Choosing New Kitchen Cabinets

Realtors repeat it like a mantra: “Kitchens sell houses!” So, whether a homeowner in Livonia is planning to sell their home in the next few years, or stay in it as their forever home, they want their kitchen to be as beautiful, organized, and efficient as possible. Nothing is more visible in a kitchen than the cabinets, and fortunately the choices of colors, styles, and sizes are abundant.Research, Research and More Research!Smart consumers start early and do extensive research before selecting kitchen cabinets for their remodeling project. One of the most popular apps used to compile ideas is Pinterest. This app allows homeowners to “pin” photos and articles onto a virtual bulletin board for reference and sharing with their designer. Another app that is a favorite is Houzz. This app even allows users to post photos of their existing kitchen layout and ask for input from other users and designers.Overall StyleContemporary, transitional and traditional are the primary kitchen cabinet styles. A trusted kitchen designer will be able to advise homeowners on the best style to complement their overall home. Within each of these overall styles, there are door styles, materials, and colors to choose.Door StylesArch, furniture, raised, recessed, shaker, and slab are all popular door styles. Each has its own distinct look and often will “date” a house based on the popular door styles of the era when it was built. The style of door will dictate if a clean, modern look is desired, or a more traditional ambiance. Glass insets are another option that is popular to highlight collectible or colorful dishes. It can be clear glass with leaded mullions, or an opaque glass that can be especially attractive when accent lighting is added.MaterialsSome options for cabinet material are acrylic, alder, bamboo, cherry, echo wood, HDF, maple, melamine, metal, oak, rift oak, thermofoil, and walnut.Cabinet ColorsPhotographs simply can’t do justice to the color of a cabinet. Visiting a showroom with an abundance of choices is the best advice of top designers. Depending on the cabinet material chosen, the color and any glazes will take on distinctive looks.Whoever chose the names of the color choices for cabinets must have been hungry at the time! Dark colors range from black bean, French roast, Java, smoke, chocolate, hazelnut, and molasses to natural, prairie, sand, brizo blue and caramel.Whites include: bisque, artistic white, bright white, chill, cloud white, fawn, linen, mission white, mountain haze, oyster, and silver fox.Greys include: agreeable grey, barnwood, Cape Cod, Cascade dark, evening grey, flint, graphite  haze, peppercorn, storm and tempest.GlazesCoffee, onyx, and pewter glazes are popular choices to accent the primary color and material.Top-rated Cabinet MakersFinding a kitchen contractor that is experienced with quality cabinetry is a must. Some of the top cabinet makers include KraftMaid, Quality, UltraCraft, Urban Effects, and Wellborn. Each cabinet maker has options for homeowners to choose for the type of wood, style of cabinet, color and finish.

• KraftMaid -- Custom Quality at Its Best

At KraftMaid, each of their custom cabinets is created and assembled carefully by hand. Whisper touch hinges and drawer runners are key features included with every cabinet they make. Wood choices include oak, cherry, birch, hickory, and maple.

• Quality -- More Than a Name

Quality cabinetry is an affordable choice for many homeowners. They offer more than five hundred combinations of cabinets in a variety of styles, colors and sizes.

• UltraCraft -- Nearly Unlimited Choices & Thermally Fused Melamine Standard InteriorsUltraCraft cabinets come in seventy-five styles with over ten thousand style and finish combinations. One of their primary advantages is that their cabinets have approximately fifteen percent more usable space than those of their competitors.

UltraCraft cabinet interiors will be appreciated by many homeowners due to their easy to clean surface that eliminates the need for shelf paper. They are also resistant to moisture and bacteria. They will never peel off and are colorfast.Their cabinets are made from a wide variety of materials, including wood, metal, thermofoil, acrilux, melamine and Eurotek veneer. One of the lesser known materials, known as thermofoil, is created by pressing a flexible layer of vinyl onto a substrate with a vacuum, binding it to the surface. Some of the advantages to thermofoil are that it is easy to clean, non-porous, consistent in color, and less expensive than other types of cabinet finishes.Similarly, Acrilux is an acrylic applied to MDF and coated with a thermoplastic eco-friendly material. Its main features are its glossy, mirror-like surface, exceptional brightness, scratch resistance, and UV resistance.Eurotek Veneer utilizes the latest in micro-woodfiber technology along with a baked-on, catalyzed-conversion varnish to give cabinets a color-fast and durable finish. 

• Urban Effects

Urban Effects cabinetry boasts full access, frameless kitchen cabinetry built to high quality standards. They offer unlimited choices with custom colors and offer unique opaque finishes. Brush stroke effects can be added for additional customization. Drawer construction choices include single wall steel boxes, double wall steel boxes, and wooden dovetail.What About Hinges?Most people don’t think much about cabinet hinges in their everyday life, but they are important in the overall look of a newly remodeled kitchen. A quick Google search quickly comes up with ten different types! The type of cabinet style chosen will dictate the hinge style that will work.Inset, or flush hinges, are completely hidden inside the cabinet for a clean look. Another option is a semi-concealed hinge. Older styles include wraparound hinges that will normally be exposed.Choosing the Right Kitchen ContractorSmart homeowners not only focus on the aesthetic components of their new kitchen, but also do their due diligence when choosing a partner to do the work. Those living in Livonia should check out reviews on Google, Yelp, and contact multiple references before selecting the best kitchen and bath remodeler.The top companies utilize the latest industry-leading software, called BuilderTrend. This program truly provides complete transparency at all stages of the project, and provides a portal for messaging and photographs of the kitchen before and after. It is critical to do business with a company that understands its clients’ needs and invests in the tools like BuilderTrend to take their projects to the next level.