Kitchen cabinets, such a benign subject, or so you might think, but in reality choosing the right cabinet for your kitchen can create a kitchen you can’t wait to use or create a fear factor reaction every time you enter. Here are five tried and true items to consider before your final decision.

The material, solid wood is still the top choice for kitchens, but other materials like metal, thermofoil, stainless steel, and melamine are readily available. When deciding on the material to use consider longevity for both durability and likeability. If you choose a material that cannot be updated or changed like stainless steel then that is what you will have until you tear them out, however hardwoods can be stained or painted to provide a completely different look as your tastes change.

The style of the door is important, there is a style for every taste from ultra-modern to highly detailed old world to no doors at all. Any door with more detail will cost more and require more work to clean and maintain but this should not stop you if this is the look you are going for, remember you want something that makes you want to use the room not run from it.

Mounting your chosen door, may not seem important but the mounting can add or detract from the look you are wanting to achieve. Regular overlay shows the entire frame of the door and is the standard in most homes today. For a more modern clean look you may want to choose a full overlay which will hide the cabinets behind the doors and only the door seams will be visible. Inset doors are very rare, these are laid inside the frame.

The finish will help meld the material with your overall look and can be as simple as a light stain or even natural for wood to complicated finishes like distressed or glazed. Keep in mind lighter finishes hide dirt better than darker finishes, just as less gloss hides finger prints better than a high gloss.

Handles, knobs and even the hinges can impact the final product. You can completely change the look of any cabinet by simply changing the look of the hardware, taking a cabinet from traditional to country or contemporary to ultra-modern. Think about ease of use too, you don’t want to have to work to open that drawer or cabinet.

Don’t let the process of picking our your new cabinets or even updating an existing set overwhelm you, a good general contractor or remodeler can walk you through the process and provide examples and suggestions.