On the surface, “informal elegance” might seem a contradiction, but it’s an apt description of a more modern design trend that’s less formal than traditional design, but still has an air of sophistication. You’ve likely heard of “Modern Farmhouse” and maybe “Transitional”. These design styles are dominating interior design and custom cabinetry to match them is in high demand.

The age of walling off rooms to be used for limited purposes are over. You may have grown up with a dining room whose table only saw action for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, the occasional family card game, and if your parents let you get away with it, fort building. Today’s open, less formal lifestyle is echoed in our home environment and naturally cabinet design followed suit.

THE BASICS
The Modern Farmhouse movement is all about modern features, rustic elements, and industrial-inspired accents creating an artisan or craftsman-like appearance. Mixing metal finishes is common as is the use of white or neutral colors.

The Transitional style also has modern features and neutral colors but holds onto more traditional elements. If full modern styling is out of your comfort zone and you want to hang onto a bit of nostalgia, you can mix contemporary and traditional styling to get an interesting and updated look. A benefit to Transitional styling is the ability to make small changes in the future to select elements without having to completely redesign the space.

OVERALL COLOR PALETTE
Color choice can and should be based on your personal tastes, but take some time to explore options outside your comfort zone. Consider if you want to stick with a beautiful and time honored white or go bold with a splash of color. Neutral grays, muted tones and natural woods can provide additional interest. You could fall in love with something completely unexpected.

Contrary to many predictions, white is still leading as the color of choice for new cabinets. Houzz (popular interior design inspiration online community) surveyed over 1,300 U.S. homeowners recently in the market for new kitchen cabinets. Forty-three percent chose white, 25% wood finish and 11% gray.

Though currently still popular, there is a declining trend for wood stained cabinets with homeowners gravitating instead toward simpler painted styles. Gray is definitively on the rise and you often see those grays mixed with white especially in the kitchen. Two-toned cabinets provide a distinctive look with white uppers and darker lower cabinets. Placing the darker colors lower avoids making the room look visually smaller.

If all white is too clinical for you, by all means try something bolder. High contrast looks have gained ground and dark grays, muted blues and even navy blue or black are being paired with white. One of the great advantages of computer-aided design is the ability to quickly view multiple color choices for fast comparisons allowing you to add a custom touch that’s all your own.

Another popular way to bring in color is to use glass doors or open shelving and paint the interior of the cabinet your chosen color while leaving the outer portions white. Pastels, especially pinks, or muted neutrals pair well with the Modern Farmhouse decorating style.

The kitchen island provides another opportunity to let you personalize your space. By treating it as a piece of furniture, you can bring in additional colors, textures or finishes.

FINISHES
As previously mentioned, painted cabinetry is the current craze. Matte finishes impart a certain level of sophistication and fingerprint resistance is a welcome bonus. A high-gloss cabinet surface is gaining ground for more minimalist and industrial designs particularly when slab cabinet doors are used giving you a sleek modern feel.

HARDWARE
Metal, metal and more metal; all colors and finishes. Mix and match to your heart’s delight. A secondary trend is no hardware at all which is ideal for slab doors and the ultra modern look. The artistic or quirky among us can use hardware to let their personality shine. A little digging online and you can find drawer pulls that reflect your personal interests or antique-styled if you want to bring a little tradition back in for a Transitional style. These can be easily switched out and updated whenever you please.

DEEP DRAWERS
The omnipresent mixer on the kitchen counter is no more. Incorporate a mixer appliance lift and deep drawers into your kitchen design. Use those drawers to keep your small appliances off the kitchen counter as well. You’ll finally have a convenient space to store the crockpot and your Tupperware® without fear of an avalanche.

SHAKER STYLE
The simplicity of Shaker style has made a strong resurgence and is frequently used in the Modern Farmhouse style. In the Houzz survey, Shaker cabinets, including recessed-panel doors, had a whopping 57% of the vote. Though it has a decidedly modern look, Shaker style originated with English emigrants that arrived in New York in 1774. In direct opposition to popular ornate styles featuring elaborate carving and thick veneers, the movement’s founder, Mother Ann Lee, directed that pieces be made “plain and simple–unembellished by any superfluities which add nothing to its goodness or durability.” The Shaker style simplicity in cabinet design is being incorporated today in conjunction with col-orful counters and backsplashes or more intricate flooring options. All of which Mother Ann Lee would most certainly disapprove.

SLAB DOORS
If your tastes run more on the modern side, Slab cabinet doors with their flat, frameless fronts are on an upward trend with or without hardware. Most often you’ll find them in glossy finishes. These reflect the influence of Swedish design which has found a huge following with millennials and will likely continue to gain momentum as more millennials become home owners.

Ultimately, design trends will change over time. If you plan to be in your home for many years to come, they can be a wonderful starting point, but custom cabinetry allows you to use designs and options that fit YOUR needs and lifestyle. Choose what works best for you and let Moore’s Custom Cabinets build your dreams.
Call us today to discuss your project. We serve the Fort Worth, Granbury, Glen Rose, Tolar, Stephenville and surrounding areas of North Texas.