Latest trend in kitchen cabinetry

[toolmiser]

Do you think it has anything to do with cost? Paint can cover a lot of "ills". Lots of really cheap looking cabinets on TV. I guess you get what you pay for!

[EricU]

I'm sure it has a lot to do with cost.  It costs a lot more to make a stain grade hardwood door than the alternatives.  People have gotten used to paint. My MIL had her hardwood cabinets redone, stripped and stained. I thought they looked pretty bad.  Would have been a lot better to have them painted.

[Phil Thien]

Those old steel kitchen cabinets that have been refinished (powder coat) are pretty nifty too. I read someone was making new ones too, but that was a few years ago.

[KC]

I don't like the painted cabinet trend.  I will say that some of them look okay, and I painted the (already painted once) cabinets in our last house... but I would never put them in new on purpose.  Shop cabinets yeah.  Painted MDF.  Kitchen/bath cabinets oughta be wood.  

[Gary G™]

Give the people what they want!

Our farm and primary residence is too far from where I work so we own two homes. In that area.....:

My wife and I have sold 2 houses and a condo in the last several years.
The condo was a total reno—I built solid wood cabinets to make it stand out from other units in the complex on the market.
Ours sold first and fastest—one week.
Bought and renovated a house thinking we’re staying a while.
The cabinets here were 1960’s built in place, solid plywood boxes, maple face frames and flat panel plywood painted doors.
We removed the doors and stripped them.
I put natural 3/8” milled cypress over the face frames.
Judy repainted the doors using a high end specialty paint and she repainted the interior with a cream epoxy paint.
She got anxious about the 2016 election and we put the house on the market (FSBO). Sign up Saturday morning; full price contract Sunday.
Bought another house which I did some minor renovations to. Stayed for several years and decided to move closer to the river with easier access.
Sign in the yard Monday morning; full price Plus contract Monday afternoon.

Give the people what they want!

[AHill]

The one good thing about paint is you can repaint any color you want. When I lived in CA, I had two choices for cabinets in the house I had built. One was plain Jane beech cabinets. The other was some composite bright white. The composite cabinets were almost 2x the cost of the beech ones. Easier to clean, but to me, very sterile. I don't mind some of the pastel colors, but I prefer a darker shade if painted with lighter colored countertops. In the end, if my wife is happy, I am too. I don't plan to move any time soon.

[FS7]

Paint in almost any color but white will definitely carbon-date the kitchen. I'm very much a traditionalist, but even so this is a fad much like vessel sinks and "weathered" wood.

Think back to goldenrod and avocado appliances. Those same things in white, still functional, would be classic looking. As it is the colors are painful.

[Derek Cohen]

I rebuilt our kitchen 3 years ago in curly Hard Maple in a Shaker style. We will likely be selling in about 5 years. I am unconcerned about what will be trendy. Keep it simple and uncluttered, and classic.







Regards from Perth

Derek

[Vijay]

Like your style Derek. Am about to embark on new kitchen and will copy your style..

[toolmiser]

Something I thought about today, what happened to that trend where people were keeping things "natural"? Staying away from materials that could release toxins such as particle board etc. That goes with flooring also, how much of the plank variety is really a composite material?

I don't really have a horse in the race, but sometimes it's better to look from afar.