At Atherton Appliance & Kitchens and BSC Culinary, our goal is to help you design, create, and enjoy the kitchen of your dreams. To this end, our showrooms represent the most respected premium brands and provide assistance through knowledgeable, well-trained staff. One of our premium services – which we offer free of charge in Redwood City – is design assistance to help you translate your personal design tastes into a cabinetry system that will meet your needs.
As you begin to think about kitchen cabinets, there are some basic things you should know. Your cabinets will help define the look and feel of your kitchen, but they will also serve as storage and organizational tools. There are a wide variety of options available to meet your cabinetry needs. We offer what we feel are the most beautiful, well-built and functional designs from some of the world’s greatest brands: Downsview Kitchens, Dura Supreme, and Wood Harbor.
Tom Silva of This Old House writes that there are nine important things to know about cabinetry:
Look for products certified by the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association. These cabinets are subjected to specialized testing. Certified cabinets survive exposure to humidity and a wide range of temperatures and will maintain their look and quality despite the spillage of kitchen mainstays such vinegar, lemon, and fruit juices.
Stock and semicustom cabinets are the most popular types of cabinetry. Stock models are popular because of their low price, quick delivery, and accessory options. Semicustom models offer a wider range of sizes, finishes, and styles. Custom cabinets work best if you have the budget to invest in cabinetry that will be built to your specs and that might take several months to fabricate.
There are many storage and organizational options that can be built into your cabinetry. Downsview Kitchens, for example, offers an extensive and complete range of cabinet accessories designed to increase storage space and provide the ergonomics and functionality required in the modern kitchen.
Light-colored woods, such as oak and maple make your kitchen seem brighter and larger, while darker woods including cherry and mahogany create a more dramatic effect. Some cabinetry is designed to mimic the look of furniture in order to tie-in with the overall décor of the home, especially in homes with open floor plans that visually adjoin different rooms.
The stronger the box, the better the cabinet. Silva recommends heavy boxes with at least ½-inch-thick walls or structural rails that can be attached with screws to the wall studs.
When you purchase cabinets, it’s important to purchase a repair kit that will help you maintain your investment. The kit might include colored wax, putty, or markers to cover set nails or repair dings. Having extra knobs, hinges, or other hardware on hand is also a good idea.
If you’ll be removing old cabinets before installing new ones, remove them without causing damage (or ask your contractor to do so). A number of nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, will accept donations of used cabinetry. They might even pick up the old cabinetry. eHow.com offers more information on how to donate old cabinets.
If you’re installing cabinetry yourself, be sure to use the right screws – the wrong choice could break under the weight of your cabinets. Silva recommends attaching cabinets to studs with 2 1/2-inch deck screws fitted with cabinet washers.
Before you heave your upper cabinets into position, Silva recommends that you screw in a 1×3 cleat just below the layout line to help support their weight.
For more information on kitchen cabinetry, contact Atherton Appliance & Kitchens. We look forward to explaining anything else you need to know, and to helping you design the kitchen of your dreams.
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