Glass Kitchen Cabinet Doors And The Styles That They Work Well With
Kitchen cabinets with glass doors are pretty tricky. You either love them or you hate them. It’s easy to dismiss the option based on nothing but an association with a style that you don’t like but don’t generalize the look.
Glass kitchen cabinet doors are more versatile and adaptable than you think plus they also have a practical side. They’re a pretty great compromise between solid cabinetry and open shelving, allowing you to organize everything neatly inside a unit and to have it put on display at the same time.
There are, of course, lots of variations based on the type of glass you choose for your cabinets.
Transparent glass is the most common and versatile of all. It suits all styles and all kitchen types, some better than others. Simple, transparent glass for kitchen cabinet doors is the classic and safe choice in the sense that it would always look nice regardless of the latest trends.
However, there are a few things to consider in this case. Even though transparent glass is the most widely available, it shows smudges and fingerprints so you have to keep the cabinet doors clean and sparkling at all times.
Also, since the glass is transparent, it doesn’t really hide anything so everything inside the cabinets will be on display for everyone to see.
If you want a type of glass that at least gives the impression of hiding the contents of your kitchen cabinet, consider frosted glass.
This is a type of glass that’s blasted with sand or grit and which has a cool and sleek look, being suitable for modern decors and settings.
Keep in mind that frosted doesn’t mean opaque so perhaps your guests might not be able to distinguish the little details on the boxes and other things that you keep in your cabinets but they’ll still be able to see their silhouettes and to figure out that your cabinets are a mess when that’s actually true.
A cool thing about frosted glass, however, is the fact that it can be etched with custom patterns and designs.
Another option is textured glass which is molded or embossed to show all sorts of patterns. This technique makes the glass stand out from a visual and tactile point of view.
There are lots of options to choose from:
Rain glass, for instance, is a lovely option but so is the ribbed, pebbled, grooved or beveled glass. Kitchen cabinets with this sort of glass cabinet front don’t usually show stains, marks and fingerprints. They also hide any streaks really well.
However, a downside is a fact that such designs can become outdated quickly.
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A particularly interesting type of glass is seeded glass which has a vintage charm that you simply can’t ignore. This type of glass features tiny bubbles and has a handcrafted look that gives it an old-fashioned appeal that usually defined vintage and cottage decors but which can also look great in traditional settings.
Then there’s also leaded glass which has a special type of charm. It looks elegant and it usually looks good in traditional decors, having an artisanal look. It can be stained and it can usually be found in salvage shops, flea markets or through specialty retailers.
There are obviously quite a few options to choose from when it comes to glass kitchen cabinet doors. It’s important to know what you’re looking for and to have a specific purpose in mind so you can pick the best option for you and your kitchen.
For example, if you want to put things on display, opt for transparent glass and turn your kitchen cabinets into display cases but if you’d rather have some privacy, then perhaps you should pick frosted or opaque glass.
Let’s say you’re quite invested in this type of look and you’d like to adopt it for your own kitchen. You don’t necessarily have to replace your old cabinets with new ones to get the look. You can just give them a makeover or you can use solid cabinets together with glass front cabinets for a contrasting look that has a big visual impact.
U-shaped kitchens, although they have plenty of counter space and are great in terms of functionality, can sometimes feel a bit too enclosed because of the layout. It’s a good idea to avoid emphasizing that with closed upper cabinets. Include a few modules that have glass doors or introduce open shelves to break the pattern and to create a more airy décor. This lovely design by studio Hendley & Co is pretty well-balanced in this sense.
These cabinets look perfectly at home in this beautiful kitchen. They go all the way up taking advantage of the high ceiling but they don’t look too big or bulky. In fact, the space looks quite open and airy and the glass cabinet door have a lot to do with that. It’s also nice that the upper cabinets are white and match the walls while the lower ones stand out more.
It’s understandable to not want to expose the contents of your kitchen cabinets. At the same time, you might also recognize the advantages of glass cabinet doors or you might like the style. Frosted glass is a good compromise in this case. It still gives you that light and open feel in the room but it doesn’t totally expose everything inside. The silhouettes that can be distinguished behind the glass actually add a nice bit of mystery to the décor.
This kitchen features a really nice balance between the open and closed storage spaces. It has a lower cabinet unit with solid doors and drawers followed by a set of wall-mounted cabinets with transparent glass doors and then another enclosed module on top of that. Together with the window placed perfectly at the center of the wall this gives the kitchen asymmetrical look. {found on inhousedesigncompany}.
There are of course lots of different ways to design kitchen cabinets with glass doors and various different styles to guide this process. This one for example has a fairly eclectic look, combining elements of modern and farmhouse styles. We love the dark blue color of the lower cabinets and the clever use of space on the walls. The out studio Heidi Caillier Design for more info.
In the case of this contemporary kitchen created by Woodworks Design the wall-mounted cabinets share certain similarities to the windows. They have glass fronts which mimic the style of the window frames but with different proportions. This helps the kitchen to look very open, giving the impression that it’s surrounded by windows.
Similarly, the kitchen designed by studio Brian Stevenson Construction has these big wall-mounted cabinets placed on either side of the windows and they too have glass panels on the doors. This helps them look more lightweight and helps to visually emphasize the openness of the room and the impacts that the windows have on the décor.
This kitchen features a really big storage unit that covers the entire wall between the door and the windows. It seems the island is large scale as well which adds quite a bit of weight to the design. To avoid making it look too heavy, the designers used glass doors for the entire upper section of the wall unit.
The space in this kitchen designed by Studio Geiger Architecture is used very efficiently. If we look at the furniture, the functionality is maximized by the upper cabinets which add lots of storage space above the backsplash without looking too heavy.
They’re asymmetrical in order to incorporate the range hood and they have transparent glass front panels that go really well with the overall style of this space. The island is designed in the same style and it too makes the most of the limited floor space.