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You might occasionally read our website or skim our blog and wonder, “Why are they so into cabinets? How great can a plain old cabinet possibly be?” That’s understandable. Cabinets aren’t necessarily the most exciting things in the world. But at Shield, we want to make them as functional and exciting as possible, which is why we created the Curve. Read on to learn more about the curve and how it improves upon any cabinet you’ve seen before. The Curve is not just a cabinet; it’s our philosophy.

Features of a regular cabinet

Typical cabinets are constructed of particleboard, plywood or MDF wood and covered in plastic laminate. While each of these materials has its advantages, each also has many disadvantages.

Particleboard, plywood and MDF wood all are only durable to a certain extent. While stronger than plastic laminate, wood products tend to have a much shorter average lifetime than products such as granite, marble and solid surface. Wood products are neither seamless nor nonporous, making them more susceptible to water damage, bacteria and deterioration.

Moreover, connecting to wood and creating a lasting connection is difficult. Once you cut into wood, you’ve broken the initial material connection, resulting in a less durable product. Thus, when you connect to wood with a screw—for instance, when you connect hardware or doors—the connection is not strong. Eventually, the screws will loosen and fall out, and repairs will be necessary.

Furthermore, the plastic laminate covering typical of cabinets has a very short lifetime. Plastic laminate is highly susceptible to water damage, and if scratched or damaged, it’s very difficult to repair and usually requires a completely new installation.

Therefore, typical cabinets are not built to last, and those cabinets that are then used in high-traffic areas such as hospitals, veterinary clinics, restaurants, retail facilities and more are likely to fall apart rapidly.

The Curve is not just a cabinet

As you have seen, regular cabinets aren’t built to last. That’s where Shield comes in. We reinvented the cabinet by creating a one-hundred percent solid surface cabinet with radius corners, embedded metal inserts and strong material connections.

The Curve, our most durable product in our casework line, exponentially improves upon typical cabinets.

Constructed entirely of solid surface, the Curve is manufactured using our signature process which maintains the initial material connection. Moreover, solid surface is one of the most durable building materials available for the price, and Shield’s products are guaranteed to last for life.

One of the most impressive and functional aspects of the Curve, the patented radius corners make the cabinet easy to clean and highly sanitary, further increasing the lifetime of the cabinet. Typical corners are 90 degrees, so there’s always a small sliver of material that accumulates dust, germs and other bacteria. Because the corners and seams are so tight, though, cleaning the grime from the cabinet is difficult, and maintaining a completely sanitary cabinet is near impossible. With the Curve’s radius corners, though, cleaning is as easy as quickly wiping out the cabinet. There are no tight seams or corners in the Curve, making this cabinet one of the most cleanable cabinets around.

Moreover, solid surface is completely nonporous, meaning water, chemicals and bacteria can’t penetrate the surface. Therefore, the Curve is completely water- and bacteria-resistant, further increasing both the cleanliness and the durability of the cabinet.

Finally, every single connection on the Curve employs our signature metal-on-metal connection. Our patented embedded metal inserts allow us to connect hardware, doors and drawers to our cabinets with metal-on-metal inserts that can hold up to 400 pounds without faltering. These connections are guaranteed to last, requiring little-to-no maintenance on the Curve.

The Curve exceeds the standards of regular cabinets, improving upon them in durability, sanitation, appearance and flexibility. But the Curve is not just a cabinet.

We really care about cabinets

So you may still be wondering why we care so entirely much about cabinets. What does it matter if a cabinet is made with the best material? Why is it important that our cabinets persistently remain clean?

The answer is all in our philosophy. Our ultimate goal is to leave the world better than we found it. Whether we do that by producing durable products that help eliminate the throwaway culture or ensuring our cabinets are perfectly suited to the demands of a hospital, thereby reducing the number of HAIs, our cabinets are just an extension of our goal to make life better and easier for everyone.

We don’t believe hospital patients should be at greater risk of infections simply because the furniture in their room utilizes a material that easily accumulates germs. We don’t believe people should have to live on top of landfills just because we all buy cheap products that end up in the trash a couple of weeks later.

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So maybe we care too much about cabinets, but we don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. We strive each day to create products that play more than just their normal role in the world. Sure, the Curve is a cabinet that holds things, but the Curve is not just a cabinet; it’s a preventer of HAIs and an advocate for sustainability.

Our love of cabinets may seem strange, but for you and the world you live in, it’s a great thing.