Kitchen cabinets are typically the starting point for any kitchen design since they form the foundation for your kitchen’s layout, workspace, and storage. Cabinetry also establishes your kitchen’s style, with the door type, material, color, finish, and accessories like cabinet hardware. Once you have settled on your cabinets, you can select other design elements around them, like countertops, backsplash, and flooring.
Cabinetry is also one of the most expensive line items in any kitchen remodeling budget. You must carefully consider how much of an investment you want to make in your cabinetry at the start of your remodeling plans. This will be determined by your available funds, your family’s needs, and how long you plan to stay in your home.
If a kitchen remodel is on your agenda for 2025, now is the time to start exploring styles, functional elements, and accessories to create your ideal kitchen design. Our latest blog will help you get started by examining our top tips for choosing kitchen cabinets.
6 Things to Consider When Choosing Cabinets
When creating a design and choosing products for your new kitchen, you should start by examining your needs. Look a your kitchen’s users, its size and shape, your individual needs, your style, and the budget allowance you have for cabinetry. Examine your existing kitchen cabinet design and think about what works well, and most importantly what does not.
Let’s start exploring what you need to consider when choosing kitchen cabinets!
1. Who uses your kitchen?
Take a look at your household, who typically uses the kitchen, and how often. Do you have a large family where you cook regularly, perhaps with more than one person using the kitchen at one time? Are you a young couple with a growing family, where you plan to raise kids? Or are you designing for aging in place, with the kids gone off to college or to their own households?
Consider whether you entertain frequently, hosting large dinner parties or holiday events. Do you often have guests dining in your kitchen or do you host a regular event like a book club? What else do you use your kitchen for? For example, perhaps you like to bake often, making cakes for special occasions or homemade bread for your family every week. Or maybe you often work from home and your kitchen island doubles up as an office space. Your kitchen layout and cabinet design should be tailored to fit your specific needs.
2. How big is your kitchen and what is your layout?
The size of your kitchen is a major deciding factor in determining your kitchen’s layout, storage space, and cabinet design. Any size kitchen will benefit from a fresh take on your kitchen cabinets, but obviously, a more compact kitchen will be more limited in terms of what your cabinet design can offer. In a spacious kitchen design, you have more options for a diverse cabinet design that includes one or two islands, pantry cabinets, a standalone beverage bar, and much more.
If your kitchen’s size does not meet your needs, then do you have the option to expand it by knocking down or moving a wall? If so, then this opens up a wide range of possibilities for creating the kitchen layout you always wanted.
3. What are your storage and work space needs?
Storage and workspace are essential in any kitchen design. Your needs largely depend on your family and how often you cook, but also on your storage preferences. Some people prefer to bulk shop and keep ample supplies of key ingredients and snacks readily available, while others prefer to shop regularly and keep fewer items in the house. If you cook frequently then you want to pay careful attention to storage for cooking tools, pots and pans, and gadgets so they are readily available.
Your storage needs will also depend on whether you prefer to store everything within arms’ reach or only to keep key items available with everything else stored in a separate pantry. Think about which items you use the most and where you use them, such as cooking pots, spices, oils, and utensils. Create customized storage solutions within your cabinet design to fit your storage needs. Consider any specialty requirements, such as baking, sushi making, or barbequing, and include storage and work zones to fit these needs.
4. What is your budget?
Cabinetry is often the biggest line item in a home remodeling budget so it is important to know your available funds before commencing your remodeling plans. Cabinetry is an investment in your home and lifestyle, so it makes sense to spend as much as you can, particularly if you plan to stay in your home. If you are remodeling to rent or sell your home, then you might not want to invest as much. However, a quality kitchen design with stylish and functional cabinets will improve your home’s appeal to renters or buyers.
5. What is your kitchen’s style?
Kitchen cabinets cover a large surface area in your kitchen design, so naturally, they have a significant impact on your kitchen’s style. If you are happy with your home’s style, then choose a cabinet type that fits your home’s design aesthetic. This is especially important if your kitchen is part of an open plan first floor, which makes it even more critical to choose cabinets that blend with your home’s style. Remember that your cabinetry must work together with other surrounding design elements, including countertops, backsplash, plumbing fixtures, flooring, and accessories like cabinet hardware.
4 Things to Understand About Cabinets
Understanding your needs will help you make an informed decision about the perfect cabinets for your kitchen design. Before settling on your final choice, it helps to explore a few key features related to cabinetry selections.
1. Cabinet Construction Techniques
You may be focused on the look and feel of your cabinets, as well as the storage features, but it also helps to understand the basics of cabinet construction methods when choosing cabinetry. There are two main categories for cabinetry construction:
Framed cabinets are a more traditional type of cabinet construction manufactured in the USA. This cabinet style has a frame face and the doors and drawers are set against a visible frame. They usually give your kitchen a more traditional look with a handmade cabinet style.
Frameless cabinets are typically associated with a European cabinet construction style, with a more modern, sleek appearance. With no face frame, this cabinet door style is installed directly onto the cabinet box. This style allows full access to the cabinets’ interiors and are usually found with a more contemporary or modern cabinet style.
2. Cabinet Door Styles
Choosing a door style for your kitchen cabinets is an opportunity to create the style for your home you always wanted. There are a variety of popular door styles and the right one for your kitchen design depends on your style as well as your cleaning and maintenance preferences. If you have a more traditional home style, choose a door face with more decorative details. For a more contemporary style, go for a simple cabinet door like Shaker or flat panel doors. Here are some of the top options for cabinet door styles:
Raised panel cabinet doors have a raised center panel surrounded by a raised frame that gives your kitchen a more traditional look.
Recessed panel doors have a recessed center panel instead of a raised one, which gives it a more simple, transitional style.
Shaker cabinets are known for a simple style with solid construction techniques and are one of the most popular door styles.
Flat panel or slab cabinet doors are a more modern cabinet style with no frame or extra decorative features. They put emphasis on the cabinet material and surface and are the easiest to clean and maintain.
Other options include glass front cabinets and mullion cabinet doors, often paired with in cabinet lighting that turns it into a display space. Many homeowners choose to include one of these styles in a section of cabinetry along with one of the other styles mentioned above, which adds depth to your design and gives it a more eclectic style.
3. Cabinet Colors and Finishes
Once you have chosen your door style and understand your functional requirements, you can complete your style with the perfect color and finish. You can choose a painted or stained finish with a matte or glossy look.
For stained cabinets, you can choose a medium or dark stain for a traditional or sophisticated look. Or go for a more natural look with a light wood finish that lets your cabinet material take center stage. You could also choose a rustic wood finish that gives your kitchen design a cozy, farmhouse style.
With painted cabinets, you have an almost endless array of colors at your disposal. Many homeowners opt for a neutral base color palette for cabinetry since this is an investment that must last for years. Neutral tones like white, cream, gray, and beige stand the test of time and can be updated by adding colorful accessories to accent your design. However, many kitchens see brighter, darker, and bolder color choices for cabinets. If you love a particular color why not go for it and give your kitchen design a one-of-a-kind style? Blues and greens are popular choices, while black cabinetry gives a kitchen a sophisticated style.
4. Cabinet Extras
The finishing touches for cabinetry are your cabinet hardware, which is like choosing accessories for a favorite outfit. Cabinet pulls and knobs serve the essential role of making it easy to open and close your cabinets and access the contents. There is a wide range of hardware styles with different materials, colors, and finishes, from polished chrome to satin brass or matte black. Select a hardware style that fits your kitchen design aesthetic to complete your kitchen’s look.
Choosing the Right Kitchen Cabinets for Your Kitchen Design
Kitchen cabinets are one of the most important choices you will make when planning your new kitchen design. They set the tone for your kitchen’s style and establish essential zones for workspace and storage. Choose a style that fits your home’s design aesthetic balanced with your preferences for regular cleaning and ongoing maintenance. Select a door style, color, and finish and pair it with countertops, flooring, and more to enhance your home’s aesthetic. Then select internal storage accessories to keep all your essential items organized and ready to use.
Your new kitchen cabinets will provide the foundation for a stylish and organized kitchen where you will love to spend time. Are you ready to reimagine your kitchen? Contact our team to start planning!