19 Great Kitchen Cabinet Ideas

Though kitchen cabinets play the obvious role of storing food goods, dinnerware, and pots and pans, they also have a powerful effect on the overall design of a kitchen.

In this Palm Springs duplex, for cabinet doors, the architect owner designed aqua blue plywood sliders that park at specific positions, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Contractor Franklin Pineda custom-built these cabinets using Baltic birch plywood from Anderson Plywood.
In this Palm Springs duplex, for cabinet doors, the architect owner designed aqua blue plywood sliders that park at specific positions, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Contractor Franklin Pineda custom-built these cabinets using Baltic birch plywood from Anderson Plywood.

Because they play such a big role in terms of the way a kitchen looks and functions, it's important to make thoughtful decisions about them—from the materials and colors to the scale and layout. Whether you're looking to build some colorful cabinets or want to install a clever, hidden storage system, these examples will inspire you before embarking on your kitchen remodel.


1. Get playful with a family of colors

Be bold with colors, and turn your kitchen into a work of art with cabinet doors of different shades of color. In this East Tennessee home, laminate kitchen cabinets in three shades of blue and Glacier White Corian top completes a fun and modern composition.
Be bold with colors, and turn your kitchen into a work of art with cabinet doors of different shades of color. In this East Tennessee home, laminate kitchen cabinets in three shades of blue and Glacier White Corian top completes a fun and modern composition.

2. Create a seamless effect with consistent materials

Use the same finishing, for example a consistent wood palette, for your kitchen cabinets, walls and ceiling, and the effect is a kitchen than blends in seamlessly with the rest of your home for a cohesive feel.
Use the same finishing, for example a consistent wood palette, for your kitchen cabinets, walls and ceiling, and the effect is a kitchen than blends in seamlessly with the rest of your home for a cohesive feel.

3. Try finger holes instead of traditional handles

If you don't like handles sticking out from your cabinet doors, then one quirky and clever idea is to have a hole drilled near the top of the cabinet door, so you can stick you finger in it and pull the door open. These orange-painted MDF cabinets in a New Zealand beach house is an example of how this idea works brilliantly in cheery, low- kitchen.
If you don't like handles sticking out from your cabinet doors, then one quirky and clever idea is to have a hole drilled near the top of the cabinet door, so you can stick you finger in it and pull the door open. These orange-painted MDF cabinets in a New Zealand beach house is an example of how this idea works brilliantly in cheery, low- kitchen.

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