Modern Kitchen Cabinets

Why Millenials Are Choosing Modern Cabinets

When it comes to owning a home, the best part about it is making the space your own; whether that means renovating the home inside out, keeping the things you like, and changing out what you don't. But changing up a home means designing it with your specific generational taste in mind. Do you opt for the more traditional design or the modern one? If you're like me, you might be wondering what even is the difference between the two, much less why you should even care about the different tastes between generations. Below, you'll find out what makes traditional and modern design choices different, how choosing either can impact the feel and look of modern vs. traditional designs and how choosing one or both can impact the overall feel of your home.

Different Design Styles - Clean Lines

Design styles and tastes differ between generations. Baby boomers (those ranging from 55 to 65 years old) tend to enjoy more "refined yet rustic" elements in their homes, a style that blends together classical forms with informal rustic styles. This suggests that baby boomers enjoy a more comfortable feel in their homes; as the saying goes, "home is where the heart is," and for baby boomers coming back to relax in a home of their own, "refined yet rustic" design is exactly their style.

However, those born to Generation Z (the mid-1990s to mid-2000s) prefer the look and taste of a "rustic style," for this generation, a resurgence with rustic furnishings with a modern twist is everything that highlights this generation. What about the interior design tastes of Millenials? Enjoying a minimalist aesthetic, Millennials enjoy clean-cut lines and features due to living in cities with limited space, they've had to adapt their design choices to fit their living situation. The minimalist design allows the space to not only feel and look larger than it is but also optimize the small space Millennials find themselves living in.

Sleek black kitchen cabinets with a hanging TV on the wall.

This design style even extends itself to modern kitchen and cabinetry choices. In this article, we're going to explore why Millenials have chosen the look and feel of contemporary cabinets compared to the differing styles of their contemporaries.

Why Go Modern? Inspiration for a Modern Kitchen Remodel

With a growing trend of Millenials choosing to opt out of large homes due to a combination of housing trends and Millennials choosing to live in lofts, apartment spaces, or even tiny homes. The need to optimize the living space as much as possible has arisen in the design market, and this desire also extends to the kitchen.

Finding themselves needing to create as much space as possible in a small footprint, Millennials have turned to choose furniture and color schemes that optimize the small nature of their space that make it feel bigger than it seems. This type of design choice strays from the more homely and cozy feel of traditional designs, but not only does this type of modern design choice impact living areas, but it also extends to the kitchen.

Learn more about MODERN CABINETS FOR KITCHENS - MODERN KITCHEN CABINETS

The Modern Vs. Traditional Cabinetry

What makes a contemporary cabinet different from a traditional one? Traditional cabinets are defined by their darker aesthetic. Cabinetry featuring dark woods such as walnut, wenge, or anything resembling dark chocolate align with the traditional style that older generations tend to love. Traditional kitchen cabinets look "bulkier" and "thicker" than their style counterparts. Often carved to have textures or designs added to them to make them unique, traditional cabinets tend to have a bit of personal flair between them when it comes to their front-facing designs. To make it unique traditional cabinets can come with handles and knobs like the types you would find on a door; some have glass fronts or are often left plain. Modern looks tend to be in line with minimalist kitchens.

How does this make them different from contemporary cabinets? Unlike its traditional opposite, the designs tend to skew towards sleeker and compact tastes in a modern kitchen. While all varieties of traditional cabinets tend to be made of wood, modern kitchen cabinets embrace the uniqueness of the variety of design materials that can be found. Some contemporary cabinets are wood, laminate materials, or glass and metal. As mentioned earlier, flat-panel cabinets must embrace the fact that Millennials aren't living in bigger properties like the older generations. Instead, with their design trends, Millennials tend to steer towards making their kitchen cabinets unique and using materials and a design sense that makes the space feel bigger than it seems. Shaker cabinets are the more transitional option available. Still easy to clean and clutter-free but tends to create a more rustic, less sleek modern kitchen storage solution and floor plan. Here is where you will see many white cabinets with wood kitchen elements; however, this, too, can be offered up within a modern white kitchen cabinet package.

Because of that, modern kitchen cabinets aren't "bulky" compared to the door-type cabinets that older generations are fond of. Millennials instead embrace sliding cabinet doors. With this growing trend, more and more modern homes are embracing this style of contemporary cabinets. Especially as modern Millennial tends to abandon living in larger spaces and wholeheartedly embrace living in a smaller setting.

The Colors Of A Modern Kitchen

Within kitchens of today, the usage of color can determine not only the mood but the overall feel and look of the room. Choose a dark color, like many traditional kitchens tend to have, and it can make the kitchen appear dim and dull even with the usage of lights. For a modern feel, these kitchens and cabinets tend to come in lighter colors, consisting of whites, greys, and metallics, some even coming in with a combination of these colors and inclusion of light, neutral shades, and brighter colors. This is in direct opposition to the design of traditional cabinets and kitchens that tend to favor more dark and muted colors. For modern cabinetry and kitchen, spaces tend to have more varied choices, whereas traditional tends to lean in towards optimizing various shades of brown.

Modern designs tend to either choose plain and simple options to stick with a simplistic, minimalist theme or opt for choices that can make the place seem more artistic in nature.

Finally, the minimalist generation of Millenials tends to take advantage of the ease of cleaning when it comes to kitchen cabinets. The lack of flourish means fewer places for dust and debris to collect and easier cleaning.

Whether you want to make your kitchen feel homely and cozy or like the look and feel of a minimalist design, decide whether traditional or modern is for you. When you do, don't be afraid to take the leap and start designing not only your home but your kitchen and making it yours, regardless of what style you choose.

Close up of shaker style kitchen cabinets, half of which are green and half of which are white.

MODERN CABINETS

The Modern European Kitchen Design Aesthetic

From an interior design standpoint, your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home. Interior design is a matter of marrying form and function, and no room embodies that, as well as the kitchen. The best kitchen décor seamlessly blends form and function to create a space that’s the perfect place to prepare a feast while being a feast for the eyes themselves.

While there are many potential designs for kitchens, there’s something about the effortless beauty that comes with modern European minimalism perfectly captures that blend of beauty and serviceability we look for in kitchen design.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few key aspects of modern kitchen design and how you can tap into that sense of sleek chic that’s dominating stylish kitchens from Barcelona to Berlin.

1. Sleek Countertops

Bumps, ridges, and anything that interrupts a sense of continuous sleek symmetry is in modern European kitchen design. That means looking for countertops that aren’t textured but are smooth and sleek and relying instead on marble, granite, wooden, and metallic patterns and shapes to give the room character. Ideally, the color and sleek texture of these countertops should complement those of your tiling, so you should plan the whole room holistically. That seamless mirroring of your countertop, flooring, cabinetry and other elements transforms the geometric exactitude from potential coldness into something stylish and inviting. Solid surface countertops may be a no, but quartz is a go.

2. Avoid Shaker Doors

If there’s one thing you want to avoid with modern kitchen design, it’s design clichés – none are bigger than shaker doors. Instead, embrace more minimalist and innovative entrance designs, such as open archways. Ideally, the paneling adorning these areas should complement the countertop-to-tile sleek, chic aesthetic you have chosen for your kitchen setup.

Don’t mistake what we are saying. Shaker doors are great for transitional designs; however, flat panels are easier to clean and maintain and do not distract the eye from the gorgeous simplicity of a more contemporary design.

3. Smooth Cabinets And Tiling

Again, while textured kitchen cabinets and tiling have their place, they don’t belong in modern minimalist European design. Instead, you want to opt for cabinetry and tiling that are smooth and fit as smoothly into the surrounding area as possible.

For example, when considering cabinets, you don’t want to opt for bulkier ridged options with frames that stick out even half an inch. Instead, you want to find options that exude that smoothed-down minimalist ethos by being flat and a single square or rectangular shape.

The same goes for your tiling. Instead of opting for more roughly textured tiling, such as uncut stone or carpeting, you want to go with smooth tiles that fit neatly into one another and create an illusion of perfect seamless symmetry from end to end. Ideally, the smooth squareness of the tiles should also mirror that of your cabinetry, giving an even greater sense of symmetry and coherence to your design.

In terms of color, you want to be “cool” but not “cold.” There’s a difference between a room that features muted colors for a “Less is More” ethos and the harsh unbroken whiteness that can evoke the clinical feeling of a hospital room.

Your kitchen can and should be hospitable, so keep that in mind and choose gradients and patterns that seem welcoming while being more coolly muted and minimalist.

4. Geometric Symmetry And Aesthetic Harmony

Above all, the big takeaway from modern kitchen style a la European design is that geometric harmony paired with a pared-down minimalist design can produce results that are stunning.

Of course, European interior design has centuries of aesthetic tropes and traditions on which to call, which is evident in the best modern kitchens on the continent. Rather than simply throwing these design traditions away, the best contemporary décor schemes incorporate them into that modern minimalist aesthetics. Just as the tiling, tables, cabinetry, and countertops should all fit together in geometric harmony, the blend between new and old design influences should produce a sense of aesthetic harmony.

For centuries, European design trends have been the Avant Garde among those looking to refurbish their kitchen space. That legacy is alive and well today in these and other contemporary minimalist modern trends, which you can use to breathe whole new life into your kitchen space.

5. Medium Wood Floor

Dark wood cabinets, limestone, stainless steel appliances, grey cabinets - basically everything goes with a medium wood floor. This makes for practical design, and kitchen cabinetry of almost any type goes beautifully here. A darkwood floor tends to require considerably more light than medium tone wood floor.

6. Kitchen Island

Points to consider in any open concept kitchen remodel - While there is meaningful inspiration for a modern L-Shaped kitchen and inspiration for a modern galley kitchen, modern kitchen islands are the perfect place to gather family and friends. They offer a focal point for entertaining and a space for casual meals and parties. The island can be used for serving snacks, setting out drinks, or as a workstation for cooking.

The most common style of modern kitchen island is the floating island. This design allows the island to float above the floor and gives it an airy feeling. It also provides plenty of storage space, which is great for storing pots, pans, dishes, and other kitchen items you want to hide away from plain sight. The modern concept of an eat-in kitchen design pairs beautifully with natural wood cabinets and an island.

Another popular design is an L-shaped kitchen island with one side raised up higher than the other. This allows you to place bar stools around it so you can sit while eating or cooking in the kitchen rather than stand up at all times while preparing food or making drinks.

Many homeowners choose to add a countertop along one side of their modern kitchen island so they can use it as a prep area for food preparation before putting it onto plates or serving trays on top of it later on in the evening when guests arrive at their home

7. Custom Cabinets

Custom cabinets are built to fit the dimensions of your space, making them the perfect addition to any home. They also offer flexibility in design and material options, giving you more control over how your kitchen looks.

Cabinets come in many styles, including traditional, transitional and contemporary. Custom cabinetry can be made from wood or metal materials with various finishes. You can choose from various drawer styles, such as full extension soft close drawers or pull-out drawers with granite countertops.

Frameless cabinets are made without frames around the doors and drawer fronts, blending seamlessly into your wall surfaces based on your design needs. This type of custom cabinetry offers more design freedom than traditional framed cabinets because there are no visible edges on the front side of the cabinet box itself (you should still consider what will be behind the cabinet when choosing these).

Mid-sized modern kitchen with wood cabinetry creates a focal point of the spacial aspects of a kitchen, the materials used, or appliances when cabinets make aspects of a more traditional kitchen disappear behind panels. Stained wood frameless cabinetry hides the material, and the cabinets add an element of texture to the overall aesthetic.

Modern Cabinet Seattle: Learn more about Modern Kitchen Cabinets here