Learn Kitchen Cabinet Door Lingo

European Country Style - Better Sample Door

When it comes to kitchen renovations, one area that many homeowners end up having to address is the lack of storage space. If you’re doing some research on kitchen cabinets that you can install to remedy this issue, then there’s a good chance that you’re going to run into a lot of terms and phrases that you may not be familiar with.

The following are some of the common cabinet door terms that you should be aware of to make it easier to find what you’re looking for:

Face frame – The face frame is the visible frame that surrounds the cabinet opening.
Inset – Inset cabinet doors refer to cabinet doors that have a traditional look common in the early 20th century. They typically have small hinges that are mounted right on or inside of the face frame. These hinges are usually visible even if the door is shut.
Partial overlay – Partial overlay doors are cabinet doors that are mounted over the face of the box. This means that they completely cover the opening and typically cover part of the face frame as well.
Full overlay – A full overlay, which is also known as Euro-style, is one of the more modern styles of cabinet doors. The door covers the box completely, including both the opening and the face frame. One of the stylistic benefits of the full overlay cabinet doors is that they eliminate most gaps between doors and drawers, thereby creating a more continuous appearance.
Raised panel – A raised panel is a cabinet door style in which a center panel is used that’s flush with the door frame. This stylistic flourish provides the cabinet with the appearance of depth.
Edge banding – The edge band is the material that’s used to cover the cut ends of the plywood on the cabinet boxes, drawers and shelves. Every cabinet has edge bands, although they are often made from different materials. Edge banding can be made using wood, melamine or PVC plastic. Most of the time, edge banding will be made to match the wood species and color of the cabinet.
Butt doors – Butt doors refer to the use of two doors to cover a single cabinet opening because the opening is too large to be covered by a single door.
Center stile – The center stile, which is also known as mullion, is a vertical strip of hardwood implemented into the face frame to divide a cabinet opening equally.
Light rail – A light rail is a type of decorative molding used at the bottom of wall cabinets to create a more finished look. Light rails are commonly used to hide under cabinet lighting.

Familiarize yourself with these terms so that you have a better grasp of cabinet door lingo. This will help you compare different features and allow you to find exactly what you’re looking for in your kitchen cabinets.

For information about our Conestoga kitchen cabinets, be sure to contact us at Lifestyles Cabinetry and Millwork today.

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Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork were excellent. They were fast and efficient and always respectful when they were in my home. I loved working with Kirt and Zayne. I would recommend them to anyone! You won’t be disappointed.

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Lifestyle Cabinetry and Milwork re-constructed our kitchen and bathroom in 2013. They were meticulous, very professional and friendly. We are very pleased with the workmanship and wouldn’t hesitate to hire them for another project in the future.

Ron N.

Wow! Zayne and his team were great. Always responsive, always professional and they provided high-quality work on a tight timeline. Every contractor on the Lifestyle team impressed us without exception. We would highly recommend Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork.

Leslie A.

What a great experience to have such a reliable, professional company come to work in our condo! Zayne was so nice and helped us find the perfect cabinets for our kitchen. Dion, who works for Zayne did a wonderful job in completing the projects. We also had electrical, painting, and additional carpentry completed. Everything went just the way we wanted. We could not be happier. We are also going to get additional pricing for more work that we want to have done in our condo in the future.

Bringpeace

This team is absolutely amazing!! I could not be happier with the way my kitchen turned out. I had a vision and they were amazing in building exactly to what I had pictured. They were on time, a pleasure to work with, efficient and kept right on schedule. Kurt made sure that we were happy at every turn and acted immediately on every request. Thank you!!!

Stacy C.

We used Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork for a complete master bath remodel. The workers were friendly, cooperative, and showed up on time every day. The work was high quality and we are so pleased with the end results. We would definitely recommend them to others.

Y. L.

Kitchen Remodel.
New cabinets
New granite countertops
New backsplash

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R. G.

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