Cabinets are one of the most prominent features in your home. They can be in a kitchen, living room, bedroom, or bathroom, people will look and either admire or be indifferent about them.
Particularly in a kitchen remodel, new cabinets are a standard upgrade that most of our customers want to get. However, depending on your choices, kitchen cabinets can come with a hefty price tag.
Let’s explore some of the most popular kitchen cabinets styles and what it means for your budget.
Understanding Different Kitchen Cabinet Styles
Given the amount of space that cabinetry takes, choosing the right kitchen cabinets style that goes well with your kitchen space is of utmost importance if you want your room to flow and look tied together.
The last thing that anyone wants is a cabinet set that looks bad or doesn’t give their kitchen the look they were aiming for. When this happens, people often end up disappointed.
There are several differences in cabinets, and each of them impact the look, functionality, and budget of your remodel.
Aesthetics
Everyone wants to invest in cabinets that are aesthetically pleasing, and that is just a fact. If you don’t like the cabinets that you choose, you’ll find that you won’t enjoy your kitchen as much as you would if you’d made a different call.
Your cabinets’ style will influence what kind of design it fits in and how all of the different components come together.
Function
Though all cabinets serve the same purpose, subtle design differences can have a surprising impact on how they actually work in the end. For example, the kind of hinges they offer, and how you and your family will interact with them.
Price
A huge consideration when choosing your cabinets is the price that you want to commit to. There are a lot of factors that influence the price of your cabinets. This is important to know before you set your sights on cabinets that are outside of your budget. Falling for cabinets that are too expensive can mean compromising in other areas or dealing with the heartbreak of not getting your dream cabinets.
The Most Popular Types Of Cabinets
- The construction of the cabinet itself
- The cabinet doors and drawers
Let’s see what are the most popular types of cabinets that homeowners love getting for their remodels.
Face-Framed Cabinets (Or Overlay Cabinets)
Face-framed cabinets are cabinets that come with a very specific and obvious design detail—they have a piece of wood that borders the cabinet itself that is usually an inch or so thick. These borders are overlapping the surrounding frame in a very specific way depending on the design that you go with. In general, they block some degree of sight into the storage area itself.
These cabinets are very sturdy and have a strong design. They are built to be more durable and can offer a good amount of support. People prefer them for their strength and durability, but these are traditional cabinets that look amazing in vintage kitchens.
However, that doesn’t mean that all people like these cabinets. If you’re after a more modern or futuristic design, these cabinets might not be for you. They’re less versatile, but they can be either stained or painted to suit your preferences.
If you’re getting custom cabinets, you can expect to pay about $15,000 for a 10×15 kitchen. Cabinet installation takes a lot of hard work, so add an additional $5,000 to this price for their installation.
These cabinets are available in two kinds of style options—half and full overlay.
Half or partial overlay doors and drawers follow suit with their name by offering a roughly half-inch face that will cover the opening so you can’t see inside. This measurement is the only real distinguishing factor between this and the full overlay, but it can actually have an impact on how the cabinets look as well.
A full overlay is a lot wider and set up so you have doors and drawers that are a lot closer together.
The doors on a full overlay will have a much tighter reveal to each door on each side, creating a different look that some people love, and some people hate.
Inset Cabinets
Inset cabinets are a stylish cabinet option that we fully believe looks a lot better. Unlike framed cabinets, these offer a more complete look by allowing the doors and drawers to sink into the design itself.
These cabinets are popular because of just how polished they look. They offer a flat and modern design that people find better suits contemporary themes in the kitchen. This approach to cabinetry also offers hidden hinges, further adding to that sleek style.
Custom inset cabinets cost around $20,000 from a manufacturer, and $25,000 from an individual contractor.
The Frameless European
Frameless European cabinets are a popular European design that’s becoming more and more popular in the United States, with more prominent figures featuring them in contemporary design.
These cabinets offer an effortless minimalist look because they completely remove the bulk from the design. Instead, there is a sleek, modern design that people are absolutely obsessed with.
With these cabinets, more is more—but there are a few things to consider.
Pros Of Frameless European Cabinets
There are several great parts of having frameless European cabinets, but the biggest benefit is clearly the design itself.
These cabinets really look great. They all have the same door style across the entire set, allowing for a more consistent look. We don’t believe that these are just trendy—we believe that they are an ongoing trend that is guaranteed to stick around because the visuals really are wonderful to look at.
Beyond simple aesthetics, these cabinets come with a lot of features—including more storage space.
They can also come with added functionality inside the doors and drawers simply because there is more space to support them. As a final bonus, choosing these cabinets from a reliable brand can negate most of the cons we will discuss.
Cons Of Frameless European Cabinets
Though frameless European cabinets look great, it doesn’t mean that they are entirely without flaws. Some people avoid these cabinets for very specific reasons.
The first con is that these are obviously the most expensive type of cabinets by design. If you are looking to cut down on your budget, these cabinets will not be a good choice unless you are willing to compromise in another part of your transformation.
The average set of frameless European cabinets costs $20,000 to $25,000 from a fabricator.
Cost aside, their frameless design does sometimes get them a bad reputation for being poorly constructed because there aren’t any rails. While you do gain that additional storage space, you really do lose in the overall structure. These cabinets are less sturdy than the other alternatives.
The biggest risk with these cabinets is choosing a company that makes them poorly. Poorly made frameless European cabinets are a problem waiting to happen—and they will be prone to breaking. When you invest in these cabinets, it is very important to choose a good brand in order to avoid running into some of these problems. Purchasing cheaper options will cause headaches down the line.
Different Types Of Cabinet Doors
Cabinet doors are the second factor that will impact your kitchen cabinets style. The most common doors are the shaker cabinets door. This is a simple design with a small frame around the door. It can be a square shape of an arch design for a more decorative look.
Like louvered cabinets, beadboard cabinet doors are also a common option, but these are more often used in pantries or for furniture in a bedroom. These are also traditional cabinetry that can contribute to a beautiful, vintage kitchen design.
The flat panel cabinets style is the most popular door style these days, as it goes very well with the modern look that homeowners want for their kitchens. They work well with frameless cabinets, and it’s a kitchen cabinet style that’s most likely to remain trendy and timeless for a very long time.
Glass front cabinets are another great option, especially if you want to showcase a fine china set. Glass doors require more attention and care, but as long as they’re used on upper cabinets, you’re in the safe zone.
The Takeaway
Cabinets are a crucial component in your kitchen transformation, which is why it is so important to choose them wisely. You will want to truly consider what you want for your design, as well as your budget.
At KHB Construction, we would highly encourage you to consider your cabinet options—but it goes beyond that.
When you choose your cabinets, be sure to consider every part of them—the price, the design, and the durability. If you want something that is purely aesthetic at any price, you can find that. If you want something that will last a long time and come at a lower price point, you can have that too.
If you’re looking to get the best cabinets for your kitchen remodel, contact our experts to discuss what would be the best cabinet style and budget for your particular project. Call us today at (209) 620-0068 or request your free quote and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible!