Choosing a Cabinet Door Style for Your Kitchen

When planning out a new kitchen design you will come to the point where you need to decide what door design will work best for your home and style. Choosing a door is not as simple as choosing the design but you also have to choose the color, stain, finish and any distressing. Glazing has become a popular technique for finishing cabinet doors as well.

When looking at the design of the door you will want to consider the feel of the entire kitchen to ensure the cabinet doors will fit well into that design. If you are choosing a more modern door but want distressed glazed finishes this may clash some with the overall feel of your space.

The first step is to step back and think about the overall look you hoping to create. Do you want a modern kitchen with sleek lines? A rustic distressed kitchen? Casual? Contemporary? No matter what look you are going for there is a kitchen cabinet style that will work. Stop and think also about how you will feel about the cabinets in a few years. Choosing a trendy door style may cause you some heartbreak down the road.

Second, think about maintenance and cleaning. Some door styles work best for wiping and cleaning while others are more intriquiet and harder to clean. A flat or shaker style door are great options for homes with children that may need lots of wiping down to remove fingerprints and spills. A more ornate or decorative may work better in a home without kids. Your lifestyle can really affect the choice in this department.

Third, consider what hardwear you want. Some door styles won’t match the hardware that you are wanting. If you want a sleek modern handle you will want a sleek modern door style. If you are set on a knob or pull buy one and take it with you to choose your door style. This will help you get a better overall feel for the final look.

Designing a kitchen is a huge undertaking but when you work through each step logically you will slowly weed out the choice that don’t work for you and come down to just a few choices that work for your home. Many custom cabinet shops and designers can help you with these decisions as well based on their first hand experience.