Neat kitchen cabinet ideas


44 Kitchen Cabinet Ideas For a Stunning Kitchen

By

Farima Ferguson

Farima Ferguson

Farima Ferguson began her career at HGTV where she worked with designers to write about home design. Her work has appeared in HGTV, Insider Reviews, Travel Channel, and more.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Published on 01/28/22

Brophy Interiors

Whether you love to cook or not, the kitchen is usually the heart of the home. It features many different design elements, from countertops to cabinetry. The kitchen can reflect the design style of the rest of your home, or you can design it completely differently to make it its own space.

Below, we share our favorite kitchen cabinet ideas—from small, budget-friendly ideas to big, dramatic upgrades to help inspire your kitchen design.

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Kitchen cabinets hold the ability to transform a kitchen with regard to looks and organization.

Whether you are picking out your cabinets for the first time or deciding to upgrade, there are many options to customize your kitchen design with cabinets.

If you are picking out your cabinets for the first time, you have the ability to choose the color and type of wood that you want depending on the design of your kitchen. If you are updating your cabinets, paint is an easy way to make an inexpensive update before you are ready to fully replace your cabinets.

Oftentimes, there are many decisions to make with regard to the external appearance of the cabinets and we forget about the potential for organization. Consider making the cabinets under the sink on tracks so you can easily pull them in and out to access cleaning supplies or pots and pans. If you have a vertical cabinet, you can add hooks to store brooms and mops.

You can add wooden inserts to your cabinets to optimize their organization and storage potential. This will help you organize everything in your kitchen, from pots and pans to mixers and measuring cups.

Oftentimes, your kitchen cabinets need appropriate lighting as well. Consider installing small lights in your cabinets so you easily see everything that is inside. With that said, go ahead and explore these kitchen cabinet design ideas below.

1. Kitchen Cabinet Bold Finish Ideas

The traditional and most popular color for kitchen cabinets is white. This makes sense since it looks clean and bright. While you can’t go wrong with a bright white kitchen cabinet, it can also look a bit boring and lack vibrancy. Colored cabinets can give life to your kitchen’s interior design and provide a customized feel that fits perfectly with your unique personality. When it comes to picking a kitchen cabinet color, you have the freedom to choose anything that you like.

Bold colors can be a wide range of shades. For some, this means choosing a pastel color. While for others, it means choosing a vibrant jewel tone of even distressed wood. The color you choose will depend on your kitchen.

Consider the size and amount of light in your kitchen. Larger and brighter kitchens can support darker colors such as black and navy. But in a smaller kitchen space, these colors can be too overwhelming. They’ll close your kitchen in and make it feel even darker and smaller than it already is. To use color in smaller kitchens or those with limited light, try a brighter shade. Colors such as pastel green, blue, pink, or yellow can help reflect the light and make the kitchen feel bigger.

You should also consider the style of your kitchen when choosing a color. Modern kitchens look beautiful with less traditional kitchen colors. Black cabinets in a modern kitchen blend in well. If your kitchen is more traditional or country in style, then try a mint or sage green. These colors compliment the traditional or rustic feel of your kitchen since they’re softer and associated with a more traditional feel.

2. Full-Height Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

Take a look up. Do you see a gap between the top of your cabinets and the ceiling? That empty space up there is wasted space. While traditional cabinet design says you need this space, this isn’t necessarily true. Modern kitchen cabinet design ignores this traditional rule and instead has the cabinets extend all the way up to the ceiling.

The trick to making this idea work is to have a row of wall cabinets that are easily accessible for daily use. Then have a top row of cabinets that are between them and the ceiling. Try making the accessible cabinets taller than traditional cabinet heights, then make the uppermost cabinets a bit shorter in height.

These uppermost cabinets are perfect for creating additional storage space. You could keep kitchen items that you rarely use in them. Or you could use them for storage for anything else you aren’t ready to part with.

You could embrace the look of tall cabinets by installing a ladder on wheels and a rail. This will create a visual effect and make accessing your cabinets easier. If you don’t have enough room for a ladder, you can tuck a simple step stool away in a utility closet.

3. Two-Tone Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

If you love the idea of colored cabinets but don’t think they’ll work in your kitchen, don’t give up on the dream just yet. Instead of having all black or navy cabinets, you can paint half of them in your preferred shade. The best way to do this is by painting your lower cabinet one color and then painting the wall cabinets another.

The best examples of this technique in action have a darker color for the bottom cabinets and white for the upper cabinets. Now you get the benefits of both colors. The color adds personality and interest to your kitchen, while the white keeps your kitchen feeling bright and fresh.

Another option is to paint your kitchen island and then leave your cabinets along the wall another color. Your kitchen will look beautiful with your island painted sage green or a shade of gray while you leave your upper cabinets white.

4. Glass Door Ideas for Kitchen Cabinets

Glass doors are not a new trend, but you can give them a modern feel. There are two designs of glass cabinet doors to choose from. The first is a glass insert in a frame that matches the rest of the cabinets. The other option is a cabinet door made entirely of glass.

A glass door for your cabinet can work in both traditional and modern kitchens. This makes it a versatile design detail.

If you have a modern kitchen, then opt for clear glass panes that allow you to easily see the contents behind it. If this is a bit too exposed for you, then a frosted glass will give the illusion of visibility without the exposure.

For a more traditional kitchen, consider adding trim to the glass. This could be a criss-cross or curved trim design. If you have a farmhouse-inspired kitchen, try a windowpane design that divides the glass into quarters. You could even choose to use stained glass inserts for a beautiful statement piece.

5. Open Shelving Ideas for Kitchen Cabinets

A modern design trend that you’ve likely seen is to skip the cabinets completely and instead use open shelving. You’ll see varying numbers of shelves from one to four on a single wall. Most of the shelves are long and deep enough to hold plates, bowls, and kitchen utensils.

While the idea of open shelving looks great in professionally styled images, it may not be practical in your kitchen. Think about the items you store in your cabinets; do you want them all out on full display? You’ll need to stay vigilant on cleaning, so your shelves don’t collect dust. If done incorrectly, your kitchen could end up looking like a dusty and cluttered mess.

This doesn’t mean you can’t try this look in your kitchen. But instead of chucking all of your cabinets, only get rid of a few. This way, you can use some statement shelves on one wall and keep your cabinets for storage in another area. You can then limit what you place on the shelves to create a styled look without having to actually store everything in your kitchen out in the open.

6. Kitchen Cabinet Drawer Ideas

Do you have deep cabinets that you struggle to reach the back of? They’re like dark black holes where kitchen appliances go to disappear for years. These deep cabinets are great for stowing away lots of items but terrible in their usability. By turning these cabinets into drawers, you can still use the entire storage space but make it easier to reach the items in the back.

There are two ways you can go about creating your drawers. The first is to get rid of the cabinet door and instead have several drawer fronts. This will change the look of your kitchen. This option works well if you’re currently designing new cabinets for your kitchen.

If you don’t want to get rid of your existing cabinets, then retrofitting is a better option. With this method, you’ll keep the cabinet door but then install drawers in the space behind the door. Now the drawers are hidden, and you can keep the look of your cabinet doors.

Get creative with the size and depth of your drawers. Shallow drawers work well for storing your silverware and cooking utensils, while deeper drawers are better for storing your small kitchen appliances and flatware.

For a luxurious feel, look for rails that have a soft close feature. They prevent the drawers from getting slammed shut.

7. Hardware Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

If you can’t make changes to your actual cabinets, you can make changes to the hardware. This one small change is easy and noninvasive to your cabinets. Think of it as the accessories to your kitchen cabinets. Just like a statement necklace can transform an outfit, statement hardware can breathe new life into your cabinets.

If you want to add hardware to your cabinets, think about your metal choice. Brushed gold and copper are modern trends but you can’t go wrong with elegant black. Don’t be afraid to mix metals. You don’t have to match your cabinet hardware to your faucet or lighting fixtures. Don’t be afraid to choose large hardware, such as handles that run the length of the drawer.

Another option is to not have any hardware at all. This look works well with slab-style cabinets that have completely smooth fronts.

8. Built-In Appliance Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

One challenge of every kitchen design is what to do with the large appliances. If you’ve planned ahead, all of your appliances should have the same finish. They typically are colored white, black, or stainless steel. This gives your kitchen a cohesive look. However, even if you’ve matched your appliances, covering them can give your kitchen a cleaner and more streamlined look.

As you plan your cabinets, consider creating fronts for your fridge, dishwasher, and any other large appliance. Most people skip the oven because they want to be able to see in the window.

Doing this will hide your appliances behind what looks like another cabinet door. When standing in your kitchen, this will create a continuous flow of cabinets that can make your kitchen look larger and stately. This strategy works with both modern slab and traditional raised center or shaker cabinet fronts. It can also hide your more unsightly appliances that look dated.

You can hide other things behind large cabinet doors as well. If you love to cook or bake, you can create a hidden workstation behind two large doors. You can have several drawers and shelves that keep all of your ingredients within arm’s reach. This will make cooking and cleaning faster.

9. Decorative Trim for Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

The modern trend is to choose flat slab cabinets. The idea is to streamline and simplify the design. What you end up with are smooth, flat cabinets that create a single surface throughout your kitchen. While this is beautiful, it isn’t for everyone and doesn’t work in all homes. This is when you should consider a traditional cabinet design, such as shaker or raised panel. These cabinets have subtle detailing to them that gives them a traditional or craftsman look.

Take a look at the rest of your home. While you want to update your kitchen, it should also make sense with the rest of the home. Adding decorative trim can enhance the look of your cabinets while also keeping them in theme as the rest of your home.

You can add detailing to your cabinets in other places. Try adding decorative trim to the end of your island. Or you could create a box that matches the cabinets and covers your exhaust vent. Another idea is to add decorative support posts. Instead of using plain square posts, you can add trim to create a customized look. These can enhance your center island and kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen Cabinet Idea FAQs

Do I have to start from scratch when designing my kitchen cabinets?

You can rip out your cabinets if you choose to, but it isn’t required. You can update your current cabinets by painting, replacing the doors, or adding decorative trim.

How do I paint kitchen cabinets?

You’ll want to start by determining the current material your cabinets are made out of. Most cabinets will require you to do some light sanding to help the paint adhere. Make sure you use the right kind of paint so that it’s durable and will last.

What if I want to sell my home soon?

While you want to design a kitchen that you love, you also need to think about marketability. You may love having purple kitchen cabinets, but it’ll be challenging to find someone else who loves them enough to buy your home. Traditional style will serve you best at sale time.

Should I worry about trends?

It’s better to think about designing the best-looking kitchen for your home. If you fill your kitchen with all of the current trends, you risk your kitchen looking dated and old in a few short years and you’ll be redesigning your kitchen again.

Useful kitchen ideas, simple and functional tips for decorating the kitchen

Get it and do it - these are some of the easiest tips we've ever published.

Editor's note: A couple of times a month we show the best material from our archives. This one was published in August 2016, but has not become less relevant since then.

Sometimes the most interesting and striking solutions lie right on the surface, but we stubbornly ignore them. Fixing it! Here is a selection of unexpected and easy-to-implement ideas for the kitchen. Find your

CaSA - Colombo and Serboli Architecture

1. Playing permutations
We need a few rows of pegs in the wall and a couple of shelves to create an interesting structure that will allow you to store kitchen utensils there and quickly diversify the environment by simply changing the location of the shelves. Among other things, unoccupied pegs can be used as hooks for potholders and towels.

Ossa Casa

2. To the sound of music
It is not always appropriate to watch TV while cooking, especially if you have to work a lot with a knife. But pleasant music is the very thing, but for this you need speakers, the installation of which never reaches the hands.

Advice: To avoid the hassle of wiring, you can buy a wireless model. The price depends on the capacity of the battery, some can go months without recharging.

3. Working with the window
This solution will seem disputable to someone: pans on the window? But if the kitchen is tiny, there is no room for a bar on the wall, why not use a “relaxed” window. The bonus of such a decision: the slightest speck on the dishes will be noticeable, and therefore you will wash it with tripled strength.

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12 ways to fall in love ... in the kitchen life

Studio Maria Boyarova

4. The light from a different angle of
would seem to be nothing supernatural, but visually bovid -controlled lights create a playful, unrelated lighting. and at the same time mysterious. So if artificial light sources are not enough for you, then sconces fixed at 45 degrees are ideal candidates.

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In a new light: Architectural light as the basis of the interior

. In addition, when stools are not needed, they can always be hidden. And it's better than rolling your office chair from the next room to the common table. Although, as they say, the master is the master.

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Keep it simple: 31 hacks for a small kitchen It is logical to find a more practical place for them, and this place can be the bottom of a hanging kitchen cabinet.

It's not as crazy as it seems at first glance! Just glue the lids on the jars or screw them to the bottom of the cabinet to make sure you don't lose sight of your favorite spices. And those who say that it is inconvenient to unscrew them can use magnetic strips and jars with metal lids.

Nina Frolova

Nina Frolova

7. Sudden landscaping
If it seems to you that an apron made of glass, marble or stainless steel is too ordinary, then meet the Dutch artificial grass option! On this green, splashes and drops of fat are practically not visible, and due to division into small rectangles and Velcro mounting, the entire structure can be easily removed and washed without problems.

Although if you are an ardent fan of fried foods and you have a frying pan on the fire around the clock, then it is better to refuse greens in favor of more hardy and heat-resistant options.

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Visiting: interior for lovers in design and each other

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ATYPICAL TYPE A

8 .Rattan at the Height
Looking for an inexpensive solution to improve your interior in just a few minutes? Consider wicker baskets that fit perfectly in the space between the upper cabinets and the ceiling. Their neat and textured appearance will not visually burden the environment, but you will get plenty of useful storage space for rarely used things.

Tip: Better get basket lids, otherwise you will have to store a fair amount of dust along with things.

Lauren Bryan Knight

9. On the shelves
Nobody likes to rummage half-bent in deep bottom cabinets to find the right pot. In addition, it will definitely end up in the farthest corner ... But the stepladder for arranging pots will never “put you on your knees” again. At any time of the day or night, you can silently choose the right dishes, and the ladder itself looks quite original.

Ksenia Bobrikova. Xenia Design Studio

10. Transparent curves
At first glance, there is nothing special about a glass dining table, even if it is an unusual shape. However, the advantage of such “roundness” is that more people will fit comfortably here than at a regular-shaped table.

SEE ALSO…
Microtrends: Furniture that floats in the air

ricard galiana . architecture

11. Weighty details
Many people do not pay attention to the appearance of sockets, switches and other small details. And very in vain! It is these little things that can become bright and unique accents that set the tone for the entire interior, as do the colorful yellow rosettes shown in the photo.

Andrew Snow Photography

12. Mysterious door
It would seem, what can be done with an old and peeling door? But this faded turquoise has found an excellent use as a screen covering household appliances stowed in a small niche. The door is sawn into three sections: the top one is a microwave oven, the middle one is a refrigerator, and the freezer is hidden below.

Pavel Zheleznov

13. Versatile approach
When the kitchen is very small and there is simply no space for a table, you can sacrifice one of the lower drawers of the set and leave the place under the countertop free (especially if there is a radiator), and into the empty space put up a stool.

In this way, the working area can quickly turn into a dining area and vice versa.

Andrew Snow Photography

14. Checking the perimeter
A very simple, but original and catchy trick is to use a plywood baseboard as a kitchen plinth. And when we finished with the bottom, do not forget about the LED lighting above the upper cabinets, which will visually raise the ceiling and additionally illuminate the kitchen.

HyggeLiG

15. Tactile contact
Want to update your kitchen set quickly? Replace old, obsolete handles with leather ones that are so pleasant to the touch. All we need is to cut the straps of the required length (about 17 centimeters), make holes in them and fix them with bolts. Choose the color of the skin at your discretion, depending on the color of the headset: it can be a classic black, brown or even a red shade.

Tip: There shouldn't be any problems with preparing all the necessary tools, but the main material can be searched in online stores for leather goods manufacturers, there are almost two-meter leather ribbons just the width we need is two to three centimeters. Well, or as an alternative, even old leather belts up to four centimeters wide will fit - why not give them a second life?

British Standard by Plain English

Logan Killen Interiors

16. Useful optical illusion
Having mirror surfaces in your kitchen is a great way to increase both natural and artificial light. Especially this technique will play into the hands of those who are cramped in square meters and want to visually expand the space.

SEE ALSO…
Universal soldier: The tasks of a mirror in the interior cutlery is the last century, and someone will consider it a fresh idea and a new look at storing improvised tools in the dining area.

FFWD Arquitectes

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15 unexpected ideas for kitchen storage

April 15, 2017LifeColumn

A dozen solutions that will balance any kitchen between convenience and aesthetics.

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Elena Gracheva

Head of communications for the interior portal Houzz.ru.

1. Extendable Worktop

Wood-Mode Fine Custom Cabinetry, © Houzz

When your worktop is packed with appliances and utensils, there's simply nowhere to cook. This picture is well known to the owners of small kitchens. We’ll talk more about how to unload the countertop, but you can also act on the contrary. For example, to complement the headset with a sliding panel instead of one of the upper drawers. The easiest scenario is to turn the box upside down, reinforce it with an additional panel and thus get a stationary cutting board.

2. Plinth Drawer

DeWils Custom Cabinetry, © Houzz

The bottom of your kitchen cabinet can work for you too. You take out the decorative panel, order a narrow drawer for the width of the module and dispose of it as you like. A 10-15 cm high space is suitable for storing wide utensils (a festive dish, baking sheet, massive lids) or useful for your pets. We know how tired you are of tripping over food bowls under your feet.

3. Cups at hand

The Kitchen Design Centre, © Houzz

It is customary to place cups and plates in the upper sections of the kitchen, and pots in the lower sections. This has been proven over the years, but far from the only possible storage scenario. See how many cups and glasses fit in a regular drawer under the worktop. At the same time, all objects are in plain sight - you no longer have to stand on tiptoe and painfully look for your favorite cup in the dark depths of the hanging cabinet.

4. What's under your sink?

Design Set Match, © Houzz

Let's try to guess: pipes, a trash can and an ominous warehouse of household chemicals. Given the depth of the kitchen set, you most likely have long forgotten what is hiding against the wall, not to mention climbing under the sink with your head and cleaning in the corners. The simplest drawer with low walls comes to the rescue, as in the photo. The price of components is like for two lunches in a cafe, plus a minimum of labor costs.

5. Shelves on the doors

Kitchen Interiors, © Houzz

Cabinet doors are not only a dust barrier, but also useful storage space. Mount the internal shelves to the depth of the spice jar, and you no longer have to wonder how to conveniently arrange kitchen trifles.

6. Inner ladle cups

JORY Workshop, © Houzz

Ladles, skimmers and whisks, especially if there are a lot of them, do not always fit in a horizontal box. The way out is to organize storage vertically. Any narrow section of the headset will do, such as a bottle holder, if you don’t need it. To turn a narrow box into a vertical storage system, it is enough to cut circles in any panel according to the diameter of the glasses. So the kitchen utensils will be at hand, and the glasses will be easy to remove and wash if necessary.

7. Vertical Storage Perforated Panel

Liv By Design Interiors, © Houzz

Garage-like perforated plank or wire mesh is a worthy decorative element if done right. Feel free to paint the board to match the color of the kitchen and hang it on an apron or wall that even the tiniest room can find. The storage possibilities of such a board are almost limitless: a couple of metal hooks from the home store, and you can hang pans, potholders, and even a sponge section - as long as your imagination is enough.

8. Organizer with slats

Mullet Cabinet, © Houzz

Another useful idea with a perforated board is to lay it inside a deep drawer and add vertical slats to fit the dishes. Now you can store not only pots, but also ceramics here: plates and saucers will not break even if you slam the drawer shut.

9. Lid Pocket

Dura Supreme Cabinetry, © Houzz

Pots and lids in the kitchen often have to be separated due to their large diameter and bulky dimensions. Everything would be fine, but at the most inopportune moment the couple is often lost. To collect large utensils in one place, enclose the space for lids with a narrow pocket inside a common large drawer. With this arrangement, you will clearly see the diameter of the dishes.

10. We hang everything

Kootut murut, © Houzz

On the bottom of a closed drawer or open shelf, you can mount neat hooks and store coffee cups, brushes or spatulas on them. As practice shows, there are never too many hooks: in our example, several systems work at once in the photo.

11. Levitating spice jars

Joanna Thornhill Interiors, © Houzz

Arranging spices on a countertop is a sign of perpetual mess: the jars will fall from any random movement, and to do basic cleaning, you will have to move the entire “battery” to a safe distance . It is much easier to fix them under the top line of kitchen cabinets: glue the lids and unscrew the jars themselves if necessary.

12. Corner units

PTACEK home, © Houzz

The corner of a typical set is perhaps the most mysterious place in the kitchen. Usually there are frying pans that you feel sorry for throwing away, although it's long overdue, or a duckling that you take out once a year. So that precious meters do not go to waste, complement the corner cabinet with a swing-out basket or a carousel shelf. Both can be built into a finished kitchen, and components can be found from most manufacturers.

13. End cabinet

MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc, © Houzz

The entryway and kitchen are two areas that need cleaning the most. But I bet you didn't design a niche for your mop and other large accessories in your kitchen. It is not too late to correct the drawback: a very narrow end cabinet will solve the problem, which will organically close the kitchen line.

14.

Knives in the countertop Hendel Homes, © Houzz

Experienced cooks advise: before you start cooking, get not only the ingredients, but also all the necessary utensils. But no matter how hard we try to follow smart recommendations, it turns out that right now we need a completely different knife and it lies in a drawer where we don’t want to go with dirty hands.

If the worktop material permits, make cuts in it. Small children will definitely not get to such a storage system, and knives will always be ready. If the countertop cannot be processed, a special wooden insert can be provided for the knives.

15. Mezzanine above the refrigerator

Ink Architecture + Interiors, © Houzz

If the refrigerator is not built into the overall system of cabinets, then the space above it is most likely empty and this is a crime against the ergonomics of a small kitchen. Between the refrigerator and the ceiling, you can mount a full-fledged mezzanine with closed shelves or open sections for bottles, as in our example.


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