7 Popular Kitchen Cabinet Styles
August 27, 2020There are a lot of details to consider when thinking about the kitchen in your custom home, both functionally and aesthetically. In addition to the overall style of your kitchen, you also need to think about the style of your kitchen cabinets. Here are some popular kitchen cabinet styles to help inspire the kitchen design in your custom home:
1. Traditional Cabinets
A traditional kitchen cabinet style offers a classic look. Traditional cabinets tend to be the most formal cabinet style because they were inspired by the golden age of Europe and are often characterized by embellishment. Ornately carved details tend to be some of the most popular embellishments.
Traditional cabinets tend to have raised panels and often also an arched design. Inset recessed doors are also popular. They are most commonly made using rich-colored woods. However, carved details may also feature antique or glazed treatments.
2. Shaker Cabinets
The shaker is a kitchen cabinet style that features a simple frame and a simple panel structure. It is characterized by a simple, smart, and utilitarian design that originated with the Shakers. This was the name of a specific religious group that fled to the American colonies during the 1780s. Their style of design also includes the peg rail.
Shaker cabinets are characterized by a four-piece frame structure that features a flat panel in the center. This creates a five-panel door. These are not only a popular choice for main kitchens, but they also tend to pop up as basement kitchen ideas as well.
Traditionally, these cabinets are made of high-quality, American-sourced wood. Because their simple design allows them to fit in well with other looks, they are often painted in whatever color works best for the interior design theme. They are also a popular option for two-color kitchens.
3. Farmhouse Cabinets
Farmhouse cabinets tend to be a simpler version of traditional kitchen cabinet styles. This kitchen cabinet style tends to use more relaxed materials and is more flexible when it comes to mixing them. Shiplap, beadboard, tin, reclaimed wood, glass doors, open shelving, and more can all be combined in various ways to create that simple and charming feel in a farmhouse kitchen.
Farmhouse-style cabinets are often painted. White is still one of the most popular colors, but other pops of color like black, red, yellow, charcoal gray, and more are also popular choices. This style is also sometimes called country and tends to overlap with rustic and craftsman kitchen cabinet styles.
Rustic Cabinets
Rustic cabinets tend to be large and made of warm woods that have a lot of interesting detail. With rustic kitchen cabinets, you want interesting grain patterns, knots, or “imperfections” that add a natural character to them.
These cabinets are often left rugged or use a matte finish to maintain the authentic look and feel of natural wood. Brass or wrought iron hardware are popular complements to this kitchen cabinet style.
Craftsman Cabinets
Craftsman-style cabinets are a mix between rustic farmhouse and modern. They are characterized by quality construction, simple, straight lines, and minimal ornamentation or embellishments.
Heavy woods like oak, cherry, maple, hickory, etc. are popular materials for craftsman cabinets. It is uncommon to see these cabinets painted as they are often kept in a natural wood state.
4. Modern Cabinets
Modern or contemporary cabinets are characterized by their minimalist look and are known for being the least detailed of the kitchen cabinet styles. These cabinet doors tend to be flat panels, which are called flat-panel or slab cabinets.
They tend to be a full overlay with no nooks or crannies. Often, there is no molding or trim. If there is any molding or trim, it is very minimal. Flat front cabinets like these are one of the mid-century kitchen design ideas that also fit well with a variety of other styles.
These cabinets are generally made with wood that has very little grain and sticks to natural stains. But, painting them can still give you a modern look. Other popular materials include metal, plastic, glass, concrete, and other man-made materials. Hardware is kept simple. Because of their clean, simple, and sleek look, modern cabinets are a great fit for a minimalist kitchen.
5. Glass-Front Cabinets
Glass-front cabinets can help create a pretty focal point in your kitchen. Also, they are versatile and can work with just about any kitchen cabinet style. They are generally used as upper cabinets to store and showcase anything you want. On top of that, they can be illuminated to help them stand out further. Glass-front cabinets or open shelves allow you to display items, which is one of the more subtle ideas for using bright colors in your kitchen.
6. Louvered Cabinets
Louvered cabinets are characterized by the horizontal wooden slats on the front of them. They are a more decorative and unique kitchen cabinet style that can be integrated with other styles for an interesting look. They are a great choice for kitchen islands or anywhere you want to feature a more decorative cabinet.
7. Open Shelves
Although open shelves aren’t necessarily cabinets, they do have a similar function and can be incorporated into other kitchen cabinet styles for a unique look. In fact, they can be used to display vintage items for vintage kitchen decor ideas or other items for another style.
Open shelves are great for display and also for adding more storage to your kitchen design if wall space in an area is limited. They work well when paired with wall cabinets and other storage. And, open shelving is one of the restaurant design ideas for your kitchen that you can add to your custom home design to get that restaurant look and feel at home.
These are some of the most popular kitchen cabinet styles, many of which can be combined to create the style you’re looking for. Plus, getting the right mix of them can help you better organize kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinets are just one part of your kitchen design and the kitchen is just one room in a custom home. Covering all the details by yourself can be overwhelming.
By partnering with a custom home builder, especially one with an in-house design/build process, you can get the results you want without the stress of trying to do it all alone. If you’re ready to start making your dream home a reality, contact Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090!