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Cream Colored Kitchen Cabinets: A Timeless Tradition Remade
Cream colored kitchens were the go-to color theme in the 1990’s, but before you think cream has lost its charm, keep in mind the cyclical behavior of trends. While it is true that some trends will never come back, most that are subtle in nature experience a renaissance a generation or two later. Such is the case with many fashion trends.
Take the re-emergence of 70’s style clothing, like bell-bottoms and platform shoes, for example. So, while we aren’t talking about disco making a comeback, we should recognize that the rise in recent popularity of cream kitchens should come as no surprise. In this article we’ll discuss cream kitchen ideas that will help you take advantage of the timeless beauty of cream without sacrificing a modern kitchen design.
Making Cream Modern
Let’s consider what the term “modern” really means. We’ll break that down into two categories: modern design and modern features. This approach will give an understanding of why classic elements, such as cream colored cabinets, can fit in a modern design.
Modern Design Elements
Let’s start with a few examples of what makes a kitchen design modern.
- Sleek lines: A hallmark feature of modernization across many products is the absence of minimization of lines. In cabinetry, this translates to flat panels and butted joints. A butted joint is when two cabinet panels, such as door panels or drawer panels, butt up next each other with minimal space in between. The result is a smooth aesthetic that provides visual continuity across the kitchen.
- Lighting: Luxury cabinet manufacturers have discovered that ambient lighting is a great way to offer modernization and style to a cabinet set. Few elements can do as much for a room’s ambiance as lighting, so it makes sense that lighting has made its way into modern cabinet design.
- Hardware: Cabinet knobs and drawer pulls have evolved with time to get away from the old glass crystal knobs and curved wooden pulls. Modern hardware design follows the minimalistic approach, offering again, sleek lines and visual continuity. Some designs have even gotten rid of the knobs and pulls altogether, utilizing push-to-open drawers and panel-pull doors.
Modern Design Functional Features
Aside from the visual aspects, features that create additional functionality are a staple in modern kitchen design. Here are a few examples:
- Cabinets with Pull-Out Drawers: To make cabinet organization more efficient, pull-out drawers have been implemented into cabinets to provide ease of access to items in the back and to offer compartments or shelving for better storage.
- Soft-Close Features: I remember my mother constantly telling me not to slam the cabinets. But the thing is, I wasn’t slamming them, I was just closing them with the careless mindset of a child. If only mom had access to soft-close features.
- Toe-Kick Lights: These could have appeared in the above design elements section, but because they do more than serve a visual purpose, they belong here too. Toe-kick lights are those that go under the base of the floor cabinets and they come in handy for cleaning. Ever dropped something that ended up under the overhand of the base cabinets? With toe-kick lighting, no longer do you need to turn on your phone’s flashlight to hunt for it.
Now that we’ve defined the elements and features that make a kitchen cabinet set modern, let’s explain why using a traditional color scheme doesn’t rock the boat and set you back to 1992. If you haven’t guessed yet, the answer is that combing a hint of traditional spice into an otherwise modern design is a great design tactic. Here’s why.
Nostalgia is a real thing, and whether we know it or not, our minds tend to be drawn toward objects that conjure up fond memories of the past. Incorporating a dabble of a traditional element into an otherwise modern design offers the best of both worlds. You get the emotional connection to the past, but you don’t give up the overall look and function of the present.
So, bringing a subtle color, such as cream, into a kitchen with sleek lines and modern functional features makes perfect sense and it explains why the cream trend has gained steam in 2023 and throughout 2024 with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Rest assured, if done correctly, utilizing cream cabinets in your kitchen will be a huge hit.
The Versatility of Cream
One of the features of cream colored cabinets is that they pair well with just about any accessory color. This opens up a world of design options which is a dream come true for homeowners looking to customize and personalize a unique kitchen design that turns heads and sets their home apart from the rest.
Multi-tone kitchen cabinets are a popular trend today. You’ll often see a variation in color between the upper cabinets and base cabinets, or between the island cabinets and the rest of the kitchen. This creates an eye-catching aesthetic and shakes up the monotony that can creep in with a single-color design.
But to accomplish the multi-tone effect, you need to carefully select your colors to avoid clashing. Nothing can throw off a kitchen design like clashing cabinet colors, so it is extremely important to select colors that go well together.
One of the safest ways to do that is to work with one accent color of your choosing and one neutral color. Neutrals go well with almost any accent color, and you guessed it, cream is an extremely versatile neutral.
Some of the most popular colors to pair with cream are sage green, blue, and natural wood grain.
Sage Green and Cream Kitchens
Sage green is a light colored green hue that balances very well with cream. It offers a cool, earthy feel that brings about a sense of calm and airiness. It is the perfect subtle contrast to cream, which offers a bit of warmth and glow to the kitchen.
Blue and Cream Kitchens
Light blue hues offer the same calming, tranquil vibe as sage green and also pair a cool tone with the warmer cream. In contrast to light hues, darker hues like navy blue can add a more sophisticated look and a larger contrast against the cream. Both are popular choices for kitchen cabinet design paired with cream.
Natural Wood Grain
A look that will never go out of style is natural wood. For the pinnacle in timeless design, natural wood stands alone. Like the choice between light and dark blue, light wood grain offers an airy, natural ambiance while dark wood promotes elegance and luxury.
Because of cream’s versatility, your color pairing options are endless, opening the door for you to explore many different color schemes until you find the perfect fit for your dream kitchen.
Cream’s Role in Size Perception
As you may know, lighter colors can make a room seem larger while darker colors can shrink its perceived size. So if you have a smaller kitchen space, cream colored cabinets can go a long way toward opening up the room and making it feel larger than it is.
Likewise, if you have a large kitchen, the addition of cream cabinets can further expand its perceived size, creating a truly wide open space that flows freely into other rooms for continuity.
Cream’s affect on size perception works by reflecting natural light, whereas darker cabinets tend to absorb light. This light reflection is what makes a cream colored kitchen feel more open and airy and less closed-in than an all-dark kitchen.
By carefully placing your cream cabinets, you can maximize the natural light reflection and get the most out of their space enhancing benefits. Positioning them on walls that are perpendicular to windows is a great way to do this.
Design Tips for Modern Cream Kitchens
Let’s bring the above points together to help you create a design plan for modern cream kitchens. First, remember that the goal of this article is to help you balance the classic color of cream with modern elements, and avoid creating a traditional design.
Be Sure to Include Mostly Modern Design Elements and Features
Going with a traditional color will not transport your kitchen back to the 90’s, but going to multiple traditional elements in the design will. It’s a safe practice to only include one traditional element in a design that aims to be a modern kitchen, and we’re choosing one color.
That said, keep everything else about the design as modern as possible. Opt for minimalistic design, like sleek lines, paneled appliances, and small or non-existent hardware. Include modern functional features to your cabinets, especially lighting if your budget allows for it.
Choose Your Complementary Colors Wisely
If you’re going traditional with cream but want to keep a modern look, your complementary and accent colors should be popular modern colors. While it’s not a necessity, remember the rule is to only go traditional with one element, so if you chose cream, don’t overdo it by choosing other traditional colors too.
In general, warmer colors are associated with traditional kitchens, such as pink, while modern colors tend to be cooler such as greens, blues, and earth tones. It is best to pair modern colors with cream in order to not sway too far from the modern look.
Consider Your Space
Modern kitchens are very often part of an open floorplan. So when thinking about your space, consider whether or not you have a large or small kitchen. If it’s large, you have more wiggle room on complementary colors because they’ll be less likely to diminish the open, airy feel.
But if you have a small kitchen, you may want to stay away from darker colors. Yes, the cream itself will help, but if you’re pairing cream with a dark wood grain in a small kitchen, you may lose some of the modern feel due to the perceived size reduction.
Instead, for small kitchens, maximize cream’s space-enlarging effect by pairing it with a cool, light colored hue like a sage green or teal blue. This will create the perfect blend of traditional and modern design for a small kitchen.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, adding a nostalgic element to an otherwise modern design is a fantastic way to embrace contemporary luxuries and style while creating an emotional connection to a timeless design element.
Careful planning regarding the complementary colors, hardware, functional features, and considerations of your space are essential to pulling off the perfect balance between traditional and modern.
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