Building your own kitchen cabinets


Kitchen cabinets do not have to be plain; it can be decorated with creative designs which reflect your choice of style and budget. Personalize and custom-made kitchen cabinets will make your kitchen environment look unique even though sometimes the cost is not that expensive. Below are guides on how to build your own kitchen cabinets.

What you need:

  1. Choose your preferred type of wood
  2. Choose a finish for the doors
  3. Decide the door\’s surface appearance
  4. Choose the Door Hardware
  5. Measure, cut and assemble the doors with the appropriate size
  6. Hinges
  7. Oil-based primer
  8. Latex paint
  9. Polyurethane and varnish
  10. Paint tray
  11. Drill
  12. Screw Driver
  13. Level
  14. Pencil
  15. Contact paper

Method:

  1. Determine the material to be used whether to follow your existing finish of the cabinets or even refinish the frames and cabinet walls before putting on the new doors. If you choose solid wood doors like walnut, cherry or pecan the cost will definitely be hired, while oak doors is normally the material chosen for the mid-range budget customer. For more inexpensive cabinet doors, try to choose cedar and popular.
  2. Choose the paint for the cabinet doors whether solid colours, stains and varnishes, or even select the appropriate colour which is close enough to the original cabinet framing.
  3. Whether you decide to use a completely flat door surface, a flat frame, a raised frame with a square, rectangular, or curved profile, all of this decision need to be made earlier before you start to embark on your task.
  4. Next, to select the appropriate hardware whether to choose traditional hinges, handles and knobs that comes with a black wrought-iron finish, or wooden knobs that you will either stain or paint black, milk-glass knobs in white for a country look, or a sleek and slender pull handles that sit well above the surface for a more contemporary kitchen look. Make sure to sand and plane the materials in order to avoid splinters.
  5. Measure correctly and cut carefully the cabinet\’s frame to minimize waste of expensive wood. Then, sand the door edges and finish with polyurethane sealant or varnish preventing stains and chips.
  6. The cabinet\’s hinges also need to be measured correctly, at least an inch above and below the cabinet\’s top and bottom shelf edges. Attach external hinges to the cabinet first before proceeding with the door. Ensure that the hinge screws are secured moderately and not too tight until you have finished checking all alignments with the cabinet mounting.

Additional Reading:
http://www.rockler.com/articles/display_article.cfm?story_id=29
http://ezinearticles.com/?Building-Your-Own-Kitchen-Cabinets&id=286220
http://www.ehow.com/how_2002308_build-inexpensive-cabinets.html

Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/augie/2602463042/