Buying kitchen cabinets has become easier then ever. You can now go online, pick your cabinet style, pick your color, and see what you're getting. The better kitchen cabinet sites will even offer to send you samples. There are always pitfalls to buying online, but this article will guide you through that and make your online experience memorable and money saving at the same time.
When shopping online you are really going to find four different styles of cabinets- made to order, semi-custom cabinets, stock cabinets, and RTA Cabinets. What I would like to focus on are the RTA Cabinets, which is where you are going to save the most money and still get a higher quality product. What does RTA mean and why is it so important? RTA kitchen cabinet or RTA bathroom vanity should be a phrase to get familiar with and at the same time, be comfortable saying. Ready to assemble is the words behind these three letters. The reason it is so important is because you can buy RTA kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities and save 30% to 40% from buying retail. Yes, that is a fact. Buying cabinets and assembling them yourself will save you a good amount of money. Don't worry the cabinet are easy to assemble. Well, I should say some styles of RTA are easy to assemble, but I will get to this later, just remember that if you get the correct RTA kitchen cabinets, you will have very little trouble with putting them together.
Buying online can be confusing, since there are hundreds of sites selling the same style of cabinets at a wide range of prices. Go to a few RTA sites and make sure you have compared prices. The good RTA sites will not offer gimmicks like free shipping. There is no such thing; these sites will make up for it with higher pricing. Also look for the straight forward, no frills sites. These sites usually offer the best pricing, and should be warehousing the cabinets, not using a 3rd party to ship their product. In the event there is a problem with the cabinets, it will be that much more difficult to resolve the problems if there is a 3rd party involved.
If you go to a retail store, like IKEA or home depot, you will see their version of RTA cabinets. Unfortunately these stores carry an inferior product, but lead you to believe that they are giving you quality at a good price. When actually it is less of a product and more expensive, its strange but they are giving you less and charging you more.
As I prompted before, I promised to explain why some RTA kitchen cabinets are better than others. When shopping around, make sure the RTA bathroom vanity or RTA kitchen cabinets is made of solid wood faces and paneled wood sides, buying particleboard is simply not a good idea.
So in the end, shop around at a few different websites, make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Make sure you are buying a cabinet that is solid wood and has paneled wood sides. Nothing else is good enough for your kitchen. Finally make sure the site is a reliable site, call them or look through the site. Look for testimonials or other proof of reliability. By keeping these things in check and making sure the web site follows through with samples or answers to your questions, will not only make your experience easier, but it will also make it worthwhile. Good luck and start shopping for your new RTA kitchen.
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About the Author: I have been remodeling houses and rental properties for over 15 years. I have discovered the secret to saving thousands on kitchen cabinets. Find out my secret to buying kitchen cabinets at 30-40% below retail.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A Simple Guide to Building Kitchen Cabinets
Building kitchen cabinets is certainly within the reach of most people, especially if they are of a regular size. Even though carcasses come in different sizes, they are all essentially built in exactly the same way, so once you have put the first couple together the rest should be a lot easier to manage.
But admitting your kitchen isn't a regular square or rectangle shape? What if you have a sloping roof? Or an awkward recess? Or simply an irregular wall that needs to be hidden behind your kitchen cabinets?
In this case, building kitchen cabinets might not be as easy as you think. Proper preparation is required here to make sure the finished kitchen looks as good as it should. Here are some tips for making your ideal kitchen come true.
Building kitchen cabinets of an irregular shape needn't be as hard as you think. In fact, in some cases such as the above example of the irregular walls you might not need to butcher regular size cabinets at all.
Find out if the kitchen range you are considering has wall cabinets that are the same height as floor cabinets. If it does, simply buy a wall cabinet in place of a floor cabinet. They are not as deep and will save you the trouble of trying to cut an awkward shape in the back of your floor cabinet.
Building kitchen cabinets that need to go under a sloping roof can be done in two ways. The easiest option is to buy several different heights of cabinet, so that the cabinets are staggered in height. Attractive boxes can be bought to fit in the gaps, or alternatively you can use the space for storing cookery books.
Secondly, and depending on what style door you choose, you can cut down both the door and the cabinet, so as to allow a perfect fit between the sloping roof and the cabinet itself. Make sure the door won't scrape against the wall when it's fitted.
When you are building kitchen cabinets, it's important to fit all the carcasses in place first, before you fit the doors or interiors. This is the quickest and easiest way to install any kitchen, and it means your doors will stay wrapped up and safely stored away while the main building work is done.
Imagine how you will feel once you hang the doors and get them level, you can then stand back to admire your new kitchen. Your joy will be infectious to everyone around since you designed and built it.
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About the Author: Captivating articles about products and services you need and must have. Subscribe to my feed.
Link. Visit my website for more fascinating articles
But admitting your kitchen isn't a regular square or rectangle shape? What if you have a sloping roof? Or an awkward recess? Or simply an irregular wall that needs to be hidden behind your kitchen cabinets?
In this case, building kitchen cabinets might not be as easy as you think. Proper preparation is required here to make sure the finished kitchen looks as good as it should. Here are some tips for making your ideal kitchen come true.
Building kitchen cabinets of an irregular shape needn't be as hard as you think. In fact, in some cases such as the above example of the irregular walls you might not need to butcher regular size cabinets at all.
Find out if the kitchen range you are considering has wall cabinets that are the same height as floor cabinets. If it does, simply buy a wall cabinet in place of a floor cabinet. They are not as deep and will save you the trouble of trying to cut an awkward shape in the back of your floor cabinet.
Building kitchen cabinets that need to go under a sloping roof can be done in two ways. The easiest option is to buy several different heights of cabinet, so that the cabinets are staggered in height. Attractive boxes can be bought to fit in the gaps, or alternatively you can use the space for storing cookery books.
Secondly, and depending on what style door you choose, you can cut down both the door and the cabinet, so as to allow a perfect fit between the sloping roof and the cabinet itself. Make sure the door won't scrape against the wall when it's fitted.
When you are building kitchen cabinets, it's important to fit all the carcasses in place first, before you fit the doors or interiors. This is the quickest and easiest way to install any kitchen, and it means your doors will stay wrapped up and safely stored away while the main building work is done.
Imagine how you will feel once you hang the doors and get them level, you can then stand back to admire your new kitchen. Your joy will be infectious to everyone around since you designed and built it.
Article Provided By: My Articles Directory
About the Author: Captivating articles about products and services you need and must have. Subscribe to my feed.
Link. Visit my website for more fascinating articles
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Kitchen Design – Understanding The Work Triangle And Kitchen Layouts
Having a good layout for your kitchen is important, because the kitchen should be an efficient and pleasant area in which to prepare meals and do related tasks. Understanding the kitchen work triangle concept and the basic kitchen layouts is a valuable starting point for having a good kitchen design that you like.
The kitchen work triangle consists of the distance between the sink, refrigerator and range or cooktop. Each one of these areas becomes a focal point in the kitchen and forms the three points of a triangle with different distances between them. Done correctly, the kitchen work triangle provides the most efficient food preparation area layout in the kitchen.
Whether you’re remodeling an existing kitchen or building a new one, an efficient design means that your work triangle minimizes the number of steps the cook must take between the three areas during meal preparation and cleanup. The total distance from the sink to the stove to the refrigerator and back to the sink should be not less than 12 feet total nor more than 27 feet. Each triangle leg should measure between 4 and 9 feet in length. The kitchen isles should be at least 42 to 48 inches wide to allow people to move around easily and for appliances to be opened with ease.
When selecting the floor plan for your kitchen, here are basic kitchen layouts to consider:
* L-Shaped Kitchen - this is the most popular kitchen design. It consists of a long leg and a shorter one and this type of design can be used in small and large kitchens. The L-shaped kitchen gives you the possibility of having a center island depending on the space available. In general, this design will have 2 or 3 appliances on one wall. The usual arrangement is to have the refrigerator at one end, the range or cooktop at the other end with the sink located in the middle. This shape of kitchen generally provides good traffic flow.
* Double L-Shaped Kitchen - this kitchen design has a lot of cabinet space and plenty of counter space. This design is used in large kitchens with two cooks, and it has two or more entering areas, which can cause traffic flow problems. To avoid some of these problems, create two separate working areas on each L of the kitchen so that workflow does not get interrupted by human traffic.
* U-Shaped Kitchen - this kitchen design shape has three walls instead of two, and the sink usually is located in the middle wall section. The refrigerator and range or cooktop are usually on the side walls opposite each other. The U-shaped kitchen design gives room for ample countertop space, and you have three walls for cabinets and appliances. This kitchen layout tends to create a working triangle that is very efficient.
The only problem with this type of kitchen design is that sometimes the two U corners are not used appropriately. Make sure you buy the appropriate storage items for the corner cabinets created by the U shape design. The U shape design can also create dark kitchens because of the shape and the amount of cabinets. Using skylights, large windows, lots of under-cabinet task lighting and light colors will help keep the kitchen bright with sufficient light to see what you’re doing.
* G-Shaped Kitchen - this type of kitchen shape is becoming very popular, and it gives you a fourth wall to use. The G-shape can be used if you have more than one cook in the house. This fourth wall section can be used for a counter, island and storage space. With this kitchen layout you can have two sinks, perhaps two cooktops or two ranges. You could have two working triangles - one for sink, cook top or range and refrigerator and a second working triangle with another sink, built-in grill and cooktop. It allows two cooks to do different things at the same time and entertain large groups of people.
* Single-Wall Kitchen - if you do not have much space, you may only be able to have an I-shaped kitchen. No problem. Just be sure the sink is placed between the refrigerator and the stove. Locate the refrigerator so that the refrigerator door opens away from the kitchen sink. This is a very common arrangement for small kitchens in narrow spaces.
* Galley-Shaped Kitchen - this type of kitchen design is more common in apartments or in homes where space is limited -- it is often called the corridor style. The kitchen cabinets and the appliances can be located on opposite walls for better work flow - place the range or cooktop on one side of the kitchen along one wall and the refrigerator and sink on the opposite wall.
To eliminate traffic issues in this type of kitchen design, one entry is often closed off. This type of layout should only be used by one cook. If you want to maintain both exits, place the refrigerator near the end of the galley kitchen for easy access - this way, your family and friends can reach the refrigerator without interfering with the person who is cooking. If you need extra storage in the galley kitchen, install tall kitchen cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. Wall storage is crucial - buy a stepladder to use when you need to reach the upper shelf of the cabinets, and place the items you use less frequently on the upper shelves.
By understanding the kitchen work triangle concept and how you want your kitchen to function, you’ll be more likely to create the kind of kitchen you’ve always wanted. Today, kitchens are often viewed as the hub of the home as well as a social center for family and friends. Planning your kitchen can be a challenge, but the rewards you’ll receive are very much worth the time and effort.
The kitchen work triangle consists of the distance between the sink, refrigerator and range or cooktop. Each one of these areas becomes a focal point in the kitchen and forms the three points of a triangle with different distances between them. Done correctly, the kitchen work triangle provides the most efficient food preparation area layout in the kitchen.
Whether you’re remodeling an existing kitchen or building a new one, an efficient design means that your work triangle minimizes the number of steps the cook must take between the three areas during meal preparation and cleanup. The total distance from the sink to the stove to the refrigerator and back to the sink should be not less than 12 feet total nor more than 27 feet. Each triangle leg should measure between 4 and 9 feet in length. The kitchen isles should be at least 42 to 48 inches wide to allow people to move around easily and for appliances to be opened with ease.
When selecting the floor plan for your kitchen, here are basic kitchen layouts to consider:
* L-Shaped Kitchen - this is the most popular kitchen design. It consists of a long leg and a shorter one and this type of design can be used in small and large kitchens. The L-shaped kitchen gives you the possibility of having a center island depending on the space available. In general, this design will have 2 or 3 appliances on one wall. The usual arrangement is to have the refrigerator at one end, the range or cooktop at the other end with the sink located in the middle. This shape of kitchen generally provides good traffic flow.
* Double L-Shaped Kitchen - this kitchen design has a lot of cabinet space and plenty of counter space. This design is used in large kitchens with two cooks, and it has two or more entering areas, which can cause traffic flow problems. To avoid some of these problems, create two separate working areas on each L of the kitchen so that workflow does not get interrupted by human traffic.
* U-Shaped Kitchen - this kitchen design shape has three walls instead of two, and the sink usually is located in the middle wall section. The refrigerator and range or cooktop are usually on the side walls opposite each other. The U-shaped kitchen design gives room for ample countertop space, and you have three walls for cabinets and appliances. This kitchen layout tends to create a working triangle that is very efficient.
The only problem with this type of kitchen design is that sometimes the two U corners are not used appropriately. Make sure you buy the appropriate storage items for the corner cabinets created by the U shape design. The U shape design can also create dark kitchens because of the shape and the amount of cabinets. Using skylights, large windows, lots of under-cabinet task lighting and light colors will help keep the kitchen bright with sufficient light to see what you’re doing.
* G-Shaped Kitchen - this type of kitchen shape is becoming very popular, and it gives you a fourth wall to use. The G-shape can be used if you have more than one cook in the house. This fourth wall section can be used for a counter, island and storage space. With this kitchen layout you can have two sinks, perhaps two cooktops or two ranges. You could have two working triangles - one for sink, cook top or range and refrigerator and a second working triangle with another sink, built-in grill and cooktop. It allows two cooks to do different things at the same time and entertain large groups of people.
* Single-Wall Kitchen - if you do not have much space, you may only be able to have an I-shaped kitchen. No problem. Just be sure the sink is placed between the refrigerator and the stove. Locate the refrigerator so that the refrigerator door opens away from the kitchen sink. This is a very common arrangement for small kitchens in narrow spaces.
* Galley-Shaped Kitchen - this type of kitchen design is more common in apartments or in homes where space is limited -- it is often called the corridor style. The kitchen cabinets and the appliances can be located on opposite walls for better work flow - place the range or cooktop on one side of the kitchen along one wall and the refrigerator and sink on the opposite wall.
To eliminate traffic issues in this type of kitchen design, one entry is often closed off. This type of layout should only be used by one cook. If you want to maintain both exits, place the refrigerator near the end of the galley kitchen for easy access - this way, your family and friends can reach the refrigerator without interfering with the person who is cooking. If you need extra storage in the galley kitchen, install tall kitchen cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling. Wall storage is crucial - buy a stepladder to use when you need to reach the upper shelf of the cabinets, and place the items you use less frequently on the upper shelves.
By understanding the kitchen work triangle concept and how you want your kitchen to function, you’ll be more likely to create the kind of kitchen you’ve always wanted. Today, kitchens are often viewed as the hub of the home as well as a social center for family and friends. Planning your kitchen can be a challenge, but the rewards you’ll receive are very much worth the time and effort.
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