Kitchen cabinet

A precursor, not built-in, was the Hoosier cabinet of the 1910s, a single piece of furniture incorporating storage and work surfaces, of which over 2 million were sold by 1920.

[2] Considering that North Americans spend a large proportion of their lives indoors, it’s clear why this is a key issue in designing healthy spaces.

[4] Cabinets consist of six-sided wooden boxes or "carcass" closed on five sides with a door or drawers on the sixth.

This "60cm square" horizontal area (or its multiples) accommodates many standard floor-standing electrical appliances.

Drawers and trays in lower cabinets permit access from above and avoid uncomfortable or painful crouching.

The loss of 2 inches is particularly noticeable and significant for kitchens including multiple narrow [15-inch (380 mm) or less] cabinets.

In frameless construction, drawer boxes may be sized nearly to the interior opening of the cabinet providing better use of the available space.

Even in the case of frameless construction doors and their hinges when open block a portion of the interior cabinet width.

In such an installation the oven front panel occupies a similar profile as a cabinet door.

The choice of finish can affect the cabinet's color, sheen (from flat to high gloss), and feel.

Using slides, mounted on the side (reducing width slightly) or bottom (completely out of sight), a drawer or tray can be extended considerably with a smooth, linear motion using minimum effort.

A slide's design parameters are its height, depth, extension, weight rating, durability, serviceability, and smoothness of operation.

Special hardware for corner and other blind cabinets makes their contents more easily accessible.

They can combine more than one opening and eliminate unsightly doubled stiles in face-frame installations as well as bring aesthetic appeal using unusual woods or finishes.