Glossary of Common Cabinet Terms - Buy Cabinets Today

Ball Bearing Glides - side mount full extension soft closing glide system on almost every cabinet line. Madison lines upgradeable. 100lb guarantee.
Base Cabinet - a cabinet that sits on the floor.
Bead Board - wood paneling that contains vertical parallel grooves to give the cabinet added style and texture.
Beaded Door - the bead styling usually found on a recessed panel door.
Butt Doors - all doors are 6-way fully adjustable to fit your preferences. No center dividers on cabinets, allowing you full access and usability of the cabinet. Only our 39” and 42” wide cabinets have center dividers.
Cam Locks - a barrel-shaped locking mechanism used to secure cabinet panels. Generally used on low-end RTA cabinetry.
Carcass - a term used to describe the box portion of the cabinet.
Center Stile - a vertical piece of wood featured in the center of a cabinet face frame. We only use center stiles on our 39” and 42” wide cabinetry, allowing full access for the majority of our cabinets.
Concealed Hinge - also known as a European style hinge, the concealed hinge is not discernable from the front of the cabinets. All of LAC’s cabinet hinges are European style, while almost every cabinet line features standard soft closing hinges. Madison lines upgradeable.
Dado - a square cut groove used to connect two cabinet pieces. Ex: We use this type of cut on our Madison series face frames to accept the all plywood side panels.
DoveTail - a cut made in a sequence of angles, providing a “dove tail” appearance. These joints are known for their superior lasting quality and tensile strength. Lily Ann has a patent pending dovetail assembly method used on most of our cabinets. We utilize this assembly on the entire cabinet, not just the drawers.
Drawer Face - the front panel of the drawer. Sometimes matches the door profile or comes in a slab look.
Engineered Wood - this is not natural wood. It is enhanced for improved structural purposes. Because engineered wood is oftentimes created from leftovers of other types wood, it is considered an environmentally friendly product. MDF and HDF are examples of engineered wood.
Epoxy Coated Glides - a quick dry style of off white protective covering that’s cooked onto the metal glides during the production process. Generally non soft closing, we use epoxy style glides on our Madison series. Soft close upgrade available.
Exposed Hinge - this style of hinge is visible from the front of the cabinet. Lily Ann does not feature any exposed hinges.
Face Frame - wooden framework that is visible after the completion of assembly. It connects to the side panels and top and bottom of the cabinet box. Lily Ann uses solid wood frames and all plywood cabinet boxes.
Finish - the finish is the final layer applied to the cabinet. It locks in the color as well as provides protection to the surface.
Framed Cabinet - a general cabinet design showing a wood frame that connects to the cabinet box. Lily Ann uses all wood, birch or maple, in each of cabinet frames. This is the sturdiest and most common cabinet design.
Frameless - a modernized cabinet design that does not use a frame on the edges of the cabinet box. The frame is formed by the exposed edges of the cabinet box. Lily Ann does not feature any frameless cabinetry.
Full Inset - doors and drawers that fit inside the face frame opening. Doors and drawers will sit flush with the front edge of the face frame.
Full Extension Glides - sliding hardware for the drawers that allow full-access to the drawer. All of Lily Ann’s full extension glides are soft closing.
Overlay - this references the amount of face frame that is covered up by the cabinet doors and drawers. Lily Ann utilizes a full overlay style for high-end quality.
Full Overlay - a general cabinet design where the door and drawers cover nearly the entire cabinet frame. All Lily Ann cabinets are full overlay.
Half Overlay/Partial Overlay - a general cabinet design where the cabinet doors and drawers only partially cover the face frame. Lily Ann does not feature any partial overlay cabinetry, this is generally used on lower-end RTA cabinetry.
Glaze - comes in a variety of colors and types, this is the accent line on some cabinetry. Glazes are designed to enhance the wood’s natural beauty. It is a detailed coat that provides a unique appearance.
Inset - rather than overlying the face frame, these doors nestle inside of the face frame when closed. Lily Ann does not offer any inset designed cabinetry.
Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) - an engineered wood-based product produced by compression of small wood fibers and adhesive. Lily Ann utilizes high density fiberboard (HDF) in our painted cabinetry - HDF is similar but much harder and denser than particle board or MDF. HDF provides the cabinet with more structural integrity by reducing the occurrences of shrinkage and expansion that occurs in natural wood.
Melamine - a plastic coating, similar to laminate, that can be applied to certain spots of the cabinet. Lily Ann does not offer any cabinets with melamine, it is generally used in lower-end RTA cabinetry.
Miter - a wooden joint where two angled cut pieces joint to create a 90 degree angle. This is a very strong a durable joint used in higher end cabinetry. Lily Ann offers miter joints on almost all of our cabinetry.
Mortise and Tenon - a term used to describe the joining of two wooden parts by one piece being inserted into another, usually by a notch or hole. We utilize this stable construction on our Madison series and Key Largo White.
Mullion Doors - cabinet doors with a grid like pattern with a glass center panel. Please note glass may not be included. Please check with sales rep.
Particle Board - a wood based product made of small wooden fragments mechanically fused together. Generally used in lower-end RTA cabinets. Lily Ann does not use any particle board in our cabinetry.
Plywood - an all wood product developed with multiple layers of wood with the grain running in opposite directions in each layer. This gives plywood a stronger and more stable foundation than just regular solid wood. Lily Ann uses this superior style of cabinet construction in all of our lines, also providing a moisture and stain resistant finish.
Rail - a term used to describe the horizontal pieces of a door or face frame. Lily Ann uses 1 ½” solid wood, birch or maple, for the face frames of our cabinets.
Raised Panel - a term describing the raised center panel of a door/drawer. Providing a more traditional look, Lily Ann utilizes this look on our Charleston and Bristol series, Key Largo White, Tahoe White and our Madison series.
Recessed Panel - a term describing a flat, inset center panel. Providing a more modern appeal, Lily Ann utilizes this look on our Shaker and York series.
Regular Overlay - doors and drawers cover only a portion of the overall frame.
Reveal - this describes the visible portion of frame between the the door and the edge of the cabinet frame. Lily Ann utilizes full overlay to give you minimal reveal on the face of the cabinet.
Self Closing Drawers - generally utilizing the use of magnets or mechanisms, this operating system guides the drawer closed.
Semi-Custom Cabinets - this is a factory made product. In terms of price and variety, semi-custom cabinets are only one step below custom cabinets. They are a very affordable option and still have the ability to make your dream kitchen come to life.
Sidemount Glides - hardware for the drawer box that attach to the sides of the drawer.
Slab Front - generally used on lower-end cabinetry, the slab front features no distinguishing features. Such as no molding or no panel (raised or recessed). Lily Ann utilizes a 5-piece drawer front that is more commonly used on high-end cabinetry.
Soffit - an area above the top of the cabinets that generally sticks out over the cabinets. Many times this is converted into a shelf for added storage and needs to be worked around when designing your kitchen.
Soft Close Drawers - a type of drawer glide mechanism that uses a piston system to accommodate varying levels of weight and pressure. These glides absorb the force used to close the drawer and allow it to safely and slowly close shut. Lily Ann uses these 75lb weight drawer glides on the majority of our cabinetry, with the exception of the upgradeable Madison series.
Solid Wood - ordinary lumber milled and sanded to provide the best quality material used for cabinets. Provides the most structurally sound cabinet.
Species of Wood - refers to the many types of wood options you have. Species are differentiated by wood grain, density, color and more.
Stile - a term used to describe the vertical pieces of a door or face frame. Lily Ann uses 1 ½” solid wood, birch or maple, for the face frames of our cabinets.
Substrate - a term describing any type of surface something is applied to, in this case it refers to the material that a veneer is applied to.
Thermofoil - this is another cabinet material made from heat fusing thin layers of PVC to a substrate. Thermofoil is easy to clean, durable and smoother than paint.
Toe Kick - the bottom piece of the base cabinet that is notched back to allow for foot room under the cabinet.
Undermount Glides - a term describing drawer hardware that mounts underneath the drawer box for extra support of the drawer. Lily Ann uses this on all of our cabinetry, with the exception of the upgradeable Madison series.
Veneer - slim layers of wood that are applied to the plywood or HDF before it’s stained or treated. Generally used on the exposed sides of cabinets and the interiors of cabinet boxes. Lily Ann utilizes a UV cured finish on all of our lines, painted and stained. Every cabinet we offer has a finished exterior and natural finished interiors. Since the wood’s main purpose in a veneer is not to provide the overall support of the cabinet but rather gives us an opportunity to choose from the highest quality cuts of wood to provide a aesthetics pleasing look.
Wall Cabinets - cabinets that are mounted to the wall.
Wood Grain - the pattern in the wood. This will differ depending on the wood species.