Current Kitchen Climate: Getting Warmer

What’s warm and dark and classically contemporary? Kitchen cabinetry for 2012.

Increasingly, focus is shifting from the ornate detailing popular in the 90s to simpler cabinet doors in rich, darker woods. It’s transitional design at its best, contemporary in its clean lines, yet warm and inviting like the best of traditional design.
The look continues the trend to “real furniture” in the kitchen, blurring the distinction between the kitchen and other living spaces within the home.

White and light cabinetry is frequently added to lighten the look of darker cabinetry and provide aninteresting counterpoint. Darker wood cabinetry such as walnut is also beautifully compatible with popular marble and granite countertop patterns, stainless steel appliances and a glass tile backsplash.

Shape Shifting
There’s more to the latest cabinetry trends than looks, however. New shapes provide new functionality.
One of the hottest cabinet styles might be called “the horizontal.” Wall cabinet doors are as wide as 3 feet yet only 15 inches tall. Tilt up hinges allow the doors to stay open during food preparation and cooking, without being in the way. This style can be installed singly or stacked.

Sliding cabinet doors, installed on tracks, are a popular choice for cabinets placed under the cooktop or on the back of an island.
Bi-fold doors that slide to either side work well for appliance garages that keep toasters, mixers and other small appliances within reach but out of sight.

A Glass Act
Glass inserts, especially those utilizing frosted glass, dress up simpler cabinet door styles. And, in many cases, it s not the glass of your grandmother’s sideboard. New types of opaque glass hide the contents while allowing interior lighting to shine through.
There is also a new acid-etched opaque mirrored glass that adds interest to cabinetry by appearing to be green or silvery depending on the viewing angle. If you’re looking for even more visual interest, choose a style of patterned “art glass” to complement your new warm wood cabinets.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all in kitchen cabinet design, new looks, new styles, new functionalities come along to surprise and delight.