25 Step Guide to Designing and Buying a Kitchen
A Professional Furniture Designers Guide
Step 15. Kitchen Door Materials
There is a bewildering array of choices of materials used to construct doors from . I will detail a number of them to help your selection process. I have also indicated their durability and characteristics. Links are to veneer colour samples to show wood natural colour characteristics.
wood sample list link
Hardwood door options
Oak
The most popular hardwood choice by far for traditional and modern kitchens. There are many types and grades of oak depending on country of origin and how the oak is cut as planks from the trunk. This will effect the graining pattern and number of imperfections ie cats paws, shakes and colour variations. Good quality mass produced American white oak shaker style doors have quite a straight and plain grain pattern, with few knots and variation in colour. Lower quality doors have more variation of colour and imperfections, and do not look so good in a complete kitchen .Character oak style kitchen doors have various levels of imperfection and it is considered to add to a rustic look. With mass produced traditional kitchen doors you can sometimes see too much variation of colour, on cheaper doors, and too many sections of wood, and even though this will mellow, it is still not very good to look at to a furniture maker. Bespoke door options are bewildering, but important to clients when adding individuality. The finish to the wood can be un-varnished with wax finish, raised grain with light varnish, and wax finish. Smooth with heavy varnish layers etc. It is often up to a french-polisher to interprate the customers desires and provide a sample.
Oak sample link
Walnut
A popular kitchen choice and used more visibly recently. There are various colour variations from medium to dark chocolate, with a grain pattern similar to maple, and fairly smooth to touch. Generally used in a more modern context, but does make a beautiful bespoke traditional kitchen if mixed with painted wood etc.
Walnut sample link
Maple
One of my favourite woods for colour and pattern, but prone to turning yellow and mellowing badly. this can be limited by a white colour opaque laquer and does look better for much longer. Look at Marpatts Hepplewhite door as a good example.
Maple sample link
Ash
This is a wood I have used effectively and is quite lively for grain which you either love or hate like bovril. I like the light colour and it does mellow well.
Ash sample link
Chestnut
A pretty wood with lots of variation and interesting grain and colour. It can be difficult to predict when buying as a plank and sometimes can change from very light sand through to pink so be careful when looking at samples.
Chestnut sample link
Yew
Another very lively and unpredictable wood, with probably one of the most exciting grain patterns I have ever used, outside of burr walnut etc. I would say use it sparingly for contrasts, but if you are brave it will be a unique look.
Yew sample link
Cherry
Similar to maple in grain, but a much richer and pinkish red brown colour. Makes a beautiful kitchen but can be too much as a whole scheme is ,better used as high- lights and single pieces.
Cherry sample link
Applewood, Lime wood etc
These fruit woods are interesting and beautiful, but difficult to buy on the plank and unpredictable in quantities, to make a kitchen. They can look good in modern kitchens and traditional contexts, for ready made doors and are still used sparingly, so are good if you want something different.
Apple wood sample link . Lime wood sample link
Exotic veneers
Zebrano, Wenge, Macassar etc. Exciting to use for doors and worktops with very strong grain and colour striping. Used for contrasts mainly in high gloss kitchen layouts.
Zebrano sample link . Wenge sample link . Silver greywood link . Ebony Macassar link
Poplar or Tulip
Used extensively in Bespoke kitchen manufacture, with mdf centre panels because of its even straight grain and smooth finish for handpainted kitchens. Greenish in colour and not pretty to look at in the raw state, like tanalised wood. Is not very hard and prone to denting, but better than pine etc. Maple is harder and is used sometimes for hand-painting, but is very expensive to hide !
Wood and veneer door options
Quite often veneer hardwood is used in the centre panel on doors, and it is important to ask this question when buying, because it should be cheaper unless it is match veneered with a repeating design. (expensive to produce). I have seen many a customer not notice the fact that they are not getting solid wood, and are disappointed when told this fact. it is a more stable way to produce doors that stay in shape, but should be sold as it is, and not left to the customer to work out.
Veneer sample link
Acrylic door options
Used by Parapan to produce high gloss kitchen doors in many shapes and a good choice of colours. It can be heat-bent into curves easily, and is good for unique curved features in kitchens, where often with laquered doors there are limited curved door options.
Acrylic door link
Laminate door options
Can be sold in many forms, and often misrepresented as something it is not. Melamine has been sold as laminate, and is inferior aswell as cheaper. Fabricating laminate is thicker and very durable, but mostly used in contract manufacture for laboratories and heavy usage areas. It is quite exciting to see the choices of pattern and colou,r and is well worth looking at for bespoke modern kitchens. So in my kitchen what am I getting ? well mostly melamine for carcases and sometimes for doors instead of vinyl.
Laminate sample link
Vinyl door options
Used extensively for budget kitchen doors of many styles ,designs,wood finishes and colours. There are varying qualities, and can look convincing as a veneer look. I will always limit their use to modern slab style doors in higher value jobs, and never use them for traditional style kitchens ,because they never fool the more discerning and are the refuge of builders on a budget when fitting out executive homes. I tend to be ripping traditional vinyl kitchens out, as much as putting more modern ones in. I would consider real wood and stretch the budget for more traditional styles.
Decorative vinyl door link
Mdf door options
Used extensively in the kitchen manufacturing industry, and has various types and qualities. It makes a good carcase with melamine covering in 18mm. It is good for painted doors when high density and waterproof quality. It is good for side panels and large flat areas when painted or sprayed with colour. It can be machined and cut like solid wood , but again I stress that quality is everything, and it can furr when profiled and routed, so will look unconvincing on bespoke kitchens when not sanded and finished properly before painting.
Laquered mdf
Used for modern and traditional kitchens in a flat matt finish. Used for modern kitchens in high gloss finish. Again the finishing and sanding is crucial to get the best finish, and is often the differance between quality and rubbish. Painting quality for gloss finished doors is also an area to look at, because I have seen few sprayers who can provide a good blemish free finish.
Bespoke hand painted mdf
It is possible to produce a complete bespoke in-frame kitchen totally from mdf and it perform better than tulip and mdf mix. But here is the dilema ,most builders use cheap mdf and expect it to take hinge plates and perform like wood. It does not, so quality of mdf and good finishing are essential aswell as waterproofing.
Stainless steel door options
Can be fabricated into many shapes and has various finishes. Brushed stainless is the most popular, and more practical than polished. I find it useful for contrast columns and for contrast doors in modern schemes. It has become less popular recently because of the use of composite materials and glass, but is still a favourite for sinks and appliances, such as fridges and dishwashers both integrated and freestanding.
Laminated chipboard door options
Used extensively in 18mm form for kitchen carcassing and is both practical and widely available in many colours and wood finishes. There are again different qualities, and the kitchen industry likes to ignore this fact and use poor quality lowish density board too often. Germany has provided some of the best kitchens with the best carcase systems in the world and quite often use a denser quality board to promote their products. My preference for bespoke kitchens, is laminate covered 18mm mdf, because it is more reliable than most laminated chipboard available in this country ,especially for fixing into.
Carcase sample colours link
Plywood door options
Can be used for kitchen carcassing and for doors, and is very strong and durable for most uses. I have used birch veneered ply for bespoke Kitchen carcases when melamine or veneered mdf was disliked. The reservation was toxic fumes coming off mdf if their was a fire in the kitchen. The chance of this being an issue is very limited, but the client was adamant and I obliged.
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