Embarking on a kitchen remodel provides an opportunity to design everything you want for your kitchen, giving your home a new lease of life. Re-designing your whole kitchen might seem overwhelming, but not when you work with a kitchen design expert who will help you create the ideal design for your space and help you break the process into stages.  They also assist with selection of the products that will work best in your design, such as cabinets, which are the foundation for any kitchen design.

Aside from providing storage and workspace, kitchen cabinets set the tone and style of the room. Cabinet finish refers to the appearance of the cabinetry, excluding color. You can choose anything from a transparent to densely painted finish on wood. There’s a variety of wood to choose from and a whole range of finishes. How do you make the right choice? Read on to get an understanding of kitchen cabinet finishes.

Step 1

Choose your style, whether contemporary or traditional, and a complimentary wood. It’s a good idea to go for cabinets that suit the overall style of your house, so they blend well with the rest of your interiors. This is even more important with today’s open plan kitchen designs and will make it easier to both live in and sell. Cabinet color is more noticeable than style or finish in the completed kitchen remodel, but all three elements must work together and complement other products such as tiles, countertops, and hardware.

Remember that your finish will affect the final color and texture and must pair well with your wood type.  A highly patterned wood or a textured door might look too fussy for some styles but may be the star of the show in others.  This sleek contemporary kitchen design in Scituate has a simple cabinet style that showcases the beautiful wood grain.

contemporary kitchen design

Step 2

When you’ve narrowed down your wood selection, assess how various stains change their appearance. You can go for a budget-friendly wood with a dark stain to resemble mahogany. The lighter the stain the better the wood must be though as the natural wood appearance shines through. A lightly colored glaze can be applied over the stain for added depth and dimension. Be sure to see a sample of your chosen wood with the finish you want, before committing.

If you choose paint, you’re covering the wood and focusing more on color, with a myriad of options. Darker shades look good in a gloss finish to reflect light, but light colors can dazzle in a matte finish. You can incorporate painted finishes for all your cabinetry or just as accent colors on islands or upper cabinets, leaving the rest white, gray or another neutral shade. An accent glaze can be hand applied to stained or painted cabinet doors to accentuate cabinet door details such as corners and edges, giving variety to the tone.

The kitchen design in Norwell pictured below pairs an island painted in a deep gray tone with white perimeter cabinets to create a striking style.

gray kitchen island with white perimeter cabinets

Step 3

The cabinet door style is another factor that impacts the final appearance of your kitchen cabinet style.  A full overlay is a sleek look, with no cabinet frame on show. Partial overlay is more classical as some of the frame is visible, giving a more textured appearance. The doors could be flat, raised, multi panel or with beadboard. These overall factors influence how your finish will appear and should be taken into consideration when selecting the finish.

Step 4

The process of finishing cabinetry depends on the manufacturer. Your kitchen cabinet doors could be sanded, primed, stained, painted or glazed in anything from a few days to a few weeks. Your kitchen design expert can tell you how the finishing process affects the maintenance of your cabinetry. If you want something easy to care for then choose your finish accordingly. A high-end appearance might need more maintenance, so you need to take that into account.

Explore our gallery for kitchen cabinet design inspiration and visit our showroom to see and feel the available finishes, firsthand. How your cabinets are finished is an important factor in your kitchen remodel and, with our experience, we can guide you through your options.