![Barberini Cabinet MET DP106703](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Barberini_Cabinet_MET_DP106703.jpg)
A cabinet is a case or
cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a
medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid or with
veneers or artificial surfaces), coated
steel (common for medicine cabinets), or synthetic materials.
Commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
grade cabinets usually have a melamine-particleboard substrate and are covered in a high pressure decorative laminate, commonly referred to as Wilsonart or Formica.
Cabinets sometimes have one or more doors on the front, which are mounted with
door hardware, and occasionally a
lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
. Cabinets may have one or more doors,
drawer
A drawer is a box-shaped container inside a piece of furniture that can be pulled out horizontally to access its contents. Drawers are built into numerous types of furniture, including cabinets, chests of drawers (bureaus), desks, and the ...
s, and/or
shelves. Short cabinets often have a finished surface on top that can be used for display, or as a working surface, such as the
countertop
A countertop, also counter top, counter, benchtop, worktop (British English) or kitchen bench ( Australian or New Zealand English), bunker ( Scottish English) is a raised, firm, flat, and horizontal surface. They are built for work in kitchens ...
s found in kitchens.
A cabinet intended to be used in a bedroom and with several drawers typically placed one above another in one or more columns intended for clothing and small articles is called a dresser or a
chest of drawers
A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, is a type of cabinet (a piece of furniture) that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above another.
In American English a ...
. A small bedside cabinet is more frequently called a
nightstand or night table. A tall cabinet intended for clothing storage including hanging of clothes is called a ''
wardrobe
A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate accommo ...
'' or an ''armoire'', or (in some countries) a ''closet'' if built-in.
History
![CommodeBoulle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/CommodeBoulle.jpg)
Before the advent of
industrial design, cabinet makers were responsible for the conception and the production of any piece of furniture. In the last half of the 18th century, cabinet makers, such as
Thomas Sheraton
Thomas Sheraton (1751 – 22 October 1806) was a furniture designer, one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Chippendale and George Hepplewhite. Sheraton gave his name to a style of furniture charac ...
,
Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale (1718–1779) was a cabinet-maker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled ''The Gentleman and Ca ...
, Shaver and Wormley Brothers Cabinet Constructors, and
George Hepplewhite
George Hepplewhite (1727? – 21 June 1786) was a cabinetmaker. He is regarded as having been one of the "big three" English furniture makers of the 18th century, along with Thomas Sheraton and Thomas Chippendale. There are no pieces of furnitu ...
, also published books of furniture forms. These books were compendiums of their designs and those of other cabinet makers. The most famous cabinetmaker before the advent of industrial design is probably
André-Charles Boulle (11 November 1642 – 29 February 1732) and his legacy is known as "
Boulle Work" and the
École Boulle
The École Boulle is a college of fine arts and crafts and applied arts in Paris, France.
History
The École Boulle was founded in 1886 and is named after the cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, who is generally considered to be the preeminent ...
, a college of fine
arts and crafts and
applied arts
The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...
in Paris, today bears testimony to his art.
![Tortoiseshell cabinet Sobieski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Tortoiseshell_cabinet_Sobieski.JPG)
With the
industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and the application of
steam power to cabinet making tools,
mass production techniques were gradually applied to nearly all aspects of cabinet making, and the traditional cabinet shop ceased to be the main source of furniture, domestic or commercial. In parallel to this evolution there came a growing demand by the rising
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
in most industrialised countries for finely made furniture. This eventually grew the total number of traditional cabinet makers.
Before 1650, fine furniture was a rarity in Western Europe and North America. Generally, people did not need it and for the most part could not afford it. They made do with simple but serviceable pieces.
The
arts and craft movement which started in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in the middle of the 19th century spurred a market for traditional cabinet making, and other
craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pro ...
goods. It rapidly spread to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and to all the countries in the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. This movement exemplified the reaction to the eclectic historicism of the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
and to the 'soulless' machine-made production which was starting to become widespread. During this time, cabinetry was said to be one of the most noble and admirable skills by nearly one fourth of the population of the United Kingdom, and 31% of those who believed this strived for their children to learn the art of cabinetry.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
woodworking became a popular
hobby
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
among the middle classes. The more serious and skilled amateurs in this field now turn out pieces of furniture which rival the work of professional cabinet makers. Together, their work now represents but a small percentage of furniture production in any industrial country, but their numbers are vastly greater than those of their counterparts in the 18th century and before.
Schools of design
Glamour
Glamour style was originally a combination of English, Greek Revival, French Regency and Hollywood glamour. The main colours of glam cabinets can follow high impact or soft and luxurious directions. The most important feature of this style is the combination of lighter neutral tones with intense, sharp dark shades such as black, navy blue and jewel tones. The main features of glamour in cabinetry are:
*Metallic frames (gold or silver)
*Dark, shiny finishes
*Crystal and metal ornaments and accessories (for example glamour cabinet handles with crystal elements)
*Aesthetics in tones of gold with glossy white and mirrored black
*Sculptural lines
Scandinavian
This style of design is typified by clean horizontal and vertical lines. Compared to other designs there is a distinct absence of ornamentation. While
Scandinavian design
Scandinavian design is a design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality that emerged in the early 20th century, and subsequently flourished in the 1950s throughout the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, ...
is easy to identify, it is much more about the materials than the design.
French Provincial
This style of design is ornate.
French Provincial
''French Provincial'' (french: Souvenirs d’en France) is a 1975 French drama film directed by André Téchiné, starring Jeanne Moreau, Michel Auclair and Marie-France Pisier. The film presents an overview of French life and politics though th ...
objects are often stained or painted, leaving the wood concealed. Corners and bevels are often decorated with gold leaf or given some other kind of gilding. Flat surfaces often have artwork such as landscapes painted directly on them. The wood used in French provincial varied, but was often originally beech.
Early American Colonial
This design emphasises both form and materials.
Early American chairs and tables are often constructed with turned spindles and chair backs often constructed using steaming to bend the wood. Wood choices tend to be deciduous hardwoods with a particular emphasis on the wood of edible or fruit-bearing trees such as cherry or walnut.
Rustic
The
rustic style of design sometimes called "log furniture" or "
log cabin" is the least finished. Design is very utilitarian yet seeks to feature not only the materials used but in, as much as possible, how they existed in their natural state. For example, a table top may have what is considered a "live edge" that allows you to see the original contours of the tree that it came from. It also often uses whole logs or branches including the bark of the tree. Rustic furniture is often made from
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
,
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
,
fir and
spruce. Rustic furniture is usually very simple, handmade and over sized. It is characterised by a bit of roughness (raw woods which look a bit undone). Colors connected with earthy tones: grays, greens and browns are very common here. See
Adirondack Architecture
Adirondack Architecture refers to the rugged architectural style generally associated with the Great Camps within the Adirondack Mountains area in New York. The builders of these camps used native building materials and sited their buildings wit ...
.
Mission style
Mission design is characterised by straight, thick horizontal and vertical lines and flat panels. The most common material used in Mission furniture is oak. For early mission cabinetmakers, the material of choice was white oak, which they often darkened through a process known as
"fuming". Hardware is often visible on the outside of the pieces and made of black iron. It is a style that became popular in the early 20th century; popularised by designers in the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveaux movements.
Oriental
Also known as
Asian design, this style of furniture is characterised by its use of materials such as
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
and
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed- canopy old-growth tropical fores ...
. Red is a frequent colour choice along with landscape art and Chinese or other Asian language characters on the pieces.
Shaker
Shaker furniture
__NOTOC__
Shaker furniture is a distinctive style of furniture developed by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, commonly known as Shakers, a religious sect that had guiding principles of simplicity, utility and honesty. ...
design is focused on function and symmetry. Because it is so influenced by an egalitarian religious community and tradition it is rooted in the needs of the community versus the creative expression of the designer. Like Early American and Colonial design, Shaker craftsmen often chose fruit woods for their designs. Pieces reflect a very efficient use of materials.
Types of cabinetry
The fundamental focus of the cabinet maker is the production of cabinetry. Although the cabinet maker may also be required to produce items that would not be recognized as cabinets, the same skills and techniques apply.
A cabinet may be built-in or free-standing. A built-in cabinet is usually custom made for a particular situation and it is fixed into position, on a floor, against a wall, or framed in an opening. For example, modern kitchens are examples of built-in cabinetry. Free-standing cabinets are more commonly available as off-the-shelf items and can be moved from place to place if required. Cabinets may be wall hung or suspended from the ceiling. Cabinet doors may be hinged or sliding and may have mirrors on the inner or outer surface.
Cabinets may have a
face frame or may be of
frameless construction (also known as ''European'' or ''euro-style''). Face frame cabinets have a supporting frame attached to the front of the cabinet box. This face frame is usually in width. Mounted on the cabinet frame is the cabinet door. In contrast, frameless cabinet have no such supporting front face frame, the cabinet doors attach directly to the sides of the cabinet box. The box's side, bottom and top panels are usually thick, with the door overlaying all but of the box edge.
Modern cabinetry is often frameless and is typically constructed from man-made sheet materials, such as
plywood,
chipboard or
medium-density fibreboard
Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibres, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming it into panels by applying high t ...
(MDF). The visible surfaces of these materials are usually clad in a timber
veneer, plastic laminate, or other material. They may also be painted.
Cabinetry found in the kitchen
Cabinetry, fundamental usage, ergonomics, and construction of cabinetry found in the kitchen varies geographically. In the United States, cabinetry in the kitchen typically consists of upper, or wall cabinets, and base cabinets.
Regarding cabinets produced by cabinet manufacturers, base cabinets are sized at a standard 24" deep, front to back, and wall cabinets are typically constructed at a depth of 12" front to back. Standard height of a base cabinet is amongst manufactures is 34.5". According to design guidelines of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, known as the
NKBA, the height from the counter top surface to the bottom of the upper cabinets should be no less than 15" in clearance. Wall cabinets are manufactured in a variety of heights based on the storage needs and allowable height within the specific kitchen. Common overall heights for wall cabinets are 30", 36" and 42". 30" and 36" is often used with North American ceiling heights of 8' or less. 42" heights are often used with 9' ceilings. These options are typically design based.
Cabinet widths for base cabinets normally start at 9", and can be as large as 45". Wall cabinets will typically start at a width of 12", and be as large as 42". Sizing increments for both wall and base cabinets are a standard of 3"
Construction
Cabinets boxes produced for kitchens are typically made of wood derivatives such as
MDF,
Plywood, or
Particle Board
Particle board, also known as chipboard or low-density fiberboard, is an engineered wood product manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed and extruded. Particle board is often confused with ...
. The cabinet box will most often have a
wood veneer
In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood and sometimes bark, usually thinner than 3 mm (1/8 inch), that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels s ...
to finish the interior. Cabinet door and drawer face material will depend on the manufacturer. Often a natural wood such as Maple, Oak, Ash, Birch, Cherry, or Alder will be used as a material that is intended to be finished with a stain or other transparent or semi-transparent finish. MDF has been the primary choice among manufacturers to be used on a solid finish painted surface.
Cabinet components
Bases
Cabinets which rest on the floor are supported by some base. This base could be a fully enclosed base (i.e. a
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
), a scrolled based, bracket feet or it could be a set of legs.
Adjustable feet
A type of adjustable leg has been adopted from the European cabinet system which offers several advantages. First off, in making base cabinets for kitchens, the cabinet sides would be cut to 34½ inches, yielding four cabinet side blanks per 4 foot by 8 foot sheet. Using the adjustable feet, the side blanks are cut to 30 inches, thus yielding six cabinet side per sheet.
These feet can be secured to the bottom of the cabinet by having the leg base screwed onto the cabinet bottom. They can also be attached by means of a hole drilled through the cabinet bottom at specific locations. The legs are then attached to the cabinet bottom by a slotted, hollow machine screw. The height of the cabinet can be adjusted from inside the cabinet, simply by inserting a screwdriver into the slot and turning to raise or lower the cabinet. The holes in the cabinet are capped by plastic inserts, making the appearance more acceptable for residential cabinets. Using these feet, the cabinets need not be shimmed or scribed to the floor for leveling. The toe kick board is attached to the cabinet by means of a clip, which is either screwed onto the back side of the kick board, or a barbed plastic clip is inserted into a saw kerf, also made on the back side of the kick board. This toe kick board can be made to fit each base cabinet, or made to fit a run of cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets, or any cabinet generally at which a person may stand, usually have a fully enclosed base in which the front edge has been set back 75 mm or so to provide room for toes, known as the
kick space A kick space, also known as a toe kick or toe space, is recessed space at the base of most floor-mounted kitchen cabinets.
Description
Traditionally, a kick space is allowed for in modern cabinet designs by creating a separate, recessed platform ...
. A scrolled base is similar to the fully enclosed base but it has areas of the base material removed, often with a decorative pattern, leaving feet on which the cabinet stands. Bracket feet are separate feet, usually attached in each corner and occasionally for larger pieces in the middle of the cabinet.
Compartments
A cabinet usually has at least one compartment. Compartments may be open, as in open shelving; they may be enclosed by one or more doors; or they may contain one or more drawers. Some cabinets contain
secret compartments, access to which is generally not obvious.
Modern cabinets employ many more complicated means (relative to a simple shelf) of making browsing lower cabinets more efficient and comfortable. One example is the
lazy susan
A Lazy Susan is a turntable (rotating tray) placed on a table or countertop to aid in distributing food. Lazy Susans may be made from a variety of materials but are usually glass, wood, or plastic. They are circular and placed in the centre o ...
, a shelf which rotates around a central axis, allowing items stored at the back of the cabinet to be brought to the front by rotating the shelf. These are usually used in corner cabinets, which are larger and deeper and have a greater "dead space" at the back than other cabinets.
Cabinet insert hardware
An alternative to the
lazy susan
A Lazy Susan is a turntable (rotating tray) placed on a table or countertop to aid in distributing food. Lazy Susans may be made from a variety of materials but are usually glass, wood, or plastic. They are circular and placed in the centre o ...
, particularly in base cabinets, is the blind corner cabinet pull out unit. These pull out and turn, making the attached shelving unit slide into the open area of the cabinet door, thus making the shelves accessible to the user. These units make usable what was once dead space.
Other insert hardware includes such items as mixer shelves that pull out of a base cabinet and spring into a locked position at counter height. This hardware aids in lifting these somewhat heavy mixers and assists with positioning the unit for use. More and more components are being designed to enable specialized hardware to be used in standard cabinet carcasses.
Tops
Most cabinets incorporate a top of some sort. In many cases, the top is merely to enclose the compartments within and serves no other purpose—as in a wall hung cupboard for example. In other cabinets, the top also serves as a work surface—a kitchen countertop for example.
See also
*
List of furniture designers
This is a list of notable people whose primary occupation is furniture design.
A
* Alvar Aalto (1898-1976)
* Eero Aarnio (born 1932)
* Robert Adam (1728-1792)
* Thomas Affleck (1745-1795)
* Franco Albini (1905-1977)
* Davis Allen (1916-1999 ...
*
List of furniture types
This is a list of furniture types. Furniture includes objects such as tables, chairs, beds, desks, dressers, and cupboards. These objects are usually kept in a house or other building to make it suitable or comfortable for living or working in ...
*
Woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...
*
Amish furniture
Amish furniture is furniture manufactured by the Amish, primarily of Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio. It is generally known as being made completely out of wood, usually without particle board or laminate. The styles most often used by the Amish ...
*
Ébéniste
''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony.
Etymology and ambiguities
As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equi ...
(French for "cabinet-maker")
*
Tansu
are traditional Japanese mobile storage cabinets. are commonly used for the storage of clothing, particularly kimono.
were first recorded in the Genroku era (1688–1704) of the Edo period (1603–1867). The two characters, and , appear to h ...
References
;Specific citations
;General references
* Lee Jesberger (2007). '' Pro Woodworking Tips.com''.
* Ernest Joyce (1970). ''Encyclopedia of Furniture Making''. Revised and expanded by Alan Peters (1987). Sterling Publishing. (Original edition), (Paperback)
* John L. Feirer (1988). ''Cabinetmaking and Millwork'', Fifth Edition. Glencoe Publishing Company.
External links
*; Register of Cabinetmakers, PDF (Kunst- und Museumsbibliothek der Stadt Köln, Kunstdokumentation Werner Kittel, Department of Furniture)
{{Authority control
Crafts
Furniture-making
Woodworking