kitchen cabinets (homes, cost, designer)

[Sampaguita]

If you look at some of the home sites (like garden web) which has a huge & very active kitchen forum, you'll see a ton of people putting in some beautiful white cabinets. I don't think they are necessarily ugly or out-of-style.

Finished Kitchens Blog

The above link shows the white/cream kitchens. There are several pages.

White/cream works well with a lot of styles particularly with cottage or bungalow-style houses.

[crone]

Desertsun41
Your theory is not logical. Home dec magazines are in business to sell. If no one liked white cabinets, the pictures would not sell the magazines. The people who buy photographs for magazines do it to sell products.

[City Love]

Originally Posted by Sampaguita

If you look at some of the home sites (like garden web) which has a huge & very active kitchen forum, you'll see a ton of people putting in some beautiful white cabinets. I don't think they are necessarily ugly or out-of-style.

Finished Kitchens Blog

The above link shows the white/cream kitchens. There are several pages.

White/cream works well with a lot of styles particularly with cottage or bungalow-style houses.

I personally like the white cabinets. They need to be tastefully done. But I think they look great in older upgraded homes. I see it all the time.

It can look quite attractive in an older home with stone backsplash and some nice granite. Add some stunning hardware and you have a nice looking kitchen.

[travelguy_73]

We have white kitchen cabinets and subway tile backsplash, each of which are period-appropriate for our 1930s home (the quartz isn't, but I'll forsake old tile countertops for progress). I think that the thermofoil and malemine white cabinets they sell at Ikea and the big box stores have given white a bad name. A nice hardwood, with a spray-on paint finish is very nice looking and historically accurate for many of our homes that never had stained wood in them.

[pdouglas]

I have white cabinets and love them.

[yuri2002]

Hi,Desertsun41
Can you recommend a quality cabinet dealer in NH? or possibly in MA,VT,ME? I have looked at JSI cabinetry in fall rivers, MA. After more research on the web, I think they might be chinese import. The other one I have looked at is the CABINETTOGO.com. They have a showroom in Manchester,NH too. Their price is also very attractive. My budget is about 3000. I like the candlewood cabinet, but the dealer wanted 9000 for the cabinets and countertops. My hushand is against particleboard because he believed they are cheap and inferior to solid wood cabinets.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by yuri2002

My husband is against particleboard because he believed they are cheap and inferior to solid wood cabinets.

People get confused by this subject. A little background:

First, when people compare particleboard (PB) or solid wood, they are referring to the sides, or box, of the cabinet. The front frame (called the face frame) and the door are (almost) always solid wood. So realize it is nothing you can SEE, since it's the sides.

Next, when people say solid wood, what you are really getting is plywood. Yes, it's solid, but it's plywood. It's not like a single piece of wood makes the cabinet.

The particleboard is often MDF--medium density fibreboard. It is FAR stronger than plywood, but it's not solid wood. And some people just prefer solid wood.

Now that you know all this, one can realize there really isn't any great advantage to "solid wood" cabinets over standard cabinets. They cost 20-40% more, just to get plywood instead of MDF. And remember, you always getting solid wood for the face frame and the doors.

There is nothing wrong with solid wood cabinets, just the cost. If that's what one really wants, great. But don't let yourself believe you are getting an inferior product if it's not solid wood.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by astrohip

People get confused by this subject. A little background:

First, when people compare particleboard (PB) or solid wood, they are referring to the sides, or box, of the cabinet. The front frame (called the face frame) and the door are (almost) always solid wood. So realize it is nothing you can SEE, since it's the sides.

Next, when people say solid wood, what you are really getting is plywood. Yes, it's solid, but it's plywood. It's not like a single piece of wood makes the cabinet.

The particleboard is often MDF--medium density fibreboard. It is FAR stronger than plywood, but it's not solid wood. And some people just prefer solid wood.

Now that you know all this, one can realize there really isn't any great advantage to "solid wood" cabinets over standard cabinets. They cost 20-40% more, just to get plywood instead of MDF. And remember, you always getting solid wood for the face frame and the doors.

There is nothing wrong with solid wood cabinets, just the cost. If that's what one really wants, great. But don't let yourself believe you are getting an inferior product if it's not solid wood.

Doesn't particleboard or MDF give off fumes that are dangerous to humans?

[entnous53]

White kitchens are completely in style and look clean, bright and elegant. Instead of brown speckled granite, they have elegant Calcatta Oro white marble island countertops, honed gray or black quartz perimeter countertops and polished nickel hardware. Shaker style inset cabinets are en vogue. I am an interior designer and that's the current look for people who are tired of all the earth toned brown kitchens.

[Schumacher713]

White