So you’re looking for modern kitchen cabinets…
They’re a beautiful addition to any space in your home, but what you don’t know about cabinets in general, and about European style modern kitchen cabinets in specific, can leave you in one of two positions:
- Purchasing “cheap” cabinets because they’re inexpensive
- Purchasing over-priced cabinets because of their “perceived value”…
And in this article, we’ll discuss 5 things you need to look for before spending your hard earned money on kitchen cabinets:
- Where are the cabinets manufactured?
- What are modern kitchen cabinets made of?
- How are the drawer boxes made?
- Who’s supplying the soft close hinges & drawer guides?
- What is a realistic lead time for cabinets to be delivered to your home?
Let’s get started…
1. Where In The World Are Your Modern Kitchen Cabinets Being Manufactured?
This question is three sided and covers the quality of material, the quality of manufacturing, and perceived value…
Many homeowners find cabinets coming from China as being a great bargain, but what they don’t know is that the materials being used (laminates vs lacquer, etc) are sub par for remodeling your own home…
You can see the imperfections in the cabinets from a mile away, and if you happen to have anyone over for dinner that knows anything about cabinets, they’re sure to see it…
Here’s a quick video explaining the difference:
If you’re buying modern kitchen cabinets, the only hardware you should be using is from BLUM…
(Below is a photo of the drawers we use from BLUM for majority of our clients…)
On the other side of the spectrum, you would purchase kitchen cabinets coming out of Germany…
Bulthaup is one of, if not the most expensive modern kitchen cabinet brand on the market…
We actually did a case study where we sent them a set of plans for a kitchen and received a bid for a small kitchen for $45k just for the cabinets…
Labor to install the cabinets was an additional $8k-$10k…
Total cost $53k-$55k
We then bid the project with our custom cabinets, including high end Italian UV lacquer finished doors, BLUM hardware and installation and came out $32,800… That’s a price difference of just over 40%
And that’s for identical materials for the cabinet frames and door materials (chip board and MDF)
Now don’t get wrong, Bulthaup and other brands like it, make an AMAZING cabinet… But you have to ask yourself, is it worth almost paying double for same materials?
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Click Here To Get An Instant Estimate On Your Modern Kitchen Cabinets…
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2. What Are Modern Kitchen Cabinets Made Of?
Most euro-style modern kitchen cabinets are made up of a combination of particle/chip board and MDF (medium density fiberboard)…
Although, some manufactures can and often times do, use cabinet grade plywood for the actually cabinet frames, while still using an MDF core for doors, drawer fronts & finish panels…
(We do the second option for many of our clients…)
Also, be sure to ask the thickness of the materials being used…
Chinese cabinets are notorious for using thinner material to save money, but you’ll also save on quality lol!
Cheaper material can be spotted if the cabinet frames are made from 1/2″ or 5/8″ thick material…
The ideal thickness for your cabinet material is 3/4″… You’re going to pay for the extra quality, but you’ll also be able to sleep at night knowing that you purchased the highest quality cabinet possible…
3. Drawers For Modern Kitchen Cabinets
There are hundreds of drawer options on the market, but the best quality for the money is found at BLUM…
We can’t speak any more highly of these guys…
The drawer boxes we use for our clients are a stainless steel drawer box with the ability of being push-to-open, and also have the best built in soft close mechanism on the planet…
Short and sweet 🙂
4. The Best Soft Close Hinges & Drawer Guides?
Again, we give this to BLUM…
Whether you’re dealing with traditional opening doors, or horizontal lifts, BLUM make the best soft close hardware on the market… We won’t sell anything else to our clients…
(And no, we’re not on payroll for BLUM lol, we just want our clients to have the best products possible…)
And if for some reason you decide to go with a less expensive drawer box, like dove tailed plywood, you can still use a BLUM drawer guide with the soft close mechanism built in…
5. Lead Time For Modern Kitchen Cabinets
If you’re buying Chinese, they can be purchased and picked up same day usually…
If you’re buying high end, from say, Bulthaup, you’re looking at 16 weeks…
For our clients, we can usually have cabinets with the Italian finishes manufactured and ready to ship within 14 days…
If you’d like more information on getting modern kitchen cabinets for your home, simply enter your name & contact info in the form below and we’ll give you a call to discuss your options 🙂
