We think cabinet-making is a lot like the proverbial duck on a pond. You shouldn’t see how hard the work is beneath the surface. The appearance should be both effortless and elegant with the accent on the beauty of the design rather than the way the components fit together.
There are basically three types of cabinet construction techniques. With two of them you can see how the individual parts fit together … the work that went into it. The third way ends up in a unitary cabinet where everything fits together seamlessly as if sculpted from a solid piece of wood. The height of the cabinet-makers art looks both effortless and elegant.
Here are the three types of cabinet assemblies:
Also known as European style.
Essentially a box with doors clipped on.
Kitchen systems are built by screwing cabinets together unless custom designed to fit the space.
Filler panels fill spaces remaining between cabinets and walls unless custom designed to fit the space.
Seams are visible where doors and drawers meet the box, between filler panels and where cabinets fit together.
Shelves are the thickness of a single board and supported by edge brackets.
Sometimes referred to as American style.
A front frame fits over the cabinet box and there is always a discernible lip where frame meets box.
Kitchen systems are built by screwing adjoining cabinets together.
Filler panels fill remaining spaces between cabinets and walls unless custom designed to fit the space.
Doors and drawers rest atop the frame or can be flush mounted.
Seams are visible where the frame meets the box, between cabinets and where filler panels meet frames.
Shelves are the thickness of a single board and supported by edge brackets.
The mountaintop of the cabinet-makers art.
Custom cabinets are built to fit the space perfectly without fillers or screwed together cabinets. The appearance is unitary.
There is no lip where frame meets shelf or side panels so everything slides out easily.
Exposed side panels miter to the front frame so there are no seam line.
Doors and drawers can sit atop the frame or be flush mounted.
Reveals can be prominent or hidden to suit design.
Boxes and frames are often different species, but can be matched.
Exposed sides are covered with species and finish matched to front. It appears as if cabinet was carved from solid piece of wood.