The kitchen is the heart of any home. Potential homeowners have a lot of opinions about a property’s kitchen. By adding a couple of affordable cabinet upgrades to a kitchen renovation, you can give your project some extra appeal.
But before you get started with your cabinets, it’s important to note that a professional layout is a critical first step in any kitchen renovation. A good professional designer knows all the pitfalls to look out for (e.g., doors opening into appliances or cabinets, lining up the sink with the kitchen window, where and how to use space fillers, etc.). A designer has seen it all and will work with you in areas where you need to get creative to achieve your vision. Most important, a good designer will be able to generate a color, 3D-rendering of your project as well as line drawings and a “birds eye view” of your kitchen with all the measurements clearly outlined. These drawings will be critical tools as you work with contractors and installers to place all the components of your kitchen correctly.
Once you have a professional design in hand, think about incorporating the following four cabinet ideas.
1. Smart Storage Solutions
Your designer can assist you with slipping in smart cabinet storage solutions, especially in tight spaces.
Hidden Charging Stations. By installing a few outlets in upper cabinets or even in drawer bases, you can keep your countertop clutter free. All your phones and unused charging cords will be hidden from site.
Roll-Out Trays. Double the storage space in your kitchen by adding roll-out trays. Add two trays to your larger base cabinets and load up your pantry with three to five trays. Now you not only can access the contents of your cabinets more easily but also have a ton more storage space for cans, plasticware, dry goods, small appliances, etc. Try a roll-out tray under your sink for a great way to access your cleaning materials (and keep that cabinet from becoming the neglected storage space it usually is).
Spice Pullout Racks. A really easy upgrade that solves a big headache for the end user is to install spice pullout racks. Spices are presented in a deep base cabinet where the door pulls out three racks of storage space. These short-width cabinets also make great endcaps to a range or other appliance.
Appliance Garage. An “appliance garage” is a space that hides your small appliances such as blenders, toasters, air fryers, etc. With an appliance garage, you can keep these appliances on your counter, but they are hidden behind a hinged cabinet door that matches the rest of your kitchen. If countertop space is limited, consider a “lift” for your mixer stand: Transform a shelf in a base cabinet into a platform that stores your mixer (or other small appliance) when the mixer is not in use but can be gently maneuvered into countertop height when access is needed.
2. Ceiling-High Crown Molding
Although tall wall cabinets are currently trending, connecting them to the ceiling with crown molding will continue to grow in popularity through 2023. This practice draws the eye up the cabinet, elongating the space. Leaving upper cabinets “free-floating” creates a linear break between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, creating a shortening effect.
Whether you can achieve this effect with crown molding depends on the existing kitchen structure. Often, electrical is kept within soffits, making them complicated to remove. A workaround is to simply add crown molding to the soffit—an easy way to still achieve the “elongated” cabinet look. Adding crown molding is also a fun way to add more character to a project and space. There are many styles of crown that will work with a wide variety of cabinets, offering a great way to add detail and texture to your project.
3. Two-Tone Cabinetry
HGTV has certainly shown us a lot of dramatic kitchens in dark blues, greens, and even black. A neutral two-tone kitchen can still give your project plenty of drama. Try painted white cabinets on top, with darker gray cabinets for your base. This technique can be especially effective in darker rooms where all-gray would make for a gloomy kitchen, yet you still want something different from the standard all-white kitchen that’s so popular today.
If you have room for an island, make it the focal point of your kitchen. Feature the island in a different, but complementary, finish or color. Perhaps experiment with a blue or green shade that is a bit much for an entire kitchen but works well as a pop of color for an island.
4. Open Shelving or Glass Front Cabinets
Open shelving is enjoying a comeback moment in 2023. People seem to either love it or hate it. A bit of open shelving placed over a fully backsplashed wall can create a beautiful detail in a kitchen.
For those that just see open shelving as a clutter magnet, glass front cabinets could be the answer. Glass front cabinets bring a touch of “openness” to the space while still allowing you to hide that one ugly coffee mug your friend made you out of view, in the back behind the matching coffee cups.
Kate Haubrich is the director of marketing at MFS Supply. Throughout the past seven years, Haubrich has run eCommerce, product management, and data analysis at MFS Supply in addition to her standard marketing strategizing responsibilities.
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