The kitchen is arguably the heart of any home, where the family gathers for late night snacks, conversation and much more. Since so much time is spent in this room, it can be hard to keep up with when trying to keep it clean, which is why having a sleek cabinet design can help with the overall look and maintenance of your kitchen. Our team at Center Island Contracting will take an extremely detailed approach in designing your kitchen to ensure that the functionality and appearance meets your entertaining needs and personality, and that includes the cabinets. Here are some tips for easy cabinet maintenance.
Trimmings
Cabinet details like corbels or crown molding can look nice, but they’re also just another thing to clean in your kitchen. By cutting the trimmings you save yourself the headache of cleaning them, thus achieving the goal of a low maintenance kitchen. To compensate the design aspect of those trimmings, go with more ornate lighting or a pop of color somewhere in the room.
Stain not paint
Cabinet stains are easier to maintain than paint because they’re easier to touch up, although both options are susceptible to stains. At least with stain, you can touch up with a permanent marker that matches the color since it can be pretty difficult to find a permanent marker that matches a paint color. When it comes to cleaning and maintenance, stains are the safest route.
Less details
Choosing a cabinet with minor details makes the cleaning process easier and it also looks clean and sleek. Dirt can get into raised-panel cabinets with detailing, so to avoid having to scrub inside those nooks, choose a cabinet with a slab surface, for example. If your design aesthetic doesn’t allow for a cabinet surface like that, use a glaze over the detailing, which won’t collect as much dirt and dust.
Dark Stain
Now that we’ve established a stain is typically better than paint when it comes to easier kitchen maintenance, another tip is that choosing a darker stain with grain makes cleaning easier as well. The grain doesn’t show scratches like non-grain cabinets do.
Flush ends
Consider finishing your cabinets with flush ends instead of matching ends in order to make it easier for you to clean. Although finishing your cabinetry with matching ends to the cabinet door can look nice, it’s just another groove to clean – just like with raised cabinet doors. The plywood ends take just seconds to clean by running a wet cloth over them.
For more information about Center Island Contracting’s Kitchen Design services, call us at (631) 465-9765.
