Glossary

Applique

A decorative wood carving.

Base Cabinet

A cabinet that sits on the floor that is designed to be covered with a countertop.  Can have any combination of drawers, doors, shelves, or other storage options.

Blind Corner

A cabinet with a face designed for another cabinet to cover the blind section.  This allows all the space in the corner to be used.

Concealed Hinge

A hinge not visible when the cabinet doors are closed.

Corbel

A decorative support for a counter top or shelf. 

Corner Cabinet

A cabinet for use in a corner of a room.

Crown Molding

A decorative molding that is attached to the top of cabinets. 

Custom Cabinet

Cabinet lines with the most available options including combinations of finish, style, and other features not found in semi-custom or RTA cabinets.

Dovetail

A method of corner joining that creates strong joints using a “dove tail” shaped tab and hole.

Drawer Box

The drawer box is the structure of the drawer not including the drawer front.

Drawer Front

The decorative front face of a drawer.

Engineed Wood

A wood product where pieces of woods such as fibers, strands, or chips are bound together to create an engineered wood.

Exposed Hinge

A hinge that is visible when the cabinet door is closed.

Filler

A piece of material to match the cabinet style to fill gaps in cases where cabinets are not the perfect width to match the required dimensions.

Finish

The paint or stain that a cabinet is finished with after it is constructed.

Frameless Cabinet

Also known as European style cabinets, these cabinets do not have a front frame or stile.  This creates a more open look and allows easier access.

Glaze

A decorative finish that either accentuates the edges of a cabinet or creates an antique look.

Grain

The wood texture specific to the species of wood used to construct a cabinet.

Knob

A handle to open a cabinet door that is clasped around to grab.  Usually attaches to the cabinet using one hole.

Island

A section of cabinets and countertop not attached to the rest of the layout and is floating in the middle of the room.

Laminate

A material created using layers.  Usually a veneer attached to a structural layer.

Lazy Susan

A cabinet featuring shelves on a rotating base.  Generally used in a corner base.

MDF

Medium density fiberboard.  A more dense than plywood engineered wood product.  Chosen for it’s strength over particle board.

Mounting Rail

The strip of material inside cabinets used to screw the cabinet into position.

Mullion Door

A cabinet door with glass to allow the contents to be seen.

Pensinsula

Cabinets with no walls behind then similar to an island, but a Peninsula is connected to the rest of the cabinet layout.  Usually in an L shape acting as a room divider.

Pull

A cabinet door or drawer handle that is design to be reached through.  Usually attaches to the cabinet using two holes.

Racking

The loss of shape of a cabinet (twisting/warping) due to improper installation and/or handling.

Raised Panel

This door and drawer style has a raised center section that is commonly surrounded by decorative details.

Recessed Panel

A door / drawer design that has thicker material surrounding a recessed center section that is flat.

Semi-custom Cabinet

A cabinet line that has more choices than the basic RTA cabinets, but at a price point lower than custom cabinet.

Shaker

A cabinet style featuring 4 pieces of wood surrounding a squarely recessed center panel.  Creates a very clean and simple look.

Shims

Small wedges of wood to help level cabinets during installation.

Stain

A wood finish used to color but maintain the wood’s natural grain.

Stiles

The vertical pieces of a cabinet’s front structure.

Style

The combination of finish and construction that create the look and feel of a cabinet.

Toe Space

The recessed space under the front of a base cabinet.

Valance

A decorative piece that generally hangs below wall cabinets.

Veneer

A thin layer of usually wood for decoration that is glued to another surface that creates the cabinet structure.

Wall Cabinet

A cabinet designed to be attached and hung on a wall.  Wall cabinets are also used in other places where a 12″ or 24″ deep cabinet is required.