Most homeowners will eventually work on a home improvement project. Whether a skilled DIYer or a new owner looking to make some cost-effective improvements, you’ll likely be involved in some projects including replacing your flooring, fixing a window, or undertaking a larger project like a kitchen remodel.
Kitchen improvements net some of the best returns on your home investment, with remodels under $15,000 getting a return of 92.9 percent on investment. This ranks as one of the top projects you can do to improve both your everyday living and also your home value. When considering a remodel, you’ll want to start with the largest and most static part of your kitchen–the cabinets.
You may be surprised at what materials actually makeup kitchen cabinets. While most people imagine hardwoods like oak and cherry, solid throughout, there is often more hiding behind the scenes.
Older houses can often have plywood cabinets. Plywood refers to thin layers of wood that are pressed and glued together to create a sturdier and thicker piece of wood than the original. Edges will have a slightly striped look, and the material is frequently painted. Many remodelers will leave the old cabinet in place and add new facades of more expensive hardwoods, new doors, and new hardware.
Another common cabinetry choice is MDF. MDF stands for Medium Density Fiberboard. Like plywood, this is an engineered and manufactured wood, but instead of using thin wood sheets this material uses sawdust combined with glue and heat. The resulting material is very strong with an even texture but is far less expensive than solid wood because it uses leftover materials.
As mentioned, the price is a serious consideration in choosing cabinet material. Hardwood and other solid wood cabinetry will always cost top dollar. There are some additional wood options like bamboo, but this again can vary greatly in price based on how the bamboo is cut and reassembled. While solid wood is a gorgeous option for staining, it can be a poor option for painting.
Natural woods are more changeable than engineered woods, expanding and contracting due to climate and moisture in the air. If you ever want to see this in action, go to your local home retailer and look at their pallets of 2×4’s. The wrapped pallets will appear to have all the boards straight, but the open pallets will start to show warps and curves. Natural wood can create cracks in your paint, and gaps in the seams between cabinet joints.
While the cost of material and appearance matters, many decisions ultimately come down to ease of installation. MDF can be ordered in preassembled cabinets according to your desired shapes and design. Choose your style and finish of cabinet doors and select hardware to match your new theme, such as chrome handles. You can then choose to install the cabinets yourself or get professional installation. Professional install should be available from your local cabinet retailer, and will not require a general contractor to oversee the rest of your remodel.
So expand your options, and embrace affordable engineered materials like MDF. Your kitchen remodel adds definite value to your home, in addition, to increase your comfort and the beauty of your living space.
At Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork, we have a vast selection of MDF doors for your new kitchen cabinets. Find out more by contacting us today!
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.
This is a professional company in every sense of the word! We hired them to completely remodel our kitchen when we purchased a 20 year old house. They did an amazing job! They were there when they said they would be. They worked full days with few breaks and the quality of their work was superior. I would definitely recommend them and will use them again on future planned projects!
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.
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.
Zayne and his professional staff are absolutely the best in home renovation.
Zayne’s crew are professional, courteous, prompt, polite and offer suggestions while on site. The quality of the workmanship and materials are first class. Zayne will work diligently with you to develop your vision of your project and point out the constraints of your home and how you can proceed to achieve the end result.
Zayne expresses serious concern about your budget and how to accomplish your ideas without spending unnecessarily. His sub-contractors and suppliers are all equally welcoming and patient when you are working with them to find the cabinetry, trim, stone, paint and other materials that are not “cookie cutter”.
We highly recommend, without reservation, Zayne and Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork to anyone with a large or small project.
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.
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.
Kitchen and bath remodels are complicated projects that require good up front planning and experience. Zayne and his crew have delivered excellent projects for me on repeated occasions. Each time the work has been completed on the agreed schedule and above my expectations. Most importantly it is critical to work with someone you trust and that has the knowledge and experience required – Lifestyle truly fits this description.
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!!!
I couldn’t have been happier with Zayne and his crew. Zayne presented a clear-cut plan for our project and stuck to it throughout the whole process. His guys did excellent work and were respectful while in my home. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Lifestyle Cabinetry and Millwork to anyone for any project.
Kitchen Remodel.
New cabinets
New granite countertops
New backsplash
Very knowledgeable about the work. Timely execution. Excellent workmanship. Executed the work within budget.
The people went out of their way to work on add-on features.