Material choices for your kitchen cabinetry
If you have to choose just one area of your project to invest the bulk of your budget, make it choosing high quality raw materials. The materials that you use in your kitchen can be just as important to the overall feel and design of the room, as the initial design concept itself. Thoughtful textures, and carefully selected materials can add all the "wow" of a bold colour choice, whilst still remaining subtle and, if chosen correctly, future-proof your kitchen from passing trends. Quite simply, quality is timeless!
Using more durable materials will allow your kitchen to withstand the bumps and bruises of day to day life, meaning your kitchen stays looking better for longer. This European beech is a hard wood renowned for its toughness, it is difficult to dent and is perfectly suited for use in kitchen cabinetry.
The material choices that you make will affect more than just the aesthetic of your workspace, they will have a huge impact on the longevity of your kitchen. Determining how well it wears the knocks and bumps of day to day life. This isn't just about worktop and hardware choices, even if your cabinets are being painted, the underlying cabinet material choice will have a massive impact on how durable they are.
In-frame kitchens (the single design feature which probably best epitomises traditional English cabinetry) is a particularly good example of this. Using dense fine grained hardwoods, mean that those beautiful delicate bead details will remain crisp and sharp for years to come. Far better enduring the bashes and bruises inevitable from day to day use.
As well as this, a good quality hardwood will take a painted finish far better, without the annoyance of the sort of resin stains associated with sappy softwoods. Because these timbers are dense and robust, they resist cracking and denting of the finish far better than softer alternatives, meaning your kitchen stays looking better longer.
Here we can see a butler sink unit prior to painting. This unit's framework and doors are made from extremely hard wearing European beech, a fantastic choice for this style of cabinetry. The delicate bead detail around the door opening and sink aperture is crisp and sharp, and, being dense and durable, should look good for decades to come.
It is not just the doors and face frames which are important. If you want a truly timeless piece of kitchen furniture it is time to start thinking about your cabinets internals. The carcass of your cabinets is akin to the skeleton of your kitchen. Every element of your cabinetry, from the worktops to the doors will be attached to it. So this is no the place to cut corners. For a kitchen that lasts, these internals need to be rock solid, and withstand the wear and tear that they will invariably get over the next 30+ years of service.
A good example of this are the internal shelves. Solid hardwood shelving has a lifespan measured in decades, not years. It will not sag and wilt if it gets damp, there is no thin surface veneer to get wear away and no paper like edging to pull off and break. It will also give you the option of sanding and refinishing these cabinets many years after installation to keep them looking as fresh as the day they were made.
These gorgeous real European oak cabinet internals exude quality from the inside out. The random width slatted solid oak shelves and adjustable brass shelf pins not only look fabulous,, but are also incredibly long lasting, and will keep this kitchen both functional and beautiful for many years to come.
The bottom line is this. You can dress up your kitchen furniture with all the latest gadgets and appliances, stunning stone work surfaces and the latest designer colour trends. But if you want your kitchen to be a real, long term investment in your property, you need to start with the basics. Solidly constructed kitchen furniture, built with carefully selected materials and time honored construction methods will stand the test of time. Giving you a kitchen that looks as good tomorrow as it does today.
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November 2018
- Nov 28, 2018 Top 10 tips for small Kitchens. Nov 28, 2018
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June 2018
- Jun 10, 2018 Using Timber As A Feature Jun 10, 2018
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February 2018
- Feb 3, 2018 Avocado Suite Syndrome Feb 3, 2018
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December 2017
- Dec 6, 2017 Timber Worktops Dec 6, 2017
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November 2017
- Nov 16, 2017 Kitchen Islands. Nov 16, 2017
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May 2017
- May 15, 2017 Choosing the right cabinet carcasses. May 15, 2017
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March 2017
- Mar 7, 2017 Material choices for your kitchen cabinetry Mar 7, 2017
- Mar 6, 2017 Mood boards. Mar 6, 2017