Kitchen Palm Springs
in this example, the “accent” cabinets in the middle complement the wood tone to the floors and island counter extension, so the palette doesn’t get muddy. You can see how the lower cabinets, tall cabinets and deep uppers don’t give a natural breaking point to change materials, so they look best as one seamless plane in charcoal.
Like glass door cabinets, floating shelves balance the heaviness of deep upper cabinets with open storage. The upper cabinets will be most useful for large items or pieces you don’t access often, so it makes sense to have some shelves available below for pieces you might want to grab quickly, like salt and pepper or other cooking supplies, or daily essentials like glassware. Only a small open shelf or two for salt, pepper, oil, etc. No dishes, glasses, etc.
Using lots of white always helps a kitchen feel more seamless and open, especially when it’s the finish for the cabinets themselves. In this example the white upper cabinets and white ceiling blend together to de-emphasize how large the cabinets are, giving the whole room a light and airy appearance. Since I plan to use high gloss white on the ceiling, this is a good observation.
Another great use for deep upper cabinets is on a short wall in an L- or U-shaped kitchen. As you can see here, the deep uppers over the counter leave a perfect nook for stashing small appliances or other countertop items, while the other two sides are the more functional counters for prepping and cooking.
Counter-depth uppers also make sense in a kitchen with an ample island to serve as the main work space. You can see in this kitchen how the back wall serves as mostly storage, with just a minimal opening around the range. The range hood and few upper cabinets are all one height and depth, giving this modern space a very clean-lined and tidy appearance.
You can make your U-shaped kitchen feel as wide as possible by removing the upper cabinets on the two longest walls. However, you may need to compensate for this with plenty of storage on the rear wall. Since the far wall is likely to be well-suited to housing a large refrigerator, maximize the space by framing it with shelving that goes all the way to the ceiling.
If you want to load your U-shaped kitchen with storage but don’t want wall cabinets on all three sides, this design from TLA Studio offers an alternative. Leave one of the longest walls free and fill the one opposite with floor-to-ceiling cabinetry. On the third, narrowest wall in this design, a half-and-half approach comfortably bridges the gap between the two cabinetry layouts. The result? A kitchen with tons of storage that still feels spacious.
This could be nice feature as long as the chopping board can be removed for washing. Makes me wonder whatever happened to pull out bread boards which served the same purpose.
Q