Deciding on which direction to take the look and feel of your kitchen design depends on exactly what look you want to achieve and colors and styles have a great deal to do with this. Some people believe the best way to take their kitchen design is to open the room up with bright, cheery colors. This is a great option for playful kitchens, or kitchen where colors are the ideal. Other people look for something a bit darker and richer, something that will create a more sophisticated and elegant kitchen design. The best way to achieve this look in your kitchen design, both in grand homes or spacious high-end kitchens, is the use of darker colored kitchen cabinets.
Great with Assorted Color Accents
Designing a kitchen around dark kitchen cabinets has countless benefits. Aside from the elegant and sophisticated look one can achieve, the dark colors work well with a broad range of color accents. Individuals with a preference for stainless steel appliances will find they work excellently with the richness and warmth of dark kitchen cabinets. The contrast between the stainless steel and the dark kitchen cabinets will assist in bringing those appliances and the kitchen hardware to life.
Dark kitchen cabinets also work well with an assortment of colors and styles. You can pair your dark cabinets with any color accent pieces and appliances you opt to use. To brighten up a room where dark cabinetry is used, you can install additional lighting fixtures into the room, use a light colored countertop, and paint the walls in a light color. One option that people choose when using dark kitchen cabinets is to install lighter wood kitchen cabinets on the walls to contrast with the dark richness of the base cabinets.
Installing dark kitchen cabinets not only brings a level of elegance to your kitchen design you will also find that it affords the room with clean lines. In addition, sparse dashes of color will help add personality to the room while maintaining the clean lines desired.
Lighting is Essential
When making the decision to create a kitchen design that is centered around dark kitchen cabinets it is essential to remember that even in large, spacious kitchens, dark colors can cause the room to look smaller than it truly is. For this reason, always remember to take into account the room’s natural light and the artificial light that is installed throughout the room. If you are lacking adequate light, ensure that you have chosen enough light fixtures to spread throughout the kitchen to accommodate the light that is lost when using dark kitchen cabinets.
Another way to add light to your kitchen design is using light oak or similar colored flooring. Deciding on the proper contrasting color of flooring will prevent the dark kitchen cabinets from causing the room to close in. Other ways to add light to the kitchen is using light colors on the walls, countertops, and even the furniture. Regardless of the options used to add lightness to your kitchen design, you will not compromise the goal of an elegant and sophisticated kitchen.
Not Suggested for Small Kitchens
One of the problems with small kitchens is they already look small. When you are choosing your kitchen cabinets, it is not advisable to install dark kitchen cabinets. The key reason not to use these kitchen cabinets in your kitchen design is that dark colors have a tendency to make the rooms appearance look smaller than its reality. There are a limited number of colors and styles that are appropriate for a smaller room. If you have determined that dark kitchen cabinets are what you want to do, then consider only doing the base cabinets in a dark wood and the rest of the wall cabinets in white, or another light colored wood. Furthermore, another way to lighten up a small room, where dark kitchen cabinets are used, is to install plenty of light, paint the walls a light color, and use light colored floors and countertops. Each of these items will help keep your kitchen from looking too small.
Realistic Upkeep for Dark Kitchen Cabinets
It is important to remember that with the elegance, class, and sophistication that comes with installing dark kitchen cabinets into the most used room of the home, is these darker cabinets require regular maintenance and upkeep. Since dark kitchen cabinets tend to show dust, dirt, or any type of flaw, prepare to keep the kitchen cleaned continuously. Remembering to wipe down your cabinets is a small price to pay for all of the benefits that comes with having a kitchen designed around kitchen cabinets in darker wood tones. The amount of maintenance and upkeep required in a kitchen design centered on dark kitchen cabinets is not excessive as compared to kitchens featuring lighter wood, it is simply a fact one must take into account.
The best choice of colors and styles to create an elegant and sophisticated kitchen design is using dark kitchen cabinets. With a number of different wood options available, it is possible to find a wood option that is perfect for your home. Some of the different options to considering include assorted shades of dark walnut, wenge wood, or even dark oak if you are looking to create a classier look for your kitchen design. To prevent your kitchen from feeling smaller than it is, or feeling closed in, also remember that allowing plenty of natural light into the room, or the use of artificial light, will aid in keeping your kitchen design bright and airy.
