Cabinets Set Tone for Kitchen

design center 4When you start planning your new Fulton Home, it may seem like the kitchen is the most challenging part of the process. But once you make a couple of choices, your other options will begin to fall into place.

The best way to attack your overall kitchen design is with your cabinet style and finish. Do you want a contemporary look? Then consider the Shaker style for your cabinetry. This sleek style, shown on the bottom middle in the photo above, works well with the sleek lines of a contemporary home.

If you prefer a more country or rustic look, why not consider a glazed finish such as the cabinet door shown on the lower right? The darker tone and contrast provided by the black glaze makes that cabinet feel more homey and inviting, a fitting style to give that farmhouse appeal.

Perhaps you want to go solidly traditional. The dark cabinet door on the upper right would work well with any traditional decor. A light and bright kitchen would work well with the middle cabinet door to the left of the photo. The good news is that the Fulton Design Center has a rich selection of choices in cabinetry, and all of them in a standard of quality designed for you to enjoy in your new kitchen for years to come.

We encourage you to visit the Fulton Design Center to see our choices of kitchen cabinets in person, to start the process of designing the Fulton Home of your dreams.

White Cabinets Make a Bright Kitchen

Cooley-Station-106webThere are as many options for kitchen styles as there are cooks. Many people love a dark Tuscan look, with cabinets in a rich stained wood and darker countertops in stone that echo an old-world look. Others lean toward a contemporary option that includes lighter stained cabinets and a solid-surface counter.

But if you want your kitchen to capture a bit of a farmhouse feel while staying light and bright, you may want to consider painted cabinets. This kitchen’s cabinets are ever-so-slightly off white, which provides a cheerful mood.

Notice that overall this kitchen’s other elements keep the painted cabinets from feeling bland. The rich gold granite countertops add enough interest and contrast to make this kitchen pop. And the darker mosaic over the stove adds another inviting element of contrast.

With this light a kitchen palette, the choice of darker flooring is smart. It grounds the room with its strong contrasting element while encouraging the lighter choices to shine. Maroon leather-topped stools and other maroon accessories also contribute to the sophisticated color choices of this space.

Notice the glass door on the corner cabinet. While many people would rather not have a lot of glass doors in order to hide not-quite-tidy cupboards, one glass door adds a special charm to any space. This is the perfect spot to showcase glassware or nice serving pieces.

So when you’re planning your kitchen, don’t just skip over the painted cabinets. Consider whether they would fit the kind of kitchen you want – light, cheerful and bright on even the darkest days.

Choosing Your Cabinet Style

Fulton CabinetsWhen you select cabinets for your new Fulton Home, you have more decisions than the wood tone or color. Simple style changes really affect the look of a kitchen. Let’s visit the Fulton Design Center to take a look at some cabinet door choices.

Do you want a curved molding at the top of your cabinets? You can see this look if you check out door visible in the middle cabinet on the second shelf. This traditional approach lends softness to your cabinetry, and some people feel it adds warmth.

Perhaps you like things simple. If so, consider the Shaker style. The door on the top left in the first display cabinet shows the Shaker style in light maple. While this demonstrates some personality – more than flat-surface doors – it creates a relatively undemanding background allowing you to exhibit some splash in other areas.

If you want your cabinets to be front-and-center in your kitchen, how about choosing the door on the bottom of the middle display? The variations in molding create a light-and-shadow look that draws the eye. If you add a glaze the variations will pop even more.

Don’t stop with the cabinet doors. Take a look at your choices of knobs and pulls. You may prefer stainless to coordinate with appliances, or how about the oil-rubbed bronze finish to add some old-world warmth? Be sure to touch as well as look. You will be using your choice for many years on a daily basis!

One last suggestion: take a look at the kitchens in the models and the Fulton Design Center. They can help you decide which style would work best for you in your own Fulton Home.

Dark Cabinets Enrich Kitchen Design

You have many decisions to make when designing your kitchen and one of the most important is selecting the right cabinet finishes. If you want a kitchen that feels luxurious, consider dark cabinets. The rich tones make the space inviting and the contrast with other features provides a high style look.

This kitchen blends modern choices such as the simple cabinet fronts and the stainless pulls with more traditional features such as the crown molding and the tile medallion displayed over the range. The glass fronts on several of the upper cabinets allow you to bring some color and contrast in those areas depending upon what you place on the shelves.

When you choose dark cabinets, it’s smart to look for contrast with the other options. This floor is a mid-tone light brown porcelain tile with the look of stone. It provides a beautiful and low-maintenance choice for flooring in a kitchen, and also helps the cabinets stand out.

The countertops are white marble with grey veining. This provides the greatest contrast with the cabinets, creating a pop of brightness. The backsplash is a tile mosaic that combines light, dark and mid-tones, pulling all of the elements of this kitchen together. Once again the look is contemporary without being overly modern.

Wrap this kitchen up with stainless appliances, but notice that the refrigerator matches the cabinets rather than carrying through the metallic look. This option has become more common as people realize that the large expanse of metal can be a distraction in a kitchen space. It also eliminates the constant need to wipe fingerprints off the most used door in the kitchen.

If you have a flair for the dramatic and want your kitchen to reflect that, consider dark cabinets as your design starting point.

Build Style and Function into your Kitchen

How do you decide what you want your kitchen to look like? Today’s classic look includes stainless appliances and granite countertops, but within that mix you have a wealth of choices.

This kitchen vignette from the Fulton Homes design center blends white and dark painted cabinetry with a rich stained wood floor. While many people may worry about having a wood floor in the kitchen, it can work well as long as you protect it with a good polyurethane finish and wipe up serious spills immediately. Wood flooring is actually a floor with give so it’s great for a cook’s feet at the end of a long day of cooking and cleaning.

The wipe-clean painted white cabinets use differences in depth to create personality. That is enhanced by the intriguing dark painted island in the center. More and more kitchens are taking advantage of a mix and match approach to help kitchen cabinetry integrate with the rest of the home, and this is a good example. Fulton’s crown molding for cabinetry is also designed for customization, as shown here with the special addition of dentil trim.

A generous fridge, the large gas range and a double oven makes this space ideal for a serious home chef. The tile backsplash is decorative and also easy to clean. The island is ready for a couple of bar-height chairs, so that friends and family members can chat or help. Come visit our design center on one of our browse nights and experience this inviting kitchen for yourself.