Designer Keita Turner shares her tips for selecting the perfect kitchen cabinetry In any kitchen, the cabinetry is the most prominent and defining feature of the room, so choosing the right style is the key to a successful kitchen design. Finding a style that fits your needs, desires, and aesthetic preferences is not an easy task.
Do you need space to store a complete dinner set for 24, but need to stick to a tight budget" Do you want to display your grandmother?s cookbooks, but can?t stand the look of exposed shelves" Do you prefer the minimalist look of slab cabinets, or would you rather have a more traditional shaker-style"
To breakdown the basics, we turned to New York City-based interior designer Keita Turner. Here, she offers advice on everything from determining which type of cabinet construction is right for you to how to maximize storage and make open shelving look good.
Cabinet types
Start with the basics. First, determine if your kitchen will include all or some of the four basic types of cabinets: base (under the counter), wall-mounted, tall (often standalone, can be used as a pantry), and specialty units like corner cabinets, hutches, or bottle racks.
You?ll also need to choose a cabinet quality grade. Budget will be a determining factor here. There are four cabinet grades available, based on construction quality:

Ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets are found at big box retailers like Ikea. RTA cabinets can save you money, but they will b...