Furnishing your home with the best cabinets can be a challenging task for any homeowner, especially when it comes to upgrading your kitchen and bathrooms. As you sift through all the cabinet options for your home, you may ask, “Are kitchen and bathroom cabinets the same?”
In many ways, it’s understandable to think of them as interchangeable. However, the cabinets in your bathroom and your kitchen cabinets have distinctive differences in their form and functions that are important to know before making the best choice for your home improvement projects.
This blog will dive into the key differences between kitchen and bathroom cabinets and how you can choose the best ones for your home.
Bathroom vs. Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are usually larger than the cabinets in your bathroom. The standard height is about 34 inches high, while bathroom cabinets are made at only 31 inches. Kitchen cabinets are sized this way to support the best elevation for cooking and meal-prepping on your countertop. Bathroom cabinets are sized to support a bathroom vanity and store smaller items, such as shampoo bottles.
Kitchen cabinets are designed to accommodate various kitchen appliances—like wide pots, pans, and air fryers—so their depth is naturally larger than a bathroom cabinet’s depth. Usually, the depth of a kitchen cabinet is 24 inches, and a bathroom cabinet can measure as deep as 21 inches.
Additionally, the materials of each cabinet are different to best serve their purposes and withstand their respective environments. Bathroom cabinets are often exposed to humid shower steam in small spaces and face the possibility of deterioration from moisture. Although your kitchen cabinets also endure heat as you cook and fry, your kitchen manages the heat well due to the wide open space, which can also help circulate and balance the incoming humidity.
With these distinct environmental factors in mind, the materials for bathroom cabinets are usually moisture-resistant to preserve the cabinets’ finish and longevity.
Can They Be Interchangeable?
Now you know whether kitchen and bathroom cabinets are the same, but you may still be wondering if you can use one for the other.
The short answer is yes, these cabinets can be interchangeable. Both types of cabinets have similar functions, have similar looks, support sinks, and can be mounted on the wall. Crossing over these cabinets can be really handy in some cases, but it can still pose many challenges for homeowners considering this route.
It may be easier to stick to keeping kitchen and bathroom cabinets mutually exclusive, considering the pros and cons of using the wrong one.
Pros and Cons of Using Cabinets Interchangeably
Kitchen Cabinets in Bathrooms
Pros
- Kitchen cabinets can be used for extra storage for your toiletries and personal items.
- The increased height of kitchen cabinets means that they may be preferable for taller people, and they can work well for custom bathroom vanities.
Cons
- As we mentioned above, the material kitchen cabinets are made of is not made for more humid environments, so they may swell or develop mildew in a bathroom.
- If you plan to install kitchen cabinets in your bathroom, you’ll need to remove any shelving to fit the sink and bathroom plumbing in the cabinet.
Bathroom Cabinets in Kitchens
Pros
- Because bathroom cabinets are made to withstand the humidity of showers and baths, they should be able to handle any steam that arises in the kitchen, whether it’s from boiling water or a hot dishwasher.
Cons
- The smaller height and depth of bathroom cabinets mean that they may not fit in standard kitchens—there may be gaps between the cabinets and the walls in a standard kitchen fitted with bathroom cabinets.
- Shelving in bathroom cabinets is made for toiletries and medicine, so your pots, pans, and larger kitchen utensils may not fit in cabinets made for bathrooms.
As you can see, there are some pros to using different style cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom, but they generally fail to outweigh the cons. It’s recommended that your cabinets match the room they’re in so that you don’t run into any difficulties.
High-Quality Cabinets at Buy Wholesale Cabinets
Whether you decide that mixing up your cabinets is right for you or choose to keep the traditional style of cabinetry for your respective rooms, it’s important to buy high-quality cabinets that fit your design needs.
Buy Wholesale Cabinets offers both bathroom and kitchen cabinets, so we’re ready to fulfill your cabinetry needs. Additionally, we don’t sacrifice quality to achieve our affordable prices. With solid wood cabinets in a timeless door style, you can feel confident that both your bathroom and kitchen are in good hands when you purchase pre-assembled or ready-to-assemble (RTA) cabinets from us.
Visit our catalog to see what we have to offer, and then head over to our website for a free quote on your cabinets!
