#modern cabinetry

[daenillinden]

I’m a cabinetry engineer, and even I didn’t expect that to be a real thing when I started my career.

There’s some mystique about engineering as a career - people hear the title “Engineer”, and think that their everyday job involves calculus, and putting onto paper things which shape the landscape, travel through air or water, or make electronics do things that was once only science fiction. Sure, there’s engineers for all of that and more, but when someone thinks about cabinetry, they also usually think of a trade that older men do as a hobby, or the melamine boxes you can buy from a home improvement store that seem like ordinary fixtures to put in a kitchen or garage. The idea that such things could be coupled with a title of “engineer” might seem like self-inflating a job for ego’s sake.

Yet, that’s really not the case, in spite of what imposter syndrome might tell me, or my colleagues. Every week, often every day, I’m solving unique problems for my company’s clients, applying trigonometry to the geometry within the methods of production, and then getting into various levels of genuine coding to prepare for CNC production. I have to take into consideration the available materials that can be used, and how environmental factors might change them over time, coupled with constant conversions between metric and imperial (feet, inches) measurement systems as both are used for different details of the same part, multiple times within the same cabinet. Often, I’m the enforcer of laws pertaining to the cabinetry; holding designs to accessibility standards for disabled people, or ease of cleaning for medical applications, a service which goes unmentioned and taken for granted until an architect has a conflict of design intent or material compatibility. Finally, I have to put all those considerations together, and ensure that the materials are accounted for, ordered, and possible to manufacture with the tools in the production shop my company runs. If all that isn’t legitimate modern engineering, then someone should find me a different definition, and I’ll take it up with the publisher of that particular dictionary.

Perhaps, reader, if you feel you’ve been given too big a job title for the shoes you’re filling, or haven’t quite reached success in your career, consider that imposter syndrome is underselling you to yourself. This goes for pretty much everything - even (especially) things that might not have direct financial benefits.

[deerynoise]

Home Bar New York Large u-shaped medium tone wood floor sitting home bar image with flat-panel cabinets, onyx countertops, yellow backsplash, stone slab backsplash, and medium tone wood floor.

[jinmark]

Family Room - Modern Family Room Inspiration for a large, open-concept family room remodel with gray walls, a wall-mounted tv, and no fireplace in a modern style.

[keshascult]

Master Bath Bathroom New York

Example of a large, traditional master bathroom with white tile, marble, and mosaic tile flooring, white countertops, beaded inset cabinets, an undermount tub, an undermount sink, quartzite countertops, and a hinged shower door.

[nicolecupcake]

Home Bar - Contemporary Home Bar Wet bar - mid-sized contemporary galley gray floor and limestone floor wet bar idea with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets and zinc countertops

[fybethditto]

Home Office in Chicago Mid-sized modern freestanding desk in a home office library with a light wood floor, white walls, and no fireplace.

[saisa-sound]

Underground - Basement

Ideas for a sizable, eclectic basement remodel with gray walls, a stone fireplace, a standard fireplace, and medium-tone wood floors

[rachelcharlenel]

Home Bar - Contemporary Home Bar Wet bar - mid-sized contemporary galley gray floor and limestone floor wet bar idea with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets and zinc countertops

[bishopillustration]

Kitchen Denver With an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium-tone wood cabinets, terrazzo countertops, gray backsplash, stone slab backsplash, paneled appliances, an island, and gray countertops, this contemporary open concept kitchen is large and l-shaped.

[heartfeltsylvia]

Home Bar - Home Bar Large u-shaped medium tone wood floor seated home bar photo with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, onyx countertops, yellow backsplash, stone slab backsplash and yellow countertops

[caseqin]

San Francisco Contemporary Home Office An illustration of a modern study room with a large built-in desk, a light wood floor, and white walls.

[shesarmed]

Basement - Modern Basement A large minimalist underground basement with a gray floor and walls is an example.

[miarren-chill-klaine]

Loft-Style in Chicago

[yessir38]

Home Office - Modern Home Office

[casekiell]

Home Office in Santa Barbara

[dustinyellin]

Home Bar - Transitional Home Bar