Whether you’re doing a complete kitchen remodel, or simply looking to update the look of your current kitchen, cabinets are a great way to add style and personality to your kitchen. With so many choices, it’s difficult to know how to choose the perfect cabinets for your kitchen. We’ve pulled together a few tips to help make the process easier.
Choose a cabinet door style
Cabinet doors are the most visible design elements in your kitchen, so your door style is one of the most important decisions you will make. There are various styles of cabinet doors available, and since cabinetry doors are so prominent in kitchens, it’s a good idea to start by looking around your home in general. What is your style overall? Modern? Traditional? Do you prefer a more ornate style, or do you like basic, clean lines? While your style doesn’t have to exactly match your overall décor style, it helps to make sure whatever style you pick doesn’t stand out for the wrong reason. Here are the basic cabinet door styles to choose from:
- Mission
- Raised panel
- Beaded
- Shaker
- Arched cathedral (single arch)
- Double arch
- Flat panel
- Mullioned
Take the time to not only look at the style, but what kind of maintenance each will require. The more ornate, the more nooks and crevices there is to clean, yet more decorative cabinets add a very distinct design style to a kitchen and can really make a statement!
Consider your budget
Kitchen cabinetry can vary widely when it comes to cost. Try to work with a cabinet company that offers a wide range of cabinet styles and budgets. Try to narrow down your 2-3 favorite styles, then look at the cost for each. You’ll be surprised how some of the most beautiful cabinet doors can actually be affordable. Work with a designer to help you determine style and budget if you’re unsure; this is a big choice to make!
Know what color you’re looking for
Are you looking for a deep, rich, elegant-looking kitchen, or something more bright, fresh and sleek? Not every cabinet style may come in the wood finish you want, so having an idea ahead of time may help narrow the choices a bit.
Understand the flow and function of your kitchen
If you’re keeping the existing cabinetry footprint in your kitchen, this is an easy step to check off the list. If you’re doing a full kitchen renovation, you need to consider the overall flow of the kitchen and how that works with your family’s lifestyle. What kind of kitchen do you want? Consider how you currently use your kitchen and what would make your life easier and more functional. Maybe it’s adding or expanding an island. Perhaps it’s additional storage. Where should these items be and what’s the overall flow of the kitchen area to best suit that? Do you need more drawers, less shelves, a pullout spice rack? These decisions will impact cabinet choices. This is one area that definitely requires a kitchen remodel specialist to help you with. Space planning when you’re doing this kind of remodel is critical to get just right. A functional, well-organized kitchen is the most important feature, so you want to choose your cabinetry wisely to accommodate this. You want to maximize your space as much as possible to talk with a professional cabinet designer about shelf, drawer and pullout options.
These tips will help you choose the perfect cabinets for kitchen and help you create the kitchen of your dreams!
