Choosing your kitchen cabinets for your Cleveland kitchen remodel may seem somewhat straightforward. However, a closer look will reveal that there is a lot to consider. From the material and overlay to the color and storage options, we’ll explain every design option so you’ll feel prepared for your kitchen remodel design consultation.
Which Kitchen Cabinet Door Style Should I Choose?
Kitchen cabinet doors come in a lot of styles and the style you choose will depend on the overall design style you prefer. A great place to start when deciding your kitchen aesthetic is online. Browse through online style boards, like Pinterest, and interior design websites, like Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Dwell, and Spruce. When you come across kitchen designs you like, zero in on the cabinet door styles and take note.
Some of the more popular kitchen cabinet door styles homeowners are choosing today include:
- Slab
- Beaded panel
- Shaker style
- Glass panel
If you choose the Shaker style, you could choose to mix things up with a few upper cabinets with glass panel doors. Slab panels are very versatile but are mostly used in modern, contemporary, or transitional kitchens.
What Type of Cabinet Door Overlays Are There?
A cabinet door overlay is essentially how much the cabinet door will cover the cabinet frame. With a partial overlay, the door will not completely cover the frame. We do not recommend this style. More popular overlay styles currently are inset and full overlay. In both cases, you will have a cleaner, flat cabinet façade that’s perfect for more modern kitchens. Inset doors, when closed, will sit flush inside the frame. The full overlay will completely cover the frame. We use frameless full overlay to make the reveals between doors as minimal as possible. They also tend to be more budget friendly, everything else being equal.
A slab front cabinet door with a full overlay is very sleek and works well with minimalist aesthetics. While an inset offers a completely flat surface, there are more seams and visual business. The choice of inlay will depend on the overall look you are wanting to achieve, so consult with your designer when deciding which is best for your kitchen design.
What Type of Material Is Best for Kitchen Cabinets?
The type of material that will be best for your kitchen cabinets will depend on another element of your kitchen cabinet design: color. If you’re planning to paint your cabinets, you won’t need to consider the grain pattern or wood tone like you would if you’re planning to stain them.
Of course, the structural integrity and longevity of your cabinets should be a major factor in your material choice, so solid wood is best.
Maple Cabinets
Maple wood showcases an elegant and subtle grain pattern, lending a sense of uniformity to any space. It is an ideal option for homeowners seeking to introduce a touch of warmth to their contemporary kitchens. Furthermore, maple's light hue provides versatility, allowing for easy painting or staining, although it has gained popularity in modern kitchen color palettes in its natural, ultra-light form. We do not recommend this wood if you are wanting a darker stain as it does not stain as consistantly.
Walnut Cabinets
Walnut is the preferred wood for kitchens, thanks to its excellent tone and current desirability. Its strength, unique grain patterns, and durability have long been admired. Walnut's natural oils make it highly resistant to wear and tear. Moreover, it provides acoustic benefits, reducing noise in the kitchen.
White Oak Cabinets
Rift-sawn white oak has a tight linear grain pattern that varies from a light grayish tan to medium brown. It has more character than your typical plain sawn lumber and the intricate grain can become even more pronounced with a light stain. The natural tone of white oak pairs beautifully with a wide color range and brings its own bright warmth to any space.
Cabinet Color Trendwatch
Investing in a kitchen remodel is a significant expense, and it's important to avoid designs that will quickly feel outdated. Kitchen cabinets play a crucial role in the overall aesthetics, making color selection vital. Timeless all-white cabinets complement various styles and finishes.
Blues & Greens
Using blue and green in the kitchen is at once timeless and trending. Deeper hues, like navy, dark teal, slate, and emerald are growing more popular by the week. For a lighter and brighter kitchen, choose softer hues, like powder blue, light sage green, grayish sky blue, or muted seafoam.
Two-Toned Cabinets
Two-toned cabinets are a great way to introduce more personality into your kitchen. Picture a walnut island with soft, sage-green perimeter cabinets. Or, choose a bright powder blue for your island and lower cabinets and natural maple for your uppers. You can go bold with navy for your island and lower cabinets while using a light neutral for your uppers. There is an endless amount of color and wood tone options to consider and your designer can guide you to the right combination for your design style.
What Are My Custom Storage Options?
Custom storage in the kitchen will ensure your every tool and appliance will have a place. Some of the more common custom storage options are as follows:
- Appliance garages
- Custom interior organizing dividers
- Blind corner pull-outs
- Spice drawers
- Pull-out shelves
- Utensil pull-outs
- Knife drawers
- Deep lower drawers
How Can I Fit More Storage in My Kitchen?
A kitchen island can create a lot of added storage. If your home is lacking an open floor plan, this may not be feasible. However, opening your floor plan will have several benefits–including enough room to install a kitchen island. Over the past couple of years, homeowners and designers are leaning into the double kitchen island, if space is available. You will have the benefit of a prep island and a dining or serving island with an incredible amount of storage. Another way to add more storage is to always take your cabinets to the ceiling.
Butler’s pantries and walk-in pantries are other fantastic solutions to the ever-present storage dilemma. Smaller appliances, more cabinet space, and even an extra sink can be housed in these handy spaces.
How Do I Choose the Right Kitchen Cabinets?
There are a lot of design considerations when choosing your cabinets for your kitchen remodel; and this guide is a great place to begin when making design decisions. With this crash course in cabinet design, you’re ready to consult with an expert kitchen designer.
Payne & Tompkins Design - Renovations is a design-build firm that has served Northeast Ohio clients for decades, including Fairlawn, Brecksville, Bath, and Richfield–just to name a few. The full-service remodeling team can take your remodel from concept all the way through construction, seamlessly creating award-winning designs and delivering expert craft. Schedule a consultation today to learn more about the design-build process and begin your kitchen remodeling journey.
