Kitchen Buying Guides

Kitchen Cabinets Buying Guide

Providing valuable insight on what units are available, including handleless, flat-pack and ready-made options, this kitchen cabinets buying guide can help you decide what cupboards are right for your home. From making the most of available space, achieving accessible storage, to ensuring you have selected the right carcasses for your chosen aesthetic, this guide to kitchen units is the best place to start when embarking on a new kitchen update and will explain the benefits of choosing each type.

What are the different types of kitchen cabinets?

Handleless

Handleless cupboards come pre-notched to make it quick and simple to transform slab or shaker design into a handle-free style. A variety of sizes and colours are available to help you create a custom look in your space – all of which can accommodate a metal trim that can be used to create a linear design scheme.

Read our Handleless Kitchen Cabinets Buying Guide

Ready-assembled

Our ready-made cupboards come pre-assembled and pre-fitted with accessories to make light work of fitting. This cabinetry offers the widest selection of colours and sizes making it easy to create a bespoke design that fits your space and layout. Curved units are also available to create a soft, flowing look in a space.

Read our Ready Assembled Kitchen Cabinets Buying Guide

Flat-pack

Constructed from the same robust materials as our ready-made options, our selection of high-quality, flat-pack cupboards offer a cost-effective alternative and come in separate parts that can be made up on the job. These units are a practical choice for compact spaces or where a property is hard to access.

Read our Flat Pack Kitchen Cabinets Buying Guide

What are the benefits of kitchen cabinets from Howdens?

Which? Best Buy

In April 2021, our rigid cabinets were awarded a Which? Best Buy. Which? said that the cabinets are solidly built, with an excellent rating given for the strength of the drawers and hinges. Of the customers surveyed, they found that Howdens customers were least likely to have problems after their units were installed.

Made in the UK

Every cabinet we make is made using quality materials that are sourced from sustainably-managed forests in the UK. We also manufacture them at factories in Runcorn, Cheshire and Howden, East Yorkshire – reducing our carbon footprint.

Understand why Howdens

25-year cabinet guarantee

All of our cabinetry is made from high-quality materials and stress-tested rigorously by a dedicated facility to ensure they are built to last. As a result, we offer a 25-year guarantee on all of our cupboards, to give total peace of mind.

See guarantees and accreditations

Antibacterial properties

All our units have been treated with antibacterial surface protection on shelves, side and back panels. This prevents bacteria from surviving and multiplying, reducing the levels of bacteria over a 24-hour period, all without compromising on colour or performance.

Things to consider when planning kitchen cabinets

Open-plan white gloss kitchen idea with a linear design. Has white worktops and silver decorative trims for a modern feel.

Range compatibility

All of our cupboards can be used with any door style, colour and finish. With more than 100 designs to choose from, it is easy to tailor cabinetry to meet different budgets, layouts, and interior designs for a completely bespoke fit.

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Cupboard colours

There are different colours available to achieve a cohesive look - inside and out. White can be selected for all cupboard options, while natural oak and new dark-grey shade are available with ready-assembled and handleless units only.

Configurations

Both our flat-pack and handleless cupboards come with a selected range of layouts, such as wall, base and corner units. For a fully customised approach, choose our pre-assembled furniture, which offers more than 200 options.

Howdens Trends 2020 Oak Trim Accent 8 RT

Size varieties

Our cupboards come in a range of widths, depths, and heights to create a custom layout. Our handleless and flat-pack options offer the most popular sizes, meanwhile, our pre-made cabinetry offers more options for a unique fit.

Features to look out for

Howdens Chilcombe Navy Cutlery Drawer 1 layers

Drawer upgrades

Extend the functionality of your drawers by opting for our upgrade versions, which are fully extendable. As well as maximising storage, they make those hard-to-reach items at the back quick and easy to access.

Explore drawer storage

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Soft-close options

Most of our ready-assembled units come with soft-close fixtures, making them smoother to use and noise-reducing - a great addition in open-plan rooms. They are also supplied as standard on upgrade drawers.

See soft-close cabinet hinges

Hinge openings

Hinges play a huge part in making items simpler to reach. Our wall and base units all come with 110-degree hinges, and there is also a wider 170-degree option available, which offers easier access - good for multi-generational homes.

Space for supply

With a 72mm gap in all our units, there is plenty of space to house plumbing, gas, and electric supplies. This also means installation is easier – especially when there are uneven walls or within awkward spaces.