Home Design & Decorating Room Design Kitchen Design

How to Buy New Kitchen Cabinets

Light gray kitchen cabinets with white countertops

The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto

In This Article

New kitchen cabinets are one of the most expensive investments you'll make in a kitchen remodel. It's possible to turn the purchase of new kitchen cabinets into a complex process. But it doesn't have to be difficult when you concentrate on the six basics of new kitchen cabinets: style, door overlay, color, wood, finishes, and doors.

Pick a Style

Let the home's style provide cues for the new kitchen cabinet purchase.

When considering new kitchen cabinets, start at the highest level and work down to the details. The highest level, in this case, would be the general kitchen or even house style. Details mean door style, finishes, wood, and treatments.

For example, a modern, contemporary home generally looks best with a modern, contemporary kitchen. A Colonial-style home will look best with a traditionally styled kitchen: warm tones, rich hardwoods, and glass inserts.

Decide on Full vs. Partial Door Overlay

Choose a full cabinet overlay for a more modern look or a partial door overlay for a more classic look.

Cabinet overlay refers to the amount of cabinet frame showing beyond the door area. Cabinet overlay greatly affects the appearance of kitchen cabinets:

  • Full overlay: The full cabinet overlay look is all-door, with no cabinet frame showing. It's a sleek, contemporary look that lets other parts of the kitchen shine.
  • Partial overlay: Partial cabinet overlay exposes some of the cabinet frames. These can be 1/2-inch, 1-inch, or greater. These contribute to a classical look and give the cabinets a deeper, more visually textured appearance.

Choose a Color

Pick an overall color scheme: the general color that first hits your eye when you enter the kitchen.

New kitchen cabinets' finish color is the first thing that stands out in a remodeled kitchen. An all-white thermofoil kitchen will feel markedly different from a kitchen that has dark espresso color cabinets.

The cabinet stain can influence much of the general look. Even ordinary oak cabinets can be stained to a dark, rich mahogany wood-like appearance. Colors behave differently with different kinds of woods. An espresso finish on maple looks much like an espresso finish on birch.

Choose the Wood

Choose the type of wood for the cabinets if they will be stained rather than painted.

  • Oak: Oak is a reddish wood with an open grain. Oak is an affordable type of wood that's commonly used for kitchen cabinets. It stains well, plus it's durable enough to hold up against damage experienced in kitchens.
  • Cherry: Cherry is a multicolored hardwood with many specks and curls and gum pockets. Along with oak, cherry is another popular type of wood for kitchen cabinets.
  • Maple: A uniform, softly highlighted wood, maple provides a relaxing appearance. The minimal graining and streaking give the wood a consistent color and texture.
  • Hickory: The most eye-catching wood in its natural state, hickory is a cacophony of dark streaks and dots. HIckory isn't the most commonly used type of wood for kitchens. When it's used, though, hickory gives a kitchen a highly unique personality.
  • Birch: Birch is a hardwood with strong vertical stripes. Birch comes in various shades, ranging from white to golden-brown. Birch is especially well-suited to kitchen cabinets because it is a strong wood and it holds screws and hardware well. Birch cabinets take stain well.

Choose a Cabinet Finish Treatment

Decide on a cabinet finish treatment, if any. Finish treatment refers to the appearance of the finish, excluding color.

  • Thermofoil: This paper-thin veneer, usually white, covers the entire surface.
  • Painted: A coating of paint always hides the wood grain below. So, the type of wood is less important when choosing a painted finish.
  • Distressed or vintage: Distressed paint finishes are either hand- or machine-distressed to create an attractive, aged appearance.
  • Glazed: After the base coat of stain, a glossy layer of glaze is applied for a more contemporary look.
  • Highlighted: A basic stain but with darker highlight colors added to recesses, giving the cabinets more of a rich, 3D appearance.

Pick a Cabinet Door Style

Choose a cabinet door style; that is, the construction of the cabinet door, whether slab, raised panel, or recessed panel.

  • Flat panel: A flat panel door, also called a slab door, is a completely flat plane. This style of door fits best with modern kitchens.
  • Raised panel: A raised panel door has vertical stiles and horizontal rails for a more classic look. It's also considered to be a transitional style, so it can be used in either classic or modern homes.
  • Recessed panel: A recessed style cabinet door has a stepped-back appearance for a decidedly traditional look.

Tip

Glass kitchen cabinet doors make a kitchen feel more open. Since kitchen cabinets tend to feel imposing, adding glass-front cabinets provides a feeling of greater depth.