Kitchen Cabinetry - What are my options?
Updated: Jul 11, 2022
Are you looking at spoiling yourself with a new kitchen?
You've been having a look around on the market, speaking with cabinet makers, but not sure which is the best kitchen joinery product for you? As a kitchen designer in Brisbane, clients often ask me what is the best choice for their kitchen cabinetry. There are a number of factors that impact your choice, such as budget, lifestyle, personal choice, finish etc. that will impact your decision. I've pulled together a number of popular selections available on the market today to help you make an informed decision.
Melamine
Melamine is a fantastic option if you're looking for flat panel doors. Long gone are the days of peeling edge strips and chipped corners. While it is considered the most affordable of your kitchen cabinetry, it certainly isn't daggy or cheap looking. There are so many wonderful colours and finishes from your ultra matte through to woodgrain finishes, this is your most versatile choice. Make sure to stick with brands such as Laminex or Polytec that are made in Australia and can withstand our humid and hot conditions so won’t fall apart like the cheaper and inferior alternatives. These products come with a 7-year manufacturer’s warranty so it is impossible to go wrong with this choice for your kitchen.
Vinyl Wrap
There are a number of pros and cons to Vinyl Wrap. If you're looking for an affordable profile door, then these would be your go-to. They come in a range of colours, finishes, and profiles. The downside to these products is they can be adversely affected by heat and humidity, which causes them to lift and peel. If you are considering these doors for your kitchen, stick with reputable brands, such as Polytec's Thermolaminate, which offers a 7-year warranty on their products. If you do go with vinyl wrap, try to avoid exposure to heat and steam as much as possible to increase the life of your kitchen.
Compact Laminate
If you're looking for an outdoor kitchen, then this is the product you need. Made from paper and resin which is compressed together, it is highly water resistant and perfect to withstand outdoor conditions. Easily identifiable with a black core, it comes in a large range of colours that you would find in your regular melamine ranges.
Acrylic
Acrylic doors aren't as widely come by on the market as some of the other products. They sit somewhere in between melamine and 2 pac as far as costings go. Acrylic doors are hard-wearing, scratch resistant, can be repaired, they won't delaminate and are UV resistant, so colour fading won't be a problem. The limitation of Acrylic is there are only a hand full of colours, so you can only get what is on trend and only come in a flat panel door. But if you're looking for an ultra-gloss finish, then you can't beat this product. Companies like Stylelite offer a 10-year warranty on their product so you know it’s durable and worth that little bit extra.
2 Pac
This finish is probably your most versatile finish. It is an MDF substrate, with a painted finish. Being a painted finish, you can have any colour imaginable. It also allows you to have your perfect gloss level, from super matte right through to high gloss. With the MDF substrate, you can have it as a flat panel or routed to be any profile that you want, giving you the ultimate flexibility. The down side to 2 pac is the cost, due to the labour hours in painting it. It also has longer lead times than your standard melamine finish. Being a painted surface, like a car, it can easily scratch too. The painted surfaces come with no warranty, but the substrate usually come with a 7 year warranty mostly.
Timber Veneer
Timber Veneer cabinetry is where you get real timber at much less the cost of solid timber. Manufacturers take a thin sliver of real timber and laminate it to an MDF substrate. The benefit of this is you get a product that is real timber on the outside, but it is much more environmentally friendly and economical than solid timber, however it's still not cheap compared to other cabinetry options. It is also difficult to repair and doesn't particularly like water, so is not usually recommended for kitchens. But if you put it in adjacent areas, such as a bar or feature cabinets, you should have no worries.
Solid Timber
Solid timber cabinetry has a real individual feel to it. At the highest price point for kitchen cabinetry, it needs to be carefully considered. The benefit of solid timber cabinetry is it is a real statement in a home, it is solid, durable, and can be repaired if damaged. Timber is also renewable and doesn't have nasty chemicals in it like particle boards so if you're looking for an environmentally friendly option and have the money to put towards it, then this could be for you.
There you have it, your most common kitchen cabinetry options available to you and their price point. While I'm sure there are other options out there, these are the ones that most people consider when looking at a new kitchen and most readily available on the market without going into specialist design or construction.
So, do you have a better idea of what you're after for your kitchen cabinetry? Or do you still need assistance? Looking for some help with the design? Get in contact with us today so we can have a no-obligation chat about your kitchen design.
