Fix My Cabinet

There are several places where you can learn how to put together a working design for your new closet that needs some pretty new cabinets. Measuring for them and installing the units may be the most difficult task that you encounter

Follow These Steps

Measure the walls from left to right and the floor to the ceiling in the area of the closet where you want to design the cabinetry for. Obviously, you are going to write these dimensions down on a piece of paper. The best way I have found to do this is to actually draw a rectangle that represents the front view of one wall in the closet. Draw a separate sketch for each wall where there is going to be cabinetry.

Make special notes that indicate where any electrical outlets may be located. It is going to be important when you are designing the closet cabinets that you miss the electrical areas.


Once you have all of the dimensions find an online place that has a computer design center for their particular closet cabinets.

Before you begin to enter any information into the design perimeters, double check all of your dimensions. You cannot afford to make a mistake when you are designing the closet cabinets. Remember that haste makes waist. DO NOT GET IN A HURRY, check and double check everything that you design. If you do this you will not make any mistakes.

The computer system will walk you through the step by step process of designing the closet cabinets that will fit in your room. Usually you will be able to switch out various styles of cupboards. Some can have drawers and others just doors with adjustable shelves. Another design option may have all drawers or no doors or drawers at all, just adjustable shelves.

There are going to be hundreds of combinations that the computer design center can assemble in moments. Clothes rods, shoe racks, places for ties and belts will be all options that can be added to the closet cabinet design that you are creating.

Once you have finished your design, either purchase the cabinets or take screen shots of the photos drawings rendered on the computer screen. The way you take a screen shot of your closet design is by holding down the shift key and press the “prtscn” button on your keyboard. Once you have done that open up your “paint” program and click on “file” at the top of the page, then click on “paste.” Save the images to your computer and them print them out to take with you to a local closet design center in your area.

I am a little confused at where the Internet is heading. Quality content doesn’t always come from the pretty websites that get top rankings with Google, Yahoo or Bing. Some sites where I have noticed that the cabinet advice is not really very accurate and extremely incomplete are eHow and Yahoo answers.
read ehow-Cabinet Advice for Kitchens or Bathrooms

If you have never had a plastic laminate set of cupboards , they are very durable. The worst complaints through the years about Formica have been related to the workmanship not the material the kitchens were made out of.

Well in any case, let me list for you some of the things that people have voiced they did not like about having this style of cupboard.

Particle Board Construction
Prior to the early seventies most all cabinets were fabricated using either ply-wood, pine or a combination of both. There were in some instances the use of particle board. During the mid to late seventies the use of flake-board became much more popular in the construction of Formica cabinetry. Years later as swelling began to surface due to water absorption, Formica cupboards were labeled as being cheaply made. read Complaints About Formica Cabinets

I’m seeing this new design trend where designers are mixing different or various styles and colors of cabinets in one area. Particularly in the kitchen. In some cases, I think that this looks good, but in others I wonder sometimes what planet these folks came from. It’s almost like we are pushing ideas to the extreme of being very ugly at times. read Mixing Different Cabinet Styles in The Kitchen

A quick breeze through a cupboard catalog will offer different combinations of wine rack designs. Various styles are selected while designing kitchens. Oftentimes the decision is made in relation to the available space and the amount of wine bottles that will need to be displayed.

Over the Refrigerator- After the cupboards are in where can you install a wine rack? There are several places where they will work out well. One of the main places that I have placed them is over the refrigerator. This is largely due to people getting new a refrigerator and the door style of their existing cabinetry is hard to match. In such instances or situations, a wine rack can be the perfect remedy to the problem. read Different Wine Rack Styles Designing Kitchens

Photo from http://www.greatinteriordesign.com

For the wealthy it’s not difficult to incorporate high-end things in the cabinet design that make their kitchen look rich. Anything beyond standard selection in cupboard design is going to cost extra. So, if you are looking for ways to make your cupboards look dazzling, plan on spending a few dollars on extras. Upgrades can cost thousands of dollars extra and the possibilities seem almost limitless once you start researching all of the options.

I am going to offer a few ideas on how to make an ordinary kitchen look rich. These are not economical suggestions because any additional upgrade always costs money and with cabinetry, very seldom are upgrades reasonably priced.

Special Hood Vents-In most larger homes the trend is to install a stunning hood over the range or cook-top area. What we used to only see in restaurants are becoming common place in the houses of people who have plenty of money to burn. Stainless steel cooking appliances combined with matching metal hoods seem to ad a gigantic depth of wealth to the home kitchen. These type arrangements are diffidently for the rich. Some decorative hood vents for kitchens literally cost thousands of dollars.

Granite Counters- Although one would think that granite is beyond reach if you have a small budget due to the rich appearance of the material. To your surprise you may find that the market in recent years has made this material more affordable. In many instances, granite countertops can be fabricated and installed in a kitchen for less money than solid surface Corian tops.

Real Wood Cupboards-There are many styles of cabinets that are affordable for even the people who are not rich. In my opinion a person can spend a little extra than what a Formica set of cabinets cost and get a great kitchen from places like Lowe’s and Home Depot. If it is at all possible to install the cupboards yourself, the possibilities of having a set of kitchen or bathroom cabinets that look rich and are affordable will be more in reach.

Under-cabinet Puck Lighting-These little spot lights can make an ordinary kitchen look like a million dollars. Well maybe not that rich looking, but they do add a certain element of what you would encounter when visiting a wealthy persons home. It’s not so much the lights that cost money, but the electrical engineering of installing them and making them work properly that costs extra money. These lights work off of a low voltage connection. They require transformers to be installed for the electrical to work properly. In addition to the cost of the electrician, the cabinet installer or fabricator is going to charge you extra for making the correct allowance for the under-cabinet puck lights.

Wine Rack-For years these have been an added bonus for making a kitchen cabinet set look rich. Most wine racks will need to be custom fabricated to fit various spaces that are available if they are an after thought. If you can afford to have one incorporated in your kitchen cabinet design prior to having your cabinets installed, you can save money. This is not an item that can be easily added once the cupboards are installed.

Although there are many other things that will make a kitchen cabinet set look rich, those five items give you a broad perspective of some expensive- to not so costly items that can be incorporated in the design. The ideas on how to make a set of ordinary cupboards look great are endless. A good place to find rich kitchen cabinet ideas is by searching Google Images.

All kitchen and bathroom vanity cabinets that are made from real wood have common potential problems. Real wood cabinetry looks rich and can be durable over the course of time, but the key to longevity is proper maintenance.

As you well know, we always get what we pay for. This holds true in the field of cabinet doors and real wood cupboards. One manufacture seems to have a great price for the same product in comparison to a different company. Although looks can be very deceiving if you do not understand the difference between a good finish coat and a poorly finished cabinet door. read Problems With Having Real Wood Cabinetry

Having a kitchen decorated with an appliance garage cabinet is a luxury. These are not cheap extras to include in your cabinetry design. There’s something that we should be aware of though, not all of these storage units are created equal in quality. We are going to look at a few of the benefits and potential problems that may be encountered when purchasing one of these units. read Kitchen Cabinet Appliance Garage Problems and Benifits

There are many different ideas for adding a touch of class and glass to your kitchen cabinet design. The use of glass in cupboards adds expense to the cost of the kitchen, but at the same time can add a dimension of wealth that separates the style from the same- old-same-old. read Ideas for Adding Glass to Kitchen Cabinet Design

Personally I think that checkerboard design patterns don’t belong I the kitchen. None the less, I will discuss popular places where these busy styles are used. Your going to see that the only limitations to using the black and white checks is your own imagination. A word of advice, only use this layout in one area of the kitchen cabinetry or countertop design. You should also consider working with all solid colors in the surrounding areas. Too many checks and your room will look too busy. read Checkboard Patterns in the Kitchen