Cookies on the Kitchen Compare website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Kitchen Compare website.

Here's a glossary of the terms regularly used by kitchen retailers, designers and installers. You may be familiar with many of these, however, this is intended to give you a useful overview for when you're ready to start speaking to your kitchen showroom consultant.

Back PanelThe physical board at the back face of a carcase or cabinet unit. Can be as thin as 2.5mm plywood and as thick as 12mm hardboard.
Base end decor panelA decorative panel to replace one side of a carcase unit that co-ordinates with the colour style of kitchen finish.
Built under oven housing unitA carcase unit that sits under the worktop & houses an integrated single oven unit.
Buy Now Pay Later FinanceAlso known as a deferred interest agreement, this tends to be the plan that causes the most confusion. With this type of plan, you tend not to start making payments for a set period, for example 12 months. Look for phrases such as “take a 12-month payment holiday” or “Buy now, pay 2018".
Carcase or CabinetThe physical structure of the base & wall units excluding the door & drawer fascia, normally constructed from 15mm, 16mm or 18mm melamine faced particle board.
Corner FillerA decorative in-fill cut from an off-cut base, wall decor panel or continuous plinth to 'fill' a gap created from the wall to a wall unit which is located above a corner base unit.
Corner PostAn angled trim used as an infill between a corner base unit & the base carcase that is butted up against it. The corner post allows room enough for the doors to open & function freely.
Continous PlinthA decorative & co-ordinating length of plinth which is used to hide the legs of the base carcase units.
CorniceA decorative trim which can be applied to the top of a wall unit for additional decorative feature.
Drawer Line Base UnitWhere a door and drawer front are located on the front of the carcase.
Drawer Line Corner Base UnitA carcase unit that maximises spatial use of the corner.
Engineered WoodA term used to describe doors that are manufactured from a combination of materials rather than made from natural solid wood. As engineered wood is less expensive than solid wood, it is widely used.
Fascia/Drawer FrontThe decorative door & drawer front located on the front of the kitchen cabinet.
Flat Pack CabinetCabinets that are supplied flat packed and ready for self assembly in your kitchen
Galley KitchenNamed after the design of kitchens on a ship, a galley kitchen is designed to be compact and ultra-efficient, making the most of the space available for both food preparation and storage.
Interest Bearing Finance DealA fixed-rate interest loan is a standard loan offered by a retailer over a set period such as 3 to 5 years with the interest fixed for the duration.
Interest Free FinanceAn ‘interest free agreement’ is exactly that, an agreement where you don’t pay any interest at all, the value of the balance borrowed is divided by the number of payments or period in question, such as 6, 12, 24, 36 or even sometimes 48 months, similar to a mobile phone contract.
L-Shaped KitchenA common kitchen layout in many homes is the L-shaped kitchen, consisting of two adjoining runs of units, often referred to as the legs of the L. These can range in length on either side according to the space you have available, and are suitable for both large and small rooms.
Laminate WorktopMade by fusing multiple layers of impregnated paper under high pressure and temperature and bonded to a substrate. They are resistant to impact, scratching and moisture, they are non-porous, offer easy maintenance and come in lots of design and colour choices. .
Light PelmetA decorative trim which can be applied to the bottom of a wall unit for additional decorative feature.
Medium Density FibreboardThis material is very similar to particle board but is made out of wood fibres. One of the benefits of MDF is that it can be routed and cut, similar to solid wood, with better results than particle board which is less dense and tends to chip allowing MDF to be formed with a smooth finish to resemble raised-panel doors.
Model KitchenThe comparisons we make and the prices we show on Kitchen-compare.com are based on three model kitchens: a 'Galley', an 'L-shape' and a 'U-shape' design. The model kitchens include cabinets with soft close hinges, a 38mm laminate worktop, cabinet handles, decorative end panels, pelmets, plinths and cornice. We don't include sinks, taps or appliances as they are very much down to personal choice and the prices of these can vary significantly across the retailers.
Particle BoardParticle board is made out of wood chips that are connected together with glue and then pressed together to form one big wooden sheet. Particle board is less robust than solid or plywood.
PlywoodPlywood is made out of thin panels of wood which are then glued together to form a piece of wood board, it's strong, reliable and should last many years.
Soft CloseThe buffer mechanism either built into the hinges fastened onto the door & drawer fascia or a supplementary buffer mechanism which is installed to the carcase in addition to standard hinges. Soft close refers to creating a softer close of the door & drawer fascia against the carcase & prevents banging.
Solid Surface WorktopSolid surface worktops offer a smooth, satin looking, durable surface in a huge range of great colours. They are man-made, generally constructed from a mix of minerals and a resin and the seams are almost invisible so they are perfect for L and U shaped kitchens.
SplashbackKitchen splashbacks protect your walls from stains when cooking and can add either a subtle accent of colour to your kitchen walls or create a fantastic feature. There are a wide range of fantastic colours and even designer ranges available, including ranges from Ted Baker and Laura Ashley.
U-Shaped KitchenA u-shaped kitchen is a kitchen design that features three walls that are lined with cabinets and appliances. It's an efficient design that frees up floor space and maximizes the available space by using the walls for cabinets and appliances.
Wall End Decor PanelA decorative panel to replace one side of a carcase unit that co-ordinates with colour style of kitchen finish.
Wall unitA carcase unit that is wall mounted.
Worktop Edging StripA decorative strip applied to cut-ends of a worktop.