executive-kitchens-inc

Cabinet Frame Types

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 08:17:58 GMT

Many customers come to us and ask for an “inset” kitchen while not knowing what it actually means. In general, an inset kitchen means your doors and drawer fronts fit inside of a cabinet face frame. What many customers don’t realize is there are many different forms of inset cabinetry. Most notably, we are asked for beaded-frame inset, or flush-frame inset:

Flush-frame Inset Cabinetry (top left)

Inset doors and drawer fronts are designed to blend seamlessly into the face frame of your cabinets. This means that when they are closed, your cabinet doors will sit near flush with the face frame for a smooth surface. Flush-frame inset cabinetry typically features a perfectly flat face frame with no additional detailing, making it a good choice for designs which favor simple lines and minimal ornamentation.

Beaded-Inset Cabinetry (top right)

Beaded inset cabinets have an additional 1/4” decorative detail on the face frame immediately surrounding the door or drawer. This detail is known as a bead. The bead acts as a “frame within a frame” to outline your doors and drawers. Depending on what you choose, the bead can be made of an additional piece of molding applied to the face frame or by carving the bead out of the face frame with a router. Either way, the extra detail requires skill and is the mark of truly custom cabinet.

Pros and Cons of inset cabinetry.

Inset cabine try is beautiful, timeless, and makes a statement in any kitchen. Consult with one of our designers regarding property home humidity and its effects on inset cabinetry.

What you say or what they see…

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 08:22:16 GMT

Which one reveals more about you?

Are you drawn to the wrinkles on people’s faces or the hair that has been deprived of the hair salon privileges? I, personally, am drawn to the background that is silently broadcasted during the zoom meetings.

Trying to cope with the challenges of working from home and utilizing the latest technological advances, we became accustomed to conducting meetings from our kitchens, dining rooms, top of our beds with make-shift desk-tops, and our living room sofas. At first, we thought of it a victory if the cat stayed out of the view, or the children were quiet enough, so their voices did not travel through cyberspace. Most of us have been there, trying to find the perfect spot in the home, with the most non-descript, blasé background.

Does it work? Is it professional enough? What would people think? Do we care? Do our clients care?
How about our colleagues? Do we get judged by what they see

What about the strain on our bodies, hunched over our screens trying to type and look presentable in these less than optimum work-place arrangements? I am sure, those of us who “Zoom” regularly have experienced back, neck, or various body aches due to these make-shift work surfaces.

As the number of people working from home increased, the home office design became a popular demand in residential design. Add children to the mix, attending school virtually, the home office is considered a necessity.

Based on the need, a home office can be as simple as a single workstation. It is ergonomically designed to provide a comfortable work surface as well as storage or it can have multiple stations to accommodate working-from-home parents as well as children attending school virtually. Versatile lighting options can provide adequate lighting for different office or school tasks. Storage around the work surface can be customized to meet specific needs for computers, files, etc …

A Home Office Can Be...

European Frameless Cabinet Construction

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 08:46:18 GMT

EURO VS. FRAME

Who Wouldn't Like to Have Their Cake and Eat It, Too!

Despite the misconception in the consumer world, frameless, aka European, cabinetry construction offers just that. While it allows for maximum use of the wall space, and with an 1/8” of clearance between doors and drawer fronts, it creates a seamless, custom look that is aesthetically desired.

Frame construction, a trademark of American cabinetry manufacturing, has been the popular choice because of its marketing by the large cabinetry manufacturers of the industry. The abundance of hard woods and generous footprints of homes have prevented the industry and the end users from seeking alternative solutions.

Post WWII, advancements in manufacturing engineered woods such as medium density fiberboard, and plywood, increased the use of laminates, and with the rise of minimalist design in Europe the frameless, built-in concept for storage and furniture became popular. This concept made its way into kitchen design in Europe and was soon adopted in North America.

A typical frame construction cabinetry has a ¾” thick and 1 ½” wide, solid wood, face frame that is attached to the cabinet box opening. While this may add extra sturdiness to the carcass, it restricts the opening by reducing the width by at least 1 ½. Since the opening of a drawer box is reduced in a similar manner, the useable clear space inside each drawer is also reduced by 1 ½”. These may be insignificant unless the goal is to maximize the storage in a modest or a compact design.

As more and more homeowners prefer to tackle projects by themselves, cabinetry with a face frame can be easier for a novice do-it-yourselfer to handle without professional tools or expertise. Hoping that the product has kept its dimensional integrity, from manufacturing to arriving at the project site, it can be installed without having to do too much realignment or adjustment.

On the other hand, the installer typically removes the doors off the cabinet carcasses for easy handling and weight reduction during the installation. The hinges that are designed to work with frame cabinet would need to be unscrewed from the face frame. It is much easier to remove and reattach the doors on a frameless cabinet. The hinge style that works with a frameless cabinet box is composed of two parts; the hinge that is routed into the door and the hinge plate that is screwed to the inside wall of the cabinet box. The hinge designed to snap on to the hinge plate and it makes the removal and especially the reinstallation fast and practical.

In conclusion, finding the right product that fits within the expectations of all of the aspects of a project is challenging. Prioritizing the important elements makes the decision-making process less overwhelming. If the seamless, continuous look and full utilization of the space are on the top of the list when it comes to aesthetics and function, the choice would clearly be the European style, frameless, cabinetry construction in kitchen and bath industry.

Solid Wood vs. MDF

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 09:14:22 GMT

Why is it that more and more cabinet manufacturers are including medium-density fiberboard (MDF) as part of their material selection for painted cabinet doors? When we talk about cabinet doors, MDF is often viewed as an inexpensive alternative to woods. However, both solid woods and MDFs have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to cabinetry.

When we opt for solid woods, we feel attracted to the wood species’ unique characteristics. Some species have deep, variant grains that, when stained, present a unique look. Some have more subtle grains whereas others have grains that are circular in pattern. Some wood species are more porous, which allows them to absorb the stain well and creates a smooth, uniform surface. Others can allow stain to dry on the surface and create blotchy effects that can look weathered or old-world. For those of us who like to incorporate these unique features into our aesthetical concepts, solid woods are a great choice for cabinet doors.

If you flip through a brochure for any cabinet manufacturer, you will see that stains are not the only finish option. Opaque lacquer (AKA paint) is also presented as an option. Typically, in white and off-white and in many shades of gray, charcoal, and even black. When we opt for painted cabinet doors, manufacturers often paint doors that are constructed in maple. This is because of the non-porous nature of maple. As opposed to a porous cherry wood, for example, which soaks up the stain for a consistent look, a non-porous maple surface works better for the application of paint by allowing it to dry on the surface to create the opaque finish. The very subtle grain of maple also makes it the right choice by minimizing the grain bleeding through the paint.

MDFs are made of sawdust and resin, which acts as the binding agent. When they are compressed with pressure and heated into a sheet, the result is a very strong, stable, and smooth product. Since a very smooth, non-porous surface is desired for paint, MDF is a good choice for the paint application.

Cabinetry doors are typically constructed of rails, styles, and a center panel. We call this a 5-piece construction. Different types of joinery can be used to connect the rails and styles depending on the door style. The center panel is held in place, floating, to accommodate the solid wood expansion and contraction that could result with temperature and humidity change. The expansion and contraction can be visible at the door joint lines in hairline cracks. The movement however becomes more apparent on opaque painted finishes.

Given technological advancement, manufacturers are now able to rout MDFs and shape them the same way they rout solid woods. This makes MDF a desirable alternative to solid woods when it comes to painted finishes. MDF, as an engineered wood, is more stable in nature than solid woods because of the binding agent in its makeup that is cured under high pressure and heat. When paint is applied to doors that are made of MDF, the hairline cracks are visibly reduced due to the reduction in expansion and contraction of the door.

Cabinetry doors can be as simple as a flat/slab door or as detailed as a 9-piece door with heavy, applied moldings. The more detailed the door is, the higher the price tag. When we compare the cost of MDF doors to solid wood doors, we are comparing not only the cost of the material but also the amount of time and effort spent to manufacture the door. A simple MDF door that is painted will naturally cost less than a wood door. A solid wood door when compared to a more elaborate MDF door can cost less. Therefore, it is not fair to generalize MDF as always a cheaper alternative to solid woods.

Solid woods or MDFs both can be great choices based on the type of finish and the aesthetic style. MDFs can have smooth surfaces and can be stable, but they lack the natural characteristics of solid woods. In return, they provide the desired surface and longevity for paint applications.