Kitchens
30 Kitchen Cabinet Ideas That Blend Style & Storage
Published on March 10, 2017
Cabinets are one of the biggest considerations when planning a kitchen — they set the tone for the entire space. Today, there are more options than ever: traditional cabinet doors, open shelving, a mix of the two, or something completely new! To help you pick a style that best reflects your taste, your kitchen layout and your lifestyle, here are some of our favorite kitchen cabinet ideas. Which one do you like best? Tell us in the comment below.
An all-white kitchen can feel sterile, but the touches of antiqued brass used here soften the look. In order to maintain sightlines and create the wonderful focal point of the windows and fireplace at the end of the kitchen, the fridge and full-length cabinets were confined to one end.
If you’re an avid cook or just enjoy collecting cookbooks, a showcase of books is an easy way to fill an awkward corner where cabinets wouldn’t fit.
Colorful board and batten cabinet fronts in this Cape Breton island summer home are whimsical and charming, but not too quaint thanks to the modern open shelves above. The look is tied together through coordinated dishes and cookware in complementary colors and styles.
In hockey player Jason Arnott’s Dallas home, the bold black-and-gold cabinets are a luxe touch around the La Cornue stove. Full-length cabinets done in a lighter wood soften the drama, proving that bolder design moves can still be impactful when done in smaller areas.
In a galley kitchen where there’s not a lot of room to navigate, flat-front cabinets with flush or recessed pulls are a necessity. The brass trim seen here is a glam way break up the dark cherry fronts, and double as pulls.
A blend of practical and personal lends this kitchen a cool vibe. The industrial open shelving units are rendered softer through a stylized mix of dishes, books and artwork. Curating the display of open shelves keeps things from looking cluttered and disorderly.
If you love the look of open shelving but the idea of eschewing closed cabinetry seems daunting, a sliding panel offers a peekaboo effect, giving a modern feel with the practicality of hidden storage.
When planning for extra-deep drawers below, flat-fronts are best! Recessed pulls are an elegant and modern choice, but also makes leaning into them to get at the uppers or to the back of the sink much more comfortable.
Flat-front cabinets make a bright color pop! The rich hue doesn’t show nicks or marks and looks dramatic when done in a wrap-around figuration.
For the ultra-minimalist, a pared-back kitchen, like this one, is the stuff dreams are made of. A blackboard-paint wall provides a dramatic backdrop for a few floating metal shelves, while a bank of full-height cabinets to the right conceals appliances, giving the space a seamless look.
A sliding frosted panel is a nice touch in a streamlined kitchen. The modern look of the glass keeps things clean-looking but adds depth to a white-on-white scheme.
For this kitchen, the owners wanted something modern but not sparse or stark. The solution was a crafted-meets-industrial blend of cabinetry styles and materials. Quartersawn oak cabinetry was treated with oil and framed in black powder-coated steel, while a floating bank of black uppers mirrors the I-beam, which separates the kitchen from the family room.
Elsewhere in the kitchen, the powder-coated steel accent is brought out of the cabinetry surround and incorporated anew through a ceiling-mounted open shelving unit, adding character to the space.
The cabinets from the main house in a Cape Cod vacation home were repurposed to outfit the kitchen in the guest house. The old-school hardware oozes cottage charm, but by matching the wall color to the cabinet fronts, the look skews slightly modern.
The homeowners of this house are professional chefs so they wanted a practical yet unfitted look. The sides and backs of the cabinets were left open with sliding maple panels placed in front. The herringbone backsplash goes all the way up to the ceiling — a creative way to beautify standard metal shelves.
For a slightly rustic vibe, white-panelled cabinet fronts are a fresh update on an old favorite. Black farmhouse-style handles lend a mod feel.
Drawing on the rustic feel, a pair of open shelves with bold brackets adds warmth and personality to the white walls and white cabinetry, and also helps balance out the full wall of cabinets on the other side.
A formal country kitchen calls for traditional cabinets with all the trimmings. Cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke (47) with matching crown moldings look like a collection of antique pieces of furniture, thanks to each section’s unique style.
Vancouver designer Sophie Burke gave this Whistler, B.C., cabin a soft treatment to match the warm tones of the blonde wood ceiling and flooring. The blue-green Shaker-style cabinets are ultra trendy but will wear well with age. A simple glass-front cabinet keep things light and airy next to the windows.
In a home with soaring ceilings, banks of high upper cabinets accessible by a library ladder is a smart use of space, allowing non-essential items or special occasion dishes to be stowed away easily.
Wood cabinet fronts can be modern! The walnut cabinets in this kitchen have a bold, almost graphic grain, and when book-matched over side-by-side cabinets, have a painterly quality. The soaring panels that disguise a full-service pantry cupboard create a standout moment.
With crockery and cooking essentials close at hand, open shelving placed next to the stove makes cooking and serving a snap. Matching the color of the shelving to the color of the cabinet fronts helps keep things uniform and cohesive.
In an open plan house, transition cabinets blur the lines between cold, white cabinetry in the kitchen and more cozy living spaces. This accent bar cabinet bridges the space between the dining room and the all-white kitchen through its use of oak cabinets and a copper backsplash.
In a traditional kitchen, glass-front cabinets are a classic choice. These mullioned ones are backed with mirrors to create a beautiful display when lit. A patterned backing — either wallpaper or stencil — would also bring visual interest.
Who says upper cabinets all have to be the same height? Here, simple Shaker-style cabinet fronts done in a wave of sizes have a playful feel and creates nooks for cookbooks and appliances without sacrificing storage space.
Retro flat-front white cabinets don’t have to feel fusty and outdated. By giving the cabinets in their rental property a fresh lick of glossy white paint, Maxime Vandal and Richard Ouellette of Les Ensembliers design firm updated the look. Pairing the neutral cabinets with a decidedly modern wallpaper above helped bring the cabinets into the 21st century.
Designers Barbara Purdy and Olivia Botrie liked the look of modern white kitchens but knew an all-white kitchen wasn’t suited to a cottage’s casual and cozy feel. Instead, they used the same style of cabinet front but in three different ways — a crisp white, an inky blue and a natural barnwood. The overall look is modern and fun but perfectly suited to laid-back cottage living.
This marriage of Shaker-style cabinets paired with subway tile could be called the new classic in kitchen design. The chunky moldings and dropped top of the upper cabinets fill the gap without adding unnecessary and tough-to-reach cupboards.
For a more traditional look, designer Scott Yetman chose cabinets with strong architectural details. Mill-worked fronts, hood vent and base boards all stained in a muted tone keep the wood feeling fresh, while the dark hardware is a classic choice.
In designer Erika Floysvik’s condo, she made the most of her high ceilings and chose a solid walnut shelving unit that reaches 9′ hight. By keeping the open shelving ever-so-slightly removed from the side walls, the shelving feels like a special piece rather than a standard built-in.