Which kitchen cabinet accessories offer the best value and function? With so many options, it can be tough to choose.
Pierre Dromaguet from Potvin Construction, a local, award-winning family business specializing in the design, construction and installation of custom cabinetry, brings you up to speed on three essential accessories.
The following transcription is the first of a three-part video series with Potvin Construction on buying cabinetry. The other two are titled Insider insights: Timeless kitchen cabinetry features and trends and Insider insights: Questions for cabinet suppliers. All articles have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: What are three accessories a homeowner should consider when buying kitchen cabinetry?
A: When we’re talking about accessories, I think we need to know that the sky’s the limit. It’s very easy to spend money on accessories, but what are the best bang for the buck?
The first one would be based on the fact that, in my opinion you should never have to bend over to pick up anything that is underneath the countertop. So, any cabinets below the countertops should be in form of a pull-out. That may be your basic drawer, or one for pots and pans or for tall bottles and spices.
That would be my number one accessory.
Number two would be a waste and recycling management system, which could also be a pull-out. These are very popular now and we try to include them with every custom kitchen that we do. You may have one bin, you may have two, you may have three, depending on how the people operate in the kitchen, with one for compost.
To me, that will be money well spent in your design.
The third item, which is to me very important when designing a kitchen, is an accessory but also mainly part of the design. It would be the lighting on the countertop. Any surface that you’re working at should have direct lighting. We would call this undercabinet lighting.
What that gives you is an area to work on because typically when you’re in a kitchen you have often lighting coming from behind you, so you’re always working in a shadow. That’s not applicable to every room or every kitchen, but it’s often the case.
That would be my number three accessory.
