What is Trending in Kitchen Cabinets?
Want something fresh for your kitchen? Something that will add some style but not feel dated in a few years? Consider your kitchen cabinets. Though they seem like a staple that doesn’t have much to offer in the way of stylish trends, you might be surprised how much they can help you achieve a trending design.
What is trending in kitchen cabinets? We’re glad you asked. Here are 15 kitchen cabinet trends that will open your eyes to the possibilities.
Natural Woods
Lighter, natural wood looks are popular again in the kitchen. Thanks to hygge (a trending Scandinavian design style) a clean, unstained wood on the floors, cabinets, and furniture is a must have.
Most hardwoods, if unstained, work for this trend. Wood with linear grain is especially favored, as are the warmer colors. Oak is one of the big up-and-coming kitchen cabinet trends. Oak fell out of favor years ago but it’s making a comeback. It’s a classic light yet warm wood that’s perfect for kitchen cabinets.
Color Blocking
Color blocking, or grouping blocks of color together in one area of the kitchen has been a growing trend for several years. You’ve seen a wall segmented into geometric shapes and each section painted a different color? That’s what we’re talking about.
Now color blocking is starting to evolve and branch out in different ways, including on the kitchen cabinets. Designers are choosing two different cabinet colors and blocking them together. For instance, dark cabinets on the base and lighter colors on top. Or a black cabinet on the island and gray cabinets around the perimeter.
Blue
Wood, white, and gray have long been “safe” options for the kitchen. But blue kitchen cabinet trends have wriggled their way into the hearts of designers everywhere. Blue can be a stand out color that draws attention, or it can be a neutral color that functions as a foundation for other colors to take center stage.
Kitchen cabinet makers are responding with navy, and sometimes lighter shades of blue, as a part of their stock offering.
Shaker Cabinets
The most solid of kitchen cabinet trends is Shaker style cabinets. It’s a style that blends with any design. It’s a style that never looks dated. It’s a style that comes in all shapes and sizes and colors. You really can’t go wrong with Shaker style cabinets.
Shaker cabinets have been around for hundreds of years and they’ll probably be around for hundreds more. They are a perpetual trend you can always count on.
European Style
Also known as frameless cabinets, European style cabinets are clean, simple, and seamless. The cabinet doors go from edge to edge so you don’t see the frame behind.
They used to be a custom-only cabinet, but with the popularity of Scandinavian design on the rise, they are now available more readily. You can get them in a flat panel, in a Shaker style, or in a more traditional design.
Open Shelving
Another of the big kitchen cabinet trends is open shelving. Instead of putting in a solid bank of cabinets with doors, consider mixing in some open shelves or glass doors to break things up a bit, make your kitchen feel more spacious, and add visual interest.
The open shelving trend blends right into another big design trend, vignettes. Vignettes are little groupings of objects displayed on a table or shelf. These may be curated collections, reminders of places you’ve been, or maybe they reflect some of your favorite things. Open shelving is the perfect place to display vignettes.
Drawers Instead of Doors
The use of drawers instead of traditional cabinets for things like dishes has been on the rise for over a decade. Many people find it much more accessible, especially in the kitchen island. Drawers allow for more customization and help you organize your storage space according to your needs.
Customization
Making the kitchen unique to you is easier to do than ever before—especially with cabinets. You no longer have to shell out the extra dough to customize your cabinets. Many custom elements are available in stock as modules you can mix into your kitchen any way you wish.
Add sliding vertical drawers for easier access to your most used implements. A wine rack or plate rack brings a customized look and functionality to your kitchen but without the custom price tag.
Contrasting Hardware
They say opposites attract. In design, opposites take two completely different elements and bring them together in one harmonized design. As we’ve said before, contrast is one of the leading kitchen cabinet trends. Here’s one more way you can achieve that.
Take a look at your cabinet color then go for hardware that will really stand out against it. Silver or gold metallic look great against dark matte cabinets. Or do dark oil-rubbed bronze look hardware with white or gray cabinets.
Floor to Ceiling
Most kitchen designs have cabinets that stop 18 inches or more short of the ceiling then add molding to complete the look. But many designers are starting to make use of that space for storage rather than leave it unused.
Think about maximizing your kitchen space by putting in cabinets that go all the way from the backsplash to the ceiling. The floor to ceiling look is best with flat front cabinets. The sleek, seamless style makes the extra cabinets blend so the kitchen doesn’t feel crowded.
Mix & Match
Mix and match isn’t limited to eclectic designs any more. The best kitchen cabinet trends give you the freedom to mix it up a bit in even the most minimal designs.
Similar to color blocking, choose two different patterns or styles of cabinets then block them together. A frameless, flat front cabinet up top and a Shaker down below can make a stunning design. Find some favorites then try to pick two that have good contrast.
Furniture Features
Furniture like freestanding pantries, baking cabinets, and highboys were the standard kitchen cabinetry prior to the 1920s. Cabinetry as we know it is a relatively new idea. The trend has returned to the furniture look but maintained the convenience of contemporary cabinets.
Adding moldings and trims to the tops and bottoms of cabinets make it easy to get the furniture look. Details added to the sides and fronts of cabinets hearken back to a time of bespoke furniture for the kitchen. Turned legs on the corners of islands is another easy way to get the appearance of freestanding furniture.
Creative Lighting
Among the kitchen cabinet trends of late is an emphasis on under-cabinet lighting, and sometimes top of cabinet lighting. Lighting is one of the quickest ways to add some ambience to your space. Plus a little task lighting goes a long way in the kitchen.
Puck lights are easily installed on the bottom of cabinets to achieve the look. Cabinet light bars are also effective additions. The top of the cabinets is a completely different story, as this type of lighting is mostly for ambience rather than tasks. You can use your creativity on this one: battery operated lanterns or candles, twinkle lights. Strip lights with programmable colors and settings can be fun on the top of cabinets.
Integrated Appliances
You’ve seen the kitchen models with the major appliances hiding behind cabinet doors? Those have hit trend level. They are no longer only available to the elite who order ultra customized cabinets. They are becoming more accessible.
You can buy refrigerators with cabinet door fronts. Or you can simply buy cabinet housing and doors that match the measurements of your appliances. Voila! You have high-end-looking cabinets that are on trend.
Now that you know what is trending in kitchen cabinets, you can adjust your design accordingly. You’ll have a kitchen that’s on-trend now and for years to come. See what else is trending in kitchen cabinets.
