How to Select Kitchen Cabinets

Today, I wanted to chat to you about the different types of finishes that are available for your kitchen, bathroom renovation in terms of cabinetry. Now, I'm going to use polytec here. This is not sponsored or anything like that. It's just a brand I like to work with. It's because I've known them for years and trust their product. But Laminex and polytec are just two separate brands that offer the same type of product. I generally decide to choose between Laminex or polytec based on the color I'm really trying to look for, so that's what it comes down to, really.

But I'm going to go from least expensive to most expensive. And this really depends on the cabinetmaker that you use because they may have slight different pricing variations, but as a rule of thumb, this is what you can start off with.

So, we have our matte laminate. This is all for cabinetry. So, all for vertical surfaces rather than horizontal, which is your bench tops. So, matte-finish laminate, it's just your stock standard, comes in a variety of plain colors or timber, but this is great for an entry-level type of kitchen or bathroom.

Then, you jump up to a textured laminate. So, polytec call it WOODMATT or Ravine, and what it is, it's still a laminate, but it's actually got a slight texture to it. So, it feels a little bit more realistic like a timber veneer or something. Relatively priced, price point is quite good. And I like to use this a lot for kitchens. Whether you want to use a timber, but don't want to spend money on, say, timber veneer. We'll get to that bit shortly. So, this is great. Perfect for bathrooms as well if you don't want to use real timber for the vanities, textured laminate is brilliant. This can also be used for shelving. So, if you've got some gorgeous open shelving in your kitchen or your fireplace or TV cabinetry, that works really well.

Then next, we have... What have we got? Next, we have like a smooth finish. So polytec have brought out this new finish called Smooth. It's a bit velvety. It's quite lovely actually. And it's to emulate 2 Pac. They also have another sort of range called VENETTE, which is like a fingerprint-proof. Sometimes, that can be up there in price, but if you're wanting to use dark colors, like a deep navy or a black or a charcoal for your cabinets, the fingerprints can be a nightmare. So, using the VENETTE finish really helps with that because you don't see any marks at all. So, you can see that's a really beautiful, soft finish, and there's some great colors, like this is like a lovely sage color. It looks great for kitchen cabinets, whether it's the whole kitchen or maybe just for the base cabinets.

Next, we're going up to vinyl wraps. So, what this is, it's a THERMOLAMINATED vinyl and it gets vacuum-sealed around your cabinet doors. So, that means you don't get any edge profiles on your doors or your drawers. So, it looks really seamless and comes in matte finishes, it comes in gloss and a variety of different colors, but a standard range of colors. So, if you're wanting a particular color and you're wanting this sort of finish where it sort of wraps around the edges, then I'd probably suggest spending that a little bit more and going to 2 Pac because with 2 Pac, it means you can choose any paint color. You can match it to any Dulux color and get that exact color you're trying to find. But if you wanted to save on costs, vinyl wrap is a great alternative. It doesn't really chip or scratch, but if it does, you have to sort of get a new door or a new drawer. So, that's the one of the downsides of it.

In terms of heat, it's perfect around cooktops and ovens. Most cabinetmakers will put a heat deflector on the side panels of your oven. So, the heat won't actually get to it and bubble because years ago, back in the '60s and '70s, when they did have vinyl wrap, you did notice that sort of contact sort of look that would peel. You don't get that any more with the good quality vinyl wrap, and polytec is probably one of the great brands out there that do vinyl wrap really, really well.

And then I also should note, if you're wanting a door profile, like a Hamptons door profile, if you're wanting beautiful linear grooves in your cabinetry, you have to only do it with vinyl wrap or 2 Pac. You can't get that finish with a laminate.

Next is 2 Pac. And I don't have a profile of that, but that just looks very similar to... You can get it in matte, you can get it in sheen because it's a paint finish. It's like what they use to spray paint a car. So it's sprayed and then it's baked on. So, that means if it does scratch, it can actually be buffed out and that scratch can be removed. It is prone to chipping compared to, say, a vinyl wrap, but you've got to be really rough with it to get to that sort of damage. Once again, it comes in Hamptons door profiles and a beautiful linear type of door profiles too. And you can color-match to any paint color, Dulux, Haymes, Porter's, whatever it is, they can color match it. So, it is probably getting up there to the higher price brackets.

But if you want to save a little bit, you could do your base cabinets in, say, a beautiful 2 Pac. And then, your overheads, you can do in like a textured laminate. So, you can really play around with the different types of materials in your kitchen. Doesn't mean you have to do the whole kitchen in that one product. You can mix it up a little bit too.

And then, lastly, we have timber veneer. So, timber veneer is actually really thinly-cut pieces of real timber and it's laminated onto boards. This is beautiful. This is a premium product. It is real timber so you can get it in so many gorgeous, natural timbers out there. It is up there in price. But once again, you can play around with only do it for the overheads or just doing it for some beautiful living room cabinetry or in the entry. One of the downsides is, is because it is natural timber, it is going to fade if it's facing direct sunlight, just like timber flooring, just like timber furniture, it will age like that. But that's the beauty of timber, so it can be refinished.

And once again comes in so many different finishes, whether it's a flat finish, sheen, or high gloss. There are some great products, some great brands out there that do. This is George Fethers. There's so many other brands out there, but once again, figure out where you sit with your budget and then that can help you determine what finish you're going to use for your kitchen and bathroom.

Let me know if you've got any questions. I would love to help. Because there are so many different options out there, it can seem really overwhelming, but I've got a complimentary design call that you can book in if you want to chat over the phone and we can help you put together a plan for your exciting renovation or new build. Thanks for watching.