Kitchen Cabinets & Hardware Style Guide

Your kitchen cabinets will be the central point of focus in one of the most important rooms of your home. You want to make sure that you put thought into your cabinets.

(1) Primary Cabinet Color
Your first decision is the color of your cabinets.

White
Off-White or Cream
Light Stain
Medium Stain
Dark Stain
Black
Custom Color

(2) Underlying Features
Many features will determine the style and quantity of your cabinets. You will want to have these figured out before you can design your cabinet layout.

Windows — If you plan to change your windows or window trim, figure this out before starting to design your cabinet layout.
Oven Hood — Will you have an oven hood?
Appliances — What appliances will you have? Microwave? Standing stove? Stovetop? Built-in Oven? Dishwasher? Wine cooler?
Sink — Your selected sink will impact your cabinet design.
Central Vacuum — Will you have central vacuum? If so, this can impact cabinet if you wish to include sweeps.

(3) Cabinet Layout
After you know all of the underlying factors, you can begin laying out your proposed cabinet layout. Consider your common paths and storage requirements. Start the process by defining points which you wish to work around. This includes windows, doorways, plumbing, electrical, etc.

(4) Built-in Features
If there are built-in features, be sure that your layout has incorporated them. These could include:

Appliance Storage Features
Built-in Waste Storage
Built-in Central Vac Collectors
Outlets
Lighting — Cabinet tape lighting, under cabinet lights, accent lighting

(5) Cabinet Style
There are a variety of cabinet styles available. There are too many varieties to list, but this can make a big difference in both appearance and cost.

(6) Center Island
One of the big considerations will be your center island, will you have it match the color of other cabinets or be a contrasting element?

Center Island with Matched Color
Center Island with Contrasting Color or Stain
No Center Island

(7) Wall Cabinet Height
How high do you want your wall mounted cabinets? Should cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, or will they stop short?

Ceiling Height Cabinets — Cabinets run to the ceiling
Floating Cabinets — Cabinets are installed lower than ceiling height
Alternating Height Cabinets — Cabinets alternate between different heights
No Wall Cabinets — Omit wall cabinets completely

(8) Cabinet Door Style
You can equip your cabinets with a variety of door styles. These can dramatically change their appearance.

Standard Solid Doors
Glass Panel Doors — Adds an elegant appearance that allows presentation pieces to be prominently displayed.
Custom & Unique Doors — There are many unique options available. These will likely add significant cost to your budget.

(9) Crown Molding
The crown molding that is installed on the top edge of the cabinets can significantly dress up the appearance of your kitchen. Whether your cabinets are ceiling height or floating, either way we highly recommend crown.