photos by Jim Bartsch
Corinne von Guenthner of CvG Designs, shares her top kitchen cabinetry design trends for the year. You can learn more about her on her website at CvGDesigns.com
White painted cabinets endure, while blues & greens trend. White cabinetry continues to lead the way across all kitchen designs from Traditional, Contemporary, and the evergrowing Transitional style. Using brass or black iron accents on the hardware and fixtures is a way to keep things feeling hip and on trend. Those accents can easily and inexpensively be changed out in years to come to keep things looking fresh on the classic white cabinetry foundation.
Photo courtesy of Cambria
Reiterating Pantone’s 2020 color of the year, “Classic Blue,” blue-hued painted cabinetry is gaining energy in the everyday home. A wide range of blues are seeing popularity, from deep navy tones to light dusty blues. I am also seeing a color trend with greens, from jewel-toned emerald to earth-toned olive. And painted color cabinetry is not just for the island accent anymore, many homeowners are choosing color for their perimeter base cabinets or for the whole kitchen. I try to keep the other materials & finishes neutral and grounded if there is more color on the cabinetry.
Aside from painted cabinetry, real wood finishes will always stand the test of time. Most notable trends are light natural wood finishes with character grain and texture, showcasing the wood’s natural beauty and emphasizing its sustainable quality.
Shaker style doors endure, while updated details make the trend fresh. By most studies, a variation of the Shaker door style accounts for likely half of all new and remodeled kitchen designs. The understated, timeless simplicity has been used in Southern California kitchens for almost 100 years for a reason. Cabinetry is the biggest investment in a kitchen and many homeowners want to choose a door style that they won’t get tired of easily or will date their kitchen to a specific era. The Shaker door style bridges the gap between all the design styles and allows flexibility for future design alterations. Updated details to the Shaker door style are what’s trending to keep it from feeling lackluster. Thinner stiles & railson the door frame, and small corner and edge details can keep cabinetry doors from looking common or like they came off the warehouse shelf.
Efficient cabinetry storage endures, while personalized interiors trend. A well-designed kitchen starts with great workflow and efficient storage, before any of the beautiful materials get added. With custom and semi-custom cabinetry, we can make the best use of every inch of space, whether the space is existing or expanding into an adject room. Some of the most popular interior features for efficient cabinetry storage are trash pull-outs, spice racks, pantry drawers, blind corner swing-outs and lazy-susans.
A few of these items go into every kitchen I design as a standard, but to optimize a personalized design, there are literally thousands of additional interior options that can be accommodated. For example, a homeowners who bakes may want multiple baking tray options and a stand-mixer pull out that stays plugged in for ease of use - those things are heavy! Another homeowner may like to cook with a spouse and request a couple of butcher block rollouts over two separate trash pull-outs so they have their own workspace without bumping elbows. A homeowner that values wine and coffee might want a builtin bar zone away from the main prep/cooking area, plenty of glassware storage, an undercabinet wine cooler, and an appliance garage that keeps the coffee maker plugged in and easy to use, but out of sight when not in use.
Studies show, and any of my clients who have had a recent kitchen remodel will tell you, that you can get almost double the amount of storage space when you install new, efficient cabinetry with specially selected interior storage features.