It’s no secret.
Nobody wants a kitchen hindered from ventilation and no one wants a kitchen that prevents him/her from utilising the space properly. A cluttered kitchen looks messy.
Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, and it needs to be attractive, stylish, comfortable, and of course, personable.
“A Kitchen sells property”, and special care should be taken when designing your kitchen, especially when it comes to choosing cupboards.
In today’s article, we are going to look into the ways how we can choose the perfect kitchen cupboards for our houses.
Let’s dive in!
6 Tips for Choosing Your Kitchen Cupboard Design
Choosing new kitchen cabinets can be confusing and a hard decision to make. But it should never be.
Whether you are planning to upgrade a few things or renovate your entire kitchen, we’ve compiled handy tips to help you get started without much a do.
1. What is Your Budget?
The old narrative is still applicable today, “living within means“.
Regardless of how big our dreams are, but still, when it comes to making any decision that involves forking out money, we need to do ourselves a favor and be realistic.
It does not help to strain ourselves too much, obviously, this comes at a cost and it is always a good idea to avoid it.
We need to determine how much our desired cabinets will cost and this will depend on a wide range of factors.
The first thing to do is to come up with a budget for our new or renovated kitchen.
There are some general guidelines for budgeting items like cupboards, countertops, and appliances so by starting with a budget, you’ll be able to zero in on what you should expect to spend on cabinets.
Cabinets can be pricey, depending on the materials used to construct them, the range of finishes, and the organizing gadgets that go inside them.
When we have a budget in place, it is much easier to prioritize and do away with everything that does not fit in.
2. What is Your Preferred Door Style?
First things first.
We should always have a door style in mind whenever we think of designing our kitchen cupboards.
Doors are the most visible part of the cabinets, so choosing the style of the door is an important decision and this should never come as an afterthought.
Many times, this is easily narrowed down by budget. So with your budget and door profile in mind, the choices get easier.
It is commendable to visit one of the popular stores in your town to see and take photos of your top 3 or 4 samples on your phone. Out of these photos then you can choose the one which meets your expectation.
There are a variety of door designs to choose from. Flat cabinets are an excellent choice for modern kitchens.
You can also go for handleless cabinets for a slick and stylish design.
3. What is Your Kitchen Style?
Are you partially upgrading your kitchen or you are doing a complete kitchen renovation?
Your kitchen style should be considered. It is important to choose cabinets that will also match the color scheme and style of your kitchen.
Make a decision if you would like to stay with the existing style or if you want to completely change it.
Depending on your style choices, your kitchen cabinet style can either change the current style of the room or complement it.
You should always choose your kitchen style. This helps to make sure nothing shall ever come across as a surprise.
Whether the room changes or remains the same, this should be something you are quite happy with, and also it helps to provide guidance to the kitchen designer you chose to work with.
4. What is Your Prefered Wood Type?
The cupboard wood isn’t the same.
Different wood has different unique characteristics, such as color, grain, and texture.
You should always determine what you want most out of your cabinets so that the wood style you choose will be a good fit.
Some wood is easier to clean, some easier to sand, some to paint and some wood is durable.
The 5 best and most popular woods for kitchen cabinets are Pine, Oak, Hickory, Cherry, and Maple.
Pine, Oak, and Hickory are cheaper and easier to get. Cherry and Maple look luxurious and cost more than the others.
The year 2022 has been very wonderful when it comes to trends in the choices of cabinet woods, we’ve normally seen a major return to Oak wood for kitchen cabinets as vintage becomes designer, and homeowners go back to the real wood of past times.
Oak has the texture and looks of subtle elegance with its neutral color and design versatility. It is popular for being extremely durable and not going out of style.
If you are not sure about the type of wood to choose, then ask your experienced kitchen designer. Experts at Sunrise Home Building Renovations can also help with recommendations.
5. Always Consider Both Function and Beauty
You will always have so many choices when choosing new cabinets.
When it comes to functionality, some people prefer drawers to shelves for their cabinets.
Drawers can be pulled out all the way allowing you to see everything inside so no items get lost in the back of a dark shelf, even in a corner.
At the same time shelving is fine for big, bulky, regularly shaped items—anything larger than a shoebox.
Everything depends on your storage option, for storage under the waist most homeowners prefer drawers.
Items stored in a drawer are safe and clean. This is far from the case with shelving, with items often left out in the open where they can collect coatings of dirt, dust, and grime. Drawer storage can provide much greater security for valuable items.
You can also use a light color on the walls and cabinets to instantly brighten a space making it look larger and in turn, more expensive. Or you can dress up your bare windows to instantly dress up your kitchen.
Artwork is a great way to elevate any room and it will do the same in your kitchen. Don’t be afraid to go big and bold — it will give the illusion of a bigger space.
6. Do not Forget About Organisation
The way how you consistently use your kitchen should determine its display or organisation.
And at the same time, you have to prophesy the future, it’s obvious that 5/10 years from now your family will be big.
Think about how you will want your kitchen to operate 5/10 years from now when the family is big. Do it once and save money on redesigning.
Space-saving storage does a lot for the functional and visual value of your kitchen.
Try to maximise every inch in your kitchen. Give thought to your floor space and cupboard space. Making use of multi-functionality cabinet storage helps a lot in saving space.
With longer, hinged cabinet doors there are options such as adding a basket to the door inner or adding rotating shelving for those hard-to-reach corner cupboards.
Space-saving storage leaves more room to add style to your kitchen and makes it easier to keep the room looking tidy and spacious. Make every centimeter count by saving space.
Looking to update your kitchen with an updated cabinet? The professionals at Sunrise Home Building Renovations are always ready to take on a new project.
Built-ins are any items that do not leave the property but remain a part of the permanent structure of a home.
As the name implies, built-in cabinets are installed in ways that they can be fitted on a wall or other kitchen units. They are screwed to the wall permanently so that you don’t have to move any heavy furniture.
Built-in cabinets are a perfect fit for small kitchens. They tend to create more space in your kitchen and make it more appealing.
The one that stands out the most, is the maximising of space in each room.
Even the smallest of rooms can benefit from built-in cupboards. They can really help you to make the most out of a tight space.
They can also help to make the most out of those awkward corners that you sometimes have in your home or office. You can use built-in furniture to fill up the spots where nothing else seems to fit.
You can also use built-in furniture to frame views. If you have a beautiful view from one room, you can use built-in cupboards to make the most of it. You can even use them to define zones without walls.
Built-in kitchen cupboards designs
According to cupboardvalue.co.za, there are 4 different types of built-in kitchen cupboards, and these are;
1. Bespoke Built-In Cupboards
2. Handleless Built-In Cupboards
3. Display Built-In Cupboards
4. Miniature Cupboards
The designs for built-in cupboards are truly endless, it is advisable to explain to your kitchen designer your ideas on how you would like your kitchen layout to look and feel.
Small Kitchen Cupboards
Fitting all your equipment and tools in a relatively small kitchen space is a big challenge, but you can make it work.
You can use a cramped space to your advantage and design a fully functioning, beautiful kitchen with ease by utilising the shape of cabinets.
Here are some tips to make a small kitchen work better.
15 Clever Kitchen Organization Ideas to Maximize Storage Space
1. Make Use of Cabinet Doors
The inside of your cabinet doors is filled with possibilities for storage. Install hooks to store pans, lids, or serving and measuring spoons, or add a slim rack to stash pot lids or boxes of foil and plastic wrap.
Counter space is always at a premium, but there’s an easy fix: Get a cutting board that fits over the sink to create extra space for chopping. Many have built-in colanders to help make prep a breeze.
3. Use drawers, not doors.
If your kitchen has a U-shaped layout, consider whether extra-slim cabinets or drawers will allow the optimum positioning of your key appliances.
4. Add an extra shelf over your cupboards to save some more space.
5. Skip heavy handles and chooses slim pulls that follow the line of your doors.
6. Stick magnetic racks to the side surface of your fridge.
7. Use some additional shelves because they allow you to fit more dishes in your cupboards.
8. Use Bins for Bulk Items
Instead of cluttered cabinets filled with random boxes and bags, get organized with plastic bins or large glass jars. Decant bulk items into containers to keep ingredients neat and visible.
9. Install a Pot Rack
Take advantage of vertical space by adding a pot rack to help store all those pans sitting on the stove or taking up cabinet space. If you have low ceilings, consider installing them over the kitchen sink.
10. Add Rolling Shelves
The downside of deep cabinets is having to practically climb in to get what you need from the back. Install rolling shelves with low sides to keep items organized and easily accessible.
11. Install Hooks for Mugs
Mugs are essential for morning coffee, but they take up shelf space and don’t stack well. A simple solution is to install hooks under a shelf or cabinet and hang mugs by their handles.
12. Store Utensils by Type
You separate your forks, knives, and spoons, so why not your cooking utensils? Store spoons, spatulas, and whisks in separate containers so you never have to dig through a tangle of tools to find the right one.
13. Add Pan Dividers
If there’s always a loud clattering or an avalanche of lids whenever you open the cabinet door, it’s time to organize those pots and pans. Install a few pan dividers and stack pots and lids within the cabinet. You can also organize baking sheets and pans by placing the dividers perpendicular to the shelf.
14. Bring In Containers
If you can’t keep things out of sight, at least keep them organized Invest in some pretty baskets and containers to keep items on the counter uncluttered. Use them to keep spices or kitchen tools together so they’ll always be right at hand when you need them.
15. Use Risers
Take advantage of that empty vertical space by placing risers in cabinets. This will help keep items separated so you don’t have to try to pick something out of the middle of a huge stack.
Kitchen space is a big challenge for most modern townhouses, but using the above tips should work better and create more space in your kitchen.
By utilising these tips your kitchen will be more organised and easier to work in.
Most Popular Kitchen Cupboards
Finding the right kitchen cabinet design is the key to creating a kitchen that you will love for years to come.
According to numerous surveys, most home remodellers opt for the Shaker-style kitchen cabinets . Source: Katie Holdefehr,www.realsimple.com.
How to Choose a Kitchen Cabinet?
Choosing the right cabinet design for your house can be overwhelming and confusing.
Cabinets do define how your kitchen looks and there is a need to always understand the basics and know your options so that you can have an easier time creating your dream kitchen.
Cabinets are made up of the box, shelves, and drawers.
When it comes to choosing your cabinet design, normally it is a choice of your door and drawer styles that can complement the kitchen aesthetic you are looking for.
Most Popular Cabinet door options right now
While there are so many door options for cabinets, when you get down to it, there are basically only a few common and popular options to choose from.
1. Flat or Slab
Flat panel doors are built with a flat center panel that is surrounded by a four-sided frame. It is this frame that adds depth to the cabinet doors, rather than a raised or contoured center panel.
The flat-panel kitchen cabinet style offers hard lines and minimalist form and lacks any expensive detail.
Flat panel cabinets are currently a “hot item” in the kitchen design world due to the growing popularity of modern and farmhouse design trends.
Advantages of Flat panel doors
A flat-panel cabinet is not expensive though it is modern. These doors are easy to maintain, they are simply flat, and can easily be wiped clean without much a do.
They are a perfect choice If you are on a budget.
Flat Panel doors have stunning colors. With a flat design, the kitchen color is a solid block. And this can be a stunning visual effect in a wide range of kitchens.
2. Shaker doors
Shaker doors are rectangular wood slabs that sit within another square-shaped wood box that is relatively smaller. They have a clean-line style with square corners. A shaker-style door is a type of flat-panel door.
Advantages of Shaker door styles
This type of cabinet door is the most popular cabinet option because of its adaptability.
It can complement a wide variety of kitchen designs depending on how you customize the cabinet and what other kitchen design elements you pair with it. Shaker-style cabinets can be made a little more modern or more traditional with the addition of different types of edge detailing inside the frame.
With a classic finish, they can go from one extreme to another, offering a traditional-style appeal or a contemporary design. The straight lines of shaker cabinets give off a modern look, while the wood tones, when paired with the right hardware and left with a natural finish, offer traditional appeal.
Shaker style also includes flat-paneled doors with rail frames and is often made from high-quality woods such as hickory, maple, and cherry. They can be painted or stained.
The shaker cabinet door is a trending style right now because it focuses on simplicity and minimalism,a feature very popular with most people these days.
White Shaker cabinets make a kitchen look fresh and modern for a long time.
3. Louvered doors
Louvered doors are basically horizontal wood slats. They are often seen in doorway entries and buffets, but when used as kitchen cabinet doors, they provide a distinct, show-stopping architectural design.
Advantages of Louvered doors
Louver doors provide superior airflow due to their design. They allow warm or cool air to travel between rooms, even when the door is shut.
When you’re looking for doors to a cabinet near a radiator, a pantry cabinet, or a clothes-drying cabinet in a laundry room, it is a good idea to use louvered doors.
This type of cabinet is great for spaces that require ventilation because most louvered doors have spaces between each slat, SourceHouzz.
Louvered doors are ideal for homes near the water, offering adequate ventilation in high-humidity areas.
Inset cabinetry involves a door recessed or “set into” the face frame, rather than overlaying it.
The Insert door is flat with the rest of the cabinet, and a door pull or knob must be used to open the cabinet. With this type of door, the hinges can either be concealed or exposed.
Inset cabinets are desired by many for their smooth, clean appearance, but the price for these doors tends to be high because of the look and quality of the doors.
Inset doors feature clean lines and minimal spacing or gaps between cabinet components. They can be personalized with things such as beaded insets, which are fitted into the cabinet door itself and bring out the thoughtful craftsmanship of your cabinets
5. Frameless doors
The frameless door– also called “full access” or European cabinetry – features the absence of a wood frame around the box of the cabinet.
This is one of the most popular door options in modern kitchens. The full overlay allows for more space inside your cabinets or drawers, making it a good solution for smaller kitchens with limited cabinet space.
They have a narrow veneer to cover the raw edges of the divider, meaning that the opening is 1.5 inches wider than on a more traditional cabinet. Very little of the frame shows when doors and drawers are mounted directly inside of the cabinet.
Frameless doors often have hinges attached directly to the sides that are hidden when the door is closed.
And frameless cabinets offer a modern look, and more drawer, and cabinet space. They are also free from center stiles that get in your way. They are a better option for smaller kitchens in which every centimeter counts.
Frameless doors help to eliminate wasted space, unlike framed cabinet which contains various nooks and crannies that serve no purpose.
6. Beadboard
Beadboard cabinets are vertical slats of wood pieced together on their long side, which at the end form a bead-like connection. These cabinets are made from long wood slats which have a tongue and groove joint.
If you love the feeling and look of a cottage-style or modern farmhouse in your new kitchen, then beadboard kitchen cabinets will be the right fit for you.
Beadboard inserts give cabinets that inviting, lived-in look that cottage and country chic styles afford, as well as a bright, clean feel.
Beadboard refers to a time-honored tongue-and-groove construction technique of vertical slats fitted into each other for a look that is detailed and textured but not ornate.
Beadboards are an excellent way to update your kitchen cabinets. You can incorporate beadboard into your existing cabinets without doing a complete overhaul of your kitchen.
Beadboard cabinets have a classic look that is perfect for any kitchen. They can be stained or painted to match any furnishing and decoration of a room. Beadboard cabinets are a great choice for those who want a traditional kitchen with a bit of character.
If you are not really sure about the perfect choice for your kitchen cupboards, you have to speak to your kitchen designer. Experts at Sunrise Home Building Renovations can really help.
7. Glass door cabinets
If your kitchen doesn’t have windows, or maybe you just love the mirrored look that plays off light, then adding glass-front paneled cabinet doors can work the magic.
If you have a small, enclosed kitchen, adding glass front cabinet doors can make it look larger and more spacious.
Glass kitchen cabinets reflect light, creating the illusion of a bigger space.
You should also consider using glass door cabinets if you would love to display and illuminate your kitchenware and décor items in a versatile manner so that you can see them directly in the cabinet.
Glass door cabinets are easy for visitors to see the things you want to showcase, I mean if you are a bragger like me. Who in the world wants to be cheap? Nobody.
Most homeowners don’t choose all glass-front cabinets when designing their upper cabinets. That’s because they need some storage for things they don’t want to see every day, like mismatched dishes, cereal boxes, and other foods.
But a few glass doors here and there will break up the mass of wood doors, and provide a focal point. You can also use lights inside to illuminate your wares.
There usually are three types of glass cabinets.
1. Frameless glass cabinets
Frameless glass has just one sheet of glass for the entire cabinet front. This look works well when you want a contemporary, modern design that offers a sleek, streamlined appearance.
2. Sliding glass
The sliding glass was popular on cabinets in the 1970s, and the look is seeing a resurgence. These doors glide on recessed tracks at the top and bottom, which allow two sheets of glass to travel back and forth.
3. Decorative glass
Glass-front panels come in an array of patterns and finishes. Seeded glass, for example, has little air pockets inside to create a textured appearance. Frosted glass is clear enough to reveal what’s inside the cabinets and opaque enough to conceal items you want to hide. Etched glass, stained glass, and colored glass are other choices you may want to consider.
Other Kitchen Cabinets to consider in 2024
1. Distressed doors
Distressed doors give off a timeless appeal. If you are purchasing stock cabinets and want to save money, you can distress them yourself, but you should be well-versed in the process before you begin.
To distress your door cabinets you need to first remove all the cabinet hardware and sand the cabinet with a sanding block. Clean it thoroughly after sanding, then apply a top coat and allow it to dry 24 hours before you add your hardware.
2. Painted doors
The fastest way to update your kitchen is to simply paint existing cabinets, or apply wood veneer to give them a fresh look. If you really want new cabinets but your budget is small, this can be a good way to get a personalized look with lower-end cabinets.
3. Double cabinetry
Double cabinetry is cabinetry on top of another cabinetry. It helps to give a kitchen more storage space and the appearance of added height. By adding crown molding, you’ll have very distinct cabinets.
For an added touch, try to install small pocket lights on the top cabinets and use that space to show off your most prized possessions.
Conclusion
A cluttered kitchen looks messy. Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home, and it must be attractive, stylish, and comfortable.
Try using the tips and information discussed in this article to design your perfect kitchen cupboards in 2024.
You can go with built-in kitchen cupboards if your kitchen is small or you can use louvered door cabinets if your kitchen requires ventilation.
Let 2024 be the year you will have a kitchen that can stand for 5/10 years. Save money on redesigning your kitchen each and every time.
Whether your budget is small or your kitchen is cramped, the good news is, you can now design the perfect kitchen for your house by using the tips in this article.
If you would like expert help in choosing your perfect kitchen cupboards, you can also speak to experts at Sunrise Home Building Renovations today.
Let 2024 be a perfect year for you and your loved ones. Choose your perfect kitchen cupboards today.
Researched and written by Innocent Mchavi
(SEO Web Content Writer)