Matching Your Kitchen and Cabinets

by Gary Nealon

When you're doing a kitchen remodel, one of the biggest challenges is to match your kitchen cabinets. Your cabinets have a lot of impact on the overall feel of your kitchen space and, if you choose the wrong kind of cabinetry, you'll generally find that it's very difficult to create a harmonious feel throughout the entire area. Some simple guidelines can help you make the right choices.

Modern

Most of the time, a modern kitchen and cabinets will both have something of a minimalistic feel to them. Kitchen trends come and go but, for the past few years, stainless steel appliances have been particularly in vogue. If you have this type of the kitchen set up, you may want to consider black cabinetry. If you have granite countertops, black cabinetry makes an excellent match for it, as that particular stone tends to have a lot of black coloration in it. Black cabinetry also has a very streamlined appearance to it, as the color tends to overwhelm any characteristics of the wood. If bright shiny stainless steel is your thing, envision your kitchen with black cabinets and see if that appeals to you.

Rustic

Matching a rustic kitchen and cabinets is usually a little bit easier. A rustic kitchen can have more variety between the cabinetry, the appliances and the counter space, which gives you a little bit more freedom. There's also no need to favor a minimalistic look when you have a rustic kitchen. Some people like white cabinetry in these kitchens, others prefer red and still others prefer the look of natural wood. One of the things you want to consider with this type of kitchen is how much ornamentation you want on the cabinets. When you are creating a more handmade sort of look, you can go ahead and indulge a bit where the fancier aspects of your kitchen and cabinets are concerned.

Conservative

If you're going for a truly conservative look, you may want to consider matching your kitchen and cabinets by going for the least intrusive designs. These would include traditional looks such as blond wood, darker stained wood or other woods that aren't painted and that show off their grains. You may also want to go with more expensive woods to make the kitchen look a little bit more upscale. Like black cabinets, wood that shows off its grain blends nicely with granite countertops and other surfaces that have patterns of their own.

Remember to consider what kind of flooring you're going to put in your kitchen when you're looking at the cabinets. For example, if you're installing Saltillo tile, you may want to consider a more distressed look for your cabinetry, as such finishes constitute popular options in the Southwest. If you're looking for a more Western look, hardwood flooring would be a natural choice and cabinets that have a little darker finish to them or, in some cases, cabinets that are actually painted white would be good choices. It's good to let your imagination soar, but make sure that everything works together.

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