Cabinet Terminology
½" Overlay
Door styles that cover ½" of the face frame at the top and bottom, leaving 1¼" of the face frame exposed.
Arch
A door style with an arched top on the wall and door cabinet.
Bead Board
A recessed panel door with vertical grooves, providing a decorative appearance and feel of "Cottage" style architecture.
Beaded Door
A flat panel cabinet door design that incorporates vertical beaded texture on the recessed panel area of the door. The wood door frame is more simple and constructed with cane and stick joinery.
Cathedral
Door style with a uniquely curved top, similar to church windows on the wall cabinet doors.
Cherry
Cherry is an elegant, multi-colored hardwood, which may contain small knots and pin holes. Natural or light stains accent these color variations making a distinctive statement in a full kitchen. Cherry wood will darken or “mellow” with age. This mellowing is a natural occurrence and the benefit of owning a solid cherry kitchen.
Concealed Hinge
A cabinet build were the hinge is attached to the inside edge of the face frame and to the back of the door. This type of cabinet construction hides the hinge from outside of the cabinet.
Distressing
A technique where small indentions, notches, scuffs, etc., are made in the wood to produce an aged look.
Dovetail
A construction method used to reinforce the joining of two perpendicular parts. Wooden cabinet drawer boxes are commonly dovetailed.
Drawer Bottom
The inside bottom piece of cabinet drawers.
Drawer Front
The wood or thermofoil face of the drawer that coordinates with the door style.
Drawer Guides
The hardware installed on drawers that supports the gliding motion of the drawer. The specific drawer guide used varies depending the drawer construction selected.
End Panel
The wood panel on the outside (left or right side) of a base cabinet. Also referred to as ends, sides and side panels. This is the outside vertical cabinet member, supporting horizontal parts.
Filler
A piece used to fill any gaps in cabinetry design that is not filled by cabinets to make the design fit the room precisely.
Flat Panel
A recessed center panel to a door or drawer design conveying Transitional, Shaker, or Arts and Crafts styling.
Framed Cabinets
The traditional framed cabinet has a front frame around the cabinet opening to which the door is attached. These are the most popular type of cabinets in the U.S. and are easier to install than frameless cabinetry because of their recessed end panels and rigid front frame. Framed cabinets are available in Traditional and Full Overlay styling which are explained below. Framed construction utilizes glue, staple and dowel or screw construction.
Frameless Cabinets
Frameless, or European-style cabinets, have no front frame. The doors are attached directly to the sides of the cabinet. Frameless cabinets, which are more contemporary in style, offer the advantage of completely unobstructed access to the cabinet interior because there is no front frame. Frameless construction utilizes pin and dowel construction.
Full Extension Drawer Guide
Cabinet drawer glides that allow the drawer to be completely extended to the back of the drawer. Full extension drawers provide complete access to the dept of the drawer box when opening the cabinet drawer.
Furniture Board
A board substrate that is manufactured using wood particles, adhesives and resins under extremely high pressure to bond the material together.
Full Overlay
Cabinet door styles that cover most of the face frame, giving prominence to the door and drawer design.
Glaze Finish
An additional furniture finish treatment that is applied to improve a standard stain, enhance door detail and even-out wood species variation.
Glazing
A finishing process purposely creating an uneven, inconsistent look by applying an accent stain over the entire door and then wiping off, leaving a "hang-up" of light to dark tones in the corners, door grooves and wood grains creating an overall glazed look.
Grain
Natural pattern of growth in wood; the grain runs lengthwise of the trees, therefore, the strength is the greatest in that direction.
Hardwood
Wood of broad-leaved trees; oak, maple, ash, walnut, poplar; contrasted to the soft wood of the needle-leaved trees: pine, fir, spruce, hemlock.
Heartwood
Older, harder non-living central portion of the tree, denser, and more durable than surrounding sapwood.
Hickory
Hickory is a strong, open grained wood that is known for its wide variation in color. It is not uncommon to see doors or parts of doors that range in color from light to a deep brown when finished in light or natural stains. Darker stains will mildly tone these color variations. These characteristics are what makes each hickory kitchen unique and the preference of those who love wood.
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Highlighting
A technique which removes some of the dark stain between the grain to highlight the base color.
Knotholes
Voids produced where knots have dropped out of veneer or lumber.
Laminate
To bind together a series of layers of wood, plastic, or other material; as a noun, a piece made of layers of wood, plastic, or other material, bonded together by gluing or other process.
MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)
An engineered wood offering an extremely tight and smooth surface. Exceptionally stable, MDF is favored for laminating with thermofoils and melamine.
Maple
Hard maple is a strong, close grained wood that is predominanttly off-white in color; although it also contains light hues of yellow-brown and pink. Hard maple occasionally contains light tan or small dark mineral streaks.
Melamine Laminate
This is a material used on drawer and doors surfaces to cover substrate of either particleboard or MDF. All laminate is durable and easy to clean. Melamine laminate is also a material used for fabricating countertops since it is thicker than vinyl and provides a hard, durable surface.
Mitered
A joint made by cutting the frame of a cabinet door at an angle and fitting the pieces together.
Mineral Streaks
Olive, black or brown discoloration of wood, caused by oxidation and other chemical changes.
Modified full overlay
Doors are sized to almost touch, reducing the appearance of the front frame, while adding a mounting surface to the top of every cabinet for trim
Mullion
Vertical division of a double width window; the intermediate vertical frame member of a two or three door cabinet.
Mullion Doors
Mullion doors have glass inserts in place of the typical solid center panel for a more stylish appearance. The inserts have horizontal and vertical dividing bars similar to those in windowpanes.
Onlay
A decoratively carved wood ornament applied to cabinet surfaces. Used to embellish the design.
Oak
Red oak is a strong, open grained wood that has a range in color of white, yellow and pink. Red oak is sometimes streaked with green, yellow and black mineral deposits and may contain some wide grain.
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Overlay
Date on which MRP says is needed in order to meet other requirements.
Padding
A technique that brightens and builds color to give depth to the finish.
Plywood
A construction material made of thin layers of wood glued and pressed together.
Pull
The term used to describe the distance a blind wall or blind base cabinet can be moved (or pulled) from the adjacent wall.
Rail
The horizontal pieces of frames, such as face frames and door frames.
Raised Panel
A term used to describe a door style where a thick center panel is machined to be flush with the door frame, thus giving the depth appearance by the sloping "raise" of the panel.
Recessed Panel
A term used to describe a door style where a thinner panel is inserted into the grooves of the wood door frame that gives a "recessed" appearance, i.e. flat panel. A flat panel held inside the perimeter of a door. A flat panel recesses between the stiles and rails.
Reveal
Side of an opening between the frame and the outer surface, or frame visible around a door or overlay.
Sapwood
Living wood of pale color just beneath the bark, sapwood is usually more susceptible to decay than heartwood.
SKU
Stock Keeping Unit – each item, size and part is identified as a SKU.
Semi-Custom Cabinets
Semi-custom cabinets offer fewer options than “custom cabinets” and are available in a number of different sizes, shapes, wood species and finishes. Semi-custom cabinetry provide customers a limited number of styling options in both their framed and frameless offerings that include such things as reduced depths, increased depths, matching interiors, inverted frames, etc. Sales of Semi-custom cabinets are much less than those of stock cabinetry in the industry.
Soffit
A soffit or “bulkhead” is the area between a ceiling and the top of wall cabinets and usually 12 inches high and extending out over the wall cabinets.
Solid Wood
A door with a solid wood center panel is comprised of boards that are joined or glued together to form the width of the center panel. Because natural woods have variations in color and grain pattern from board to board, these variations will be apparent in a solid wood door. Predictably, a solid wood door is more expensive than a veneered door. Learn more about wood characteristics.
Spatter
A technique where a color stain is applied over the door by a speckling technique, leaving small "spatters" of slightly darker color all over the cabinets.
Stile
The vertical pieces of frames, such as face frames and door frames.
Stock Cabinets
Stock cabinets, which offer fewer options than either “custom” or “semi-custom” cabinetry, are also available in a number of different sizes, shapes, wood species and finishes. Stock cabinetry provides customers a very limited number of styling options in both their framed and frameless offerings. Sales of stock cabinets are greater than those of either custom or semi-custom cabinetry in the industry.
Thermofoil
Flexible, 100 percent solid-colored vinyl. With adhesive on its underside, it is applied to smooth, engineered wood or MDF which has been formed into a door, drawer or molding design. It has solid, opaque coloration and is easy to clean and maintain. Ideal for durable areas.
Toe Kick
A term used to describe the recessed cut out area at the bottom of base, tall and vanity cabinets. It is also referred to as a toe space. Finished material attached to the cabinet toe space is referred to as "Toe Kick" or Toe Space Cover.
Traditional Overlay Styling
Overlay is the amount of front frame covered by the door and drawer. The exposed front frame is referred to as the “reveal.” The reveal on Traditional Overlay cabinets is typically 1 inch. The width of the front frame in Merillat Cabinetry is 1 1/2 inches.
Veneer
A veneer is a thin piece (1/32 of an inch) of solid wood which is attached with glue to a substrate (usually “particleboard” in raised panel doors and “hardboard” in flat or recessed panel doors). Veneered components are more uniform in finish and grain consistency. Veneered center panels in doors provide stability by minimizing its shrinking and expansion in dry and moist climates thereby eliminating cracking and splitting.
V-Groove
A vertical beaded or grooved door style design. Works well to highlight finish techniques.
Vinyl Laminate
This is a material used on the interior of all cabinetry as well as most cabinet exterior end panel surfaces. Typically 2 mils thick, it is very easy to clean. Since vinyl is thinner than melamine, it can easily wrap various cabinet components while providing the highest degree of resistance to moisture and abrasions.
Worm Hole Effect
A technique where small dents are made in oval patterns to create an aged look.
Wood Grain
Pattern and texture produced in wood.
Wood Species
Different types of hardwoods or softwoods. Examples are maple, oak, cherry and hickory.