Designing your kitchen is undeniably fun despite the effort and cost. Few experiences match the feeling of pouring your personality into an entire room and making it more you.
However, one problem you might face early on is how to coordinate newly refaced cabinet doors with kitchen counters. After all, these elements take up a lot of space and, in turn, set the tone for your entire kitchen aesthetic.
Here are some tips on palette selection, style pairings, and more to help you out!
Tip #1: Understand Your Preferences
You’ll be using your new countertops and refaced cabinets regularly, so their upgrades should align with your preferences. Take the time to reflect on what kind of kitchen you’d love to cook in.
- Modern: This style focuses on simplicity and cleanliness, often with frameless or shaker-style cabinet doors, an open kitchen layout and shelving, and solid colors that range from neutral to bold. Uncomplicated designs are preferred over busy patterns, and countertops frequently are light tones with or without subtle stone-like variegation. Accessorization in this kitchen is spare and may include objects in a vivid, highly contrasting color.
- Traditional: It’s characterized by time-honored materials, like wood for cabinetry and warm-colored natural stone for countertops, focusing on craftsmanship. Busier patterns and more color contrast are seen in the materials used in the traditional style. Rustic finish techniques like glazes and highlighting are standard on cabinet doors. Accessorization with varying materials and textures, but in matching colors, is an essential art form in traditional style.
- Industrial: The highlights of industrial kitchen design include dark-colored cabinetry, metal accents, and textured finishes like concrete and brushed stainless steel. Pure function is key to this look, with no frivolous or extraneous adornment.
Tip #2: Establish a Unified Color & Material Palette
Color is one of the first elements that catches the eye when walking into a space, so it should be one of your top considerations. Each color affects a space differently, so choose wisely. For example, lighter colors can make a small kitchen look bigger and brighter, while darker colors can make big kitchens look less empty and more cozy. Your choice of color should also align with your preferred style, so it complements your kitchen cabinet materials. Also, keep in mind the colors in adjacent rooms and do not stray too far afield if you desire a coordinated look.
Remember to assess the color undertones of your wood and stone finishes. Avoid mismatching a cool gray countertop with a warm gray cabinet finish, creating an unpleasant, incongruous appearance. You should observe kitchen swatches under ambient and artificial lighting to identify how well their colors pair.
Tip #3: Smart Style Pairings for Harmonious Design
When refacing your kitchen cabinets, your first instinct is to ensure that your cabinet doors follow your kitchen counter’s material, color palette, and accessories. But sometimes, mixing and matching elements to avoid monotony is alright, as long as the outcome is a harmonious design.
Here are some recommended pairings you can try.
Knob & Bar Handles Combination
Instead of using the same handle for all your kitchen counter drawers, cabinet doors, and pullouts, you can try using knobs on the cabinets and bars on the drawers. However, make sure the knobs and bars are the same color and material so the kitchen stays true to its theme.
For example, if your kitchen counter drawers have stainless steel bar handles in grey, then it is better to use stainless steel round knobs in grey for your cabinets. If your drawers have wooden bar handles made of stained pine, then use wooden round knobs made of the same wood and stained with the same color.
Solid Doors & Doors with Glass Inserts
Suppose you want to be bolder and experiment by mixing different materials. In that case, you could use glass inserts in your newly refaced cabinet doors, while the doors and drawers for your kitchen base counter stay solid and non-see-through. Glass is versatile and almost goes with everything, even with aluminum and melamine materials.
Having kitchen cabinet doors with glass inserts also makes the cabinets look brighter and makes it easier to see what’s inside.
Light Cabinet Doors & Dark Counters
While using the same color for hanging cabinets and base counters is recommended chiefly (as mentioned in Tip #2), there’s nothing wrong with having them in different colors. The key is making sure that the colors you choose harmonize with each other.
For example, there are existing kitchen designs with white hanging cabinets. The base counters are black, but a white quartz countertop ties the top and bottom elements together. For inspiration, you can browse magazines and Pinterest boards on home and kitchen designs.
Tip #4 Ensure Countertop Design Details Complement Doors
Knowing how to coordinate newly refaced cabinet doors with kitchen counters and countertops goes beyond colors and finishes. During kitchen cabinet refacing projects, there are other design elements to consider. For example, you may choose a crown molding for the upper cabinets that coordinates with your countertop’s edge profile.
Contrasting finishes and sheen levels could make your countertop and cabinetry stand out. Polished granite, for example, will look striking against a backdrop of matte maple cabinets.
Tip #5 Don’t Forget Hardware and Backsplash
Don’t shy away from adding accents to bridge countertops and cabinets. For instance, a dark kitchen backsplash could preserve the contrast between a dark countertop and light upper cabinets. An industrial-style kitchen would similarly benefit from a white tile backsplash.
Likewise, consider your hardware. If your sink has a bronze faucet, installing bronze drawer pulls and knobs on new doors will complement your style. Meanwhile, extra-long, straight pull handles work best for modern kitchens, while shorter, curved, or sculpted pulls or knobs enhance traditional kitchens.
Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them
Your imagination is the limit when redesigning your kitchen. That said, there are some practices you should avoid to ensure you’ll enjoy your cooking space for longer.
- Don’t pick cabinet doors before countertops. Finding a countertop that matches your refaced cabinets is usually tricky, potentially leading to another cabinet purchase.
- Don’t chase trendy fashions. Most often, they last only a few months and quickly result in outdated cabinets or counters. Instead, look for more stable, long-term trends to guide your fashion sense.
- Don’t match samples in the shop. Check your kitchen’s material samples or swatches under actual lighting to catch mismatched undertones.
Professional Support: How American Wood Reface Simplifies Coordination
Upgrading your kitchen doesn’t have to be tedious—American Wood Reface is here to help. We offer in-home design consultations and bring samples and countertop swatches, allowing you to integrate your style into your kitchen’s cabinets, counters, and other elements.
Our experienced, highly trained specialists utilize high-quality ¼” solid wood facing, solid wood custom doors, popular countertop materials, and customizable finishes and options. Upgrades such as backsplashes, lighting, cabinet modifications, and installed storage options are available. We also streamline the renovation process from measurement to installation, ensuring your kitchen’s final look is cohesive.
Unify Your Kitchen Design with Kitchen Cabinet Refacing from American Wood Reface
Now that you know how to coordinate newly refaced cabinet doors with kitchen counters, remember: it all boils down to making wise choices, pairing styles, and getting professional help from American Wood Reface.
