CABINETRY 101
Everything we do at Grandior is to help make your life a little easier. From assisting you in the design of your dream kitchen to helping ensuring your cabinets lasts for generations, Grandior is here for you. Understanding the essentials of cabinetry is a key component in designing your dream home. A knowledge of cabinetmaking terms, understanding the advantages of a factory finish, and having information on custom cabinetry, can provide for a more involved experience and a better result at the end of the process. Take some time to develop a grasp of cabinetry using Grandior’s library of in-depth resources.
GETTING STARTED:
FIND YOUR CABINET INSPIRATION
There are two things you should learn when it comes to choosing new cabinets for your home:
One, new cabinets can single-handedly transform the look and feel of your space. A bad set of cabinets can suck the life right out of your kitchen, bathroom, or new home bar while great cabinets really add to its look and function.
Two, the sheer amount of choices and decisions needed can make your head spin. So where do you start? Let Grandior remove the worry by guiding you through cabinetry design and installation to ensure you truly love where you live.
Whether you click through Pinterest, flip through the pages of design magazines, or browse the Grandior gallery, find what inspires you and let it guide you through making your decisions. To help you better understand the choices available, we have created this guide all about cabinets.
THE THREE LEVELS OF CABINETRY
A great place to start when you are looking for new cabinets is with the level of cabinetry; budget-friendly stock cabinets, a more tailored approach with semi-custom cabinets, or the sky is the limit with designed just for you custom cabinets. It’s important to know these three levels because each range significantly in style and in cost, which is likely to affect your decision making for choosing the design that best suits your needs.
1. CUSTOM CABINETS
Custom cabinets are the best option, because they provide the most styles, colors, wood species, and flexibility. You have complete control of everything, from type of wood to stain color to size to finish. Custom cabinets really add value to your home and make your kitchen something special.
Learn more about our custom cabinet maker:
Key Benefits:
- Great Quality: With custom cabinetry, you have much more control over the quality of wood and finishes used for manufacturing which means the end-product is going to be much higher quality than that of semi-custom and stock cabinets.
- Customized Styling: With custom cabinets, your door style and finish options are limitless. This is important because the visual appearance of your cabinets is the focal point of your kitchen’s aesthetic. Custom cabinets allow you to color match your kitchen cabinets to any color you want.
- Personal Details: If you have an eye and appreciation for attention to detail and precision, custom cabinets could be the right fit for you. With custom cabinets, you can alter heights and widths, so that every detail lines up. Custom cabinets also allow you access to custom built-ins such as shelving or wine racks, embellishments, custom mullion doors, and various types of moldings and paneling.
- Limitless Space: Since custom cabinets can be made to any size, this enables you to gain access to more space in your kitchen. Those extra inches will add storage and counter space that may have a huge impact on your design.
- Exotic wood species: Custom cabinet makers offer more wood species like Walnut, White Oak, Rift-Cut White Oak, Quarter-Sawn White Oak, Mahogany, Zebrawood, Bird’s Eye Maple, Figured Anegre, Teak, Sapele, and Bamboo.
- Specialty Finishes & Techniques: Custom cabinet makers offer more higher end furniture finishing techniques like crackle finishes, light & heavy brushing, glaze wipe off, glaze wipe on, different distressing techniques, different sheen levels, and even a high gloss sheen called “Piano Gloss”.
- Cabinet Construction Offerings: Custom cabinet makers offer all three types of cabinet constructions; Framed, Inset, and Frameless construction.
- Cost: High-End. Most expensive option, but price vastly varies from brand to brand and with different options and techniques.
- Lead Time. Mostly 6-8 weeks depending on the level of the customization and the cabinet construction. Some ultra custom cabinet orders can take up to 16 weeks.
2. SEMI-CUSTOM CABINETS
Semi-custom cabinets are still made to order for your project, but with less customization and style offerings than the full custom cabinets, making them a more affordable alternative to custom. With semi-custom , clients & designers can make minor adjustments, changes, or upgrades that accommodate the layout of their space.
Semi-custom cabinets give you some options and allow you to choose certain features, such as custom sizing, and even some built-in features. Here are our vendors for semi-custom cabinets:
Key Benefits:
- Perfect Sizing: Semi-custom cabinets are made to order and can easily be ordered in custom sizes, but to some degree and with some restrictions. If you need something with more height or width or a deeper cabinet, then a semi-custom can be altered.
- Semi-Custom: Semi-custom cabinets come with multiple different door styles and colors to choose from. Each door style will help bring a different look and feel to your kitchen cabinetry, so it’s a great place to really customize.
- Wood Species: Most Semi-custom cabinet makers offer wood species like Cherry, Maple, Oak, Hickory, Alder, and rustic Alder. Some offer Birch, and Beach wood species as well.
- Good Value: These cabinets are budget mindful and a quality investment since they give you the look and feel you want. With these two elements in mind, they will add value to your home both now and down the road.
- Cabinet Construction Offerings: Most semi-custom cabinet makers only offer framed cabinet constructions, but Grandior Custom Cabinetry offers both Framed, and Frameless construction.
- Cost: Mid-Range Budget. More cost effective than custom because of the less options and offerings.
- Lead Time. Usually 6-8 weeks
3. STOCK CABINETS
Stock cabinets, refer to boxes that are built by the manufacturer based on industry-standard styles and measurements. They are built to pre-determined specifications and can not be modified.
At Grandior, stock cabinets are our most affordable option and are produced in predetermined sizes, making them less expensive than custom or semi-custom. With stock cabinets you have some different options as far as style and finishes, but your choices are limited to what is available. That being said, stock is a great choice if you’re looking for affordable, quality cabinets. Here are our stock cabinet offerings at Grandior:
Key Benefits:
- Lead Time. Usually 1-2 weeks
- Still Good Quality: All our stock cabinet options come with all the upgrades you can possibly want like plywood box construction, soft-close hinges, solid wood dovtailed drawers, and full extension soft-close drawers. With advances in design and materials, today’s stock cabinets are a great option to consider for your home.
- Cabinet Construction Offerings: Stock cabinet mainly come in framed cabinet constructions, but Grandior Cabinetry offers both Framed, and Frameless construction options.
- Cost: More cost effective than semi-custom or fully custom cabinets
- Lead Time. Usually 1-2 weeks
CABINET CONSTRUCTIONS
Once you have established your budget and the level of cabinets to fit your needs, you are on to making your selections. Keep in mind that the level of cabinets you choose may affect your available options.
ALL ABOUT CABINET CONSTRUCTION
Generally speaking, there are two different ways cabinets can be constructed: framed cabinet boxes and frameless cabinet boxes. The former is the most common and simpler compared to frameless, which is more modern and provides more storage space. And there are three common types of cabinet doors: partial overlay, full overlay, and inset.
FRAMED CABINETS
This is the most common type of construction having a 1-1/2” border applied to the face of the cabinet. This flat frame is where the doors are secured, giving the cabinet extra stability.
FRAMELESS CABINETS
Often referred to as European style, frameless (full-access) cabinets eliminate the face-frame from the box creating a more contemporary look. Typically, thicker more durable material is used to construct the box to compensate for the missing face frame. This type of construction, considered as the traditional style in Europe, is characterized by doors being of the same size as the boxes of the cabinets and installed side by side. This configuration maximizes the storage space width given the absence of frame on the front of the box.
FULL OVERLAY CABINETS
This is a cabinetry door construction style where the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are sized to cover most of the cabinet face frame, leaving minimal space (reveal) between adjacent doors. Full overlay covers nearly the entire face frame of the cabinet, creating a cleaner and more high-end design. Since they are not set inside the cabinet frame, full overlay provides the greatest amount of storage with plenty of room for larger kitchen designed tools. This is the most popular of the two overlay options.
PARTIAL OVERLAY CABINETS
Also known as Traditional Overlay, this construction type has a more exposed face frame (wider reveal) compared to Full Overlay cabinet doors when the doors and drawers are in the closed position. Just as the name suggests, partial overlay doors partially overlap the face frame of the cabinet box—probably the least common and economical of the three. This style is the most affordable style of the two framed options. Homeowners can also rest easy knowing the precision required when hanging a partial-overlay cabinet door is more forgiving because there are no pieces that must be precisely matched. This provides flexibility for tricky spaces and doesn’t require meticulous installation.
INSET CABINETS
Instead of resting atop the face frame, inset doors fit inside the cabinet face frame creating a clean, flush look. Inset cabinets are desired for their smooth, clean appearance, but the price is around 40% more than overlay doors. This cabinetry construction method is crafted by hand-fitting the door and drawer front within the face frame of the cabinet, giving a full view of the cabinet frame, and having the doors/drawers flush with the face frame. Inset cabinetry is a popular and distinctive look inspired by early American furniture makers and offers an authentic, hand-crafted look with timeless appeal.
Beyond the increase in price, cabinets with inset doors are built deeper to allow for standard storage space. This may cause issues with existing bulkheads or adjoining cabinetry. Homeowners also need to consider the expansion of wood caused by high levels of humidity which can sometimes cause rubbing to occur between the door and the frame.
PLAIN INSET CABINETS
Inset doors are available only with face frame cabinetry. With inset construction, the cabinet doors and drawer fronts fit flush with the face frame. With close tolerances required, great care is taken in the application of inset doors.
BEADED INSET CABINETS
Inset doors are available only with face frame cabinetry. With inset construction, the cabinet doors and drawer fronts fit flush with the face frame. With close tolerances required, great care is taken in the application of inset doors.
CABINET MATERIALS
It all starts by learning the types of cabinet materials as well as the pros and cons, and seeing some examples to inspire you on your kitchen cabinet quest:
- Simple, Symmetrical, & Sophisticated Kitchen Remodel
- Cabinetry Hardware
Wood Cabinets – Wood cabinets come in a variety of styles such as natural, stained, or painted finishes.
- Pros: Wooden kitchen cabinets are durable and it’s much easier to repair. These cabinets are also very versatile because you have a wide range of wood spices, styles, colors and finishes to choose from.
- Cons: One of the major drawbacks of wooden cabinets is that they are prone to humidity. When the moisture content in wood cabinets fluctuate during a change in climate, the wood tends to expand and contract which can result in warping. Wood cabinets are also more expensive due to the quality of material.
Eco-Friendly Cabinets – Eco-friendly cabinets are made from reclaimed, renewable, or recycled materials.
- Pros: For some homeowners, it’s important that they contribute towards saving the environment and reducing their carbon footprint. These cabinets are an excellent step in the right direction to make this happen.
- Cons: However, the renewable materials are harder to come by, making them fairly expensive.
Laminate Cabinets – Laminate is a synthetic material that is made of compressed wood.
- Pros: One of the biggest pros to this material is the fact that it is so easy to clean. You only need a water-based cleaner and a sponge. It’s also preferred due to its durability as laminate protects against scratches, stains, etc.
- Cons: Biggest downside is that Laminate isn’t invincible, so any damage done is likely irreversible. Price can vary depending on variety.
Thermofoil Cabinets – Thermofoil cabinets are made of vacuum-pressed vinyl.
- Pros: Like laminate, this material is extremely easy to clean and wipe down. They are also fairly inexpensive with numerous design styles.
- Cons: This material has a major downside in that it is susceptible to heat. You may need heat shields if cabinets are near an oven or dishwasher. This material is also unrepairable if the vinyl layer is damaged.
Metal Cabinets – Often stainless steel, metal cabinets are available in a variety of shiny and brushed metals.
- Pros: Metal offers a sleek and contemporary look that is unaffected by heat or humidity. They are also very durable and stain resistant.
- Cons: Very costly and scratch and dent prone—and tend to show fingerprints prominently.
WOOD SPECIES
Our cabinet companies strive to purchase and use the finest hardwoods from around the country. No matter which wood species you choose for your cabinetry, please keep in mind that no two pieces of wood are exactly the same. Stains can exaggerate the difference between open and closed grains and other markings in wood. Grain and color variations should be expected. As hardwood ages, it will darken when exposed to different types of light. Color differences or changes in wood can also be caused by exposure to harsh chemicals, extreme heat, moisture, or other contributing external conditions.
Additionally, woods can exhibit other natural characteristics that make the wood unique, contribute to its enduring beauty, and should not be considered a defect.
Ash
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grain, coarse, even texture.
Color: Somewhat lustrous, sapwood nearly white, wide, heartwood grayish brown to light brown to pale yellow streak with brown.
Characteristics: Heavy in weight, hard, strong, stiff, high shock resistance, excellent bending qualities.
Ash wood is particularly revered in furniture making, including kitchen cabinetry, for a host of reasons. Notably, it offers an impressive weight-to-strength ratio, providing durability without compromising the overall aesthetic. This makes ash kitchen cabinets an excellent long-term investment for your kitchen. Furthermore, the wood’s straight, open grain creates beautiful patterns, offering an intriguing visual element to your cabinets. Whether you choose to stain, paint, or leave the wood in its natural state, ash kitchen cabinets can exhibit an aesthetic that is simultaneously modern and timeless.
One of the significant advantages of ash kitchen cabinets is their remarkable design versatility. The natural grain of the wood allows for a variety of finishes, enabling you to achieve everything from a rustic farmhouse feel to a sleek contemporary design. The ash kitchen cabinets can easily adapt to your preferred style, making them an excellent choice for many homeowners. For a rustic look, consider leaving the ash cabinets in their natural state or apply a light stain to highlight the grain’s beauty. On the other hand, for a more modern or Scandinavian-inspired kitchen, you might opt for a whitewash finish or a cooler gray stain. These options underscore the versatility of ash kitchen cabinets, which can transform your kitchen space according to your individual tastes and preferences.
Ash wood is revered for its incredible strength and durability. This characteristic is particularly crucial when it comes to kitchen cabinets, which often bear the brunt of daily use. Ash kitchen cabinets offer the longevity you need, ensuring that your kitchen not only looks fantastic but also stands the test of time. The hardness of ash wood makes it resistant to knocks and scratches, which is a great advantage in a bustling kitchen environment. When properly cared for, ash kitchen cabinets can last for decades, retaining their beauty and function.
Brushed Ash
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grain, coarse, even texture and brushed.
Color: Somewhat lustrous, sapwood nearly white, wide, heartwood grayish brown to light brown to pale yellow streak with brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Brushed Ash is a great alternative to wire brushed Oak. A wire brush is used to randomly to rough up the substrate surface in certain areas.
Birch
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight, close grained, fine texture and even.
Color: White sapwood, heartwood cream or light brown tinged with red.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Birch is a heavy wood, hard, and strong. It has very good benign properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance. Birch has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine, uniform texture, and is generally characterized by a plain, often curly or wavy pattern.
Bamboo
Grain pattern: Fine, straight.
Color: The color is blond on natural bamboo and carbonized bamboo has rich dark caramel tones. It can be either side press (thin strips) or plain press (wide strips)
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, renewable, sustainable.
Bamboo is actually classified as a member of the grass family. It has several characteristics similar to those of red oak. Compared to red oak, bamboo is harder but lighter, and has a finer texture. However, a large part of what makes bamboo so desirable as a building material is that it grows extremely fast. Plus, it regrows from the root stock, meaning the plant doesn’t die when the bamboo is harvested.
Even though raw bamboo has to be transported from overseas locations, it’s often touted as a “green,” sustainable material. But to be made into lumber products suitable for furniture making and other uses, it requires extensive processing. Bamboo stalks are segmented, hollow tubes with thin walls. They have to be cut into strips and laminated into boards, panels, and veneer using adhesives under high pressure.
The strips can be glued together edge-to-edge (horizontal grain) or face-to-face (vertical grain). Horizontal grain exhibits the unique, interesting grain patterns by which bamboo is typically identified.
You may be surprised to learn that Bamboo wood has an exceptional direct grain and it frequently shows the particular hubs or knuckles of the stalks. That being said, it’s a much gentler grain than most hardwoods, yet at the same time it’s incredibly impervious to chips, dings, and breaks. Bamboo kitchen cabinets have a characteristically warm or impartial shade that gives your kitchen a new yet welcoming feel.
Butternut
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Fine, straight, close grained with a soft texture.
Color: Butternut sapwood is generally a pale, yellow-white color. Its grain is straight with a soft texture, and it has an awesome natural luster.
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, hard, strong, excellent bending qualities.
Butternut wood is very stable with little tendency to warp or crack in use. Butternut wood has been favored for cabinetry and furniture, along with interior paneling and turnery. It was widely used in churches for detailed woodwork such as intricately carved doors and alters. This is not a wood of significant commercial value, but rather a specialty wood.
One of butternut’s impressive qualities is its color. The sapwood is almost white, while the heartwood has a light brown, often pinkish color. Its grain is coarse and generally has straight, dark grain lines that create an appealing contrast against the wood’s light color. The is also described as having a satiny sheen. The wood is fairly stable and one can expect minimal warping or cracking.
Cherry
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Fine, straight, close grained with narrow brown pitch flecks and small gum pockets, with a smooth texture.
Color: Sapwood nearly white, heartwood light pinkish-brown to to dark reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy in weight, hard, strong, stiff, high shock resistance, excellent bending qualities.
Cherry hardwoods are admired for their rich, beautiful color, satiny smooth texture, and uniform grain pattern. Cherry is one of our most popular wood species for kitchen cabinetry and the color will range from light to medium reddish-brown with some areas of light creamy color. Small mineral flecks, pitch pockets, and areas of sapwood occur naturally. The rich color of Cherry hardwoods will darken with age and exposure to sunlight.
Rustic Cherry
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Fine, straight, close grained with narrow brown pitch flecks and small gum pockets, with a smooth texture.
Color: Sapwood nearly white, heartwood light pinkish-brown to to dark reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Light, strong, hard.
Rustic cherry wood is simply a more natural, less refined version of cherry wood. Rustic Cherry shares the same attributes as Cherry, and features a random blend of natural characteristics that occur much more frequently than in Cherry. Rustic cherry wood, with its knots, pits and beautiful grain pattern is the perfect choice for an updated rustic look. Choosing rustic cherry cabinets would offer your kitchen a casual, rustic elegance.
Rustic cherry wood brings the natural beauty of the outside world in with its rugged look. Rustic cherry has a yellowish-white sapwood and a darker heartwood. The colors in rustic cherry wood include variations of white, brown, and deep red, and can differ from mild to dramatic. Rustic cherry includes wood planks with natural knots, mineral streaks, gum pockets, flecks, sap wood and imperfections as well as more grain variation. It finishes well, bringing out the beautiful range of colors of the wood, and it can be shaped easily. Popular choices for finishing rustic cherry wood are browns and greys.
The knots in rustic cherry wood are celebrated for the ruggedness that they add. In rustic cherry furniture, knots can be left open or filled, depending on the level of rustic you like.
Maple
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight, close grain, sometimes wavy, fine texture, and can be highly figured.
Color: Sapwood white to creamy-white, heartwood creamy-white to pinkish tinge to light reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, tough.
One of our most popular options, Maple is known for its smooth texture and creamy white color, which can exhibit subtle variation from white to light brown. Maple has varying areas of density that will absorb stain differently, creating a somewhat mottled appearance with darker stains. Mineral streaks (dark mineral deposits absorbed from the soil in which the tree grew) are a naturally occurring variation. With its smooth texture and fine grain, Maple is an ideal wood species for painted finishes as well as stained finishes.
Rustic Maple
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight, close grain, sometimes wavy, fine texture, and can be highly figured.
Color: Sapwood white to creamy-white, heartwood creamy-white to pinkish tinge to light reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, tough.
Apparent knots will not be more than 2″ to 2 1/2″ in diameter, but part of the knot may be missing and vary in depth. White and crumbly knots are accepted, but filled from the back split. Splits are accepted in any length but never exceeding 1/6″ in width. Splinters are accepted only surrounding the knots, and color variations are also accepted.
A minimum of one of the above characteristics will appear per center panel and per frame.
Red Oak
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grained, coarse textured.
Color: Sapwood grayish white to reddish-brown, heartwood flesh-colored to pinkish to light reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Red Oak is recognized for its prominent grain pattern and texture which varies from a tight, straight grain to a distinctive arch pattern. Color ranges from a creamy white to light brown with reddish hues. Occasional pin knots and mineral streaks may also occur but overall color and grain is fairly consistent.
Rustic Oak
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grained, coarse textured.
Color: Sapwood grayish white to reddish-brown, heartwood flesh-colored to pinkish to light reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Apparent knots will not be more than 2″ to 2 1/2″ in diameter, but part of the knot may be missing and vary in depth. White and crumbly knots are accepted, but filled from the back split. Splits are accepted in any length but never exceeding 1/6″ in width. Splinters are accepted only surrounding the knots, and color variations are also accepted.
A minimum of one of the above characteristics will appear per center panel and per frame.
Straight Grain Red Oak
Type of cut: Flat cut, straight grain
Grain pattern: Straight grained, coarse textured.
Color: Sapwood grayish white to reddish-brown, heartwood flesh-colored to pinkish to light reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Red Oak is recognized for its prominent grain pattern and texture which varies from a tight, straight grain to a distinctive arch pattern. Color ranges from a creamy white to light brown with reddish hues. Occasional pin knots and mineral streaks may also occur but overall color and grain is fairly consistent.
Clear Pine
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grained, not contrasty, fine texture, hairline marks may create the illusion of cracks that seem to immerge under top clear coat.
Color: Heartwood is a light brown, sometimes with a slightly reddish hue, sapwood is a pale yellow to nearly white. Color tends to darken with age.
Characteristics: Light, moderately strong.
Clear pine is a softwood that is lightweight and relatively easy to work with. It has a satiny, fine texture and an alternating tight and porous grain. Another common characteristic of clear white pine is a well defined cathedral by a variegated lighter springwood and darker summerwood combination.
Hickory
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight close grain, and fine texture.
Color: Sapwood nearly white, heartwood creamy to pinkish brown with dark streaks.
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, moderately hard, extremely tough and resilience.
Hickory is a very heavy and strong hardwood. It has very distinct growth rings and can contain random knots and wormholes. The heartwood is light reddish-brown or tan and the sapwood is creamy white. This color variation can appear across a single door or panel.These characteristics should be expected and considered desirable in hickory cabinetry.
Knotty Pine
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grained, not contrasty, fine texture, hairline marks may create the illusion of cracks that seem to immerge under top clear coat.
Color: Heartwood is a light brown, sometimes with a slightly reddish hue, sapwood is a pale yellow to nearly white. Color tends to darken with age.
Characteristics: Light, moderately strong.
Knotty Pine Wood is among some of the most beautiful woods in the world and is typical of a white pine species except for the large sound knots that are desired for a rustic effect. A common characteristic is color variance between flitches. Typically, knotty pine will be random plank matched so the knots will appear less symmetrical throughout the sheet.
Walnut (American Black)
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight to interlocked or curly, wavy grain. Medium to coarse texture.
Color: The sapwood of walnut will range in hues from light yellow to light brown, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown, occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. As Walnut ages it will “mellow” and lighten in color.
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, hard, strong.
American black walnut is a medium to large hardwood, native to the eastern regions of North America. Its heartwood ranges from a golden to rich chocolate brown colour, sometimes with narrow streaks of a darker purplish-brown. Sapwood is a distinctive creamy white color. American black walnut is a fine and generally straight-grained timber, although sometimes it has an attractive wavy or curly grain, giving it a highly decorative figure.
By virtue of its appearance, durability and ready workability – being only moderately hard – American black walnut is an excellent cabinetmaking timber. It performs well with both machine and hand tools and can be polished to a high finish. It is also an excellent timber for carving and turning and is suited to high-end cabinetwork.
White Oak
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grained, medium to coarse textured.
Color: The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, very strong. Medium bending and strength, low in stiffness, and very good in steam bending. wear resistance.
White Oak is a dense hardwood with a white to cream to light brown color. White Oak is very durable, exhibits high shock resistance and finishes well. The hardness of the wood is rated at 1360 (per the Janka hardness test). The grains of White Oak tend to be longer than Red Oak, which makes the species prized for construction of “Mission” style furniture and woodwork. The species stains well, although contact with metal will result in a dark blemish in the wood. White Oak trees are naturally knotty, but the wood can be sorted to obtain “Select” grade wood, which is mostly clear of knots. In addition to the normal Flat cut, White Oak can be cut with a Rift cut, and a Quarter cut.
White Oak is grown in both the Glacial and Appalachian regions. Strong, economical and rot-resistant, White Oak is very valuable to makers as an important source of wood for furniture, veneer, paneling, and flooring. The sapwood of White Oak is white to very light brown, while the heartwood is light to dark brown. It has more figure than Red Oak, with a distinctive open grain and coarse texture. Fast-grown oak, with wide rings, is stronger and heavier than slow-grown oak.
Quarter Sawn White Oak
Type of cut: Quarter cut.
Grain pattern: Straight grained, medium to coarse textured.
Color: The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, very strong. Medium bending and strength, low in stiffness, and very good in steam bending. wear resistance.
Quarter-Sawn White Oak is produced by first quartering the log and then sawing it perpendicular to the growth rings. All of the boards are thus cut of radial grain, with the growth rings positioned at between 60- and 90-degree angles to the face of the board. The Quarter-Sawn cut splits the medullary ray of the wood, causing a beautiful plumed or flared appearance referred to as “rays” or “flecks,” often appearing shiny or reflective.
Rift Cut White Oak
Type of cut: Rift cut.
Grain pattern: Straight grained, medium to coarse textured.
Color: The sapwood is light-colored and the heartwood is light-to-dark brown. White oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium-to-coarse texture. Having longer rays than red oak, white oak has more figure.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, very strong. Medium bending and strength, low in stiffness, and very good in steam bending. wear resistance.
Rift-Sawn White Oak is similar to Quarter-Sawn, but with the angle of the cut changed slightly so that fewer saw cuts are parallel to the medullary rays, which are responsible for the flake effect. This positions the growth rings between 30- and 60-degree angles to the face of the board. Thus Rift-Sawn lumber accentuates the vertical grain and minimizes the flake common in Quarter-Sawn. Rift-Sawn lumber produces an almost straight grain with practically no flake figure.
EXOTIC WOOD SPECIES
Anigre Figured
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight, sometimes wavy to mottled.
Color: Cream to tan pinkish tinge.
Characteristics: Fine texture, lustrous, slightly siliceous.
Light tan, sometimes creamy, occasionally light pink. Grain texture smooth, with occasional light silica inclusions. Figure ranges from unfigured to highly figured, often with a pronounced fiddleback.
Bird’s Eye Maple
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight, close grained. Fine texture, and even.
Color: White sapwood. Heartwood cream or light brown tinged with red.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, strong.
Birdseye maple, one of the rarest kinds of wood on the planet, has a distinctive pattern that looks like tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. Birds-eye maple is a form of figured hard maple, it is not a variety or species of maple. What actually causes the phenomenon is still unknown. Hypotheses include bird pecking, climate change, genetic mutation, growth history, infection and soil conditions. Birdseye figure is predominantly found in sugar maple and rarely in other species. Birdseye figure is found in less than 1% of the veneer harvest, but may account for 1/2 the value of sale.
Called bird’s eye maple because the tiny knots in the grain resemble small bird’s eyes. The figure is reportedly caused by unfavorable growing conditions for the tree. The tree attempts to start numerous new buds to get more sunlight, but with poor growing conditions the new shoots are aborted, and afterward a number of tiny knots remain. Birdseye maple is frequently sold in veneer form, but solid lumber is available as well. Being tiny knots, the bird’s eye figure is most noticeable and pronounced on flat sawn pieces of lumber.
Birdseye Maple is a common component in private jets, automobiles, musical instruments, architectural panels, entertainment centers, cabinets, furniture, jewelry boxes, pool cues, flooring, and fixtures.
Mahogany
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Grain straight to interlocked. Medium to moderately coarse texture.
Color: Heartwood varies from light to to deep reddish-brown.
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, moderately hard.
Mahogany is a world-class wood specie that is found in many variants, such as African mahogany, Cuban Mahogany, Honduran Mahogany, Santos Mahogany, Philippine Mahogany, etc., mainly based on its origin. It is a heartwood usually in deep red-brown, with occasional dark reddish steaks.
Mahogany is an exotic wood prized for its durability, workability, and elegant look. It has a pink or reddish-brown hue that deepens over time. The grain is straight and uniform, typically with relatively few knots or blemishes. Although Mahogany looks great and is easy to work with, there are environmental concerns related to the harvesting and transport of the wood.
Mahogany has a straight, fine, and even grain, and is relatively free of voids and pockets. Its reddish-brown color darkens over time, and displays a reddish sheen when polished. It has excellent workability, and is very durable. Historically, the tree’s girth allowed for wide boards from traditional mahogany species. Mahogany is known for its straight, fine grain and durability, making it a popular choice for fine furniture, boat construction, and musical instruments.
Sapele Pommele
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grain to wavy and curly, fine texture. Beautiful figure found in special cuts of Sapele veneer.
Color: Heartwood medium to dark reddish brown, well defined ribbon strip when quartered.
Characteristics: Moderately heavy, hard, dense.
Sapele shares the same botanical family as the famed American and African Mahogany, making it a very close match in both visual appeal, wood processing, and working characteristics. While Sapele is not directly a cousin of Mahogany, like Swietenia and Khaya trees are, it is still a part of the Entandrophragma genus of the Meliaceae family that all these trees are part of. Because of this, the claims that Sapele is a close cousin of Mahogany are somewhat valid.
Sapele Wood has many characteristics that resemble Mahogany, most notably in the color of its heartwood ( golden to dark reddish brown, darkens with age if not treated with finishing oils that will prevent oxidation), grain patterns, and internal characteristics that make it very durable.
One of the defining characteristics of Sapele is the interlocking grain patterns. These patterns are created from the fiber cells that stretch from the lowest points in the roots to the top of the canopy. During growth, these cells rotate in one way and can often suddenly switch the direction of rotation once or several times. These interlocked grain patterns can not only cause various issues during woodworking but also impact the visual appearance with the presence of ribbon stripes and many other dramatic figures on quartered sawn lumber and veneer. All theseanomalies in the texture of the wood create a dramatic and exotic look that is one of the primary reasons why Sapele and its more famous cousin Mahogany are so praised all around the world. The three most common textures of Sapele are Plain, Figured, and Pommele Figure.
Wenge
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Straight grain, coarse texture.
Color: Heartwood dark brown with fine almost black veins. A light stain is applied for color unifomity.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard, moderately strong.
Usually pronounced WHEN-gii or WHEN-ghay, this incredibly popular African hardwood has excellent strength and hardness properties, though it’s much more frequently used for its rich dark brown color, which can be dark enough to be used as a substitute for ebony in certain situations. Wenge, dark brown in color, is known for fine, almost black veins that fall in a straight and consistent grain pattern.
Zebrawood
Type of cut: Flat cut
Grain pattern: Interlocked to wavy grain, coarse texture, and lustrous.
Color: Heartwood is light golden yellow with dark brown almost black veins. A zebra-stripe results from quarter sliced veneers.
Characteristics: Heavy, hard.
Zebrawood is a unique and exotic type of wood that is known for its distinctive striped appearance, resembling that of a zebra. However, this wood is not just visually striking, but it also has a number of other properties that make it a popular choice for a variety of applications, including wooden sunglasses.
One of the key features of zebrawood is its durability. This wood is naturally dense and hard, which makes it highly resistant to wear and tear. This means that it can withstand prolonged use without showing any signs of damage or degradation. In fact, zebrawood is so durable that it is often used in heavy construction projects, such as flooring and furniture.
In addition to its durability, zebrawood is also highly resistant to moisture, decay, and insect damage. This makes it ideal for use in outdoor settings or in humid environments, where other types of wood might not hold up as well.
OTHER CABINET MATERIALS
Select from trend-forward Lacquer, Acrylic, Textured Laminates or High Gloss Laminates to represent your style and personality for your next project. These products offer a look that is found in rooms that feature modern design sensibility. You’ll find they add flexibility in both color and style when used within a room.
Lacquer
Italian lacquer is a multiple step process of layers upon layers of Polyurethane finish which is polished between coats to make a rich deep high gloss. You can also get in a satin finish which offers a resistant matte style finish. The incomparable European high gloss look of Italian lacquer is the perfect complement for your designs.
Polygloss/ Polymatte
Polygloss is an MDF core material with clear polyester top coat applied on decorative laminate sheet giving a high gloss finish. Polymatte is an Ultramatte clear polyester top coat applied on decorative laminate sheet characterized by softness to the touch and appearance. These 2 products are extensively used for a modern clean look.
Acrylic
Acrylic is a MDF core with a colored high gloss acrylic sheet applied to panels. This has UV protection agent integrated in the finish so that the color will conserve its rich glossy sheen for years to come. Ideal for a modern high gloss look coveted in today’s European style kitchens.
Thermofoil
Thermofoil has an MDF core on which a film of PVC plastic is thermofused to adhere to different forms. This product offers a wide variety of colors and door models. This is a cost effective option which is low maintenance to create the project of your imagination.
European Laminate
Imported from Europe and then transformed locally into many types components. This is a product similar to melamine which offers many colors and textures to choose from. If you are looking for a modern look you can mix and match this product with other finishes to create a modern look that will be both beautiful and long lasting.
Melamine
This is a particle board core product which has a sheet of melamine resin applied through high pressure heat. This quality product is one of the most affordable options offered; it comes in a multitude of colors and finishes. The heat resistance, strength and affordability make this one of the go to choices for designers.
DRAWER TYPES & MATERIALS
Every kitchen drawer consists of four sides, a bottom, a front piece, and a system of glides or runners that allow the drawer to slide in and out. The quality of the drawer is determined by the materials and construction techniques used. High-quality kitchen drawers have sides made of hardwood, with plywood bottoms or are made of metal that come in different designs and are used mostly for more contemporary cabinets. Mid-quality drawers are made entirely of plywood, while those of lower quality are made of MDF, particleboard, or melamine.
The most vulnerable parts of a kitchen drawer are the joints where the sides connect with each other. Low-quality joints can pull apart under stress or with age. High-quality joints, however, are virtually indestructible and can hold up for decades. The following are explanations of the seven types of joint construction used in kitchen drawers.
Dovetail Drawer
Dovetail drawer construction is the highest-quality option. It features pins and tails cut into the ends of each side board. The pins and tails interlock tightly with each other when the boards are joined. Not only does this construction create high tensile strength, but it also provides maximal surface area for gluing the sides together, which adds to the strength of the joint.
This type of construction with trapeze shaped joints gives the face of the drawer better tensile strength when the drawer is opened. In addition, because it has a wooden cabinet box, this type of drawer is the only one to bring extra warmth to wood cabinets.
Depending on the cabinet brand standard dovetailed drawers are made from Birch or Maple woods, but there is an upgraded option to go to Walnut dovetailed drawers.
Legrabox Drawers
Slim-sided drawers in multiple color options
LEGRABOX has beautiful slim lines that you can mix or match materials with stainless steel, Orion gray, or silk white. Add your own custom wood fronts to customize your look – the possibilities are endless. These easy-to-clean drawers feature full extension slides allowing for easy reach and full visibility to storage items.
Tandembox Drawers
Light gray metal box drawers
Whether you want bright whites, dark wood or something in between for your cabinets, the light gray TANDEMBOX suits every style. With TANDEMBOX, it’s easy to customize your space with solutions for corners, waste drawers and even the typically unused space around the sink. TANDEMBOX drawers open smoothly and close quietly thanks to their integrated BLUMOTION soft-close feature. Every TANDEMBOX drawer is full extension, meaning you’ll have access to everything in the drawer, even the items in the back.
Melamine Drawers
Melamine drawer is an economical drawer option in custom cabinetry for budget friendly remodels and multi-family projects. Economical, efficient, and durable, this type of drawer is by far the most popular. Mainly made of white melamine, it is optionally available in imitation wood to mimic the look of a true wood drawer.
CABINETRY DOOR STYLES
Once the construction and door sizes have been selected, it’s time to start exploring the different door styles available. The three most common we see are flat panel, recessed panel, and raised panel.
Raised Panel Doors
Raised panel cabinets have the center panel raised to the level of the outer frame. This creates a groove between the frame and the central panel. The look of this style provides extra depth to the cabinetry and is often more intricate. Doors with this level of detail fits well in traditional kitchens that have more elaborate designs and styles.
Flat Panel Doors
On a recessed panel door, a raised frame is created around a flat or recessed center panel—it’s clean and minimal in details. This style is considered one of the most popular due to the smooth lines, minimalistic style, and budget-friendly nature. Recessed panel doors are available in many styles and finishes. Some of these doors also feature beveled trim that adds a touch of elegance.
Slab Doors
Slab doors are more modern in design—seamless and simplistic. This door style is constructed from slabs of wood with back battens, veneer plywood slabs, or laminate over a substrate. They are great for showcasing a particular color or finish you may have selected.
Mullion Doors
Both decorative and functional, a mullion cabinet door is composed of panes of glass, mirrors, or other cabinet inserts that take the place of a center panel on a door. Multiple mullion styles are available, and Grandior offers many different types of glass and mirrors to customize the look.
LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE
At Grandior, we want you to love where you live. That is our promise to you, and it guides everything we do.
Building a new home or remodeling your current one can be daunting, but we are here to help! We guide you through our simple approach – The Grandior Way – to ensure a worry-free new cabinetry experience that allows you to love where you live.
Our cultivated team of experts, specializing in everything from design to construction, partner with you through every step of your project. Through open communication and well-defined expectations, we help you manage the emotional rollercoaster.
Get started on your cabinetry project with Grandior. Connect with us for a complimentary in-home design consultation, or visit our one-stop shop at our showroom + design studio. When you’re ready to love where you live with a luxurious kitchen, lavish bath, beautiful cabinets, or stunning flooring space, we’re ready to make it happen.
WHEN YOU REQUIRE EXCELLENCE, YOUR CHOICE IS GRANDIOR!
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