Good to see this thread up, I am just in the process of finishing my kitchen.
So far, I have used oak faced MDF for the bases, finished with Rustins, that painted sides, with dulux diamond. It's holding up well, apart from a mark under the sink from a fabric softener bottle. Even the pots and pans cabinet has held up well too, so am pleased as the first I have done.
I am now finishing, but making a wall cabinet to go over a doorway and above a fridge. I have used BB ply, and is a faff to paint but slowly coming together. Some tips I have found, passed on by all of you guys at some point over the years:
- Look for european ply, more expensive, but better.
- Avoid far eastern ply if you can, it will have voids in the layers, and won't take screws well, worse than B&Q stuff even
- Finish the boards before you make the cabinet, then, if you have something like a festool and you're careful, you will only need to do a final layer.
- Buy the boards in person if you can, is annoying when they look like a banana board
What do people think of some kind of inlay in the inside of the cabinets? I would like to do a backlit cabinet in the next house, with glass shelves and a glass base. That could have painted side/wood/mfc but then the glass shelves would take pans etc without anything than a wipe over.
I guess the issue could be condensation on the glass, as if the house is cold, and you start cooking, then moisture will condense on it? Thoughts?
I think it would look pretty cool if you opened a cabinet and it was backlit and looked good. I'm putting in down lights in the display cabinets I am making right now to take a teaset and some silverware.