and frame. This desirable feature is one hallmark of high-quality inset door construction. Frameless or full-overlay face-frame construction can superficially resemble inset construction when doors are designed to fit closely within a cavity formed by surrounding doors, drawers, and/or an adjacent countertop.

Cabinet doors

Cabinet doors may feature a variety of materials such as wood, metal, or glass. Wood may be solid wood ("breadboard" construction) or engineered wood, or may be mixed (e.g., engineered wood panel in a solid wood frame)

• Frames. In the U.S. solid wood frame and panel construction, using either mortise and tenon or cope and stick jointed frames, is traditional, with maple, cherry, oak, birch, and hickory among the most commonly used species. Mortise-and-tenon frames, with their greater strength and permanence, are more costly to produce and less commonly used as compared to cope-and-stick frames. As an alternative, miter joint frames, which may be identifiable by face-surface relief that follows continuously around the frame, have become popular. Miter-jointed frames typically employ embedded metal fasteners to secure frames elements (stiles and rails) cut at a 45° angle. Captured within frames, panels may be either solid or veneered engineered wood (either particle board or medium density fiberboard). Laminates, including those designed to resemble hardwood, can typically be identified by a more rounded appearance associated with the minimum bending radii necessarily entailed by the manufacturing process of applying laminate to an underlying substrate. By comparison solid surfaces, in particular solid hardwood, can be milled with more sharply defined corners, edges, or grooves on either a panel or frame.

• Panels. Panels used in frame-and-panel kitchen cabinet doors may be fashioned either of solid wood or covered by paint, veneer, or laminate in which case they are fashioned of engineered wood. The panels are typically not fastened with glue or nails but rather "float" within the frame to accommodate seasonal expansion or contraction of the wood frame.

• Solid-door construction. Doors may be fabricated of solid material, either engineered wood (particle board or medium-density fiberboard, but not typically plywood) or solid wood. Engineered wood panels may either be used as slabs or may be shaped to resemble frame-and-panel construction. In either case, engineered wood panels are generally painted, veneered, or laminated. Solid wood panels are typically formed of multiple boards of the selected wood species, jointed together using glue and may either be painted or finished. Solid wood construction offers the possibility of refinishing in case of damage or wear.

• Decorative panels. Cabinet doors panels are used decoratively on cabinet sides, where exposed, for a more finished appearance.

• Glass door construction options.Doors may have glass windows constructed of muntins and mullions holding glass panels (as in exterior windows). Other designs either mimic the divided-light look of muntins and mullions with overlays, or may dispense with them altogether. Cabinets using glass doors sometimes use glass shelves and interior lighting from the top of a cabinet. A glass shelf allows light to reach throughout a cabinet. For a special display effect, the interior rear of a cabinet may be covered with a mirrors to further distribute light.

A kitchen in a post-and-beam house, with glass panelled-doors.

Drawers and trays

A functional design objective for cabinet interiors involves maximization of useful space and utility in the context of the kitchen workflow. Drawers and trays in lower cabinets permit access from above and avoid uncomfortable or painful crouching.

In face-frame construction, a drawer or tray must clear the face-frame stile and is 2" narrower than the available cabinet interior space. The loss of 2" is particularly noticeable and significant for kitchens including multiple narrow (15" or less) cabinets.

In frameless construction, drawer boxes may be sized nearly to the interior opening of the cabinet providing better use of the available space.

However, the same is not true for trays. Even in the case of frameless construction doors and their hinges when open block a portion of the interior cabinet width. Since trays are mounted behind the door, trays are typically significantly narrower than drawers. Special hinges are available that can permit trays of similar width as drawers but they have not come into wide use.

Shelves provide in all cases more storage space than drawers or trays, but are less accessible.

Wall oven cabinets

Stock wall-oven cabinets may be adapted to built-in ovens, coffee-makers, or other appliances by removing portions of the cabinet and adding trim panels to achieve a flush installation.

Frameless cabinets provide for wall oven front panel widths equal to the cabinet width (see above). In such an installation the oven front panel occupies a similar profile as a cabinet door. Accordingly, frameless installations for wall-oven make most efficient use of the available wall space in a kitchen.

This effect is difficult to achieve in typical face-frame cabinet installations, as it requires modification to the face-frame (essentially eliminating the face-frame at the oven cut-out).

Cabinet finishes

Cabinets may be finished with opaque paint or transparent finishes such as lacquer or varnish. Decorative finishes include distressing, glazing, and toning. The choice of finish can affect the cabinet's color, sheen (from satin to gloss), and feel.

• High pressure laminates or (HPL) are made from resin and paper components under high pressure; in contrast, ordinary wood does not sustain such pressures, and can be crushed to less than half its natural thickness in a hand operated arbor press. The high pressure squeezes the HPL to such a solid density that it becomes highly resistant to damage simply because any utensil or tool striking the HPL will not have a force greater than the force used to form the HPL itself. In effect, the HPL has been dented in advance. HPL can be decorated in any pattern and is applied using contact cement and pressed in place using a "J-roller." It is cut slightly larger than the panel on which it is to be installed and trimmed using a router-like laminate trimmer along the edge. It may also be filed to obtain the final edge. While HPL became prevalent in the twentieth century, since the 1970s the trend has been away from HPL in favor of wood.

• Melamine is a coating for furniture board panels in carcases. Its unique white-in-color chemical formulation helps prevent damage by chemicals and gives it impact resistance comparable to HPL. Melamine coated boards are widely available in home centers for purposes such as shelving.

• Thermofoil is a plastic coating laminate applied to furniture-board. It is typically applied to boards which have been milled, shaped, or routed into a complex profile. While thermofoil can have a unique glossy sheen and have strength and impact resistance almost as much as HPL, it can't be repaired if damaged.

• Paint can be used over cabinets where desired. Paint is considered traditional. Many consider brush strokes in the finish to be attractive.

Cabinet hardware

There are many kitchen cabinet hardware options available.

Hardware is the term used for metal fittings incorporated into a cabinet extraneous of the wood or engineered wood substitute and the countertop. The most basic hardware consists of hinges and drawer/door pulls, although only hinges are an absolute necessity for a cabinet since pulls can be fashioned of wood or plastic, and drawer slides were traditionally fashioned of wood. In a modern kitchen it is highly unusual to use wood for a drawer slides owing to the much superior quality of metal drawer slides/sides.

Drawers and trays

Drawers and trays make it easier to access a cabinet's contents. They are a substantial benefit because they reduce bending and squatting. The only drawback is slightly less usable space which is taken up by the slides as well as door clearances. A typical drawer is 5" narrower than a comparable shelf. A drawer can usually hold about 75 to 100 lbs for ordinary use. Using slides, mounted on the side (reducing width slightly) or bottom (completely out of sight), a drawer or tray can be extended considerably with a smooth, linear motion using minimum effort.

Drawer extension is the exposed proportion of a fully extended drawer. Traditional drawers with wood-on-wood runners can only be extended about three-quarters; however, modern runners enable full-extension drawers. A slide's design parameters are its height, depth, extension, weight rating, durability, serviceability, and smoothness of operation. One new feature is soft-close buffering.

Specialty hardware

Kitchen cabinet hardware.

There is a large variety of specialty hardware for kitchen cabinets. Special hardware for corner and other blind cabinets makes their contents more easily accessible. They may be in the form of lazy susans with or without a wedge cut out or of tray slides which enable the hidden corner space to be occupied with trays that slide both laterally and forwards/backwards. Sponge drawers use special hinges that fit between the cabinet front and the sink.

Buying cabinets

Before buying cabinets, precise measurements are essential otherwise there may be empty unutilized space, cabinets may not fit, or there may be interference between a cabinet door or drawer and something else.

Buyers can buy pre-built "stock" cabinets for fast delivery which usually arrive in a week or less. In contrast, custom-made cabinets can have longer delivery times, such as four weeks.

Stock kitchen cabinets available from a home center can be installed by yourself or a handyman.

• Base cabinets are usually 24" deep and 34½" high to accommodate a countertop surface normally 36" above the floor.

• Wall cabinets are usually 12" deep. Their heights are often 30", for example, if mounted to a soffit. In a kitchen with eight foot high ceilings, a 36" high wall cabinet will leave about six inches of space above the cabinet which can be covered with a crown molding; a full 42" high wall cabinet will run straight to the top of the ceiling. Wall cabinets are sometimes called "upper cabinets." The distance from countertop to wall cabinet is usually 18", but this distance is sometimes less if there is undercabinet lighting. Cabinets can have an open top for displaying ornaments. Ceilings higher than 9' can permit another level of cabinets.

Cabinet dimensions are specified with width first, height second, depth last. The width–height–depth is a generally accepted convention. A 18x36x12 cabinet is therefore 18 inches wide, 36 inches tall, and 12 inches deep. Sometimes upper cabinets are presumed to be 12" deep, so only the width and height are given. For example, a "W1836" label means wall-mounted cabinet (12" deep) is 18 inches wide and 36 inches high.

Custom cabinetry, while expensive, can fit the available space attractively, and can fit into walls which aren't exactly flat or straight. They can combine more than one opening and eliminate unsightly doubled stiles in face-frame installations as well as bring aesthetic appeal using unusual woods or finishes. Custom cabinets sometimes offer inset cabinet doors, and can match existing or period furniture styles. It's sometimes possible to mix custom and stock cabinetry which have identical finishes.

Cabinets can be purchased from specialty retailers, kitchen remodelers, home centers, on-line retailers, and ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturers. Some installers offer a package deal from measurement, to construction, to installation.

Cabinets are sometimes delivered in fully assembled form. Inspect carcases carefully before installation, since defects are difficult to repair after installation. Ready-to-assemble furniture cabinets are lower-in-cost and are delivered in a flat box. Some courses teach homeowners how to build their own cabinets.^[8]

Bibliography

• Mary Drake McFeely, Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?: American Women and the Kitchen in the Twentieth Century
• Valcucine, How to recognize quality in kitchen cabinets?

References