Cabinets are a big deal! They store most of what’s in our kitchens and take up a ton of visual space. When we’re designing our homes, it’s easy to focus on a single room or try to figure out what style you like from magazines or remodeling shows, but it’s a good idea to pick a focal point to work from.
Why not your cabinets?
These are the top 6 tips for coordinating your home with this kitchen feature…
1. Make Sure Metal Finishes Match
Hardware on your cabinets will decide a large amount of what happens with your kitchen. If your cabinets have metal hardware, like silver, copper, bronze, gold, or steel: you want to make sure that most of the metal throughout your kitchen is a similar type of finish.
Although you can get away with copper and bronze being in the same room at times, doing it too much can clash. Try to stay similar not only in the type of metal, but the finish as well; matte, shiny, aged, brushed, etc.
2. Keep With the Same Tone or Color
Color is important! If your cabinets are all cool-toned and you go with warm-toned, moisture-resistant paint throughout the rest of your kitchen, it can look wrong. Instead, try to use your cabinets as the baseline of what you want your kitchen to look like.
If they’re stained a very attractive color, consider getting an island with butcher block as the countertop stained in the same color. With the best interior wood stain that’s designed for butcher block, you can have a beautiful and usable surface that will look perfect as a coordinating feature for your cabinets.
You can also carry their color into the flooring! With either a wood floor that matches or tile that works with the colors of your cabinetry. Make sure to consider a few different looks for this, especially if your cabinets are dark. Having ceiling-to-floor dark cabinets and then a dark floor beneath them can make your kitchen seem darker and almost imposing.
3. Play With Natural Looks
Natural wood is in high demand and has been a hot design trend since the middle of 2022. Many attractive and well-designed kitchens have a lot of white with natural wood, bringing out a clean, effortless, refreshing look.
You can still have your all-white kitchen but accenting it throughout with wood and natural tones will help you achieve a minimal, but unique look.
4. Allow the Finish to Work Seamlessly
What finish do your cabinets have? Is the wood grain extremely visible and solid? Are they nearly polished-looking? Carry that type of texture through your kitchen. If your cabinets are high gloss and polished looking, sleek stone counters can go beautifully beneath them! On the other hand, if the wood grain is incredibly visible with a more natural-wood color, you may want to use more natural wood throughout your kitchen.
5. Consider the Style the Cabinets Bring to Mind
What style are your cabinets? Are they a classic rustic style, or are they sleek and seamless? Currently, ready-to-assemble cabinets have made a huge splash. The most common styles for these are shaker cabinets, which have an almost-rustic appearance, and European frameless cabinets, which lend a more modern look to the space.
For instance, flat-panel or slab cabinets can go well with a modern kitchen, and rustic reclaimed wood cabinets can thrive in a kitchen that has a farmhouse style to them. If you’re still unsure, don’t be afraid to look at the manufacturer’s site or ads and check how the cabinet company advertises them. Sometimes you can take awesome design inspiration simply from how you saw it styled when you bought it, letting European frameless cabinets lead you towards a modern kitchen!
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Play With Contrast
Contrast is one of the most interesting ways to switch things up and allow the kitchen to look incredible. For instance, if you have dark wood cabinets with white tile and countertops, a contrasting white island with a darker countertop can bring a sophisticated look to your space.
You can also contrast with texture, like having a white shiplap wall across from a set of euro or slab-front cabinets. This can create a lot of visual interest and create a space that feels extremely purposeful.
Avoid going too overboard, with too much color, or varying hues of wood stain. If you’re unsure about a type of tile or color for your walls or counters, don’t be afraid to take it into a free image software like Gimp or Pixlr so you can try out a look before you commit to it.
Every Set of Cabinets Gives a Room a New Face
Whether you’re upgrading your cabinets as the start of a mini kitchen remodel or they’re inspiring a major overhaul, you should ensure your kitchen flows seamlessly! Consider some of these design and styling tips to create the kitchen of your dreams.
Last, but not least, when the time comes to finding a contractor who will ultimately install your new cabinets or, if you are an installer, locate a reputable cabinet supplier, consider a cabinet supplier that deals directly with the manufacturer, has at least a limited lifetime warranty, and offer complimentary design services. Interested now? Click here.
Max Shafer is a freelance writer that loves sharing his knowledge and expertise on home improvement projects and materials. He lives in Land O’ Lakes, Florida where he enjoys spending time with his wife and working on projects in his spare time. Max’s work as a freelance writer can be found on Building Product Advisor, a new construction industry resource launching in Fall 2022.