Are Kitchen Cabinets Cliché? Choices and New Tendencies

Replacing kitchen area cabinets is typically one of the most time- and funds-consuming parts of a kitchen rework. There is a myriad of selections, they have to be measured and set up, odds are you finish up expending far more than planned. In short, kitchen area cupboards can be a headache.

But perhaps you do not have to have them — or as many of them.

There are quite a few motives to rethink traditional cabinetry. Slicing down fees is a person, of system. Maybe you want a more spacious experience for your little kitchen. Or perhaps mobility is an issue and you want far more storage on easier-to-access reduce ranges.

Or possibly you just want to bounce on the most recent in kitchen area design and style concepts. The Nationwide Kitchen & Bathtub Association (NKBA) is “seeing considerably less upper cabinetry where homeowners are getting edge of employing place with decrease cupboards, islands and pantries,” states Tricia Zach , head of NKBA Study. “New kitchen area designs are emerging from new technology answers, mother nature-inspired themes and European trends.” With these new tendencies, you get new selections for your kitchen storage.

With that in thoughts, let us search at some of the top choices to classic hanging kitchen area cabinets.

Kitchen area islands

Islands are a single suitable substitute. Acquiring longer, they are an increasingly typical position to increase kitchen area storage, with cabinets or drawers picked by three-fourths of renovating home owners, in accordance to the 2022 Houzz U.S. Kitchen area Trends Research. The NKBA also notes that massive or double islands are in desire. Moreover, Zach suggests, a good deal of homeowners are searching for out multi-purpose kitchen area islands, like “large islands for foods prep that also operate as dining tables, research and function-from-home parts.”

This can be a substantial assist for accessibility. For aged house owners and people in wheelchairs, for case in point, an island with storage offers a lot more space at an straightforward-to-seize peak.

You can buy a pre-created freestanding island to put in your kitchen area, or you can seek the services of a contractor to construct a customized edition for you. You can also pick out to match the island to the countertops and cabinets in the relaxation of your kitchen or incorporate new, trending products and textures for distinction (an increasingly well known selection, adopted by virtually 50 % of renovators, according to the Houzz examine.).

Open up cabinets or racks

Whilst an island keeps kitchen area storage at the decrease ranges, open shelves and racks can aid you just take advantage of the vertical area you have out there. This could be as very simple as buying a wire rack and inserting it in your kitchen area. But if you want to abide by the most current kitchen design tips, think about floating open up shelving on the walls.

“Open shelving units can deliver a great deal of additional storage even though also staying super-trendy,” Zach says.

“Open shelving has been a strong development in current years,” agrees Susan Serra, president of kitchen area structure firm Susan Serra Associates, Inc. “Decorative and handy goods combined together on a shelf increase loads of personality on a spending budget. I motivate householders to mix textures and finishes, which permits them to inject their personalities into their kitchen area style and design.” She also states you can select open up shelving in a contrasting colour or end from your reduced cabinets to make your kitchen glance effectively-intended.

With floating shelves, you will want to find studs and mount the cabinets to your wall though it is just one of the less difficult Diy projects, you can also hire a carpentry professional to tackle this for you.

If you opt for open shelving or racks, you can mix-and-match products, like a stack of bowls you use day by day with a plant or wonderful cookbook you hardly ever pull down. If you want a basic way to maintain issues searching tidy, Serra endorses getting some storage containers. “Lidded baskets can be positioned casually on the cabinets to conceal kitchen area applications or other products,” she suggests.

Hutches, armoires and other furnishings

Who suggests you simply cannot use home furnishings in the kitchen? “To generate a featured space in the kitchen area, involve the use of classic parts these kinds of as a dresser, chest bookcase, armoire, hutch or even bar or tea carts to maintain tiny appliances,” Serra suggests. “These parts can be identified at estate income, generally in superb affliction and of terrific high-quality. Their patina of time is precisely the soulful search that provides heat to the kitchen.”

Although Serra endorses picking vintage — or at minimum vintage-hunting — pieces, you could also choose modern, clean or minimalist household furniture to mesh with your kitchen area structure. The trick is to make certain the piece you opt for has the storage you need to have. A hutch could possibly contain drawers — a necessity if you’re skipping reduce cabinets — though a bookcase may well be a superior substitution for nixed higher cupboards.

Although furnishings may possibly appear like an ultra-quick way to remodel, Serra recommends approaching it thoughtfully. “Always diligently look at proportions to make absolutely sure proportions are acceptable for your picked out locale,” she says. “Better yet, get the job done with a layout skilled, even for a small-term consultation, to get the proportions, scale, hues and textures proper due to the fact the piece you choose will be an vital portion of the complete style.”

Moveable carts

There is no rule that your kitchen storage has to stay fixed in position. “Traditional kitchen carts with butcher block tops and wheels can take the spot of a cupboard at the stop of a run of cabinetry, all set to shift close to the kitchen as required,” Serra says.

Of all the kitchen design and style suggestions in this article, this is 1 of the a lot easier kinds to put into action. You don’t even want to decide the place to place it considering that it can transfer around. This offers you the flexibility to see how it will work best in your kitchen. You might stow it in a corner, releasing up area, then pull it out only throughout food prep.

Models abound, but definitely decide for a cart with a butcher block or an additional prep surface area on leading. This way, you never just achieve storage, you also properly boost your counter place. If you strategy to shop appliances or other significantly less-than-stunning objects in it, select a piece with drawers and cupboards rather than open racks.

Do-it-yourself wood cupboard

If you are seeking for finances kitchen storage alternate options, you can help save some dollars by creating a thing that looks and functions like a cabinet at a portion of the price. “One or additional cupboards can be substituted with a Do it yourself wooden body in between cabinets,” Serra says. From there, she recommends adding roll-out cabinets and a curtain at the front to conceal the contents behind. “It’s a beautiful appear — and can also have a fashionable seem with the appropriate fabric,” she claims.

That claimed, you really do not have to have to include the entrance if you want to mimic the seem of open shelving listed here. Some men and women paint or wallpaper the interior to insert much more depth to this Do-it-yourself cabinet.

Last term on kitchen area cupboard options

Kitchen area cupboards may perhaps not be a overall cliché — but they’re no for a longer time a requirement when transforming your cooking space. “Homeowners can save revenue and add some soul into their kitchens at the exact same time by substituting alternative types of storage alternatively of defaulting to utilizing all kitchen cabinets,” Serra suggests.

You never have to halt at the boundary of your kitchen area, either. “Look beyond the kitchen into encompassing rooms if far more storage is wanted,” she suggests. “A hutch or sideboard in the dining home can house packaged food stuff or tiny cooking equipment. When the doorways are shut, no one knows that cans of tomatoes or the hand mixer are on a shelf.”