What’s the difference between Melamine, Thermafoil and Real Wood Cabinetry?
When you’re building a new home, you’re faced with many major interior design decisions–including cabinet material, colour, finish, and style! We’re here to ease that decision making process for you! Let's talk about the differences between cabinet materials to find out which is right for you.
Thermafoil and melamine cabinetry are our designers’ go-to, to meet your aesthetic vision and to stay within your budget. Let’s talk different cabinet materials and what’s best for you. So, what is the difference between melamine and thermafoil cabinetry? And, why is it more popular than real wood cabinets today?
Thermafoil Cabinets
Thermafoil is the most cost-effective solution to cabinetry. The core of thermafoil cabinets is an MDF (medium density fibre) board. The finish is a thin layer of vinyl that’s vacuum wrapped to the panel board. This vinyl finish comes in a wide range of colours, patterns–allowing you to achieve that real wood look without the cost. The vacuum wrapped vinyl can be applied to several different kinds of cabinet panel styles, such as a shaker or flat European styled cabinet face. When we’re talking function and maintenance, thermafoil cabinets are extremely durable, and totally water safe. Making it an ideal option for bathrooms, in addition to kitchen cabinetry.
Melamine Cabinets
You can think of melamine cabinetry as a middleman between thermafoil and real wood. It’s a thermally fused laminated material. The core is the same as our thermafoil product, an MDF (medium density fibre) board finished with a mixture of wood particle, paper and resin to imitate a wood-like look and texture. Additional to imitating natural wood species, melamine cabinetry offers a vast range of colours and patterns including acrylic matte and high gloss finishes. Melamine is super durable, wipeable and low maintenance!
To summarize, these innovative lookalike wood cabinetry options are ideal for busy on the go families (especially with little ones). They’re ultra-durable, customizable, and cost effective without compromising beauty.
Real Wood Cabinets
Last, but not least! Luxurious, real wood cabinets! Our solid wood cabinets are FSC Certified and distinctly beautiful. The natural wood has it’s pros and cons, like everything does. The material is easier to refinish and touch up, however it's also softer and easily damaged if you're not careful! It's typically a more expensive product. And, higher maintenance when it comes to cleaning too! Unlike melamine and thermafoil, you can't just wipe your custom wood cabinet down with any surface cleaner. Exposure to moisture, humidity and extreme temperatures is also something to be cautious of, as the nature of the natural product expands and contracts.
We offer a wide range of wood species including maple, oak, cherry, hickory, and walnut cabinets. You can choose to leave the wood grain and natural colour exposed with a clear coat finish or choose a custom paint or stain! A stained cabinet leaves the natural wood grain of the wood species exposed, while a pained cabinet is totally opaque. All of our wood cabinets are custom, and hand painted with water-based paint minimizing VOCs to ensure premium indoor air quality.
Which cabinet material, colour and finish will you choose?!