Recommendations for new kitchen cabinets.

[gerntz]

That is one thing I would do differently - get the under cabinet lights. You can never have too much light in a kitchen.

Yes. Use them all the time.

 

[gerntz]

Our cabinets go all the way to the ceiling and we have never regretted it.

Do you have 10' or 12' ceilings?

 

[gerntz]

Would never get solid color wood cabinets. Too much cleaning maintenance to avoid seeing smudges and nicks for me. Life too short.

We have solid wood cabinets. Doors are 3-4" wide vertical pieces mated together to avoid warping.

Much in favor of light wood grain cabinets with dark floor.

 

[Gumby]

Do you have 10' or 12' ceilings?

8 foot.

 

[Bamaman]

Give me a few sheets of plywood and I'll just build my own cabinets. With a pair of saw horses, a straight edge, a Skil saw and a compound miter saw and I'm in business. I assemble the face plates with a biscuit joiner and a finish nail gun.

I have a large cabinet shop that builds my door fronts. And when I use MDF raised panel doors, they cut them on a CNC machine as large as a house. The doors don't even require sanding they're so perfect.

Fortunately cabinetry is relatively easy to build. I'm just finishing up with a large kitchen resurfacing and two bathrooms.

I just wish I had a crystal ball on what color to paint kitchen cabinets so they'll stay in style in the future years.

 

[Amethyst]

Well, right now it's white, white, white. Borrr-ing!

I decided not to worry about it. I'm getting natural wood, which I prefer, and plan to keep clean (although with 10-foot ceilings, it's going to take a stepladder). If, in 20--, the real estate agents insist that only purple cabinets are selling, I'll paint 'em purple.

I just wish I had a crystal ball on what color to paint kitchen cabinets so they'll stay in style in the future years.

 

[levindb]

Sink cabinet option

The house we just purchased did a great option for under your sinks...kitchen or bar sink.

The inside of the base cabinet is tiled!! Things generally leak over time, and the stuff you put under your sink can leave drips and stains. The tile can be any type, any color, but it makes it easy to clean.

You can thank me later...

 

[Gumby]

The house we just purchased did a great option for under your sinks...kitchen or bar sink.

The inside of the base cabinet is tiled!! Things generally leak over time, and the stuff you put under your sink can leave drips and stains. The tile can be any type, any color, but it makes it easy to clean.

You can thank me later...

We have a large rectangular plastic tub under the kitchen sink for just that reason. All the under sink stuff (dish soap, bleach cleanser, oven cleaner, sponges, etc.) sits in the tub.

 

[Ronstar]

The house we just purchased did a great option for under your sinks...kitchen or bar sink.

The inside of the base cabinet is tiled!! Things generally leak over time, and the stuff you put under your sink can leave drips and stains. The tile can be any type, any color, but it makes it easy to clean.

You can thank me later...

Or you could get a WiFi leak detector.

 

[Boho]

My mid-century kitchen draws have wooden slides. Would modern mid-priced kitchen draws have wooden slides?

Edit: I'm going to convert to roller slides that will stop the draw before it falls. I'm used to being careful but the next owner may not be.

 

[Brat]

You really need to look at what the fabricator is offering. When you write up an order make sure that you specify what you want.

 

[Boho]

The little square door in the blind corner is fake. The long one under it is functional. I'm going to renovate the kitchen slightly (without getting new cabinets). Should the little square be made into a functional draw? The useable draw space would be about 4" wide by 5" high.

 

[Katsmeow]

Definitely get drawers for most of your lower cabs. I had that at my old house and sure miss it in this house. Also make sure the shelves are adjustable.

That said, I've always found it is less expensive to have someone local build the cabinets on their site and then install them at your house. We gutted our master bath and we were putting in a lot of cabs in the master bath (we had an armoire along with regular cabs) and that is how we did it.

 

[levindb]

Boho,

The reason that the top drawer is fake is that once you install the hardware, the usable drawer space would be very small. You could use it for kabob sticks.

Another approach would be to have a slide out shelf for the drawer face and the cabinet face combined. You would load things from the side.

https://www.amazon.com/Rev-Shelf-448-BC-5C-Pull-Out-Organizer/dp/B004N7B7XA/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_L7pt6W7wIVEfDACh0ZIQEtEAAYBCAAEgIAEfD_BwE&hvadid=238244093964&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9010739&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1305006264562670786&hvtargid=kwd-312927582910&hydadcr=15277_9741708&keywords=rev-a-shelf+pull+out&qid=1614864315&sr=8-8

 

[meleana]

We used J&K Cabinets from China. All solid wood or plywood, no MDF, particle or strand. Good "no bang" soft close hardware too. Excellent value!

The builder put those on our new house, but no way do they compare with the Waypoint cabinets we had installed in our former home when we remodeled the kitchen several years ago.

 

[Ronstar]

The little square door in the blind corner is fake. The long one under it is functional. I'm going to renovate the kitchen slightly (without getting new cabinets). Should the little square be made into a functional draw? The useable draw space would be about 4" wide by 5" high.

If you’re keeping the cabinet carcasses as is, I would leave the square door as fake.

It would take quite a bit of work to turn it into a drawer. First pry the front off without damaging it. Then building a drawer box. Then modifying the interior of the cabinet somewhat to accept drawer slides. Then install drawer slides.

All of this for a 4”x5” drawer isn’t worth it IMO

 

[pb4uski]

+1 unless you are really desparate for additional drawer space... could use it for utensils I guess but probably not worth the cost and effort.

 

[JP.mpls]

My countertops in my townhome are shot.
I was reluctant to put new countertops on 35 year old cabinets.
My buddy is doing a home remodel, and researched a bunch of suppliers. He ended up buying Cabinets To Go cabinets.
You have to assemble and install them yourself. No particle board material, nice hardware.
I just ordered some for my kitchen. Will report back how this goes. Hopefully well.
JP

 

[Boho]

This dual outlet that the refrigerator uses should changed to a single outlet, right? Because the dual outlet can be used for a countertop appliance so I'd need a GFCI which can mess with the fridge. There's another dual outlet for the range that I'll change to a GFCI. They're both within 6 feet of the sink. I guess I'd cap off all wires currently going to the second outlet of the dual outlet and replace it with a single.

(the range is gas and the outlet on that end of the counter is just for the clock)

 

[skyking1]

I second what Pb4ski said in the first reply. Go for drawers down low. I built all our cabinets in both baths, the kitchen, laundry, and a built in murphy bed in the guest room from scratch and purchased the doors and drawer faces from a custom shop, and went the low drawer route.
I recommend Blum hinges and drawer hardware.
There are inexpensive battery powered moisture alarms online. I have one in the water heater pan and under each sink, and they work great. I put vinyl flooring under the sink that is wrapped up the sides in one piece, and caulked in the 4 corners. Takes a little time but really protects your investments. The moisture alarm wire lays on there and any water at all triggers it.

 

[Ronstar]

This dual outlet that the refrigerator uses should changed to a single outlet, right? Because the dual outlet can be used for a countertop appliance so I'd need a GFCI which can mess with the fridge.

I don't think that I would change it to a single outlet. It doesn't hurt to leave it as a double. And it doesn't hurt to have a fridge on a GFCI. My garage fridge has been on a GFCI for years with no problems.

There's another dual outlet for the range that I'll change to a GFCI. They're both within 6 feet of the sink. I guess I'd cap off all wires currently going to the second outlet of the dual outlet and replace it with a single.(the range is gas and the outlet on that end of the counter is just for the clock)

Again I see no harm in leaving it as a dual outlet.

If both receptacles (near fridge and near range) are on the same circuit, I would replace the breaker for that circuit with a GFCI breaker instead of installing 2 GFCI receptacles.

 

[Boho]

Again I see no harm in leaving it as a dual outlet

Yes, the dual outlet by the range will stay dual.

If both receptacles (near fridge and near range) are on the same circuit, I would replace the breaker for that circuit with a GFCI breaker instead of installing 2 GFCI receptacles.

It's a fuse box in a condo/co-op and that's probably not an option. At a board meeting several years ago they said the electricity is "OK for now." The building is over 50 years old now. Hopefully they'll swap the fuse box for breakers eventually.

I did some testing last night. The fridge is on the same circuit as an outlet that's opposite and within 6 feet of the sink, and that outlet is damaged and needs replacement. If it comes after the fridge outlet on the circuit, I'll make it a GFCI outlet. If not, IDK yet. Most people seem to be afraid of putting a fridge on a GFCI outlet but maybe I'll figure out some alert system so I don't risk food poisoning if something goes wrong. I'll test its position on the circuit soon. The counter outlet by the range is on a different circuit from the fridge and the closest outlet to the sink. I'll replace that one with a GFCI outlet.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'll echo what others have said. Get plywood for the floor under the sink cabinet. Large drawers instead of cabinets with drawers for base cabinets. Soft-close drawers and soft-close doors. Under cabinet lighting is a MUST.

Also consider a Lazy Susan for corner cabinet installations--the amount of stuff you can put on them is amazing and the convenience of spinning the wheel to access rather than peering around stuff to see the stuff in the back corner is awesome. Make sure the wheels and construction of the Lazy Susan is sturdy.

We got the built-in wood sliding drawer with compartments for the silverware drawer. This allows for two levels of silverware storage.

We did not get the pull out wastebasket drawer and kind of regret it now, although it does take a lot of space that could otherwise be used as storage.

 

[pb4uski]

We bought the lazy susans for our corner cabinets at Bed, Bath and Beyond... they make those corner cabinets hugely more functional.

They are so handy that ometimes I'm tempted to get them or even the regular kitchen cabinets.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I highly recommend a pie-cut SuperSusan. This sits on shelves, rather than supported by a pole: