If you are moving into a new house or looking for ideas for your renovation project in your home, kitchen cabinets must be on the top of your to-do list. It is hard to decide where to start while choosing a good-looking and functional kitchen cabinet design. Here is a list for you consisting of 10 valuable tips to help you.
Table of Contents
1. Consider Your Pocket
The first thing to keep in mind is your budget while choosing your future kitchen. Although there are so many design ideas for cabinets on social media or websites like Pinterest, they are probably way too expensive solutions for you. You should think of your finances and find the best price/performance ratio while buying custom cabinets.
So, instead of starting with dreaming of those shiny kitchen cabinets, you saw online visit a shop physically or virtually with a budget in your mind. Let the customer service know how much you can spend on your kitchen or choose the proper price range on the related website. Then you would know your limits and select the cabinets accordingly.
2. Stick with a Style
Now that you’ve figured out how much you want to pay for your kitchen renovation, you can start thinking about a style. There are plenty of kitchen design ideas showing several constructions and styles of cabinets. It depends totally on your taste to choose the one most suitable for your kitchen. While you can choose a modern style for a renovated kitchen, you might prefer a traditional style as well.
Choosing modern kitchen cabinetry is perfect if you love a more millennial look in your kitchen. Rustic details, on the other hand, create a more traditional atmosphere in your kitchen.
Don’t forget to consider how the rest of your house is designed. Your cabinets should go with the style and color of the other rooms in order to provide a harmonious sight in the house.
3. Favor a Design for Doors
Kitchen cabinet doors are what shapes the look of your kitchen most. The material and the design are essential features for reaching your dream kitchen at the end of your renovation process. If you want to play it safe, you should go for shaker-style cabinets, which is the most commonly used and delicate design option. The basic design with the frames and handles would satisfy your eyes and provide you with the most practical kitchen experience.
If you are looking for something marginal, then glass doors are best for your kitchen. However, don’t forget that they need more cleaning and tidiness. Don’t get this one if you think it is hard to keep your kitchen appliances in order all the time.
There are also plenty of design options in-between them, such as flat panel, slab, or raised panel. The best way to decide on one is to spend more time online and check as many design ideas as possible.
4. Check Wood Types
Along with style and door designs, you should consider the type of wood to be used in your kitchen cabinets. Material of kitchen cabinets is maybe the most important determinant for your future kitchen as it is the core of all the design. You can choose, for example, oak wood which is the most preferred material for cabinets thanks to its strongness and durability. Depending on your design, you can select wood from white or red oak trees.
Some other wood types include hard maple, hickory, cherry, birch, ash, and pine wood. You can decide by assessing their texture and color. Also, how they react to the stains when you prepare the perfect dinner for your family is important; ask your cabinetmaker about it. However, our favorite is still the oak wood.
5. Decide on the Coating
The finishing of the wood is another crucial element in your kitchen style. You should decide if you want something assertive or mild according to the kind of your choice. For example, glossy cabinets give a more modern look, while wooden ones go with older aesthetic codes. A stained finish is another option if you want a more unique look as it is made in a more random way without a plan of the color and shades.
If you look for a straighter style, you should prefer a painted finish as it provides a more coherent look on the doors. However, you should keep in mind that it might chip off and require repainting after a while.
Also, you can prefer varnished or distressed finishes but don’t forget that all of them have some pros and cons.
6. Look for Style and Function Together
Appearance is not everything! You should find a balance between beauty and convenience. Kitchens are the most used area of the houses. You prepare your meals and brew your coffee there. You have plenty of utensils, from pans to mixers, that you need to store in the kitchen cabinets.
The first thing to consider for practicability is the number of drawers and cupboards in your kitchen. How much space do you need for pots and plates, and how much room for cups or cutlery? After you assess it, you can decide on the percentage of the forms of the cabinets.
The size also matters! The depth of the cabinets is vital if you want to fit all your utensils inside them. Otherwise, you would find yourself trying to hide some big pots on the top of your fridge. Besides the depth, you should think about the height of the shelves inside the cabinets. Some articles like kettles might take up more space than you think.
7. Choose the Coherent Cabinet Handles
Fittings and door handles are the complementary parts and pieces to perfect your kitchen design. At first, you might think they are just tiny details but imagine a kitchen, and you will see how notable they actually are. The color and the style of the hardware will give character to your new kitchen cabinets. You can choose them according to the style you have gone for at the beginning.
Traditional cabinets go well with the traditional metal handles. Be careful about finding the ones which are stain proof as the kitchen is a wet area where your hands get dirty. You wouldn’t want your handles to be stained with your fingerprints all over.
For attaining a less traditional atmosphere, you can look for wooden or glass handles as well. Make sure they don’t look absurd when the renovation is over. You can take a piece of the wood used for your cabinets while choosing the handles so that you can easily check if they look good together.
8. Child Safety
Kitchens are not safe places for your children. The knives and the cutleries inside the cabinets must be well contained so that your child doesn’t get into trouble with them. You know children, they are curious and ready to put their fingers on everything. It would be best if you ask for safety solutions for your child while buying your semi-custom or full custom cabinets.
You will see that there are several styles for making your cabinets childproof. For example, locks, magnetic or pull-type, might be helpful for you. Also, you can buy hardware for your drawers which will make them closer, softer and slower. This will make sure that your children don’t jam their fingers.
9. Select Lighting
Light is what generates the appearances, so it does matter a lot for designers. The color and the style of your cabinets will show themselves depending on the under-cabinet lighting you chose. If your kitchen is dark and lighting is not enough, your kitchen will look like a cramped space as the colors will seem darker. However, with correct lighting, you can make your cabinets shine and your kitchen spacious.
Also, lighting is important for cooking the best dishes. You cannot chop the vegetables if you cannot see them. It is unsafe to work in a dark kitchen lest you injure yourself.
Summary
So far, we have looked at some critical points and kitchen cabinet features to consider. First, arrange your finances and come up with a budget. Then think of what types of kitchen cabinets appeal to you in terms of style. Do you want a traditional look, or are you more into modern lines? If you decide, search for design options for the doors and consider both the material and the finishing of the cabinets. Choose the handles which are most suitable for them.
More importantly, don’t give up on functionality and safety. You can have it all at once if you make good choices.
Lastly, lighting is the final touch for your perfect kitchen. It changes drastically how your cabinets look, so it is not a tiny detail.
If you are looking for the best kitchen cabinets on a budget, you are at the right place. On this site you can find all types of kitchen cabinets for your taste and use Kitchen Hill websites.
Also read: Kitchen Renovations: Where to Spend Your Time and Money
