The modern day kitchen has undoubtedly become the central hub of the home – where we not only cook, clean and eat – but where we catch up with friends and visitors, entertain our loved ones, and enjoy meaningful moments throughout our day to day lives. For this reason, it is essential that the kitchen is a true reflection of your personal style, as well as your unique personality, so that you feel completely comfortable, relaxed, and even proud when occupying the space.
When it comes to achieving this within your own home, your choice of cabinetry plays a massive role in portraying your true essence in kitchen form – believe it or not, the simple choice between solid or glass front kitchen cabinets can have the biggest effect. That’s why we’re here to look at both cabinet styles, the pros and cons of each, and which one to go for when – so that you can make the correct custom kitchen cabinet choice during your next kitchen remodel.
Different Fronts, Different Styles
As the names both suggest, solid front cabinets are solid, closed, and often made from equally as solid materials such as wood. On the other hand, glass front cabinets have a glass pane built into the front cabinet door, which is either completely clear, somewhat textured, or frosted.
Solid cabinets are certainly the more ‘traditional’ style of cabinet, with closed upper cabinets dating back as far as the 1930s! Following on from then, they served as storage places for food, Tupperware, crockery and glassware – favoring the function of storage over aesthetics in kitchens during the mid-century. Since then, glass cabinets have risen in popularity due to their dual function of storage and style, allowing your cabinetry to double up as chic display cabinets for all of your carefully collected kitchen items.
Pros & Cons of Solid Front Cabinets
True to the historic use of kitchen cabinets, a huge pro of opting for solid fronts is that they offer plenty of storage space for homeowners who’ve collected many items over the years. Modern renditions also offer a stylishly clean, composed and minimalistic look, creating a cohesive, sleek and symmetrical feel within the room.
With custom kitchen cabinets today, you can also turn your cabinet storage spaces into clever dry or fresh food storage spots. Nobody would ever know your onions and garlic are hiding behind that door with innovative designs like the noblessa Pantry Box that’s directly integrated into the lower cupboards.
In addition to this, large appliances like fridges can also be hidden behind your solid cabinet doors, so as not to disrupt your streamlined style – a feature we love to use in our custom kitchen collections. If you’re having an untidy week, solid cabinets hide any-and-all imperfections to maintain a clean and tidy look. In terms of cons, closed cabinetry will hide your favorite pieces and restrict you from flaunting your personality in this way.
Pros & Cons of Glass Front Cabinets
Any stylish kitchenware collector will vouch for glass front cabinets purely because of how they accommodate a curated, and often illuminated, display of decorative pieces and aesthetic kitchen collections. In a way, these kinds of cabinets allow you to flaunt your personal taste and style, and can even be considered an adornment in and of themselves.
The obvious con of glass front cabinetry is that they are highly unforgiving when cupboards are messy or kitchen crockery is mismatched and jarring to the eye. If this is the case in your home, a wonderful alternative is textured or frosted glass. You can view an example of this in our Crystal Collection, although even those don’t conceal as much as a solid front would.
Another consideration is that glass cabinets need to be cleaned regularly to get rid of any dust or fingerprints. If you’re wanting to display your kitchenware, but you’re not sold on regular cleaning, we suggest putting chic open shelves there instead – something all of noblessa’s luxury kitchen collections do beautifully.
Mix & Match Styles With Ease
If you’re still feeling conflicted over which custom kitchen cabinetry to go for, why not opt for a tasteful mix of both? Some top glass front cabinetry, beautifully accompanied by stylish solid front cabinets down below – have a look at our Tempo Collection for an elegant take on this hybrid style.