Kitchen cabinets are the focal point of kitchen design. The style, color, and material of your cabinets will set the tone for the entire room.

Whether you're just replacing your current cabinets or planning a complete renovation for your kitchen, you'll want to know a few things before purchasing your kitchen cabinetry.

There are three kinds of cabinets: stock, semi-custom, and custom.

Stock cabinetry is standard sized cabinets and drawers, with a certain amount of choice in style, color, materials and finishes.

Semi-custom cabinetry includes standard with custom-made cabinets. Perhaps you have an odd shaped corner or need a baking center or appliance garage.

Custom cabinetry is usually chosen for specific needs. If your kitchen is oddly shaped, or if you require specific heights and widths, or a specialized finish or materials, custom cabinets may be necessary.

The materials used in cabinetry range from cheap particleboard to laminate to solid wood. Solid wood cabinets are costly, but will last longer, hold their value, and provide the most versatility when simply redecorating your kitchen.

There are also two different kinds of cabinet frames: face frame and frameless (or European style).

Face frame cabinetry is the more common in the United States. In face frame cabinetry, you will see the framing around the doors when the doors are closed. With frameless cabinets, the doors attach to the walls of the cabinets, rather than to a frame.

Deciding which style of frame you want is strictly a matter of taste. Neither one is better than the other, but you should see both in kitchen settings before making a final decision.

There are many different styles of cabinets, ranging from stained oak to stainless steel. There are glass fronts and insets and cabinets that open from the bottom. Styles include mission and cottage and arts and crafts and everything in between. You'll see options for appliance garages and lazy susans in corner cabinets and spice drawers and pullout pantries.

How do you decide?

Style and color are often the more difficult choices to make. Building a folder of "favorites" will aid you in this. Go through magazines and check online for photos and images of different styles of cabinets. Gather the pictures of the ones you like, being sure to include a wide variety of styles, finishes, and materials.

Once you have this pile of pictures, begin eliminating what you don't really like for your kitchen. Keep in mind how many people live in the house, how often you cook, how you cook, (Do you bake? Are you a gourmet? Do you entertain a lot?) What kind of dishes and foods you need to store as well as small appliances, utensils, and kitchen gadgetry should also be major factors in your decision.

Now, you go shopping.

Take the time to shop around, and don't confine your shopping to big box retailers. Check your neighborhood newspapers for local suppliers that also sell to the public. Often, their prices are a third to half the cost of big chain retailers.

Show the sales associates the various photos you've collected, pointing out your favorites, which by this time should be around three or four. If the associate knows what she's doing, she'll be able to present several options to you.

Keep in mind that no associate can work up a price without knowing exact measurements. This means having their professionals come to your home and measure for your cabinets.

If you feel comfortable doing so, measure the space in which the cabinets will be installed. Remember, this will only get you a very, very rough estimate of cost. Unless you have successfully installed kitchen cabinets before, it's best left to those who do it for living.

The cost of kitchen cabinets is figured by the linear foot. When you shop for your cabinets, ask the sales associate about the cost of the cabinets separate from the installation. The installation is likely to be a more fixed cost; if you need to adjust your budget you can do so in your choice of cabinetry.

But don't go cheap. Buy the best cabinets you can afford. Cabinets take a lot of abuse and cheap cabinets will need to be replaced within a short time compared to higher quality cabinets.

The cabinets you choose should have long-term appeal, be compatible with your lifestyle, and be of the best quality you can afford. And once you've decided on the color, style, and finish of your cabinets, you get to choose the hardware.