Are you keeping this U configuration? Are there any other cabinets out of view? I think of the three choices for flanking the window (angled, glass, or open shelving), I think stained wood open shelving would look best, because it is such a narrow space.

My personal view of glass doors, is only do as much as you have pretty stuff to store in them. I think seeing a hodgepodge of colors and kitchen items behind the glass clutters a kitchen, but others may disagree.

Have you seen the cloud white cabinet color in your kitchen yet? I ask because I just had my cabinets professionally recoated, and I thought I wanted Cloud white as the color. They color matched it with their cabinet finish on a sample door for me and it looked straight up yellow in my kitchen and would have clashed horribly in my kitchen. I was soooo glad they did a sample! You’re getting quartz which tends to be a cool white, so just make sure you are getting the look you want

gee I kind of like your kitchen. well lots of nice kitchens get redone.....hope you have good reasons . anyway. No I would leave the window area cleared back a bit on both sides some inches before any cabinets get placed. No glass at that end...the window is large and no privacy issue so that is your feature. I would put a double door glass cabinet at the furthur away spot on the right wall....the last cabinet right where counter makes the angle. You can get the side of cabinet in glass also . thats what I'd do.

Angled looks dated, and yes two cabinets flanking the window will not only look odd but will be tough to access. I would suggest you end them both in a straight line to the wall and not have the wrap around the space. i personally like fluted/textured glass shutters on cabinets. You could perhaps incorporate it with the cabinets on the left?

i have a u-shaped kitchen too, and have been working with a kitchen designer on cabinet design.

The window at the end of my U is almost 6’ wide which gives me just enough room for a 90 degree corner cabinet on each corner that has a 12” cabinet on the window wall. It will be fine for glasses on one side and mugs on the other but the size does not lend itself to having glass installed.

I’ve opted to have no glass uppers at all because the most visual and best symmetry is that end with the large window. Also glasses and mugs are not particularly pretty imho, so they aren’t what I’d choose for glass fronts.

i abhor dust so no open shelving for me.

@User We are keeping the configuration, yes. There are no cabinets out of view, besides a built-in pantry cabinet that we are building in the adjoining dining room (which is the room from which the photo was taken). Thanks for the tip about cloud white! I see what you mean about the yellow undertones. The white that's currently on our upper cabinets is way more yellow. I tried a sample of cloud white, and it looks pretty crisp in our kitchen. We get lots of southern light. Maybe that's why?

@herbflavor I kind of like our kitchen, too! I've always loved the two-tone. The reason we are re-doing it is that we are doing a major renovation of the entire main floor, and we thought it would look really outdated with everything else looking brand new. Plus, many of the hinges and pulls are breaking, and the interior of the cabinets is painted plywood. Oh, and the grout in the floor tile countertop is a pain to clean!!! I want to sledgehammer it away myself. I really like your idea of doing the last one, next to the end of the wall, in glass! I hadn't even considered it. I'm going to run that by my designer.

Also, does anyone have an opinion about farmhouse sinks?? Are they going out of style? I like the cozy vibe, but my husband prefers the practicality of stainless. I don't know... I feel like with that big window, we almost need a farmhouse sink underneath because it's such a focal point.

I think you have the perfect classic setup for farmhouse with that window! I think putting in farmhouse just to do it when it doesn’t real work with its surroundings is fad that goes out of style. I think a well-done kitchen never goes out of style.

I agree with leaving out the cabinets on the sink wall and putting shelves or an open cabinet at the end of each run. If you really want the cabinets to wrap around onto the sink wall, I'd either do easy reach or two cabinets adjacent to each other with a void corner.

Thanks Cheri! I hadn’t even considered not wrapping the cabinets, but I think you’re right. We are building a new pantry, so we don’t need all those uppers.

My vote is for letting the cabinets die into the window wall. No angled cabinets. No glass.

Vinmarks, thanks! I would be sad not to have any glass… I like the idea of having a pop of colour in a glass cabinet, since the rest of the kitchen will be white and greige. But I see what you mean. There’s no obvious place for them… :(

How high are the ceilings? If you can do 42" uppers you can do 12" glass on 30" lowers and glass on the cabinet over the fridge. Add puck lighting and you'll have your color pop.

@Sherry Brighton the ceilings are 8 feet, so I'm assuming we can't fit glass above the cabinets. I'll have to check with a measuring tape when I get home!

8’ ceilings are too low for stacked cabinets. They’d just make the ceiling look shorter, and the cabinets under the stack will look stubby. I have 8’ celings, and went through this process with my designer.

My previous home had a U shaped kitchen. Very efficient setup! Tons of cabinets, and counterspace. I will say, I really disliked my upper corner cabs. Just so awkward to use. As @vinmarks suggested, I’d install a straight line of cabinets to the sink wall, and forgo the corner.

A big no, to open shelving….at the sink, or anywhere, for that matter. Had open shelves on either side of the sink in my former home. The dust and grime that accumulated was disgusting. It was a constant battle to keep the shelves…and anything on them, clean. Got rid of them when we did a modest update of that kitchen.

There is a difference between a stacked cabinet and a 42" cabinet with 2 doors.

@Sherry Brighton…that’s true. But, it’s still a stacked ”look”, and affects the appearance of the ceiling height.

I have to admit, I'm loving the suggestion of not wrapping the cabinets, because it will open up more usable space on the countertops on either side of the sink. We hand wash a lot of dishes, and I could air dry quite a few in that space!

Would you bring the glossy tile all the way around the window, or would you keep it in line with the cupboards?

Thanks everyone! In case anyone is interested, we've decided to continue the cabinets straight to the wall, and then NOT to wrap them or angle them.

The next decision we are debating over is the backsplash. We are debating between a glossy handmade greige subway tile and a glossy handmade hexagonal tile. If anyone cares to weigh in, I'd love your opinions!

Otherwise, I'll try to remember to post a photo when it's all finished. :)

Thanks again!

Do you have photos of the two backsplash tiles that you are considering? People won’t be able to povide opinions if they can’t see the actual tiles.

I think you’ve made the correct decision re: ending the cabinets instead of wrapping them around the corner. Also, I would definitely take the backsplash tile all the way around the window - I decided to do the same for my upcoming kitchen renovation. Beth H has posted MANY photos on Houzz comparing kitchens where a backsplash wasn’t extended vs. ones where it was extended. After I saw just one of those posts, deciding whether I should extend my tile or not was EASY!