Kitchen Cabinet Painting Design Trends:

Great Options When Painting Your Cabinets in 2023

As painted kitchen cabinets continues to gain popularity, more of our clients are branching out and picking unique, creative, vibrant colours to spice up their living space. The concept of “opening up space” is still number one on most of our clients’ priority lists, therefore warm and cool shades of white, light greys and dark blues are still the most common range of colours you’d find in our stock room at Distinctively Paint. But building trends in interior design also impact the lacquer colour choices that make the most sense for certain projects. We work closely with carpenters and other interior design experts that have input on everything from tile backsplash to countertops and appliances, in order to bring a project together with a cohesive look and modern feel.

Darker Accent Hues

One of the most notable trends that we have observed with our clients is a desire to incorporate dark accent colours in an otherwise bright or all-white space. A shade of white on the upper cabinetry, with a vibrant shade of blue on the lower cabinets and new gold hardware is a certain style that adds a level of elegance and class to a kitchen space, especially smaller kitchens that could use a bump in detail and flair. Interior design experts will call these “decadent colours”, more saturated hues of green, blue, and smoky browns that add more emotional nuance to an interior space. While whites and greys are not going out of style, its more the desire to incorporate colour into a space where a white or grey already takes centre stage. Blue, grey, or even black islands with white cabinets are a popular choice for modern kitchens.

Handles and Door Pulls

A common change that many clients will make in addition to a sprayed lacquer job is updating their hardware to better match the cohesive, modern finish. In most cases, you can simply match the size of door pull you already have and upgrade to a more contemporary design for each door and drawer. Some of our clients want to change from simple knobs to full handles, or even upgrade the size of each door and drawer handle to better accentuate the design and style of the hardware. Many larger-sized drawers that used to come with two handles will now come with a more contemporary large single pull. The detail and accent colour provided by modern hardware options is a feature that more of our clients are looking to in order to add another dynamic to their space.

Wine Racks, Shelves, and Glass Doors 

These are small features of a kitchen space that are easily modified during the painting process. Many of our clients are opting to remove the commonly found wine rack wooden inserts in favour of shelving or an open-box design. Some clients want to remove the classic “microwave shelf”, in favour of more cabinet space at eye-level or a different style of shelving. Glass doors are also a common feature. When spraying lacquer, the glass has to be removed from the doors. Therefore many of our clients will opt for a newer piece of glass, cut to size, and glued in place prior to reinstall. Current trends for glass are simple and minimal; clear to show off the contents inside, or frosted opaque for a more cohesive look. Many of these changes are intended to reduce how busy the kitchen space feels, in favour of a cleaner, more modern feel.