Beautiful cabinetry adds tremendous appeal to your home. And good storage is just what you need, especially in the kitchen. During remodeling, making the right decisions can be the important difference in how well your room functions. And when you get ready to sell, it will make a big difference to that important bottom line!

Pre-fab, custom or semi-custom? Wood or veneer? The choices are endless. They all have their good points. What do you look for when choosing the right cabinetry for your home?

Pre-fabricated cabinetry is often advertised in home magazines or displayed in home improvement stores and lumber companies. The various lines are available in an array of designs, each offering a number of stock sizes. Your room is measured and a schematic of a cabinet design is created. If you can't fill the space exactly, a cabinet size may be adjusted or matching strips of cabinet material may be added to hide any gaps. Try to have as few of these hidden spaces as possible.

Some pre-fabricated cabinets are made of particleboard covered with laminate. Some are made of solid panels of hardwoods such as oak which is stained. Other cabinets may have real wood doors with particleboard or laminate materials used to create the cabinet 'boxes.' Shelves or doors may be a wood veneer over particleboard. Generally speaking, the price of the cabinets varies depending on how much real wood is used in the construction.

Semi-custom cabinets have more wood and style options than those available in basic stock cabinets. They tend to be more expensive. They still come in stock sizes and can be ordered more quickly than custom cabinets.

Custom cabinetry is noticeably more expensive because it is designed specifically for your home. Custom cabinets are often constructed of more exotic woods like walnut or cherry and are generally of higher quality construction than the pre-fabricated options.

There are four elements to look for in a good cabinet. Look for solid wood drawers that are dovetailed and not stapled or glued. The drawers should glide easily without any sticking. The best cabinets have all-metal hinges that are hidden inside the door and not visible when the door is closed. The quality of this hardware will vary with the different price ranges. Last, make sure the shelves don't bow when weight is added.

Kitchen cabinets house dishes and heavy canned goods. A shelf of particleboard or a board that is too thin will bow and perhaps break under the weight. When you visit the showroom, take a couple of small barbells to test the shelves. If you notice that the showroom cabinets have a center shelf support, ask if this will be installed in your cabinets.

In a kitchen, cabinetry is installed and hung after the flooring is installed. After the cabinets are in, the counters are installed. It is imperative that the cabinets are level so that the counter surfaces will be level too. Make sure your cabinets are installed by a manufacturer's representative or an experienced worker supervised by your builder or contractor.

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