Author: Dee Funk

With the pandemic causing so many people to spend increased time at home, kitchen renovations have soared. And, unsurprisingly, cabinetry is a central focus. An astonishing 94% of homeowners renovating their kitchen performed some form of kitchen cabinet upgrades, with 63% of them opting to replace the cabinets entirely. Let’s see what kind of inspiration we can glean from these emerging cabinetry trends.

 

Kitchen Cabinet Upgrades Partial and Full Replacements
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

Partial Upgrades

For the 31% homeowners who chose partial cabinetry upgrades, space was a huge factor. 28% of this group added some form of new cabinetry, which represents an increase of nearly 400% from 2020. Others decided to focus on aesthetic, choosing to either refinish the cabinet exteriors or replace only the cabinet doors. This approach is a great way to update the look of your kitchen without cutting too deep into your budget.

Full Replacement 

As I mentioned before, a whopping 63% of kitchen remodelers chose to fully replace their cabinets to create the right look and storage for their families. And, they increasingly chose to consult with professionals for help making their kitchen more functional, usually maintaining the same layout and square footage.

Cabinetry heavily contributes to the functionality of your kitchen and can be the difference between easy and nightmare storage. For example, have you ever wanted waffles, but refused to unpack half of your cabinet to get the seldom-used waffle maker out? You didn’t have waffles that morning, did you? Now imagine if you could simply open a door and get that waffle maker out. That’s the difference the right cabinets can make.

If You Need Advice…

We at Kountry Kraft would love to be the professionals that you reach out to for help picking the right kitchen cabinet upgrades for your home.  Let’s get started! Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you.

 

#KountryKraft #KitchenCabinetUpgrades

Style and function are the two big factors people consider when they think about cabinets. However, you may not realize that the way you choose to install your cabinet doors will have a large impact on both. Let’s explore two installation methods so you can decide what’s right for your home: inset and full overlay cabinet doors.

Inset and Full Overlay Cabinet Doors

 

Inset

Inset Cabinet Doors for a Kitchen Design
Design by  by Kitchens & Baths by A Matter of Style | Allie Fackler Photography

Inset doors are designed to sit flush with the cabinet frame. In other words, the cabinet and the doors (excluding hardware) will be one smooth surface when the doors are closed. The frame will be fully visible.

Pros: This style of door offers a clean, high-end look that is generally accompanied by superior quality since it requires greater skill to install. It also helps guard against damaged doors since they’re encased in the frame when closed, making the corners harder to nick.

Cons: However, inset doors are more expensive because of that necessary installation know-how. They also provide the least storage room since the doors are flush with the frame. Highly humid climates can cause wood to expand, leaving inset doors susceptible to sticking and the finish wearing off in tight spots.

 

Full Overlay

Full Overlay Cabinets for a Kitchen designed by designed by Prodigy Kitchens & Baths
Design by Prodigy Kitchens & Baths

Full overlay doors sit on top of the cabinet frame as opposed to within it. They’re designed extra-large to cover the entire frame, offering a similar smooth look to inset doors but with none of the frame visible.

Pros: This style of door also offers a clean, high-end look but is easier to install, making it more affordable. It also offers a bit more storage space since the doors are situated on top of the frame.

Cons: The downside to full overlay doors is that they may show signs of wear more quickly since the door corners aren’t protected.

 

Reflections

As with any choice, both options have their pros and cons. Consider them carefully to decide which style is right for you. Although, in the end, it’s hard to see how you could go wrong with either!

If you need help exploring inset and full overlay cabinet doors, you may contact us or use our dealer locater to find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you!

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinets #CustomCabinetry

Furniture, Lighting and Décor recently wrote an article that explores the trends of a kitchen that garner the most likes on Instagram. Here are the most important trends to feature in your kitchen if you want Instagram users to hit that like button:

  1. Shaker kitchen cupboards
  2. Wooden floors
  3. White cupboards & flowers/plants
  4. Kitchen island
  5. Brass door handles & marble countertops

Now, don’t think you have to cram every trend into your kitchen design in order to get a lot of likes. It’s never worth it to force something that doesn’t fit. But, the most popular kitchens on Instagram did all contain various combinations of these trends, with the number one kitchen featuring all but two of these elements. The more of these trends that you can cohesively blend, the more likes you’ll probably get.

Designing a Kitchen that Instagram Loves
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

A Starting Point

Shaker kitchen cupboards are a great base to build your design around because out of all the top kitchen posts, they were featured a whopping *92.6% of the time. While they’re a highly traditional style, shaker cupboards are only growing in popularity. It’s clear that people love this look.

Supporting Trends

Wooden floors are the second biggest trend, in 74% of the top posts analyzed. White cupboards and flowers/plants are both in third place, with each of them being in 70.4% of the top posts. White walls were also a big hit, suggesting that people love white kitchens in general. Kitchen islands were featured in 51.9% of the top posts, while brass door handles and marble countertops were both featured in 44.4% of the top posts.

No matter how you combine these trends, they’re sure to help your kitchen design become “Insta-worthy!”

*All percentages rounded to the nearest tenth.

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinets #CustomCabinetry

Nothing defines the look and feel of your cooking space quite like your cabinets, which is why many of trends for the new year focus on kitchen cabinets. From pops of color to floor-to-ceiling storage to the triumphant return of warm-tone woods, here are 2021 kitchen cabinet trends.

Colorful Cabinets

2021 Kitchen Cabinet Trends Colorful Cabinets
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

2021 is bound to be bright with the colorful cabinet trend. Balance the boldness of the bright color of your choice with a neutral backsplash, countertop, or wall color. Also, a major color trend this year are warmer color palettes, like creamy yellows and sage greens.

 

Floor-to-Ceiling Cabinets

2021 Kitchen Trend Floor-to-Ceiling Cabinets
Design by Dee Hurst-Funk of Kountry Kraft

In 2020, many of us embraced our inner chef while spending more time at home. During this time, you may have noticed keeping tools and gadgets organized is key to a functional kitchen. Thus, the trend for floor-to-ceiling cabinets, where storage feels endless, and organization is celebrated.

 

Glass Front Cabinet Doors

Glass Front Cabinet Doors are Trending in 2021 Kitchen Designs
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

Glass front cabinet doors create an airy feel in a kitchen and a stage to show off your favorite items. From coffee mugs to your grandmother’s heirloom china, glass front doors can be incorporated into nearly any kitchen design.

 

Warm Wood Cabinets

Warm Wood Cabinets 2021 Kitchen Design Trend
Design by KT Highland

Warm wood finished cabinets return this year, but with a twist. Keep the look up to date by incorporating contemporary finishes within a sleek, clean design. Another popular way to incorporate warm woods is by adding wood accents, like a range hood or floating shelves.

 

Integrated Appliances

Integrated appliances with fronts that match the surrounding cabinets

Integrated appliances with fronts that match the surrounding cabinets create an all-in-one look that we are loving this year. The appliances most often integrated are the refrigerator and dishwasher.

For more 2021 kitchen cabinet trends, follow @kountrykraftcabinetry on Instagram.

Interested in updating your kitchen cabinets? Click here to find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you!

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinetry #CustomCabinets #2021KitchenCabinetTrends #2021CabinetTrends

Creating an office space in your home has been an evident part of 2020. When creating an office space, two key elements to always consider are function and organization. The beauty of custom home office cabinets is just that – they are custom built for your needs. No longer is it necessary to use the standard metal filing cabinets you see in most business offices. Instead, you can have a beautiful piece of furniture that not only looks appealing but increases the functionality of your space.

Home Office Cabinet Accessories

No more messy file drawers! Kountry Kraft takes organization to a whole new level with their custom drawer dividers. Adjustable pins hold the wood file separator in place by resting in the channel of the wood divider.

Home Office Cabinets and Accessories by Kountry Kraft

Create a clean uncluttered look by choosing double wide drawers, shown in classic stained Oak wood and contemporary drawer pulls.

Double Wide Office Drawers with Built-in Filing Cabinets

Customized drawers make organizing easy. Be inspired by this trifecta of sturdy organization.

Office Cabinetry with Customized Drawers for Filing

Home Office Design Inspiration

Thomas R. Kelly of the TRK Design Company designed this contemporary style office for a home located in Venice, Florida. The office features a custom-built desk that includes six drawers, each ranging in functionality.

White Home Office Cabinets in Venice, Florida
Coastal Home Photography

A traditional style home office was designed by Roger Yiengst of Kountry Kraft for a home in Bethesda, Maryland. Books thrive on the custom shelves and files are happily stored in the cabinet drawers built into the wall.

Home Office with Custom Built In Bookshelves and Cabinet Drawers

For more office design inspiration, visit our website. Interested in custom office cabinets for your home? Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you!

#KountryKraft #HomeOfficeCabinets #CustomCabinets #CustomCabinetry

While the kitchen is the heart of the home, the pantry is the storehouse of the kitchen. Pantries are the backbone to the preparation of any meal and gives ingredients a place to live. Like all hardworking spaces, it can be challenging to keep your pantry organized, especially while spending more time at home. However, we have found that when the pantry is built for your family’s needs and to fit the design of your space, it is easier to keep it organized. Gather inspiration from our custom pantry ideas.

Decorative Pantry

Decorative Custom Pantry Ideas with Kountry Kraft Cabinets

Decorative pantries are a dream. Not only are they beautiful and appealing to the kitchen design surrounding them, they are completely functional. Thomas R. Kelly of TRK Design Company designed a pantry in this kitchen to feature a grand barn door. Whenever the pantry is not in use, ingredients and other items in the pantry can be covered with the beautiful door that enhances the aesthetic of the kitchen it lives in.

Decorative Pantry Ideas with Custom Cabinets by Kountry Kraft
Photography by Rob Karosis

PKsurroundings designed this pantry featuring by-pass doors with metal mesh inserts. When closed, the metal detailing on the doors adds texture to the kitchen design. The by-passing doors make it easy to quickly grab the ingredients you need and put them right back after using them, keeping the space completely organized and therefore, making meals a lot easier.

Built-In Pantry

Custom Built-In Pantry Ideas with Custom Cabinetry by Kountry Kraft

Built-in pantries are fantastic because they rarely take up room in the kitchen. They are typically designed to cleverly make use of a wall that would otherwise be bare. Kountry Kraft designed this pantry to be built into the hallway next to the kitchen in this home. The pantry doors were crafted to match the rest of the cabinetry in the kitchen to create a holistic feel.

Walk-In Pantry

Walk-In Pantry with Custom Cabinets by Kountry Kraft

Some may be more excited about a walk-in pantry versus a walk-in closet, and we don’t blame them! If you desire to minimize your cabinetry footprint, walk-in pantries are the biggest storage space you can incorporate. The opportunity for organization is endless. Kountry Kraft designed this walk-in pantry to feature two large doors that match the kitchen cabinets.

Corner Pantry

Corner Pantry with Cabinets by Kountry Kraft
Photography by Chris Veith

You may be thinking, “My kitchen doesn’t have room for a pantry,” but think again! The beauty of custom cabinetry is that it can be designed and crafted specifically for your home’s corners, nooks, and crannies. Stonington Cabinetry & Designs  took the corner of this kitchen and made it a snack pantry, as well as a beverage center. The cabinetry matches the rest of the kitchen, so when closed, you don’t even know the pantry is there. Deep, wood pull out drawers make it easy to organize snacks, spices and more.

Are you interested in incorporating any of these custom pantry ideas into your home? Find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you and get started designing today! Follow @kountrykraftcabinetry on Instagram for daily inspiration.

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinetry #CustomCabinets #CustomPantryIdeas #PantryIdeas

Kitchen office spaces are rising in popularity, as the number of those working from home has increased this year. Some homes do not have space to support a full separate office, however there may be room within your kitchen for a dedicated workspace. Some parents may want to be able to get work done, while staying centrally located near their children. Another great use is for children who are attending school virtually. A built-in, customized kitchen desk is the perfect solution.

Kitchen Office Spaces

Built-In Kitchen Office Space with a Desk
Allie Fackler Photography

With any kitchen desk area, it is best to use cabinets that match or complement what’s in the kitchen so the space blends in seamlessly.  Kitchens & Baths by A Matter of Style designed a built-in desk for a kitchen located in Cheshire, Connecticut. This desk is built with the same style cabinets as the rest of the kitchen. The design of this desk cleverly utilizes open shelving and closed storage space for form and function.

White Kitchen with a Built-In Kitchen Desk Area
Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

Alpine White cabinets connect this workstation with the rest of the kitchen designed by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs. The space next to the block of cabinets was thought to be unusable, but a desk served as a perfect, practical addition. It’s a handy spot for handling messages, mail, and bills.

Kitchen with a Built-In Desk Office Area
Rob Karosis Photography

Using the same materials as the rest of the kitchen, this office blends seamlessly into a previously unused space. Generous floor to ceiling cabinet storage makes it easy to stash mail, homework, cookbooks, and important documents. Design by Dovetailed Kitchens, Inc. in collaboration with Lisa Teague of Upcoast Design.

Interested in seeing more kitchen designs with built-in desks? Visit our Inspiration Gallery.

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinets #CustomCabinetry #KitchenDesks #KitchenOfficeSpace

As the growing demand for taller cabinetry increases, Kountry Kraft adds new options for bigger cabinet panels to its custom cabinetry offerings with the installation of a new CNC Point-to-Point Router and a Case Clamp from Stiles Machinery. As the industry’s leading provider of advanced manufacturing solutions, Stiles has been helping manufacturers nationwide increase their efficiency and productivity for over 50 years.

The new additions have positioned Kountry Kraft to easily absorb the growing demand to produce bigger panels up to ten feet in height, in framed or frameless construction. It improves the speed of shop production to 150 boxes per day and helps to maintain the current eight-week production lead time.

Kountry Kraft has worked with Stiles Machinery for over 30 years. So, when the COVID-19 restrictions went into place, the Stiles team got creative to not only install the new machines but educate the operators and programmers as well. They packed up the Stiles classroom in Northeast Philadelphia and brought the education center to the Kountry Kraft shop in Newmanstown, Pennsylvania.

Kountry Kraft Adds New Options for Bigger Panels to its Custom Cabinetry Offerings thanks to Stiles Machinery
Packing up the Stiles classroom computers with Stiles District Team Leader, Vince Micciolo
Kountry Kraft Adds New Options for Bigger Panels to its Custom Cabinetry Offerings
Unpacking the computers at Kountry Kraft
Program and operation instruction training in the shop and conference room
Program and operation instruction training in the shop with Stiles CNC Ground Leader Robert Gallagan
Program and operation instruction training in the shop and conference room
Program and operation instruction training in the conference room with Stiles CNC Ground Leader Robert Gallagan
A crane was used to unload the machinery
A crane was used to unload the machinery
A skid loader was also used to unload the machinery
A skid loader was also used to unload
New case clamp in use
New case clamp in use
New CNC in use
New CNC in use

“We are overwhelmingly grateful for the innovative remote training solutions and installation provided by Stiles, and for the ability to offer new design options to the industry,” stated Elvin Hurst, Jr., President of Kountry Kraft. Stay up to date with Kountry Kraft innovations and news by following @kountrykraftcabinetry on Instagram.

#KountryKraft #CustomCabinetry #CustomCabinets #Cabinetry #Cabinets #StilesMachinery

If there was one design trend that defined the past decade, it was the all-white kitchen. The look is timeless, cohesive, and clean, and has a miraculous way of making even the tiniest kitchen look airy and spacious. But the new decade brings with new trends, and designers say there’s a new color in the kitchen that you should try: black.

Kitchen Designs with Black Cabinets Custom by Kountry Kraft

Whether you want to dip your toes into the black cabinets trend with just a few features or want to go all in, you are bound to gain some inspiration from our round up of a few of our favorite designs.

Kitchens with Black Cabinets

Modern Kitchen Design with Black Cabinets

Jessica McAllister of Kountry Kraft designed this modern kitchen to feature black cabinetry along the perimeter. The cabinetry features a sleek, simple door design. The wood grain shines through the black finish, giving it a unique textural appeal.

Transitional Kitchen with Black Kitchen Island Cabinets

Black can be used in transitional kitchens, too. One of the easiest ways to incorporate black cabinets is to pair them with white. Stonington Cabinetry & Designs featured a black kitchen island among the white perimeter cabinetry in this transitional style design.

Other Rooms

Black cabinetry designs are trending for rooms in the home beyond the kitchen.

Transitional Style Laundry Room with Black Cabinetry
KRR Photography

Architectural Kitchens of Annapolis designed black cabinetry for this laundry room design. Paired with the gold hardware, laundry is no longer a chore but a luxurious escape.

Living Room with Black Cabinetry

Stonington Cabinetry & Designs added a black wet bar into this living room design, with storage for glasses, wine bottles and more.

Visit our website, kountrykraft.com, to see more rooms and designs that use custom black cabinetry. Do you want black cabinets for a room in your own home? Click here to find a Kountry Kraft dealer near you!

#KountryKraft #BlackCabinets #BlackCabinetry #DesignTrends

A current trend hitting kitchens everywhere is the use of neutral countertops. Available in various materials, a neutral countertop will compliment any cabinet color and tie together your ideal kitchen. When saying “neutral countertops”, we are specifically speaking of whites, blacks, and wood colors.

White Countertops

Neutral Countertops are a current kitchen trend, especially white countertops
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

When talking about countertops, the go-to for many are stone finishes, such as granite or quartz. When you go with these choices, specifically granite, you will tend to get flecks of grey creating more of an off-white shade. This is ideal for a more traditional kitchens and compliment well with a traditional or shaker style cabinetry. On the flipside, a pure white countertop provides a modern style and can be achieved with using quartz or an engineered stone. The pure white allows for a bright pop in a kitchen that might have more modern, flat-faced or dark wood grained cabinets.

Dark Countertops

Dark countertops are part of the neutral countertop kitchen trend for luxury designs in 2020
Design by Nelson Schneider of Kitchen & Bath Connections in collaboration with Pat of RK Development, Southampton, NY

Many people are hesitant towards black or darker countertops as they might dull down the space. However, if you have darker cabinets, floors, or other darker finishes the addition of a dark countertop will create a sleek space that will be drool-worthy.  If going for a black countertop is too much, going with charcoal will not drown out the color, but is also a bit softer. This look can be achieved through using either granite (with dark flecks), quartz, or even tarnished bronze or brass.

Wood Countertops

Wood countertops are part of the neutral countertop kitchen design trend for spaces remodeled in 2020
Design by Stonington Cabinetry & Designs | Photography by Chris Veith Interiors

To create a warm space that accents the natural tones in your kitchen, wood countertops are the way to go. When choosing wood countertops the choice becomes darker or lighter wood. When you choose darker wood, it warms a completely white kitchen and creates a more transitional kitchen vibe. Choosing a light wood creates more of a rustic and causal feel inside your kitchen.

Ultimately, the choice in color of your countertops is dependent on the style kitchen you are going for. It is also important to take into consideration the durability, upkeep, and type of material available to get the look you want. Visit the Kitchen Gallery on our website for more kitchen design inspiration.

#KountryKraft #Granite #QuartzCountertops #WoodCountertops #NeutralCountertops