Kitchen Talk
June 5, 2009

Choosing the right Cabinet Materials Pt:2

Other factors to consider when chosing the material for your kitchen cabinets are:

PURPOSE

There are hard woods and there are soft woods. Both of these can be sub catagorised, but generally softwood such as white pine is not suitable for making kitchen cabinets.{{more}} Its just too soft. It would not stand up to the harsh environment, so consider yourself warned there. Hard wood such as green heart is really, really hard, just like purple heart. Some cabinet shops would tell you point blank that they would not put those woods on their machines, so for the cabinet purpose it is not recomended. It can be used for counter tops on your cabinets, but not ideal for cabinet frames and doors.

Basically, you can choose the wood depending on the purpose or the role the wood is to perform in the kitchen. There is a new trend where different lumber types are used in different parts of the kitchen because of the colour or pattern. Some designers would use one colour for the moulding, one for the panels and another for the frames etc.: Mix and Match.

THEME

If you work with a designer, once he or she knows their “onions”, they would try to use the areas around the kitchen to either design the kitchen or they would design the kitchen based on the theme on the home. Designing with a theme is always a very smart move, but themes do not care too much about the homeowner’s personal taste in lumber. Themes only care about one thing, and one thing only, and that is fitting in to add and contrast! So the lumber type you should use in this instance for your cabinets should only be that which is suitable rather than likable. There are situations where a designer might be able to use your likes in these situations, but don’t feel too badly if it’s not possible. You’ll love it when it all comes together.

Oak, yellow pine, Mahagony and teak are popular lumbers used in kitchen and there is no doubt that there are many more types out there. It is, however, not the purpose of this letter to list them but to guide. In the end, look at what is available, look at cost and compare that with your budget. Next, look at the features. Once you take those steps you should be fine. Good luck!!

Angelica and Rayan James

Exclusive Kitchens

494 2579 / 532 6756

www.exclusivekitchensvc.com