It is the contemporary kitchen cabinets that have the greatest influence on the overall appearance of the kitchen of any other feature in the room. The style is defined by its flat surfaces, slim profiles, and lack of any decorative details, and this results in a particular design approach in which the sense of proportion, the quality of the finish, and the way the hardware is incorporated take on all the visual importance in the room.
If these choices are made well, the kitchen appears refined and up-to-date; but if they are not, the aesthetic which was meant to seem clean instead comes across as flat and cold.
When people who are thinking about buying contemporary kitchen cabinets have looked at the design pictures, those pictures display the style at its best by showing cabinets with exact proportions, hardware that is built into the door surface, and finishes which change from matte to textured according to the light.
At Lone Star Remodeling & Construction we have just the right option for you according to your needs and desires.
What Defines Contemporary Kitchen Cabinets
Contemporary kitchen cabinets are characterized by the lack of any ornamentation. There are no raised panels, no decorative moldings, and no router profiles along the edges of the doors. What is left behind are the flat panel surfaces, the accuracy of the join between the doors, the quality of the finish, and the way the cabinet space relates to the space around it. In a kitchen belonging to a different style in which decorative details draw the eye, each of these elements would do less visual work than they do in a contemporary kitchen.
The type of door profile most closely linked with contemporary kitchen cabinets is the full-overlay flat panel, in which the door covers the entire face frame or the edge of the cabinet box with only a small gap between neighbouring doors.
This gap, usually ranging from three-sixteenths to one-quarter of an inch, is one of the most noticeable features in a modern kitchen. Gaps that are tight and uniform appear to be deliberate and accurate; on the other hand, gaps that differ from door to door indicate poor installation, a fact which is made all the more obvious because there are no decorative elements to distract from it.
The slab door goes further in the direction of minimalism, while the flat panel with a simple square frame is more transitional and has more warmth.
When we at Lone Star Remodeling & Construction are dealing with contemporary kitchen cabinet jobs for homeowners in Plano, we ask those questions before deciding on a finish or drawing up a layout. The page on home remodeling in Plano gives a complete account of the way we deal with kitchen projects from the initial consultation right through to the final installation.
Frameless Cabinet Construction: Performance and Proportion
Frameless cabinet construction is the structural feature most closely linked with contemporary kitchen cabinets and the one which gives rise to the proportions that make the style appear as it does. In the case of a frameless cabinet, the door hinges directly to the inside of the cabinet rather than to a face frame that is fitted to the front of the cabinet.
This completely gets rid of the face frame, increases the cabinet opening by about one and a half inches on each side, and enables full-extension drawer slides to function without the hindrance caused by a face frame.
In a frameless cabinet design the opening is wider and this results in considerably more accessible internal storage than would be the case with the same external cabinet size in a face-frame construction. For Plano residents who wish to have the visual style of contemporary kitchen cabinets without having to give up functional storage depth, frameless construction is the option which brings together both aims rather than forcing a compromise between them.
Using particleboard for the box in a frameless setup is a way of reducing costs but at the same time involves a compromise when it comes to durability since particleboard is more prone to swelling due to moisture and to fastener pullout over time, especially in the areas of the cabinet close to the sink and dishwasher where humidity levels are highest.
Flat Panel Contemporary Kitchen Cabinets Finish Quality as the Primary Variable
The finish quality of flat panel contemporary kitchen cabinets is at the heart of the visual impact that the kitchen makes. Since there is no decorative edge to produce shadows and add depth, it is the surface of the door that has to take on entirely the role of giving the cabinet its appearance.
A finish which looks good in photographs but does not perform well when put to daily use becomes apparent within a few months in an actual kitchen, and in the case of contemporary kitchen cabinets fit where the door face is the most important element, this deterioration is seen at once and in a consistent manner.
Lacquer finishes, whether used as a conversion varnish or as catalyzed lacquer, are the most durable option when it comes to painted flat panel contemporary kitchen cabinets; they harden to form a surface which is resistant to moisture, chipping, exposure to cleaning chemicals, and the frequent everyday use in a kitchen. The range of colours available in lacquer finishes is in effect unlimited.
The high-gloss lacquer used on flat panel doors gives the surface a mirror effect, enhancing the light and making a noticeable impression in modern kitchens provided there is enough natural light and the design scheme is controlled so that the reflective surface does not become visually distracting. In smaller kitchens or in houses where artificial lighting is the main source, high gloss tends to appear intense rather than refined.
Textured laminates and wood veneers are also the main category of finish available for flat panel contemporary kitchen cabinets. A matte or woodgrain thermally fused laminate offers a durable and uniform colour and does not need any painting or refinishing during the lifetime of the cabinet.
Contemporary Kitchen Cabinets Finishes and the Plano Light Condition
The same cabinet finish in a house in Plano behaves differently from the way it appears when photographed in a studio or when it is used in a kitchen in the Pacific Northwest, which has even, consistent natural light. Since North Texas gets intense, directional sunlight for a large part of the year, the kitchens on the south and west sides in particular are exposed to light conditions that enhance the warm undertones and produce strong shadow patterns with high contrast on flat panel surfaces in the late afternoon.
In the south-facing kitchen in Plano, a flat panel door that is white or warm white looks different at 3:00 PM in July than it does in a showroom illuminated by fluorescent lights. When the strong afternoon sunlight hits a glossy or semi-gloss white surface, it produces a brightness which is usually perceived as glare rather than as luminosity.
In the same lighting conditions, a matte white or a soft warm gray appears to be well-balanced and calm.
Plano homes where the neighbouring living or dining area has warm-toned finishes, this type of combination makes it more natural for the kitchen to flow into the rest of the house than would an all-white or single-tone cabinet choice.
Integrated Cabinet Hardware: The Detail That Defines the Surface
In modern kitchen design, integrated cabinet hardware includes all the possibilities from fully visible hardware to none at all, and the decision between these options has just as great an effect on the visual appearance of the cabinet fronts as does the finish or the door profile.
Cabinet designs without handles can be divided into two types: those which have grip profiles cut into the door or drawer surface, and push-to-open or push-to-release devices that are built into the cabinet body.
Grip profiles cut into the surface: such as a horizontal channel along the top edge of a door or a vertical channel running the full length at the front edge; produce shadow lines that give a two-dimensional flat panel surface some depth without requiring a hardware feature that would break the plane of the door.
They are durable, have no moving parts to keep, and fit neatly into the flat panel surface in a manner that some hidden push mechanisms fail to do when it comes to drawer units used every day.
In contemporary kitchen cabinets where hardware is specified, the choice of profile and finish has a considerable visual impact since the hardware is one of the very few items in the kitchen that features a three-dimensional object placed against a flat surface.
Storage Configuration Behind the Clean Face
Contemporary kitchen cabinets have a uniform outer surface. It is the arrangement behind this outer surface that decides how well the kitchen functions as well as how it looks.
The most effective improvement for modern kitchen cabinet storage is to fit pull-out shelves in the lower base cabinets. With fixed shelves in a base cabinet, users have to push past the items stored in front of them in order to reach those located behind.
Pull-out shelves that extend the full depth of the cabinet when using undermount slides mean that the entire depth of the cabinet is brought to the user instead of having to reach inside the cabinet. Since in a modern kitchen the base cabinet section generally has fewer openings than in a conventional arrangement, this difference in accessibility becomes more noticeable.
In the base cabinet, the deep drawers, which are usually arranged in a three-drawer setup in the 24-inch wide cabinets situated on either side of the range, are more practical for storing pots, pans and dry goods than those base cabinets with doors and shelves in most homes.
Schedule a remodeling consultation with Lone Star Remodeling & Construction to turn contemporary kitchen cabinets into a cabinet palette with the functional depth, finish durability, and proportional precision your Plano kitchen deserves.
FAQ
What is the difference between contemporary kitchen cabinets of the flat panel kind and those of the shaker style?
In the case of flat panel kitchen cabinets, there is a single continuous surface on the door with no internal frame or recessed panel, thus achieving the cleanest and most minimal appearance within the present-day kitchen design style. Shaker cabinets, on the other hand, have a flat recessed central panel set within a square frame, giving them a slight dimensional effect that appears to be more transitional.
Both types are suitable for use in contemporary kitchen design and the decision between them will depend on how minimal the design direction requires it to be and on how much warmth the other materials in the room are already adding to the space.
Is frameless cabinet construction more expensive than face-frame construction?
Frameless cabinet construction is usually about 10 to 20 per cent more expensive than similar face-frame construction when the two are in the same quality category, this being due to the tighter manufacturing tolerances that are needed and the fact that different hinge and hardware systems are used. The higher cost is抵offset by the broader cabinet opening and the easier access to the interior storage that frameless construction offers.
Which of the current cabinet finishes performs best in a Plano kitchen?
In Plano kitchens, painted flat panel doors finished with conversion varnish or catalyzed lacquer offer the best performance when it comes to resistance to moisture, chemicals, and long-term chipping under everyday use. For non-painted surfaces, thermally fused laminate is the most durable choice and does not need any refinishing during the lifetime of the cabinet.
What impact does integrated hardware have on the resale value of a modern kitchen?
In contemporary kitchen cabinets installation that is well carried out, the use of integrated hardware has a positive effect on perceived value and on buyer appeal in the Plano residential area, since the modern kitchen style is one of the most frequently requested design options in buyer searches. The particular type of hardware is less important than the consistency and the quality of execution of the hardware that is chosen.
Can contemporary kitchen cabinets work in an older Plano home?
Contemporary kitchen cabinets work in older Plano homes when the surrounding architectural context is addressed alongside the cabinet specification rather than treated independently. A flat panel cabinet run installed in a kitchen with existing traditional trim profiles, door casings, and ceiling details creates visual tension between the contemporary cabinet language and the traditional architectural envelope.
When ordering contemporary kitchen cabinets what questions should I ask?
The questions which yield the most useful information when a cabinet order is being placed are those relating to the material used in box construction, the finish system and the warranty coverage, the specification of the reveal and how this specification is kept consistent throughout the entire installation, the available integrated hardware and the way in which this hardware operates, the lead times from placing an order to delivery, and the procedure for handling claims for factory defects.