Your entire home is a unique blend of utility and style. Most of the items around you, from furniture to appliances, serve a purpose but also look great in their space.
Your kitchen cabinets are no exception. They have the crucial job of storing all your pots, pans, dishes, and kitchen gadgets in an organized way. At the same time, they’re among the most noticeable design elements in your kitchen.
If your cabinets are due for a reboot, check out these unique kitchen cabinets and design ideas.
1. Top Shelf Cabinetry
Kitchen storage space is one of those things we never seem to have enough of. There’s always something you’re cramming into a small drawer or stashing in a spare closet.
One of the best ways to get more storage space is to make sure your custom kitchen cabinets go all the way to your ceiling. Some homeowners are doing this by adding a third tier of cabinets in their kitchens.
These tip-top cabinets may not be easy to access, but they don’t need to be. You can use them for items you only need on rare occasions like a bulky Thanksgiving platter.
2. Glass That Holds Secrets
Glass cabinet doors are nothing new, but they have their downsides. Not all of us have our cabinets so organized that we want everyone to see inside them at all times.
If you want the best of both worlds, get on board with the growing trend of opaque glass.
These cabinet doors use clouded glass. You get the modern, classy look of glass without revealing all your secrets.
3. Playing Chicken
This one is a bit more unique, but bear with us: what about chicken wire?
This is a big trend today toward open cabinets. They can make your kitchen look bigger because you can see the back of the cabinets.
With closed cabinets, on the other hand, your brain interprets the cabinet doors as the wall because you can’t see past them. It’s a subtle change but it can make the kitchen feel far larger.
If you like that idea but you want more texture and style, try chicken wire in your cabinet doors.
You could have an empty door frame with exposed chicken wire in the middle. Or, if you prefer, you can place the chicken wire between two panes of glass in the door. Either way, it’s a fun way to add a rustic look.
4. Merging Two Worlds
If you were that kid who always wanted to wear mismatched outfits and shoes as a child, you’ll love the popular look of mismatched cabinets.
Most kitchens have two “sets” of cabinets: a lower level and an upper level. You can have one color on your lower cabinets but a different color on your upper cabinets.
Other homeowners are choosing different styles of cabinets to pair together. You might have traditional closed cabinets on the bottom but instead of upper cabinets, you have a series of open shelves.
Regardless of what you choose, it can be tricky to know whether your choices will complement or clash together. Design software can come in handy when you design your kitchen with mismatched cabinets.
5. Reclaiming Your Space
We’ll be blunt: America is having a full-blown love affair with reclaimed wood.
On top of its popular rustic look, it’s a way for people to bring character and history into their homes. If you know the story of where your reclaimed wood lived its previous life, it’s even better.
In addition to everywhere else in your home, reclaimed wood looks great for your kitchen cabinets.
Depending on what kind of shape it’s in, you can refinish the wood or leave it in its natural glory with a sealant to keep it safe.
6. Getting Your Groove On
It’s a complaint we hear all the time: “My kitchen is too bland, I need some texture!” Okay, maybe there aren’t many people who say this off the bat, but when they get texture into their kitchen, they realize that’s what they were missing all along.
What better way to add texture to your kitchen than with grooved cabinets? Depending on your style, you can use beadboard or you can opt for deeper grooves that look more like panels.
If you choose, you can just mix in a few of these textured cabinets amid your other cabinets. Suddenly they’re accent pieces.
7. A Pop of Color
When people think of cabinets, most of us think of either white or natural wood-toned cabinets. At the very least, you think of them as being a neutral color, right? Not anymore.
If your kitchen needs some color, you can use your cabinets to bring it in. Depending on your style, you can go as bold or as gentle as you want.
One especially popular choice is to use a blue-green shade like turquoise or seafoam green. These colors pair well with almost any kitchen color story while breathing life and youth into the room.
8. Whitewashed Cabinets
If you’ve been keeping any kind of eye on hardwood flooring trends in the past few years, you know all about whitewashing. Whitewashing is a technique that applies a semi-transparent white coat to wood.
This technique gives wood an overall gray tone. It also brings out the grain in the wood, creating a unique blend of modern and country styles.
Why not whitewash your cabinets, too? You can buy cabinets that are already whitewashed or use it as a fun DIY project.
Keep in mind that whitewashing puts a lot of detail in your cabinets. This will pair best with solid-colored countertops and floors.
Loving Your Kitchen Cabinets and Design Choices
As you look for inspiration for your kitchen cabinets and design ideas for them, it all comes down to your tastes. Your kitchen is a place for you to feel comforted, and you want it to capture your style.
For more fun ways to take your home to the next level, check out more articles on our decor blog.
