Kitchen Cabinet Buying Guide | DIY Megastore

Kitchen Cabinet Buying Guide

Kitchen cabinets are incredibly beneficial to a kitchen and add plenty of character. They provide additional storage space, keeping all of the important items found in your kitchen stored away in a conveniently accessible area until needed. Cabinets are used to store everything from mugs and plates to spices and condiments – they are incredibly versatile and one of the most useful additions to any kitchen space.

We offer a diverse range of kitchen cabinets here at DIY Megastore. We supply plenty of models and styles in a number of materials, colours, and finishes. There are advantages and disadvantages to the vast majority of options, too.

This is why we’ve put together our guide. We will cover the main aspects of purchasing a kitchen cabinet, including the different looks, configurations, features, and installation methods. We will explore the benefits and drawbacks of each, giving you a clearer idea of what is the most suitable option for you.

Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Kitchen Cabinet

There are a number of important criteria to think about when browsing for a new set of kitchen cabinets. Of course, there are styles and installation processes to consider, but before we get to any of those, there are three major questions you should ask yourself. We’ve listed them below, as well as the pros and cons of the different options.

Ready-assembled or flat-pack?

Cabinets can be purchased flat-packed, pre-assembled. Choosing pre-assembled cabinets will make the installation process more straightforward. However, this does not necessarily make installation easier, because you will have to handle a heavier load when manoeuvring your cabinet into place.

Meanwhile, a flat pack will take more time to construct but will prove more portable during those crucial early stages of installation. Not only this, but flat-packed cabinets tend to be less expensive too, making them better value for money without expending quality. There is no wrong option when choosing which is best for you – it is simply a matter of whether you’d prefer some heavy lifting or intricate, time-consuming assembly.

Custom or standard?

You can purchase customised kitchen cabinets with additional benefits, features, and visual adjustments. This helps them to serve their purpose in a way that is more fine-tuned to your tastes. There are plenty of customisation options available to you, though they do vary between models of cabinet. They also tend to be considerably more expensive, as with any bespoke product.

Alternatively, standard cabinets can be easily purchased and installed without any unique requirements. While they lack the uniqueness of character bespoke options provide, you will notice that they are less expensive and tend to be more consistently compatible with other products and appliances in your kitchen.

Framed or frameless?

A frame around your cabinet helps to better separate your doors and drawers from one another, creating a distinctive pattern in the process. Frameless cabinets lack this, making the design appear more seamless and minimalist. You tend to see frameless cabinets in European kitchens – framed cabinets are based on designs that became popular in America over the course of the twentieth century.

There is more to this choice than just aesthetics – although those play a major role! Framed cabinets tend to be sturdier, with the solid wood frames better able to resist wear, tear, and impacts. Frameless cabinets are better aligned with the current trend of kitchen styles and aesthetics. They also make for more spacious cabinet interiors.

Once you have decided on these three key choices, you can start to narrow down your search for your idea cabinet, we will look at the different kitchen cabinet styles to choose from.

Popular Kitchen Cabinet Styles

Shaker

Shaker cabinets are the more traditional variants, and they are popular in cottages, renovations, and historic town houses. They have a very distinctive and recognisable look, with their square frames and recessed centre panels. They are often constructed from solid wood, but MDF and other alternatives are often used as well. Shaker cabinets are elegant and highly practical. They are produced in countless colours and finishes, making them highly customisable.

Handleless

Handleless cabinets are ideal for use in modern kitchens thanks to their incredibly sleek appearance. Almost totally seamless save for the lines that highlight the drawers and doors (and even these lines can be purchased in varying thicknesses) they are contemporary, sturdy, and long-lasting. They are made from various materials, with wood, metal, and uPVC all incorporated in different models in some shape or form. They are totally handleless or instead, use subtle j-pull handles to emphasise practicality.

In-frame

In-frame cabinets – or simply framed cabinets – are those American-inspired cabinets that are ideal for traditional kitchens. They are also great for use in busy kitchens, with their frames enabling the cabinet drawers and doors for heavy use. In-frame cabinets work nicely alongside many other kitchen appliances and utilities, as a great deal of kitchen products adopt this eye-catching and highly customisable theme.

Slab

While not quite as subtle or contemporary as the more minimalist handleless cabinets, slab cabinets are instantly recognisable and more than suited for use in a modern kitchen. With their flat designs and distinct handles, they are easy-to-use and will fit in plenty of kitchen layouts. It is also easy to incorporate slab cabinets into kitchens with prominent fridges, freezers, microwaves, and other appliances thanks to the simple, rectangular appearance they possess.

Freestanding

Freestanding cabinets are highly visually appealing, and don’t require incorporation into rows alongside other cabinets to give a stylistic boost to your kitchen. They are commonly used in more traditional layouts and are particularly popular in cottages and other smaller kitchens with a focus on historical theming. Use alongside a kitchen basin to create a freestanding sink unit or utilise a larger model to create a centrepiece for a length of your kitchen.

What’s the Best Material for Your Kitchen Cabinet?

There are multiple materials that are extremely popular in the cabinet production industry. You’ll likely come across each of these materials when browsing for your ideal cabinet units, but which are the best for your project? Below, we’ve broken down some of the pros and cons of each material, as well as providing a little more general information about them.

Clipboard

This material is also referred to as ‘wood veneer’, chipboard appears natural, and as such is one of the most popular materials for use on kitchen cabinets. Creating panels that, when combined, appear at first glance to be fully natural wood, they are in fact only made of a thin layer of real wood. The rest is made from a combination of core materials. This makes chipboard much less expensive than solid wood, and lighter too.

Chipboard also benefits from straightforward scratch repair, with scuffs and light marks buffed out with ease. This helps return the wood to a good-as-new look, which makes maintenance even more worthwhile. It should be noted that chipboard in particular is vulnerable to water damage, which will loosen the veneer from its base and result in a rather unappealing, worn appearance.

Clipboard

MDF

MDF stands for ‘medium density fibreboard’ and is an even lighter alternative to chipboard. It is composed of a variety of wood fibres combined with wax, resins, and other products to create a unique material notable for its smoother grain. MDF is a highly reliable material that won’t expand or contract as temperatures and humidity levels change within your home. This makes it a more stable material than solid wood.

MDF is also available in larger slabs, making it a great choice for larger cabinet units. It is also highly customisable and accommodates a number of different paints due to its versatile surface. However, it cannot be sanded, and is not very resistant to heat, so we wouldn’t recommend using it on cabinets that may be exposed to heat, such as units near ovens.

Plywood

Plywood is another natural wood alternative with plenty of unique benefits. It is one of the most durable materials used for cabinet production and is ideal for busier kitchens. It is notably cheaper than solid, natural wood, which means your money will go further when purchasing plywood cabinets – important to consider when constructing a larger kitchen layout.

Plywood gets its name from the ‘plies’ that make up the thickness of the wood, and the quality of the plywood depends on the number of plies involved in its construction. The smaller the number of plies, the less durable your plywood will be. As well as this, remember that plywood is not as strong as solid wood, and like chipboard it is vulnerable to water damage.

Natural wood

You may have noticed that all of the above materials try to replicate natural wood in some way, but there is nothing quite like the real deal. Natural wood is incredibly impressive to look at, and with a number of finishes to choose from it really brings out the best aesthetics in a traditional kitchen layout. It is incredibly resilient, and one of the sturdiest materials available.

The main drawback of natural wood is the cost. The above alternatives are able to replicate natural wood for a much lower price, hence their popularity. But the cost of an all-natural wood cabinet is more than worth it. Be aware that natural wood cabinets are amongst the heaviest, so will be more challenging to install.

Choose Which Unit Configuration You Need

Once you have decided on the material you want your cabinet to be made from, move onto deciding the unit configuration. This is incredibly important, as the vast majority of these options are specialised for placement within certain areas of your kitchen. You may need to buy several of the same units if you’re planning on creating a row of cabinets.

Base unit

The standard cabinet unit is designed to serve as a base as well as storage. Highly versatile and recommended for use in the vast majority of kitchens.

Sink Base

A cabinet for your sink to sit within. Adding cupboard doors to these units will ensure you gain easy access to the underside of your sink – vital for plumbing tasks. You can also store cleaning products and other important items in this space, though we would recommend avoiding items where their hygiene is of importance, such as glasses and cutlery.

Wall unit

The kitchen wall cabinet to opt for if you’re installing along a length of the wall. Like the base unit, this is one of the most common. Incredibly versatile and looks fantastic when installed along a row with other units.

Pantry unit

A cabinet unit specifically designed for use in your pantry. These cabinets vary greatly in size, with some intended for use in smaller pantries, and others much larger than the majority of other cabinets. These are perfect for bigger pantries and can store a wide variety of items.

Corner unit

As the name would suggest, these kitchen corner units are designed for kitchen corners. They tend to be on the larger side, which makes them ideal for adding a variety of features onto, including Lazy Susan units, which are perfectly adapted to the otherwise awkward positioning of these units.

Kitchen Cabinet Accessories and Features

Below we have listed some of the most common cabinet features and accessories. Some of them are necessary, while others will simply make your cabinet more practical. All have their benefits, so consider whether or not they will make a worthwhile addition to your kitchen layout based on their key features.

Soft-close doors

These doors utilise specialised hinges to soften the impact of the door closing. This increases door longevity, reduces noise pollution, and adds to the overall value of the cabinet unit. An excellent addition for those who sometimes forget their own strength, as well as busier kitchen enthusiasts who could use the extra convenience.

Hinges

Hinges are vital for any cabinet unit that possesses a door. Some units are supplied with hinges, while others will require you to purchase your own separately. Hinges are usually installed inside the cabinet, though more traditional units sometimes made more obvious hinges that add to the visual appeal of the door itself.

Handles

Handles, much like hinges, are crucial in the operation of your cabinet. However, unlike hinges, they are used on drawers as well as doors, making them all the more important. Handles are considered to be more decorative than hinges, and as such you will find an abundance of unique designs. Some are much more suited to modern kitchens, while others have traditional designs. They made from wood, brass, steel, even iron.

Drawer runners

Drawer runners are the rails that the drawers of your cabinet run on to open and close. They’re not always specifically rails, but all serve the same purpose; to allow your drawers to open more smoothly. They come in a number of lengths, which is important to note as you will need to find the correct dimensions to suit your specific cabinet.

Adjustable shelves

Adjustable shelves are just the thing to increase the versatility of your cabinet unit and is especially useful if you’re constructing a cabinet that will be home to a constantly changing array of items. Easy to install, their height is quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate a wide variety of items.

Lazy Susan

A Lazy Susan is a great addition to any cabinet unit, providing plenty of character and charm while also offering a practical mechanic with a great deal of potential. Stock plates, cups, mugs, or even appliances on this handy component installed in larger corner cabinets. Some Lazy Susan units are installed fairly easily, though others may require professional installation. Ideally, a Lazy Susan should be purchased from the same manufacturer as the cabinet unit, in order to ensure optimal compatibility.

And there you have it – a guide to the best cabinet sets for your kitchen. Take a look our collection of kitchen cabinets. We’ve covered some of the key aspects of purchasing any new set of kitchen cabinets, including the materials and styles you will be able to choose from. We have plenty of other articles about cabinets, including an installation guide and how to remove any unwanted cabinets.

Finally, if you have any more questions about cabinets or kitchen appliance installation, do not hesitate to contact our excellent team. With plenty of knowledge on DIY projects as well as our extensive product selection, they will do their best to help you out with any DIY project you may be facing.

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