Cabinetry 101: Eight Details That Make a Big Difference

First, a quick reminder: looking for some help with your project? I have a variety of targeted consulting sessions available, and worksheets and templates, too. I’d love to help!

And of course, if you didn’t pick up your copy of our meeting minutes template from last week, be sure to go here and use code MMFORSUBSCRIBER to get it for free.

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For our custom residential projects, we design all our cabinetry to be custom built. That means it’s not off the shelf sizes, and we can do anything we want!

That said, there are still many “best practices” when designing cabinetry, and it’s a good idea to master those before trying to design something completely off the wall.

Another helpful thing: building a relationship with a cabinet shop, so that you can learn what they do, how they do it, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. We have a couple different ones we work with, depending on the project and the client [and price point!] - but surprisingly, custom cabinets don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Remember, cabinets are one of the most heavily used items in a project, and whether it’s your own home or an investment property or a your business, having cheap crap that falls apart in 18 months is not good for anyone.

The topic of “cabinetry” is HUGE, so we won’t be able cover anywhere near all of the information there is here in one post. But, I’m hoping that by choosing one piece as an example, we can dive into a bunch of design and construction considerations that will be helpful!

Let’s take a look at this vanity, which we designed for a client a few years ago; it was built by a furniture builder local to the project.

Walnut never gets old! Photo by Kyle Caldwell, more on this project here.

Here’s what we’re going to take a closer look at:

1. Grain pattern

2. Wood choice

3. Fillers/scribe

4. Toekick

5. Soffit

6. Counter/backsplash integration

7. Mirror integration

8. Composition of storage elements

Ok, let’s dive in: