Staggered Vs Non Staggered Cabinets . As the tensile force increase on a member it will straighten out as the load is increased. Staggered just means the fronts are (usually) smaller (by width) than the backs. Unusual Kitchen Designs (That You May Just Fall in Love With from www.apartmenttherapy.com The purpose of the string. Sat feb 20, 2010 10:32 am car: The two trending patterns commonly found in homes these days are the staggered and the straight sets.