Melamine has historically been sold as both a durable, built-in cabinet liner for Chicago custom cabinets– as well as an affordable, low-maintenance cabinet finish. These days, melamine is enjoying an updated and stylish renaissance, and we’re seeing it more and more in contemporary, high-end Chicago kitchen designs.

What is melamine?

In a nutshell, melamine is a layer of resin-saturated paper, bonded to the wood cabinet surface using a high-heat application technique. This combination bonding with wood fibers, along with a resin adhesive, makes melamine extremely durable.

Soon, clever cabinet makers realized melamine also made a super-durable cabinet finish – markedly more durable than paint and easily cleaned. In its early years, it was sold as an affordable alternative to painted cabinets, most attractive to Chicago homeowners with lower-kitchen remodeling budgets and those with small children and pets – since the cabinets could take a bit of a beating and were a cinch to clean.

But who doesn’t want a low-maintenance cabinet finish? Particularly one that comes in a stunning array of colors? Thus, melamine is now a popular alternative for high-end kitchen remodels, too.

Custom cabinet boxes + melamine = luxurious, low-maintenance cabinets

Today, more and more high-end kitchens are built using custom cabinets – designed specifically for your kitchen layout and needs – finished with melamine.

It's typically used on flat panel doors

The majority of the melamine cabinets we have built are used for flat or slab door styles. You can tell the difference between melamine and paint, visually speaking, flat panel doors look the best with a melamine finish.

However, you can select a melamine finish for any cabinet door style you like – and that includes melamine finishes that look just like wood.

Smooth or textured? High Gloss or Matte?

Another bonus of melamine? It’s available in a range of styles, including smooth or textured; high gloss, glossy or matte. This allows you to add another dimension of style to your kitchen, bringing these elements to the forefront, or the background, depending on how you finish your walls and fixtures.

What color would you like?

…because you can get just about any color you want.

Melamine is available in almost any color you see on a typical book of paint chips. From basic whites and neutrals to splashy oranges, yellows and greens - you can be as demure - or as bold - as you want to be. And don’t forget, there’s no need to stick to one color. In fact, the majority of Chicago kitchen designs incorporate two or more cabinet colors or finishes, alternating between perimeter cabinets and the island, or upper-cabinets and lowers.

Can you say, “easy maintenance?”

Maintenance is about as easy as it gets with melamine. For most stains, smudges and prints, you need a soft cloth and some warm water. Tougher stains can be removed with an all-purpose cleaner and a little more elbow grease – just avoid using abrasive cleaners and cleaning tools. This is welcome news for busy homeowners (work, kids, pets, etc.) who don’t have time to worry about accidentally removing wood finish or damaging paint. Dusting them regularly helps to keep kitchen grime from sticking, but isn’t necessary.

Come by – or schedule a consultation at – the Kitchens & Baths Unlimited showroom. We have plenty of pictures from our gallery of recent Chicago kitchen designs with melamine cabinets. You can see melamine cabinet appeal for yourself, and decide whether they’re right for you.