Top 10 Characteristics of High Quality Kitchen Cabinets

Besides just looking stunning, high-quality kitchen cabinets must also be easy to use and remain in function for the next two or three decades. However, people have encountered problems well before this time with sagging drawers, crooked doors, loose hinges, warping boxes, and scratched and dented faces. This problem is largely due to poor-quality cabinet construction.

These low-quality cabinets lead to functionality issues and increase maintenance costs making them more expensive than higher-quality cabinets. Here are certain characteristics to look for in a well-built, high-quality cabinet:

1. All Plywood Construction

Typically built of particleboard and plywood, the strongest cabinets have full plywood back and sides to stay square through delivery and installation processes, resist moisture damage, and handle the heaviest countertops’ weight. While particleboards are cheaper, they are also vulnerable to crushing and moisture damage, besides being difficult to repair.

2. Full Height Back Panels

Ever wondered what can be the worst of kitchen nightmares? Perhaps entering your kitchen to see that the cabinets have disintegrated under the weight of your pottery, thus putting you at a loss with not only the cabinets but all your precious kitchenware and crockery.

A weak back panel is usually the cause of falling cabinets. Thus, it would help if you opted for solid, full-height plywood back panels that increase your cabinet’s strength and ease of installation.

3. Soft Close Hinges

The cabinet door hinges are the most vulnerable yet important component of the kitchen cabinets. You need to open and close the cabinet doors multiple times a day, and in case of poor quality hinges, your entry may not stay shut, or worse, they may become loose or uneven or even fall off. Opt for steel-based 6-way adjustable, soft-close hinges that will provide a soft-close mechanism and adjust when seasonal changes cause the door to expand or contract.

4. Undermount, soft-close drawer glides

Slides or high-quality drawer glides are more important than you’d believe if you do not want your drawers to be creaking within a year of usage. The more weight you plan for the drawer to support, the better the slides should be. Use soft-close undermount steel guides with ball bearings that help support a heavy load and an anti-slam system that will make the drawer noise-free opening and closing.

5. Hardwood dovetail drawer boxes

While the drawer box’s construction may not seem much of a concern, it becomes a concern when the front face seems to be bowing or bending. Hence you must opt for solid hardwood drawer boxes with dovetail joints to add to the durability of the drawer and the joint. Though cheaper, Other materials and constructions will be far less durable and thus pile up on the maintenance costs.

6. I-beam construction

Secured on the base cabinets’ upper sides, I-beams strengthen them and help them remain square during installation and shipping. However, triangular corner gussets, braces, or other cheaper alternatives to integrated I-beams will not add strength to the cabinet, often making it vulnerable to warping or bending in the case of moisture exposure.

7. Melamine interior

The cabinet’s inside is just as important and must be nonporous, tough, and wipe-clean to last long without showing signs of wear or bubbling. You must opt for melamine materials, a smooth yet tough laminate applied to particleboard, wood veneers, or plywood. Also, try to opt for lighter interiors as it makes it easy to see the cabinet’s contents.

8. Face frames

Attached to the front of the framed cabinet box should be a solid hardwood frame with door hinges and drawer glides attached. Whereas doors may be connected directly to the box sides if the cabinet is frameless. The two are different in appearance and construction method, stability, and strength, besides the fact that installing frameless cabinets may come at a higher cost with lower power and durability.

9. Fully assembled in the factory

It would help if you opted for completely built cabinets made at the factory and shipped to the customer in a ready-to-install state. Compared to ready-to-make cabinets, the construction strength and convenience are high, though the price may be slightly higher too.

10. Customizability and modifications

To make it look tailored to your kitchen’s space, your cabinets must provide customization flexibility. Fully custom cabinets may cost a lot; however, opting for semi-custom cabinets is the way to go. You can modify it according to your kitchen space, interiors, and color palette.

So now that you know what high-quality cabinets are made of, why not ensure that your kitchen looks better and lasts longer with these cabinets?