New custom kitchen: Modern white wood cabinets?

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

I'm in the process of building a new home and am currently working on the kitchen design. Our house will be somewhere between transitional and modern in terms of design (white washed 5" wide hardwood floors with a hint of gray, a metal stair railing, very very simple baseboard and window trim... so not a house full of metal and glass but certainly more modern than most houses currently being built in the US).

The one area I'm having a hard time with is the kitchen cabinets. I have a gut feeling that high gloss laminate/foil cabinets are going to feel *too* modern for me but I'm also concerned that my current plan of white shaker cabinets (even with modern hardware) is going to feel too traditional. What I think best matches our style is slab style wood cabinets but my brain has a *VERY* hard time with having two "patterns" right next to each other and I'm almost certain that it will be impossible for me to put wood (non-painted) cabinets on top of the hardwood floors in our kitchen and not feel like the contrast bothers me so I think I'm going to be limited to white cabinets.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make painted white wood cabinets feel more modern? Perhaps using a higher gloss paint finish? Another thought I had was maybe using a thinner plywood for the stiles and rails so there's still dimension in the drawer front but it's flatter than a more traditional shaker cabinet? We're using a high end custom cabinet maker so we can do anything within reason.

Or maybe photos of high gloss laminate/foil cabinets that don't feel super modern in a space? Our kitchen will be quite large and my gut feeling is that such a large amount of shiny white cabinets is going to feel out of place.

Our current plan is for white quartz countertops. We have a two year old and a second baby on the way so we want our house to feel modern/contemporary without feeling like a museum or hotel. Here are some photos of pictures that match our "style" along with a few kitchens I've been looking at.

Thanks in advance!

The Circle East Hampton · More Info

This is very similar to what our hardwood floors and staircase will look like.

Azalea · More Info

Very similar to what the exterior of our house will look like.

Modern Bedroom · More Info

The entire living room and eat-in area which surround the kitchen will be filled with large windows similar to those above; a large fixed window with an awning transom below. Ours won't quite be floor to ceiling but will be close.

Dining In · More Info

This is a kitchen that leaves me with hope that white shaker cabinets can look fairly modern. I'm not sure what it is about the kitchen that leaves me feeling that way but even thought this isn't the most modern kitchen in the world I do think something like this could work. Trying to figure out what distinguishes this from other kitchens with white shaker cabinets that feel more traditional.

Sandyhill apartment · More Info

There's just something about the high gloss cabinets that doesn't feel right to me (too cold/stark perhaps?).

Featured Answer

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Savvy Cabinetry Design Interiors

6 years ago

If you plan on painted cabinets- good hardware is a must. You will be playing touch up with a painted product, but if you get hardware that keeps your hands (and others off the cabinets) they will hold up better. As others have mentioned, hardware can totally transform the look of the shaker cabinet.

Love the idea of adding Walnut which will add the warmth to the space you are looking for.

You are building- are you just using your contractor/architect for design and decisions? If so, we would highly recommend getting an actual kitchen and bath designer involved.

Comments (24)

flopsycat1
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I like your style. I'm sure you will get a lot of responses to your post.

Ppersonally. I prefer slab cabinet doors and drawers fronts, but I am a minimalist. Shaker panels still have a raised border which adds a little to their cleaning, and a place for dust and grease to settle. Paint is a little warmer than high gloss material. Adding some wood and a few colorful accessories also warms up an otherwise stark appearance.

There are so many options and decisions when starting from scratch. Do you have a kitchen designer to help you?

I've attached a pic of our simple kitchen in our small vacation home. Good luck with your project.
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Debbi Washburn
6 years ago
A shaker door can look any way you want in a kitchen... it is a back drop - the things you put around it will make it more contemporary or more traditional - handles, moldings, backsplash, lighting etc....

You could also consider doing 2 colors - white on the uppers and wood on the bases where you need a little more durable finish... it can also warm the space:

I would suggest walnut or a quartersawn oak for that - the graining is beautiful!
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acm
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I think shaker will be great -- as others have said, those cabinets become modern when put with other modern finishes, so you should be able to adjust the modernity level to something that fits your house without feeling too stark.

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Alternatively, you could put your gloss cabinets with some finishes that soften them, like a wood island or a patterned marble backsplash.

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A third option would be white slab cabinets with some finish other than gloss. I'm thinking of Latitude cabinets, which have, for example, some textured white finishes that I love, but I'm sure there are higher-end versions that go this direction. A laminate with some interest but which clearly isn't wood might not trigger your clashing-woods revulsion. :)

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Chelsea Loft · More Info
sm m
6 years ago
I think the handles on the cabinet can make a difference in making it appear more modern.
misschocolatecake
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
cac546 I am in a similar boat right now with you, and our styles are very similar. I need to decide on a kitchen design next week and I'm currently stuck and trying to figure it out. I am certain you should work with a KD as they will have lots of ideas you may not have thought of or seen online.

Even though NO ONE does the kind of kitchen I am doing around where I live in the Southeast (it's white shaker all day long around here), my KD totally gets what I am trying to achieve. It's a midcentury home and I have an obsession with the combination of white and walnut wood. I am definitely doing slab doors in walnut, NO uppers, open shelving, everything integrated but the cooktop/oven obviously, super white quartz counters, and an island with waterfall edges to break up the large expanse of wood exposed on the sides. I am stuck on where to put my two 9 foot tall cabinets containing the fridge and pantry. Anyway...

I am not concerned with how the woods on my floor and cabinets will clash--I've done it before and it looks fine--I read that a key to making it work is intentionally NOT trying to match the woods. But if you know this would bother you then you are on the right path with just white cabinets. Your question was how to make them feel more modern. You could go minimalist and do discrete edge pulls like I'm doing instead of standard bar pulls. Or something to consider that is very modern is cut out pulls where they notch out a little rectangle or some other shape just big enough to reach your fingers into and pull open--so nice.

I don't like the look of a kitchen with tons of hardware all over the place, and with your kitchen being so large, hefty hardware may overwhelm the sight lines. I would suggest integrating as many appliances as you can. Just keep it simple overall and look at TONS of pics online. I can send you some of the ones that inspired me the most if you would like.
misschocolatecake
6 years ago
I forgot to add that as modern/minimalist as I am, I cannot wrap my head around spending all that money on laminate cabinets. They are gorgeous and the samples I saw of faux walnut by a high end European maker tricked me...but I don't like how they feel in my hand, can't do it. And big fears about not being able to touch up if they got a bad ding from my kids.
Val B
6 years ago
I'm having a hard time locating the picture, but I once saw a white shaker kitchen on Houzz. They made it a bit more modern by not using hardware on the cabinets and the counter and backsplash were beautiful calacatta slabs that kept it from feeling too stark. I think they also did a waterfall counter on the island. Pale wood floors like you will have.
acm
6 years ago
2017 CARRE-FS · More Info

Shaker cabinets pushed more modern? honestly not an issue. Stack your backsplash, use funky stools, fixtures, hardware. You'll find a mix that works.
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Of course, with your pale floors, I'd be tempted to pitch the white in favor of a pale gray, as you'd get into the realm of a couple of my favorite Houzz kitchens...

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Carolina Kitchen & Bath
6 years ago
Shaker's versatile, it can go modern or traditional/transitional. Go with that.
Sue 430
6 years ago

We have modern white painted wooden cabinets, Stockholm by candlelight, here are a couple of photos. As you can see I have a natural hardwood floor.
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Urbano Design & Build
6 years ago
Something like this would be nice. We used a shaker door with a beaded interior trim. Satin lacquer paint finish.
PRO
Chi Renovation & Design
6 years ago
There are a variety of ways that you can make a kitchen modern. We've added some of our kitchen designs below for you to look at to get some ideas of what you could end up with. Look through them and see what you think.
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Beth H. :
6 years ago
acm posted some fine examples of what I was going to suggest. The newer grayer, french oak wood cabinets would look really cool.

or even some black, white/wood combos
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Flo Mangan
6 years ago
A couple of additional thoughts. You asked what makes some kitchens with shaker cabinets look more contemporary than others, the answer lies in hardware, light fixtures, appliance front sides, faucets and range hood styles. I think your instincts are good. Get your cabinet maker to make up sample low profile shaker door front and do in high gloss finish. This will give you great feel for combining cool and softer looks together. Love the direction of your home and hope everything goes well very tough to accomplish with little one and baby on the way! By doing a simple cabinet, you can put your money into fabulous lighting, range hood design with great perhaps stainless and new gold detail and gold long rod hardware etc. I will post some inspiration photos in a bit. Bbl
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Flo Mangan
6 years ago

Sutton Place · More Info
Combination light gray and white with new gold hardware and great chandelier/fixture in black and gold over table. This combines contemporary and almost country French in an interesting way. Might not be quite as contemporary as you wish, but mainly showing the effect of lighting and hardware.
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Flo Mangan
6 years ago

Hampton’s Style House · More Info
Shaker cabinets with sleek styling and contemporary hood with gold hardware and hood accents. Notice flooring. Not exactly as you have in mind but imagine this with our lighter flooring. Divine! You could make this design even more modern, by changing legs and end caps on the islands. All about design.
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Flo Mangan
6 years ago
If you want to see some wonderful cabinetry work, go to farriscabinets.com Jim Farris has done some amazing work. He is an artist and a craftsman with extreme attention to detail. Not sure where you are located, but he did a amazing job with my design for our own home (French Country) but he has done unbelievable work with exotic woods, and contemporary styling for high-end clients of mine and throughout the greater Houston area. I highly recommend him if you aren't already set up with a great cabinet maker.
Kate
6 years ago
Although shaker could work style-wise, I would want to have to clean those little ledges and they will require regular cleaning to keep them white and contemporary. Go with slab.
cac546
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you SO much for everyone's ideas/thoughts/beautiful photos. This has been incredibly helpful and given me a ton of ideas to move forward.
felizlady
6 years ago
Shaker cabinets are classics which go with any style, including modern. The hardware can bring it to the modern side or to the traditional style. Slab doors are boring; shiny glossy doors scream "modern"; white Shaker doors say "I'm adaptable". I'd go with the Shakers.
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
IMO, a lot of what makes your inspiration photo look more modern is that, instead of the more standard/traditional partial overlay doors, they used inset doors and full overlay doors that have a minimal gap tolerance between doors.

This makes them look more like the modern European cabinets.
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Flo Mangan
6 years ago
Totally agree, Fred. However, you need a good cabinet maker to make them properly and great installation people who know how to install them level and square. Not for the faint of heart. If done well, they look great! I guess that goes for anything though. Great little visual Fred. Always hard to explain this to people! Thanks!
sunnyattitude
6 years ago
I love the look of the stairway area too. I'd call the style sleek. It's modern, clean, and bright looking. The wood keeps it from feeling sterile. Later if your style changes you can do so by adding color. I think the kitchen picture you liked had these same features except for the fact that the table was a darker wood. Why not combine the same elements in your kitchen, white with stainless and light colored wood accents? There are many ways to do that. I agree against the shaker and would go with slab also. When I spoke to a person responsible for keeping display cabinets clean that was her choice. Here's one example of light colored wood adding warmth to the white and stainless. May not be your design but see if the combinations give you the feeling you want.