Are you starting to flip coins to make final decisions when it comes to cabinet design and finish color(s)? Nobody said remodeling a kitchen was easy, but sometimes we can give you a hand by providing a little nudge in the right direction.
If you're debating between a neutral cabinet finish or something with a little more pizzazz, we recommend going with the neutral option. There are several reasons why selecting a neutral kitchen cabinet finish is a wise choice.
While color trends come and go, neutral finishes stand the test of time. They are considered a tenet of timeless kitchen designs. As you're learning, kitchen remodeling is a labor intensive, expensive and energy consuming process. While it's fun to see those before-and-after photos, most homeowners are happy to limit their kitchen remodeling to once, or maybe twice, in a lifetime. Your neutral cabinet finish will allow you to do just that.
Neutral colors - including white - never go out of style. Even if you decide to paint your walls a different color to spruce things up, you'll have the financial satisfaction of having beautiful cabinets that look great year after year - and will be more appealing to future homebuyers as well.
For a while there, "pops of color" were all the rage and we found these "pops" in cabinets, countertops and other, more permanent kitchen features. The problem with that is that those "pops" might not be as popular (sorry, we can't help ourselves) in a year or so. There you are, three years later, wishing you had new cabinets again.
Selecting neutral cabinets from the get-go eliminates that potential, and you can add color in other ways as the years go by.
Times have changed and while some families purchase a home where they plan to age in place, the folks at HomeInsight tell us, "the typical homeowner sells his or her home every five to seven years and the average individual will move 11.7 times during his or her lifetime."
This means there's a good chance you'll be selling your home somewhere down the road. Even if - and especially if - that day is far off in the future, designing with a more timeless and neutral cabinet palette will make your kitchen more desirable for future home buyers.
These days, neutral cabinets are all the rage and, to be truthful, neutral cabinets are always top contenders on Top 5 or Top 10 lists for kitchen design. White is consistently a popular kitchen color - and it's considered neutral. The other "trending kitchen colors" in 2016/2017 are also neutral in nature - including grey, blue and black - and we've even seen natural greens coming into play.
Once you've decided to go neutral, we recommend moving on to the countertop. Select a countertop material that makes sense for your budget, style and taste and then go from there. Your kitchen designer can help you tease out the colors inherent in your choice, and then you can determine which ones are best to use for cabinets and wall color.
They may also have recommendations about whether darker or lighter shades make the most sense in your space, as well as which backsplash materials will give you the best bang for your buck.
Not sure which neutral cabinet finish is your favorite? Visit Kitchen Magic and peruse our gallery while enjoying the expertise of an experienced kitchen design team.