Kitchen Cabinet Styles: What Are The
Best Kitchen Cabinets For Your Home?

Your choices almost seem endless and many of them look great! Some folks are overwhelmed by this experience because the choice is so broad. Not to worry...You can make this a fun process and end up with the perfect selection for new kitchen design.

If you feel however, that you want help with your selections click here and find an interior designer in your areas that will work with you to get the best possible kitchen.

Lets look at some of the basic kitchen cabinet styles that you'll want to consider for your new kitchen design and sort some things out about cabinets.

What Style is Right For You?

Your kitchen interior design will be defined in a large part by the cabinet style that you select. The cabinet doors and drawers, whether they're face frame or frameless, will play a large part in how your room will look.

With kitchen cabinet styles you can either capture an era or use traditional cabinets that are classic in design and suitable for any period. Or maybe what's best for you is a more transitional look that combines styles. Or it could be a contemporary or modern kitchen design with a seamless look you're after.

Hear some cabinet considerations to think about in this video.

Kitchen Cabinet Styles

Pick up current design magazines and look for ideas. Go to the library and look at magazines and books on kitchen design. Visit design showrooms, home improvement centers, and look on the web for styles that appeal to you.

When at the showroom, stand back and see which of the cabinets seems striking to you and would blend well with the interior of your home. Get up close to the cabinets and see how you like the quality of the fit and finish, and notice the level of detail.


Things to think about when selecting your new cabinets:

• Choosing your cabinets is the first selection that you should make of all items to be selected for your design.

• Your flooring and kitchen counter tops will be driven by the selection of your cabinets.

• Will the brand that you like fit your budget? What type of kitchen cabinet construction will you be getting with your purchase? Quality of construction varies so be certain that you know what you are getting before you make your purchase.

• Decide whether you want face frame cabinets or frameless kitchen cabinets.
  Face frame cabinets are an American style of cabinet and are the most common type built in the United States.

  Frameless cabinets, or "European" cabinets have no face frame and have a wider access inside the cabinet and drawer. They also have a more seamless look since the doors and drawers are closer together with no face frame that shows underneath.
  
  Look at both and see which of the two you like the most. Either can be used for traditional kitchen design with frameless cabinets being used most often for contemporary kitchen design.

• Check to make sure that the installation cost will be about the same with either type of cabinet. Some frameless cabinets require that more parts need to be assembled to get the finished product.
  
  

Cabinet styles are broadly defined as traditional or contemporary. You will find many different cabinet styles that will fall under those two main groups.

Face frame cabinets often fall under the traditional group while frameless are grouped under contemporary, however, this is not always the case. There are no exact rules here, so select whatever you like that works with the rest of your home.

You'll find that traditional cabinets are those that have more detail to them while contemporary have less detail. Most traditional cabinet doors have a routed frame around them and have a raised or flat panel in the center. The drawers usually have an edge that is the same as the door and feature a flat or raised panel in the center as well.

Contemporary cabinets often have slab panel doors with no detail. Shaker kitchen cabinets, for instance, have a door style that is considered contemporary or transitional and they have a recessed flat panel with simple square corners. There is very little detail.

It's All in The look

Over the years, kitchen cabinet styles have been influenced by the history of cabinet making that has developed over many decades around the world. Thanks to all of the influences, there is a wealth of cabinets to choose from and each of the cabinetmakers has different names for their cabinets.

If you go to a major cabinet retail showroom that represents several makers, you'll find hundreds of cabinet styles and find that many of them have different names. The names of the styles are not important. If you like a cabinet style, are you confident they will go well with the rest of the interior design you have in your home?

While at the showroom, you can choose a wood species, a stain color, a paint or hand glazed finish, custom changes, glass doors, cabinet accessories, kitchen knobs and pulls and the selection can be tailored to your exact wants and needs. Whew, it seems like a lot to choose.

Angie's List is a great resource to find who you're looking for especially if you live in a metropolitan area. A kitchen designer can help you narrow your selections down and get the perfect fit for your new kitchen design.

It really is nice to have an array of choices. Rest assured that you'll find the right cabinet fairly quickly because you simply won't like many of the kitchen cabinet styles. Finding the right cabinet can be a fun experience. So why not get started with the process of elimination and have a good time selecting the perfect cabinet for your new kitchen design!

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