Choosing kitchen cabinets

Whether your kitchen rivals that of a chef's lair or looks more like a cramped ship's galley, its functionality will often lie in your choice of cabinets and cupboard space.

To the seasoned cook, the right cabinets for your kitchen are those that offer the right space to hold the tools needed to create your culinary mastery on a regular basis.
This could include some larger drawers for pots and pans and small cupboards which open out on a hinge to save space.

To the takeout converts, who merely want their kitchen to look neat and tidy, the right cabinets for your kitchen could be a lot less specialised, and you may merely want to focus on getting the right sized pantry, rather than worrying about every nook and cranny.

If you are renovating your kitchen, or starting from a blank canvas, it is probably best to seek the advice of several carpenters and joiners about what is best in terms of functionality, look and price.

Your kitchen cabinets will not only form the general look and feel of your kitchen, but their style and placement should also reflect the way you like to use your kitchen, and the frequency which you cook.

Before choosing the size of cabinets you want for your kitchen, give some thought to the materials you use to cook normal meals on a regular basis.
Do you need to store large baking trays and soup tureens, or do you need glass-doored cupboard to showcase your fine china and tea cup collection?

Kitchen cabinet doors: Paint, timber, glass & more

You are spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing your kitchen cabinets.
Whether you are having your kitchen entirely refurbished or just changing the doors on your cupboard space, there are plenty of options, styles, colours and materials to choose from.

Some choices of kitchen cabinets you may like to consider include:

• Painted doors - usually in the colour theme you have chosen for your entire kitchen. These can be repainted easily if you change your colour scheme.
• Laminated doors - sometimes referred to as PVC doors, these doors make it easy to wipe up the spills and splashes that occur often in the kitchen.
• Timber grain doors - this is a current popular choice, the doors can also be laminated to look like timber, but are actually made of a plastic substance which is much more durable in a wet area
• Glass doors - if you want to show off what is inside the cupboard - a warning here, they will be able to see any mess and clutter too!
• Stainless steel doors - that you would see in a chefs kitchen or restaurant.

Before making your kitchen cabinet choice, consider your “cooking style” amongst other options in order to be sure of a style that fits.