Kitchen Cabinet Design Ideas

Cabinets are chosen first, because they are the biggest investment in the kitchen. And the kitchen is one of the biggest investments in the house.

In our open floor plan the kitchen cabinets are view able from nearly the entire first floor, making a big impact on the overall design and feeling of our home. And there are so many choices between door style, finish, and hardware. For me, i was an overwhelming decision, and it must be the same way for many re-modelers.

There are so many things to consider when choosing cabinets! Here are the biggies I recommend focusing on:

Materials – Solid wood remains a popular choice for kitchen cabinetry, but other materials like metal, thermofoil, stainless steel, and melamine are readily available.

Door style – A door style exists for every taste, whether it be very traditional or country or ultra-modern. More complicated wood detailing, like raised panels and beading, are generally more expensive and require more work to clean.

Door Mounting – There are many mounting options for cabinet doors, the most common being overlay, where the door lays over the cabinet case. Regular overlay allows the face frame to be seen around the doors, whereas full overlay mounting fits doors closely together, hiding the cabinet case behind. Inset doors are less common, with the doors being installed flush inside the frame.

Finish – Solid wood cabinet colors can be left in their natural state or can be finished or stained. Decorative finishes are available distressing, glazing, crackle, and more. Remember that lighter cabinets, counter to intuition, actually hide dirt better than darker ones do.

Hardware – Hardware can really impact the final look of your cabinets. It can either dress them up or down and make them look more contemporary, country, or traditional. Knobs and drawer pulls are easy and inexpensive to change later in comparison to cabinet doors or finishes.

I've learned even more about cabinets since living with this new kitchen more than can be mentioned in one blog post. One thing I still haven’t mastered, apparently, is organization. Despite beautiful new cabinets, I never seem to be able to find the right measuring cup when I need it!